Science Fiction Scarring Youngsters For Life?
by M. Claus of The Fanfic-News
New York, New York- Have you ever had an irrational fear? Maybe it was of the monster in your closet, the scaly green demon under your bed, or the ghost in your attic. Recently, children who are generally between the ages of eight and twelve, have a new fear- aliens in morph.
K.A. Applegate, author of the best-selling children's science fiction series Animorphs, is apparently the cause of this. Preteens are becoming afraid of animals of all sizes, especially bugs, claiming that they are 'Visser Three/One' or 'David' in 'morph'. In the Animorphs book series, Andalites are fictitious aliens, responsible for giving six human teenagers the power to 'morph,' or shape-shift into any animal whose DNA they 'acquire,' or absorb into their bloodstream. They are given this power to fight the nemesis alien species, the 'Yeerks.' The teenagers, or 'Animorphs' as they call themselves, also receive a device that gives the power to morph to whomever or whatever touches it. About two-fifths of the ways through the series, the Animorphs are forced to bestow the morphing power upon an unfortunate young man, whose parents are lost to the Yeerks. He quickly turns against them, and they are forced to trick him into becoming a 'nothlit,' a person trapped in morph. However, there is always the chance that the evil Crayak, a figure similar in nature to the devil or Ahriman of the ancient Persian religion, will return David to his human form and give him the morphing power.
Then, of course, there is Visser Three, later promoted to Visser One, who is a Yeerk leader with the power to morph. Those young children never know if that little gnat flying around the bathroom is Visser Three/One, spying on them in bug morph.
Because of this, Applegate has been receiving hordes of angry letters from concerned parents in recent months. Parents are concerned for the mental health, not to mention hygiene, of their youngsters. One letter that Applegate received reads,
"Dear Ms. Applegate,
I am the mother of an impressionable, easily scared ten-year-old boy who is an avid reader of your book series Animorphs and of science fiction in general. He now refuses to take a bath or shower unless our two dogs are out of the bathroom, all the windows and doors are shut, and it has been meticulously checked for bugs- three times! Not only that, but he refuses to associate with anyone by the first name of David or the last name of Chapman. If he must be in a so named person's company, he has adverse reactions ranging from trembling to quaking, suspicious to fearful glances, etc. He refuses to join our community center, saying that they are a Yeerk front organization similar to 'The Sharing.'
…Could you please issue a statement stating that all events in this book
series are completely and totally fictitious? …Although I have tried to reassure my son of this several times, he doesn't believe me. I am sure that he would believe a statement issued directly from the author.
Sincerely,
Mrs. X"
Many other letters like that were received. According to Scholastic, Applegate is expected to make a statement on Nickelodeon, which hosted an Animorphs TV show for a few seasons, sometime next week.
by M. Claus of The Fanfic-News
New York, New York- Have you ever had an irrational fear? Maybe it was of the monster in your closet, the scaly green demon under your bed, or the ghost in your attic. Recently, children who are generally between the ages of eight and twelve, have a new fear- aliens in morph.
K.A. Applegate, author of the best-selling children's science fiction series Animorphs, is apparently the cause of this. Preteens are becoming afraid of animals of all sizes, especially bugs, claiming that they are 'Visser Three/One' or 'David' in 'morph'. In the Animorphs book series, Andalites are fictitious aliens, responsible for giving six human teenagers the power to 'morph,' or shape-shift into any animal whose DNA they 'acquire,' or absorb into their bloodstream. They are given this power to fight the nemesis alien species, the 'Yeerks.' The teenagers, or 'Animorphs' as they call themselves, also receive a device that gives the power to morph to whomever or whatever touches it. About two-fifths of the ways through the series, the Animorphs are forced to bestow the morphing power upon an unfortunate young man, whose parents are lost to the Yeerks. He quickly turns against them, and they are forced to trick him into becoming a 'nothlit,' a person trapped in morph. However, there is always the chance that the evil Crayak, a figure similar in nature to the devil or Ahriman of the ancient Persian religion, will return David to his human form and give him the morphing power.
Then, of course, there is Visser Three, later promoted to Visser One, who is a Yeerk leader with the power to morph. Those young children never know if that little gnat flying around the bathroom is Visser Three/One, spying on them in bug morph.
Because of this, Applegate has been receiving hordes of angry letters from concerned parents in recent months. Parents are concerned for the mental health, not to mention hygiene, of their youngsters. One letter that Applegate received reads,
"Dear Ms. Applegate,
I am the mother of an impressionable, easily scared ten-year-old boy who is an avid reader of your book series Animorphs and of science fiction in general. He now refuses to take a bath or shower unless our two dogs are out of the bathroom, all the windows and doors are shut, and it has been meticulously checked for bugs- three times! Not only that, but he refuses to associate with anyone by the first name of David or the last name of Chapman. If he must be in a so named person's company, he has adverse reactions ranging from trembling to quaking, suspicious to fearful glances, etc. He refuses to join our community center, saying that they are a Yeerk front organization similar to 'The Sharing.'
…Could you please issue a statement stating that all events in this book
series are completely and totally fictitious? …Although I have tried to reassure my son of this several times, he doesn't believe me. I am sure that he would believe a statement issued directly from the author.
Sincerely,
Mrs. X"
Many other letters like that were received. According to Scholastic, Applegate is expected to make a statement on Nickelodeon, which hosted an Animorphs TV show for a few seasons, sometime next week.
