Are You Creepy?

 Let’s face it, some people are just creepy. You can’t quite put your finger on why that guy is giving you the heebie jeebies, but you know he is. Enter researchers at Knox College, who surveyed 1,341 people to try to nail down the concept of creepiness. They decided to study the concept when he realized everyone uses the word — but nobody knew quite what it meant.

They asked people to rate different behaviors on a creepy scale of 1 to 5. Some things we consider creepy are clearly pretty skeezy — like wanting to talk about sex too much, for example. But some are just physical traits we may not be able to control. That “creepy” feeling is an emotional reaction when it’s unclear whether something or someone poses a threat. It is unpleasant and it registers somewhere between disgust and fear.

 What makes someone creepy?