Pupaphobia

[BobThePizzaBoy]

So I recently discovered this phobia's existence and figured since it hasn't really been discussed, I'll bring it here...

Anyway, in case you don't know what we're talking about: pupaphobia is a highly irrational fear of puppets. Now I discovered this phobia by chance and actually know someone who has pupaphobia. I brought one of my puppets in for the last night of rehersal of our spring musical at school and when she saw the puppet she completely freaked out. Actually, as mean as I was to her, it's actually quite amusing to tease her with puppets since she's such a drama queen. :insatiable: I remember the last time she saw the puppet up close, we were in a make-up room in the stage area and she refused to look at the puppet by covering her face from where she could see the puppet. I got back at her by telling her "It's not like you've never watched Sesame Street before!" Later on, she denied being afraid of puppets, saying that she thought my puppet had a "scary face". But if you bring up puppets around her, she'll freak. :)

So has anybody here ever had any encounters with pupaphobia?

[TheCreatureWork]

LOL, I found the same ppl that find Puppet creepy have the same fear of mascots. Here is a news article from the New York Times back in 1998 about Pupaphobia.

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F01EED81738F934A25752C0A96E9582 60

[jcnegron]

My little 2 years old niece is afraid of puppets.

When she was only 1, she was afraid of a cookie monster toy puppet. I don't no why, maybe because of the black mouth, because she doesn't like black or furry things either, like the black hair on stuffed toys, or maybe because that CM was a talking toy (with cookie´s deep voice singing) and that might have scared her. We had to hide that cookie monster for a future time.

Now, every time I show to her a new puppet she doesn't like it, and doesn't want to get closer. However, although she is in fear, I think she is a bit masochistic, because she wants to look anyway. It is a bit strange. She likes Elmo on TV a lot, and Elmo dolls, but not Elmo puppets.

Anyway, I hope she overcomes this fear growing up.

[Quesal]

Ah, yes. I was in a play last semester and one of my co-actors had that phobia. She was scared to death of The Muppets, but loved The Muppet Babies. I know those guys were cartoons, but I mean "What the heck?"

[wes]

Ok long story(but funny),

So I work as a cook in kitchen for several years, and I would always bring a puppet to break the ice and goof off during breaks, well we had a friend i hadn't seen for years come in and he was a goof ball will call him phill, we were all around and I was entertaining the workers with Cecelya my littile girl puppet and he stoped joking around and the color sort of left his face(I couldn't tell if he was joking or not) but in a serious tone he said he was sacred of puppets. I was like no really, and he was like yeah, them a deavious streak hit me, I started talking with the puppet, "Phillip don't you like me!", "no!" Phillip remarked,I kept on "Come on phillip I won't hurt you", "Really" Phillip asked, "Yep" Cecelya awnsered. then He got close, and with the loudest deepest voice I screamed, Phillip jumped three feet in the air and ran like and scared doe!

I was so Funny but too reallistic, he shot out that kitchen we die laughing, but we though is he serious I have never heard of anyone scared of puppets, I told him I was sorry, but we half way think he was still joking.

It may have been one of those stories where you had to be there, but I think everyone would had a good laugh. And of course i would have never done that to a child, this was a grow teen!

[Kuriboh Man]

at some when I was young I used to be afraid of ALF (I don't know why, but it must be a kid thing) but later on He seems to be okay. and get this ;).......Put Meet The Feebles under the Category of "Must Avoid!"

[jomama]

Yesterday a woman saw my lisence plate, PUPPETS, and asked if she could take a picture of it to send to a friend. Then she asked what kind of puppets I made. When I told her "Muppet" style, she said those were the only kind she wasn't afraid of. Even to the point that her daughter scribbled out the faces of all the puppets in the Sears catalog because she knew her mom was afraid of them. Wow!

[wes]

that is soo cool I love that idea for your lisence plate!

[Kuriboh Man]

The muppets are always #1 in My book !

[mrhogg]

It's funny, at the recent FITC festival, where I had my puppet Gideon doing interviews, at one point we went out on the floor grabbing random people to talk to, and we freaked a bunch of people out. Some people got seriously scared.

I wonder if it has to do with the fact that a puppet, if properly manipulated, seems alive, and can be taken by the viewer as a real character, rather than a hunk of foam. And on that ground, a puppet, even if dreadfully cute, is foreign and unknown.

To put it another way: if your dog started speaking to you in English, no matter how fantastic that might be, it would still freak you out.

[CoOKiE]

I find that its really common when children have a fear of puppets, but LOVE them from afar.

[dmoss]

Actually, my best friend [who is 21] has a very intense fear of puppets. When I bring some of mine around, he often cowers away, and actually bats the air around them, as to usher them from his space. It's always stricken me as strange, but I can't imagine it's any different than being slightly afraid of clowns...