Uncanny

The word 'uncanny' comes from the German word: 'unheimlich', 'uncanny' is only a rough English translation. It is very difficult to define exactly what these ideas of the 'uncanny' or 'unheimlich' mean.

The Uncanny experience is something that we can encounter ourselves, and when we do experience it, it is a very uneasy, and in the extreme, terrifying situation, which is worsened by the fact the it cannot be explained. The uncanny can be portrayed in literature, thus creating the same sense of discomfort among the reader. The way that an author provokes this can be by 'straddling the line between reality and unreality within the fiction itself' Sigmund Freud, 'The Uncanny', in The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud.

Sigmund Freud also concludes that this terror created by the uncanny is due to the 'collapsing psychic boundaries of self and other, life and death, reality and unreality.'

Uncanny can be defined as either, too strange or unlikely to seem merely natural or human, or, in contrast, unexpectedly accurate or precise. It is frequently described as dream-like visions of doubling and death. These themes are very sensitive and would generate fear and unease within the reader. The 'double' particularly provokes the uncanny. 'The 'double' has become a thing of terror' Sigmund Freud, 'The Uncanny', in The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud.

The uncanny when present in literature is often exaggerated, as there are more ways of creating it in fiction, which can then be increased beyond what would happen in their rarity in real life.

The supernatural qualities in the uncanny is what makes it appear too unlikely to be human or to have happened naturally. This uncanny can also sometimes evoke the sublime, the emotions of both fear and awe in the reader.

The 'uncanny', is a common feature used in Gothic texts, in order to create this sense of awkwardness and uncertainty in the reader. For example, in the 'Outsider' by H.P. Lovecraft, there is a definite dream-like quality, relating to the uncanny. The idea at the beginning, that once the person has reached the top of the castle, he appears to be coming out of the ground doesn't make sense and seems too strange to be true, therefore creating the