Date: April 22, 2025
Author: Claire Thompson
I know this sounds weird, and I’m fully aware of how strange it is to be scared of a kids’ show, but to this day, I am absolutely terrified of Shaun the Sheep. It’s not just the show itself, either—it’s the whole universe around it. The character designs, the atmosphere, the way everything moves… it all unsettles me in ways I can’t quite explain.
I’ll never forget the first time I saw it. I was probably about five or six, home alone on a late afternoon. The sun had just dipped behind the horizon, and it was getting dark outside. You know how when you’re a kid, everything feels a bit more ominous at night? The shadows seem deeper, and the world outside feels like it’s holding its breath. That was the vibe I had when I first watched Shaun the Sheep. It wasn’t just a show about a cute little sheep and his farmyard friends—it was a world that didn’t make sense to me, and not in the whimsical way it was supposed to.
From the very first episode, something about the way the characters moved freaked me out. Their odd, exaggerated faces and jerky movements seemed wrong, like they were puppets being controlled by strings I couldn’t see. But what really got under my skin was Shaun himself. I can’t explain why, but his wide, unblinking eyes felt like they were staring right into my soul, like they knew things I wasn’t meant to know. I remember feeling so uncomfortable that I had to turn the TV off and hide in my room, even though I wasn’t scared of much else at that age.
That night, I had nightmares. They weren’t even about Shaun or the other characters specifically, but more about the whole world that show created. The farm was dark and claustrophobic, the characters unnervingly lifelike in a way that made them feel wrong. My dreams blurred the line between what was real and what was on screen, and I woke up terrified. I couldn’t shake the feeling that something about that show was lurking in the shadows, waiting to come to life.
The funny thing is, it wasn’t just Shaun the Sheep that did this to me—it was Wallace and Gromit too. I know, it sounds ridiculous, right? It’s a beloved stop-motion animation series, with goofy characters and charming humor. But to me, Wallace and Gromit are hands down some of the most unsettling things I’ve ever watched. The whole stop-motion aesthetic—especially the faces and the lifelike movements—hits me in a weird, deep way that triggers some kind of primal discomfort. It’s almost like the characters exist in a parallel universe where something’s slightly wrong, but you can’t put your finger on it.
Even as an adult, the thought of those clay figures and their exaggerated facial expressions gives me a little chill. It’s not that I think they’re evil or dangerous—far from it. It’s just that they evoke a sense of unease, the kind you get when something isn’t quite right, but you can’t explain why. Watching Wallace and Gromit as an adult doesn’t make it any better either. It’s still the same weird sensation of “this is not normal.”
I’ve never really told anyone this because, well, it’s one of those fears you’re supposed to outgrow, right? But I haven’t. I can’t watch anything from that world—whether it’s Shaun the Sheep, Wallace and Gromit, or any of the other claymation shows—without feeling that deep sense of discomfort, like I’m being pulled into a strange, unsettling world that doesn’t quite belong in this one.
I know it’s not logical. I know it’s just a show made for kids, full of lighthearted humor and charm. But for me, Shaun the Sheep and its stop-motion counterparts will always be a little too weird, a little too unsettling. And no matter how old I get, I’ll probably never be able to shake the feeling that those eyes, those jerky movements, and that strange, clay world are somehow hiding something that I’m just not ready to understand.
