19 replies to this topic

[serverph]

i've been holding back on this topic in my mind for quite some time: why are some people so afraid of mascots? you know, like Ronald McDonald and his friends, etcetera.

i have this officemate who is so afraid of mascots, that she always tries to hide behind anybody walking along with her when she sees a mascot nearby. and she shrieks in fear when the mascot even remotely attempts to approach and get near her.

i don't understand how even after reaching way past adulthood (she's in her mid-20's), she could still not brush away her phobic reaction to mascots. i can understand kids still not in their teens harboring a natural fear of a huge mascot, but not adults. a traumatic past? but she insists she has none of such kind as a kid, it's just that she is afraid of them for no apparent reason. of course she knows a human/person is inside such mascot and it's just a costume, but she can't shake away her fear.

are you afraid of mascots? what's your explanation?

[shadowx]

Could be anything really i guess! i dont like clowns much, theyre just damn evil and they dont even look funny atall.

Maybe your friend knows someone who is also scared of mascots and their reactions could make her afraid of them too after a reasonable time.

Or maybe the mascos really are evil! It wouldnt suprise me!

[savge17]

Im not afraid of mascots, but I would love to beat the living hell out of them!

The Reason:

They are always standing there cheering up and down for the one team you miserably hate! They look so cute yet, image one falling over and never being able to get back up. It brings tears to my eyes lol. MASCOT FIGHTS, yup one of the most entertaining fights ever witnessed. Seeing two opposing team mascots go at it is one of the most hilarious/ intense fights you will ever see in your life.

[<AW> Clan Manager]

That is a strange phobia but there are alot of other phobias that are strange such as Ambulophobia: Fear of walking or Ancraophobia: Fear of wind. But the people with these phobias think diffrent then us and they may see a mascot as a threat or something that could be dangerous. Anyways i am not scared of mascots but sometimes when your watching something they start dancing infront of you and it gets annoying lol.

[pixieloo]

I'm not afraid of mascots. I'm not particularly bothered by them, and I don't really care whether or not groups use them. But I wouldn't like it if a person dressed in a costume was jumping around in front of me..

[Plenoptic]

lol wow I've never heard of that. I think mascots are cool. They mess around and what not and can be pretty funny. I enjoy watching them sometimes more than the baseball game I'm at if that's where one is. I think though sometimes people are intimidated by their size because the suit is bigger than the body but of course they have to be nice and what not it's part of their job.-

[frogclock]

I have to say I am absolutely terified of mascots or any similar costumed thingy. I know it's irrational, I know it's just some poor guy in a suit but that doesn't help at all. I can't even look at photos of Disneyland and I'm even worse when I meet them face to face- I've been known to hide in shops for hours and whole trips have been spoilt by meeting the things. All I can put it down to was being chased by Fungus the Bogeyman at a book day when I was about 8. I'd have the wretched things banned!

[shigajet]

I couldn't really stand the mascots at Walt Disney World and/or Canada's Wonderland, but somehow I thought the mascots for baseball teams were kinda cool....well, at least they were cool to me when I was a kid. Who could forget the Phillie Fanatic? (Philadelphia Phillies)...or the Chicken (San Diego Padres) or even Youppi! (Montreal Expos...when they were still in Montreal).
I don't know, maybe it's was just my preference.

[arnz]

Frankly, if a mascot kept jumping around in my face, I'd probably would be quite annoyed rather than scared. Probably more difficult trying to punch em if they kept moving in your face all the time.

[Tsunami]

mascots are scary if you think about them, most definatly the ones at disney...

who knows who is in the costume... could be some weird old guy... they are very very hyper. They are oh so furry.... whats not to be a scared of?

however im not scared of them, i just get annoyed... just like with clowns and anything else.

[Matt2]

I haven't heard of this phobia before. Looking into the world of phobias is quite interesting, just reading about them and knowing that people are actually scared of certain things. However we shouldn't judge these people, they probably think that we are quite stupid that we don't think that these things are scary.

I suppose that it could be the fact that they are a life size version of a soft toy, but there would be many reasons why people could be afraid of them I would think that one common reason would be a bad experience as a child with one.

[iGuest]

mascot fear
Mascot Phobia

Well I'm not afraid of mascots

But I can understand why you would be

Cuz like the burger king mascot - WAY CREEPY

And clowns in general are creepy

And like mascots could turn out to be creepy molester people who touch your kids or something, realllllllllly creepy

Cuz you know how like famous killers always get the comments from friends and neighbors sayin things like "oh he was so nice" "he attended church" or stuff like that, but they secretly snap

Other than that though, I think it would just suck to be one, in that hot sticky suit all friggin day long bleh

-reply by Bloompie