You will have children, and then they will ask: “Mom, why is your foot dirty?” – There are dozens of other similar warnings that a tattooed person hears. Although the older generation considers body art the latest fashion, the tradition of tattoos on the skin has existed since ancient times.
According to studies, 40% of people already have tattoos. According to unofficial data, we can assume that the remaining 60% at least once have thought about getting one or two. But few are interested in what it is – tattoo culture – and what deep meanings it carries. And there is a lot to think about because there is a lot of evidence in history that tattoos are much more than just drawings on the body and can tell a lot more about the body than is commonly thought.
A tattoo can have many meanings, from purely decorative to mystical. Separate in this row is the scary tattoo.
Let’s discuss why a person might like putting a scary tattoo on their body.
Why do people like scary and disgusting things
Why do we tend to poison ourselves with unpleasant pictures? Why do we watch Saw-8 even though something inside us tells us it’s disgusting? Why are parasite banners clickable? Why does a beautician who posts spectacular pimple-removal videos on Instagram have almost 3 million followers? Why is it even possible for someone to put a horrible and scary tattoo on their body? Psychological science offers several versions of what is going on.
1. The disgusting is addictive
Modern man is not easy to be carried away by something: an excess of information stimuli. We slide our eyes over bright pictures without looking closely… Stop! What else is it? From the stream of monotonous kittens, the consciousness snatches a wild Japanese show, where two girls are trying to blow a cockroach into each other’s mouth with a glass tube.
The normal reflex reaction would be to hastily flee from what appears to be an abomination. However, Daniel Kelly, a Purdue University researcher and author of a book on disgust, explains that the state of nausea is a powerful emotional signal.
So sometimes, we just can’t tear our eyes away from ugly things, like a scary tattoo. It is both disgusting and impossible at the same time! Otherwise, it is impossible to explain the ratings of evening “pro-life” talk shows on central channels.
2. Disgusting is better remembered
University of Central Florida professor Bridget Rubenking wondered why people get stuck on the trashiest pieces of video content and even forward them to friends. So she conducted a study with 130 students. The test subjects were shown a variety of shocking scenes and then measured their physiological indicators and analyzed the emotional and cognitive reactions of the experiment participants.
It turned out that the most unpleasant episodes are the hardest to forget – they remain in memory. But, at the same time, the guys let them pass by everything reasonable, good, and eternal flashed in front of the bullshit commercials.
A bloody scene or a scary tattoo becomes the most meaningful message that gets through to your bones, unlike the philosophy lecture your science teacher posted online.
The researcher concluded that today, someone’s guts let loose are not so much repulsive to the viewer as attractive. The evolution of our tired senses – or the media, which is trying with all its might to keep the viewer in a state of engaged attention and excitement – is to blame. At the same time, we are also affected by socially repugnant things: cruelty, injustice, and racism…
3. Or it’s not all so disgusting…
Some researchers stubbornly prove that people are not actually disgusted by the smell of their own gases (yes, scientists sometimes do strange things) because the bacteria that cause the peculiar ombré are unique to each of us. If someone else tries to scent the air on the bus, however, we find it unpleasant: our brains tell us that the stranger is claiming our territory. This, of course, is not the case when we are the author of the gas cloud.
Daniel Kelly mentioned in an interview that a native child’s diaper is not something mothers should turn away from. If dislike of other people’s hygiene products persists, dislike of one’s own child’s diaper does not.
Before we get to the cute baby burps, it turns out that to have sex, we also destroy the ability to feel disgusted. Famous scientist Paul Rosin writes about this. And it’s true! It’s not inherent in any of us to stick our tongue into the beautiful places of another person’s senses. But in the arousal process, significant barriers are removed, and voila, fantasy can fly!
4. Sometimes nasty things have their benefits
We’re not calling for any of this. Of course, it’s just that we recently discovered that putting food extracted from nasal mucosa into our mouths, while uncomfortable, is still good for our health. In the composition of, excuse me, snot, particular bacteria in the oral cavity act most nobly, not allowing other harmful microorganisms from nowhere to destroy the tooth enamel. But how to apply this information in real life lets everyone decide for themselves.
5. Disgusting relieves stress and gives joy
Psychologists, explaining the popularity of scary tattoo designs and videos in which objects are crushed and broken, say that it helps us release internal tension, get rid of aggressive impulses, and generally feel alive. The more stressful a person’s life is, the more difficult situations he has, and the greater the need to get rid of inner tension.
The same happens when watching an acne video: tension is brought to a specific limit, gradually builds up, and then there is a short discharge.
For example, the press is slowly lowered onto an object, especially a soft one, with some content inside and presses not immediately but gradually. And then there is an abrupt explosion. Thus, the tension intensifies and then abruptly subsides. This is experienced as a state of pleasure or satisfaction.
The above findings may help us understand why a person wants a scary tattoo.
Why scary tattoos are popular today
The tattoo should evoke emotions. Interestingly, the expected reaction can be not only admiration and amazement at the beauty, subtlety, and deep meaning of the work but also genuine horror. People who adhere to such a point of view very often order a scary tattoo in the style of horror, some of which are really able to scare others.
It is believed that the genre “horror” emerged in the last years of the century before last. At that time, many literary works described terrible creatures from otherworlds. In addition, Georges Méliès made a film called The Devil’s Castle.
Of course, the title is a bit naive now, and the film itself looks pretty ridiculous, but remember the excitement caused by the same “Arrival of a Train” when many viewers ran out of the hall, believing that the train was about to roll out of the screen right on them. Remember? Now imagine if Satan himself were shown instead of the train. The effect was unbelievable!
Technological advances “moved” forward and the horror genre. However, directors and producers realize that the thirst for fear and adrenaline will always attract the masses of people to cinemas. Therefore every year, horror movies are becoming more realistic, and their main villains – are more terrible, colorful, and memorable. Not surprisingly, people often imbibe such artistry, find it aesthetic and beautiful, and therefore decide to decorate their bodies with a scary tattoo of their favorite frightening character.
How is the horror effect achieved?
A horror tattoo becomes creepy through the use of the following techniques:
- Disgust. The image of realistic blood, severed limbs, and torn flesh through which bones can be seen.
- Real fear. Horror froze on the face of the depicted character.
- Mystique and fear of the unknown.
- Everyone chooses the technique that best suits their personality and unique idea of fear. Based on this, the best sketch is chosen.
Graphic features
Horror does not impose strict style restrictions, but practice shows that the most impressive works are obtained in realism. The more realistic the scary tattoo, the greater its visual effect. The elaborate crazy look of the main character, the blood drops with glare, and the torn flesh look unreal, cool, and very creepy!
The realism puts a particular imprint on the recommended size of the tattoo. Small images are unacceptable, as it is impossible to work out details. Practice shows that the bigger the tattoo, the better it fits the horror style. You should not save space. At a minimum, it should be located on the arm, in the area of the shoulder or forearm. If you want to maximize the visual effect, choose even larger areas of the body, the back or chest, or you can score the whole arm, making a stunning sleeve.
Overall gloomy mood. Yes, some tattoos are only done with black pigment, and this color limitation does not affect realism. The black-and-white gamut can be advised to fans of classic horror movies. However, the more impressive works are made using several shades of pigments, which adds realism and allows you to convey the mood more accurately. A special technique of mixing pigments enables the master to achieve muted shades, which creates a gloomy atmosphere.
The attitude of society to such tattoos is not yet too unequivocal. Yes, in some places, even a simple scary tattoo can cause an ambiguous reaction, not to mention horror, a genre that, for many, seems downright provocative and out of keeping with a person’s image. Of course, we know that such a worldview is dreary, but we warn you that such a tattoo should be done thoughtfully and consciously, taking the probable risks.
By the way, many of our clients even like such a challenge to society. The horror genre is often chosen by self-confident guys who want to add brightness and emotion to the dull gray world. Girls on such a step dare less often, but there are brave young ladies even among them. On a woman’s body, by the way, gorgeous looks image of a nun in the horror genre. A good sketch can be found if you watch a movie with a relevant plot, good thing these servants of God often become the main characters of horror films. One recent example is Curse of the Nun.
Five disgusting and scary tattoo designs
The Joker
The Joker is one of the most mysterious characters in DC Comics. He appeared in the comics in 1940 and was supposed to perish simultaneously, but he didn’t. The character was initially based on both the image of the Joker playing card and the image of actor Adrian Veidt, who played the role of Guinplain, the man with the grin frozen on his face, in The Man Who Laughs in 1928.
In his first appearances, the Joker was a real maniacal schemer, a jack-of-all-trades. His trademark was the poison he invented, after inhaling, which the victims died in fits of laughter, with terrible grins on their faces. But he was far from powerless in hand-to-hand combat as well – in his first encounter with Batman, his kung fu was better than the Dark Knight’s kung fu.
In that issue, the Joker was supposed to die – his creators feared that having frequently returning enemies would make Batman look ineffective. But the editor insisted on the Joker, and he had to become a regular in the comics.
The famous girl from “The Ring.”
No matter how many horror movies I’ve seen, “The Ring” is still the scariest and most frightening. So many things are associated with this movie. There were even a lot of scary stories about it. For example, they say that if you say that girl’s name out loud three times, she will come and kill you at night. So naturally, many kids believed that. Well, really, it’s better to be safe than sorry…
Freddy Krueger
Freddy Krueger is a demon maniac who uses his powers to murder people in their dreams while their victims are asleep. It is there that he is considered virtually invulnerable and omnipotent. He can generate any location and weapons; most importantly, he reinforces himself with fear and people’s souls. If you kill him, he can be reborn again. He can also appear in the real world, but his powers are significantly limited here.
A Nightmare on Elm Street is one of the most influential films in American horror history. Freddy Krueger has outlived nine full-length feature films, 44 episodes of television series, five computer games (including Mortal Kombat), and innumerable comic books. Even those not at all interested in films of this genre may recognize Craven’s character as the most recognizable horror madman the horror genre has ever produced.
Сlown from “It”
It’s probably no secret that the idea for the dancing clown belongs to “King of Horrors” Stephen King.
A clown nicknamed Pennywise (it can be translated as “petty” or “cheapskate”) is just the visible appearance of a monster that originated long before the emergence of the material world. This creature was initially created in that part of the Macroworld called Todesh.
This place alien to all living things is mentioned in the Dark Tower series. It represents a space inhabited by unimaginably horrible creatures. At a certain point, the nothingness from Todesh began to seep into the adjacent worlds through cracks. They were both of natural origin (due to the wear and tear of the barrier between the worlds) and artificial (caused by some experiments, for example, in the story “The Fog”).
In the 2017 film adaptation of “It,” we can see the event that caused this monster to appear in our world. Millions of years ago, an asteroid fell to Earth, the impact of which caused a crack leading to Todesh, where the monster lived. It should be noted that Pennywise the Clown is only one of its visible forms. Another form is the giant spider, and the authentic appearance of the monster is described as “dead lights.” As a rule, people who saw him went crazy.
Dracula
Dracula is one of the most influential and colorful characters in the history of world literature. But, without a doubt, he is an ambiguous character.
Dracula is a classic vampire: on the one hand, he is graceful and thoughtful. But, on the other hand, he is bloodthirsty and constantly anticipating a new victim. Human blood is the source of food and the goal for which he strives with all his being.
Many efforts have been made by writers of different times and peoples to distort the actual image of this man beyond recognition. However, since the beginning of the twentieth century, this image has undergone a more and more monstrous transformation. Eventually, this character has emerged the horrible features of the fabulous Count Dracula – the greatest villain and insatiable bloodsucker, the king of all vampires.
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