What makes Grey aliens so creepy?

[jaybirdblue]

I remember being scared of the stereotypical grey alien starting from a really young age. You know, massive black eyes, big head, and tiny nose and mouth. Not the cute little green ones you get on keychains either. I mean, movie style, photo realistic CGI/practical makeup aliens. Ive also noticed that a LOT of kids have this fear too. Whether they keep it up as adults i don't know. I know they still make ME uncomfortable.

Im wondering why that is though. Is it just that that image has become something to be feared because of media portrayal? Is it a form of weird inborn fear? Or is it just because its creepy and deep deep in uncanny valley territory? AKA: Looks human but is just off enough that our brains get freaked out


I know pretty much nothing about aliens except what I know watching several series in which they debunk phenomena. So I dont have much pro-alien knowledge you know? Anyway, what is your take on it?

[SpiritTalker]

Maybe it’s the abductions the Greys do that flip people out. If they didnt sneak into homes like the fabled Bogey Man of lore hiding under the bed or in the closet, they'd be less frightening. Some hardy adults might even volunteer for the opportunity to go off & learn about the buggers if it was done out in the open.

Physically they aren't much to be scared of, and I think it's interesting to just look at 'em, compare our bodies to one another. How'cum ya never see a fat Grey? What's their dieting secret? Is it metabolism? And what's with the bald thing they have going on? How do they drink their tea with no pinkie to hold out? Do they like living in space? Do they get a job choice? Are they family oriented? And then there's the whole mind-touchy-feely thing. Is that how they "hive" and learn things?

[SnowCat]

I started reading about UFO's and abductions when I was 11. I think I freaked myself out. But I also had seemingly baseless fears that I couldn't explain. Then I saw a program, I think, on The History Channel, where a guy talked about things looking in his window, and feeling the need to sleep with the covers up over his head. I definitely related to that.

Snow

[planewalker]

I'm thinking clone as far as the everything the same, maybe mass produced android. Either could work. I guess android would take care of the food problem in space. Longevity is a crap shoot. Genetics would work for that. As to fear, I think that could be the idea of "the other". In green they're OK. In gray - humans bleached. Enough alike to be seen as intelligent tool makers like us. Different enough to be mysterious and possibly very dangerous. After all, we can easily feel they can be every bit as bad as the worst human being and as bad as anything unknown.

[RosieMoonflower]

Yes, it's the abduction factor that bothers me. I think I also fear them because I don't know all of their true capabilities and therefore could not ward off an abduction.

Rosie

[SpiritTalker]

I think where they come from must not have very bright light. That's why they are so pale and have large eyes similar to the critters here that evolved in caves, with no light at all, and have no skin pigment. And maybe being bald is a low light thing too, since hair or clothing protects from sunburn. Maybe artificial light in space ships does it, like prison pallor.

I think I recall from a video that the worker-bee ones sleep floating in a jell-filled tank. The jell contains nutrients which they absorb thru their skin. Very efficient, to sleep & eat at the same time, and reducing down-time. And I think there are different types. Some apparently do eat. I read that J-Rod liked strawberry ice cream. They have different talents and skills, and characters. Some are biological androids.

[Tutmosis]

I've heard a theory that greys are a hybrid race that lost the ability to procreate. Therefore they abduct us and try to create beings through our biology.

I also heard another thing that greys haven't been able to come to earth, due to a disease that occurs when they are inside out atmosphere.

[Tutmosis]

*haven't been able to come to earth lately

[SpiritTalker]

Imagine a head cold with a head like theirs. Oye.

[RosieMoonflower]

I ended up watching a documentary on Netflix on Stan Romanek who has documented his experiences with ufo's and abductions and even caught an alien peeking through his window on camera. Some say the film is a hoax and I cannot speak to that, but I once saw a grey alien in my bathroom and the it looked exactly like the one caught on his camera. Exactly. Needless to say it creeped me out and I closed that bathroom door.

Rosie

[Kassandra]

Or is it just because its creepy and deep deep in uncanny valley territory? AKA: Looks human but is just off enough that our brains get freaked out

Hahhahahahahaha



.

[jaybirdblue]

Eheheheh glad you liked my phrasing.
Anywho, I did a little research on the whole "creepy" factor and its actually super interesting. It has something to do with ambiguity and our brains inability to tell if something is familiar or a threat. Could apply to greys?
Heres a really good video explaining "creepyness" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEikGKDVsCc&ytbChannel=Vsauce

I think where they come from must not have very bright light. That's why they are so pale and have large eyes similar to the critters here that evolved in caves, with no light at all, and have no skin pigment or eyes. And maybe being bald is a low light thing too, since hair or clothing protects from sunburn. Maybe artificial light in space ships does it, like prison pallor.

I absolutely LOVE talking about alien evolution. Its so varied and cool to speculate about. And there's another question of why so many aliens appear humanoid. Aka: Standing on two legs, two eyes, with at least one pair of limbs. Is it just that people are imagining things that look familiar to them? Or is it convergent evolution of some kind? Convergent evolution meaning, something in their environment made their evolutionary paths very similar to ours.

I've heard a theory that greys are a hybrid race that lost the ability to procreate. Therefore they abduct us and try to create beings through our biology.

Well...that would definitely explain why they look like us

[SnowCat]

I have a gray cat that looks like a gray when he's alarmed. He gets all bug eyed.

Snow

[planewalker]

If it won't bore people I'll run out the anatomy. Organisms are most easily arranged with bi-lateral symmetry, two sides. The zygotic embryo splits 2,4,8,16 etc. An organism needs locomotion. easiest at two for a sentient being {less to worry about because it's driven by instinct and thought} but four is more stable. Two legged entities will probably have evolved from a four legged organism. A sentient being needs a means of manipulating objects in the environment. Two of it's legs are the easiest place to find parts of the body to modify for that purpose.

Eyes will probably be front facing with stero-scopic vision to aid in hunting. The entity will have come from preditory stock,{grazers don't have much trouble hunting vegitation} as they have the need to develop there intelligence to catch prey. Their greater intelligence will combine with the eyesight to make a loop of intelligence increaseing as things and society become more complex.

Having hearing and smell are nice for catching dinner and mating. Touch goes without saying. In the fewest number of steps you've got a sentient organism with four appendages arranged with bilateral symetry and stero-scopic vision. It's most efficient to have the major sense organs closely grouped with the brain causing encephilization. Gotta stick a head on the body to drive it.

[jaybirdblue]

Oh Im not bored by that at aaaaalllll! Thanks for the great description!

That makes sense for earth like planets, especially if we are still talking about greys, but I don't think its the whole picture. Whos to say they necessarily have an enviroment like ours? Not to mention there are other highly intelligent (though not capable of the same things as humans) non humanoid creatures on the planet. Octopuses, purposes, crows, and elephants are a couple I can think of. I remember someone suggesting that orcas actually have cultures and different languages that each pod uses. Whether there's anything backing up that idea, I dont know, but its an interesting thought if its true. Granted, none of them have exactly taken over the world like humans have, but they are capable of a lot of cognitive processes similar to humans. Whos to say that if us humans got out of the way, they wouldnt evolve to take our place? Its suuuuuper unlikely, but its cool to think about.

My point is, intelligence doesn't come in just human shape. Though I do agree that it comes up more often in carnivorous/omnivorous animals.

That and its possible, even likely, that alien life wouldn't evolve embryos similar to earth animals. Maybe they would have a totally different form of cellular division and life. Maybe they arent even carbon or water based like us. I remember watching this excellent psudo-doccumentarary about a speculative alien planet where animals evolved to use sonar rather than eyes.
Theres a lot of different angles to this that could make some really cool non humanoid beings.

But if life could only be found on planets with earth like atmospheres and environments, yea, its very likely that it would take on a really similar path to get a sentient life form. So Ill give you that. If the niches that aliens would live in are similar enough to ours, then its very likely they would find similar evolutionary solutions to those environments.