Chuck E. Cheese is a Scary Mouse

My Lifelong Battle With the Menacing Mascot

Here in 2011, much of what Sigmund Freud posited during his time has been ruled as foolishness. Indeed, much of his theories were derived with no actual proof to back them. Yet, some of his ideas still hold prevalence, including the ones claiming that traumatic childhood experiences somehow manifest themselves into our personalities as adults. Yes, everyone has those experiences—the ones that are burned into our brains and will torment us until the day that we die. Even then in death, they still might follow us. Who knows?

One such memory for me involves an encounter with a horrifying beast. The creature had massive teeth, intimidating grey fur, and the most menacing smile that you have ever seen. To make matters worse, he had a robotic cloned version of himself that sang in ear-piercing tones. The demon was none other than…Chuck E. Cheese.

I’m not trying to imply that I am the only child that has ever been scared of “The Mouse,” or that I am the only child that had to skip Chuck E. Cheese’s birthday parties because I was too scared to go. I can only imagine how many thousands of children’s birthday parties have been marked by intense sessions of crying and sobbing in reaction to the big giant monster. The animatronic ‘concert’ is certainly no picnic either. Yet, I’m not sure how many kids have had to endure constant ridicule from their family regarding their fear like I have.

Any reader of my articles will know that I have been in Massachusetts for the past month. I was sleeping on a couch, and was awfully excited to return to home where I could sleep in my own bed. As I opened the door to my room, I was greeted with a picture of Mr. Cheese hanging on the wall.

I think that I stopped being afraid of the Chuck E. Cheese mouse when I was four years old. Yet, here I am, eighteen years later, still dealing with the consequences of my toddler trials. Of course, this was no isolated incident. One time at the mall, my father told me to run away from a little girl. “Why?” I asked. She had a picture of my friend Chuck. E Cheese on her shirt.

Every time a commercial for the franchise comes on TV, I brace myself for the barrage of comments that I will receive.

Yes, 18 years later, I still must bear the torch. However, I think that bearing (or mousing) this specific torch has recently had its pros. Girls love hearing about ‘vulnerable’ aspects of your personality that make you seem ‘down to earth.’ Also, as a recent college grad thrown into the “real world” marked by war, bi-partisan failure, and a troubled economy, I long for the days when the Chuck E. Cheese mouse was my biggest enemy and when the most crucial life decision that I had to face was whether to go to Max’s birthday party because it was at Chuck. E. Cheese’s.

I’m not sure which aspects of my personality Freud would attribute to my lifelong connection with Mr. Cheese, or how he would relate my fear to the latent desires that exist throughout my subconscious. Perhaps, he would just call me a pussy. Whatever the case may be, I hope that someone may read this article and be helped. I hope that someone may read this article and say to themselves “I am not alone. Cory, too, was afraid of the Mouse. I am not the only one. I don’t have to be ashamed anymore. Everything is going to be okay. Yeah. Everything is going to be just fine….Yeah…”

photos courtesy of freesamplemama.com, bp.blogspot.com, and lizandaura.com

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