Freud's Version Of The Uncanny

Uncanny refers to events or things that cause fear, terrifying and involves supernatural powers. It is something beyond the ordinary and uncomfortably strange. Freud's version of the uncanny is derived from the German words "Unheimliche", contrary to "heimlisch" which means "homely" in the cozy-intimate sense of the word. Unheimliche, means "uncanny" describes something threatening and unknown that is within the environment of a person. Freud holds that the uncanny is a type of horror, anxiety or fear which resurfaces to that which is long familiar to as or one which we have censored at the back of our minds but it still resurfaces or reintroduced. The uncanny therefore, is something new that lies in something already known to people (Masschelein, 2011). But the uncanny according to Freud is not basically something unheard of that capturers our consciousness. Freud argues that the concept of Heimlich, "homely", is associated with something which is well-known and comfortable in one aspect and concealed and kept secret on the other. The home, for Freud, is a type of undisclosed place, and in reference to un-homely, the uncanny, is that which should have been
According to him, serial killing is an example of the uncanny. Most of these killers must have been abused during their childhood. When continuously exposed to hostility and violence they may seem violent later on in life since they grow up with their hearts full of hatred. This can take away their self-consciousness of killing people. Or, when they become adults, they may want to payback or revenge by murdering the abuser. They may not be in a position to kill the abuser especially where the abuser is dead already, so they look for those who look like to the abuser in terms of physical resemblance. Killing once is not satisfactory to them, so they do it repeatedly (Biagi-Chai et al,