Many thanks erh.germany! :D I appreciate your kind remarks on my drawings, and your comments gave me a lot to think about! To answer your question: I think a world without horror and creepiness would be a sad, drab world with mostly beige, bland art, if it had any art at all. Everything we perceive relies on contrast and opposition and relativity.

To give free rein to the imagination and to use the symbolism of dark matter is always something rich from which we can draw. It shows us that in moments of deep despair, doubt and rage everyone finds their own shadow within them. What can be found on paper or in thoughts is inevitably an expression of what we find in the world also lives within us.

In so far as we deny this or merely project it onto others, we forget that the dark side within us is merely a kind of disturbance that disturbs us because we have not yet taken a close look at it and reintegrated it in such a way that it finds acceptance.

This especially fascinates me . I think fear is a reflexive emotion, triggered by the perception of danger or risk, while horror is fear but with an added element of personal judgement. When somebody is afraid of something, they're worried it might harm them. But when they're horrified, the thing in question doesn't just frighten them. It also offends them.

When I was a kid I saw nothing horrific whatsoever in these McDonald's mascots. Now I consider them nightmare fuel. Exact same characters, noticeably different perception. Clearly this says as much about me as it does about the mascots. :) It's something I intend to give some further thought to.

Finally: I commend you for teaching your son to eat healthy! I'm sure those principles will serve him well all his life! Apart from taking us to eat at restaurants once in a while, my parents made sure my sibilings and I had a healthy diet. When I got old enough to pay for my own meals, I basically lived on junk food for a few years. Then I reverted back to more healthy eating habits . :) For all I've ranted here about McDonalds, I don't think the occasional visit does anyone much harm. I just feel bad for kids whose parents only serve them fast food. McDonald's knows their product is unhealthy and yet they spend billions marketing it directly to children. In his way, Ronald McDonald has a lot in common with Joe Camel.