Social Question

Yellowdog's avatar

How do people react to discovering something alien, otherworldly and disturbing, as in a Lovecraft novel or horror movie?

Asked by Yellowdog (12216points) July 11th, 2018
9 responses
“Great Question” (0points)

Are there any articles on this?

This question is fodder for those who aspire to write horror, as I dabble at in the summer when I am already feeling lurid and escape from the environment of reality.

I find many novels and movies to lack credibility when people encounter something peculiar and strange.

How would people REALLY react to something like, say, there is an alien-like race of rat things, wicked and semi-intelligent, overtaking an isolated town in Newfoundland— or people who seem more like orks in some isolated place—or a terrible strain of Tcho-Tcho inhabiting apartment blocs in the inner city—or something of the X-Files nature exists subtly and people try not to notice it—

Something that may or may not have apocalyptic consequence and bigger than what is comfortable to know about—but still fairly small and little known.

What do people REALLY do and how do they react?

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Answers

Yellowdog's avatar

Well, thanks for posting Monty Python. But nothing realistic or serious here.

ragingloli's avatar

That is because you are incapable of thinking deeply enough to understand it.
Let me spell it out for you in terms you can hopefully understand.

1. Human see alien.
2. Human think “alien weak”.
3. Human attack alien.
4. Human gets ‘big ouchie’.
5. Human gets other humans to try beat up alien.
6. Human gets ouchies again.
7. Human use big nucular boom boom.

kritiper's avatar

Have you ever heard the true tale of what many people thought and did when they heard the 1939 radio broadcast of “War of the Worlds?” They go snake shit! (Crazy!)

stanleybmanly's avatar

Do you really expect a “one size fits all” answer to a question on human behavior?

kritiper's avatar

Generally speaking, yes.

Yellowdog's avatar

You usually get more than one answer on Fluther, Not a one size fits all.

Not only do people respond differently, but they interpret the question differently. Some will think of an alien invasion or zombie apocalypse, others of something of encountering a demon or poltergeist, others of something strange that tunnels under 300-year-old New England farming communities.

Some people will contribute how they would respond or react, others how people have reacted, some in light of current conspiracy theories, others will find such a possibility credible, some as if the impossible were to occur.

kritiper's avatar

Yes, and since the question didn’t exactly specify, any type of answer might be acceptable.

Yellowdog's avatar

I am trapped in the mode of thinking that its really IMPOSSIBLE to answer unless something really happened. Furthermore, maybe the question is too broad. But YOUR answer certainly was helpful, about a worldwide threat emerging, or something local falling on a farm in Grover’s Mill (that point in the radio broadcast was perfectly believable even by today;s standards).

ragingloli’s second answer and even his first (about the bunny attack) kinda shows that people would get hurt or killed trying to destroy a threat they didn’t find credible.

Lovecraft’s tale about The Deep Ones’ invasion of Innsmouth, even though it happened back in the 1920s, kind of covers this pretty well, even if no one else can answer evidently.

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