• “How would you define the uncanny?”

• “Did you have any childhood fears?”

• “Do you have any current fears?”.

  
  

  To give me an understanding of what the person thinks to be uncanny, and what their fears are.

  
  

  
  

• “Something familiar yet strange; something that is abject, or normally unseen or unrepresented, that you still recognize as belonging to the world; a warping of the normal state of how something is represented.”

• “Something so close to realistic/natural that’s it gives you a weird feeling because you know it’s not."

• "The uncanny to me feels like something very slight is off about a situation or memory. It is not always frighting, but it can just be off enough that it can take up space in my brain. I would say an example would be replacing every object I own with an exact copy of each object would be very uncanny, and disturbing and strange."

• "Parents leaving me, teeth falling out, the dark."

• "Spiders, the dark, centipedes, clowns"

• "When I was younger I don't remember being frightened by to many things, but I think I really disliked clowns and mall Santa's when I was very young"

• "abandonment and living my life inauthentically"

• "Losing my rights, war, people leaving me"

• "Being inadequate. Imposter syndrome. Also parasites: beings that attach themselves to others and feed off of them."

In Section 3, the participants were asked to describe the images.

Some participant descriptions:

• "Looks like a photo manipulation, so it doesn't really register as uncanny."

• "This makes me feel empty because it reminds me of childhood three words; headless missing grasping"

• "This image reminds me of early surrealism body photography which I quite enjoy. 1. Moody 2. Intentional 3.Distortion"

Some participant descriptions:

• "Super weird image, makes me a little uncomfortable because I am wondering what is occuring."

• "This is more uncanny because it looks abject and I can't tell what the figure is covered in."

• "Uncomfortably, there are no identifiable objects in this image. There could potentially be the suggestion of raw meat or spread viscera, so I see how it could make people uncomfortable. Personally, I am unmoved by this image because its likely AI generated and I don’t think AI generated images ever deserve much critical analysis."

Some Participant Descriptions:

• "This image is very overwhelming visually. It reminds me of when I have anxiety episodes in a big box store and the fluorescent lights mix together and I can never find my groceries. 1. Overstimulating 2.Bright 3. Never-ending"

• "Looks odd because no store is ever that full of goods"

• "Normal image. Don't feel anything really."

Some Participant Descriptions:

• "I see twins on opposite ends of the spectrum. One is smiling to the camera, one has a neutral expression. 1. Double 2. Off-center 3. Youth"

• "Black and white, feels very ominous and the two girls feel like they are from a horror movie"

• "The doubling in this image makes it seem more uncanny."

Some Participant Descriptions:

• "The image feels like an unknown place, with familiar themes, the warm lighting is welcoming but also the darks hides multiple aspects of the place. 1.Unknown 2. Lingering 3. Surprise"

• "This gives me a heightened sense of anxiety because someone or something can come out at the other end of the hallway"

• "unsettling because I fear that something or someone is going to jump out. The setting is so plain that my brain wants to be calm, but my intuition is sounding alarm bells."

Some Participant Descriptions:

• "This seems to be a clown performing for some sort of event, I appreciate his somewhat pointy hat. 1. Unknown 2. Performance 3. Colorful"

• "1980s clown in the UK at some type of autumnal harvest festival. I'd avoid it because I don't absolutely understand clown culture...and I wouldn't genuinely want to interact with a stranger dressed like a clown, but doesn't make me feel like that person will kidnap me and try to make a skin-suit from my body."

• "Just a clown, no feeling."

Some Participant Descriptions:

• "From what I can tell this seems to be an image of a spider in a web. 1. Creepy 2. Crawly 3. Predator"

• "I also love spiders. Beautiful web. I even feel that this image is evocative of satellite photography of star formations and galaxies. Love this picture!!!"

• "Spider web, it's cool, no feeling."

Some Participant Descriptions:

• "This seems to be an image of an unknown forest, with the viewer looking towards the horizon line, as if they were lying on the ground. 1. Lost 2. Surreal 3. Deep"

• "Just outdoors, no feeling."

• "Just looks like a nature shot, aesthetically pleasing to some"

Some Participant Descriptions:

• "This images color helps to modify the interpretation. There seems to be a woman staring off into the seascape. It reminds of the novel the Scarlett Letter a little. 1. Lonely 2. Dreary 3. Alone"

• "This image gives a sense of hopelessness the big ocean engulfing you seems scary"

• "Post-partum depression by the sea."

Some Participant Descriptions:

• "These images of ghost portraitures always made me feel sad for the patron, but I am sure that they felt a sense of relief seeing their loved one in the corner watching them on. 1. Whimsical 2. Supernatural 3. Intentional"

• "This spirit photograph seems designed to evoke the uncanny, but because I know the history of this kind of image, it doesn't register as uncanny."

• "sp000oooookkyyyyyy - i think 100 years ago this would be super creepy! But the ghost image is a bit unsettling."

Some Participant Descriptions:

• "This image definitely has a different vibe compared to the last one. I am not sure, but it feels like this might be postmortem photography, and if that's the case then this feels quite sad. 1.Unsettling 2. Blue 3. Separate"

• "This is more uncanny because I don't know the purpose of this photograph and the people grouped here."

• "I have a lot of questions. And the person who isnt looking at the camera is what makes this unsettling to me. As if he/they aren't there, or the group of people is not actually there? IDK."

Some Participant Descriptions:

• "The image has a wonderful sense of movement, it feels like time is passing for everyone else except this man. 1. Motion 2. Contemplative 3. Stagnant"

• "The juxtaposition between the still figure and the moving ones gives this a sense of the uncanny."

• "Interesting how one person isn't blurred. Feels a little off, I guess."

Some Participant Descriptions:

• "I am not sure what is going on in this image, but it appears to be a shining puddle, I have seen oil/gasoline have that same sort of shimmer. 1. Shining 2. Rough 3. Transcendent"

• "This bothers me because I can't tell what it is. It looks like an eye with barnacles attached."

• "I have no idea whats going on here. Oil spill on dirt? Reminds me of trypophobia pictures I’ve seen online"

Some Participant Descriptions:

• " love the use of overlap and movement in this photograph. The morphing of the faces makes this very dynamic. 1. Morphing 2. Transformative 3. Untangled"

• "This is unsettling. I keep seeing different compositions within the image, the layered effect keeps me looking, but also the person's emotions look forlorn, disconnected, disgusted...a lot of conflicting things. there are also a lot of dark spaces that are hair or body opening...so then the nose and mouth (in my mind) are filled with hair. And to be fair, the nose is filled iwth hair, but my brain is just trying to figure out what is what."

• "This composite image is disturbing."

Some Participant Descriptions:

• "This image is one of my favorites, the utilization of objects to portray human experience is so interesting to me. The bowing pears give off a somber, yet humorous feeling. 1. Humorous 2. Intense 3. Thoughtful"

• "I enjoy this image and find it funny because it's absurd. Not uncanny to me at all."

• "This is more humorous than uncanny."

• Common themes in definitions include:

  • "Something familiar but slightly off" (e.g., "something that looks human but isn’t quite right").

  • "Unsettling, eerie, or unnatural" (e.g., "unsettling in a silly way").

  • "Distorted reality or objects that mimic life" (e.g., "so close to realistic/natural that it's disturbing").

• Participants with childhood fears of clowns tended to rate clown-related images as highly uncanny.

• Those afraid of spiders often described web-related images as eerie.

• Participants with fears of abandonment or loneliness found isolated or ghostly figures in images to be especially unsettling.

• Fears of death and societal instability influenced reactions to images with dark, existential, or distorted themes.

Each image was rated on a scale from 1 (not uncanny) to 10 (very uncanny):

• High uncanny ratings (7-10):

  • Images with distorted faces or unnatural human-like features.

  • Blurry/motion-captured figures that obscure identity.

  • Scenes that suggest isolation or ghostly presence.

  • Overlaid or double-exposed imagery that creates a sense of unease.

• Low uncanny ratings (1-3):

  • Nature scenes and landscapes were mostly rated as not uncanny.

  • Standard portraits or well-lit everyday images felt neutral or comforting.

  • Objects without human-like qualities (e.g., a spider web) were often not perceived as uncanny unless the participant had a fear of them.

• Images of clowns had mixed reactions. Some found them unsettling due to childhood fears, while others felt neutral.

• Ocean-related images were perceived as both peaceful and ominous, depending on the respondent.

• Distorted or fragmented human faces were almost universally regarded as uncanny.

• Blurry/motion-captured people suggested unease, loss of control, or anxiety.

• Historical/ghostly images elicited feelings of mystery and fear.

• Everyday images with subtle alterations (e.g., odd reflections, unusual color distortions) were rated as uncanny by some but not all.

I enjoyed shooting this project so much and would love to continue similar work.

These composite images using generative fill distort the faces of the people in the images.

These double-exposure images create a ghost-like presence through movement.

I used location and posing to in these staged images to create a sense of isolation, loneliness, and longing.