Do photos of other species of humans scare you?

Question

'cos they scare the **** out of me, but why is this? Oh and for people who haven't checked, go to the URL below:

http://www.corante.com/loom/archives/hobbit%20head-lo.jpg

I mean, can anyone explain why this is so scary to me? It's not a real photo, yet it just makes me want to scream!

Answer 1

Yes, that picture is scary.

Often things that look almost human, but not quite, look very scary to us.  In animation this is known as the 'uncanny valley'.

An important thing to realise with regards to that picture is  that it is not real.

It is not a photo.  It is an artists conception of something he believes in.   It is produced to conform to his world view.

Human's are all the same species, H. Sapiens.

Answer 2

Humans are a single species.  All humans are capable of breeding with each other and producing fertile offspring.

What you're really asking is "Do photos of humans with physical features different than your own scare you?".  I would answer "no".  We're all 99.8% identical, genetically.

Answer 3

Humans are ALL the same species!

Answer 4

Wow... I think the picture must have been made to be scary.

OK, the second time I was able to look into those eyes for a while. I think the reason is that the grin, although unwantedly, shows several manifestations of anger, as we would perceive it today.

And if you open it accidentally fullscreen, as I did, it is roughly life size and seems very close.

The third look is almost no problem, I begin comparing the face in mind with people I usually see.

Conclusion: it's mainly the bit different face structure, but a great role is played by the black background, disordered hair and widely open and a bit bloodshot eyes what makes the picture scary.