I'm a 35 year old father of a ten year old daughter… and I STILL HATE the "Yip-Yips" or aliens from SESAME STREET.
As a kid in the 1970s I'd tear out of the room screaming when they came on, it was that bad. I never understood why they messed with me so badly until a few years ago: Their eyes, almost disembodied unlike just about every other Muppet creation, resemble those of predators as they attack: wide open, large pupils, focused directly on you.
I realized this while looking at a photo of an owl in a magazine and couldn't figure out why the photo was making me uneasy… I like owls… and then it hit me.
Nowadays they're a lot less spooky; they sing, hang out with other Muppets, even have a baby alien all their own. But I still find a reason to leave the room…
I haven't seen these guys in years! I remember thinking they were adorable. It's funny how one man's terror is another man's warm and fuzzy!
Sorry to hear about your trauma with these guys, Volare. For me, the Yip-Yips are one of those things that can always bring a smile to my face. In fact, that clip is a go-to for me whenever I need a pick-me-up.
For me, I think the creepiness was the eerie music and soundeffects that played when they would first come on screen. Still gives me the jibblies.
I hate those things too! I'm terrified of them, but I'm not a fan.
^I meant to say NOT terrified of them.
Those Yip-Yips so freaked me out as a child that I could not bear to listen to a phone ringing off the hook for most of my childhood and well into my *snort* adulthood. Even now, a phone that rings itself sick is enough to make me want to jump out of my skin, not because it's annoying as all hell, but because of those damn Yip-Yips!