Characters and All That

We had an interesting experience yesterday, that gave me one of those deja vu-ish moments. Chase bank on Rt. 58 (Best Buy shopping center) was having their grand opening, and I had one of those coupons that came in the mail, offering a nice bonus for opening a new account. So, Little Sir and I traipsed off, coupon in hand, to do our banking business, and see what the "grand" opening had to offer.

The young "personal banker" I was directed to, Heather, was very sweet and intelligent and managed my various money issues efficiently. Meanwhile, several layers of "manager" came over into the little booth where her desk was to introduce themselves and shake hands. Little Sir was inundated with balloons (both the regular helium kind and those made into little animal and toy shapes by a clown lady, with minimal make-up and normal hair,) pretzels, hotdogs, juice boxes, cookies, you name it. There was a bouncy house, which was quite a hit. Great free fun.

Everything was fine...until...

enter "Chase", a 6' 5"-ish adult in a blue dog costume, the kind of costume one sees worn by someone standing on the side of the road in front of some business, waving as the cars drive by. Seemingly innocent, non-verbal, waving in a friendly manner, when "Chase the Dog" was brought over to my son, fear instantly registered on his little face. He tried to be brave, and when the lady who was doing the introductions asked if he'd like to shake "Chase's" paw, he very politely, with quivering lip, said, "No, thank you," turned to me and said, "Can we go home, now?"
I picked him up and he was shaking from head to toe.

And I remembered. DD had similar reactions to clowns when she was little. (Still doesn't like them, actually.) I was instantly transported back to Disney World where I witnessed a surprising melt-down in my normally courageous little girl.

Shortly thereafter, I saw another child freak out when approached by Mickey Mouse.

So, what is it about people in costumes? I explained to Little Sir that it was really just a person in a costume, just like when he puts on his Spiderman costume, or his Eeyore. Do these costumes instantly give him the ability to swing from skyscraper to skyscraper by webs, or make him a literal donkey? No. Logically, he understood, and even asked to be taken back again a little later, to try to approach "Chase" again. We tried again. He still shook. Couldn't do it.

Why do costumes thrill and excite some, and terrify others? I just don't know. What do you think?