Why do shaker cans work so well

[UnDeRTaKer313]

why do shaker cans work as well as they do.
i made some loud ones up last minute and i would go through cue line and other parts of haunt and would never say a word just shake the can and position so they could see that i was an actor in crazy makeup and costume.
i tried the same thing only by coming out and screaming at them and it didnt work half as well.
i have no idea why shaker cans scared people so much it was almost too easy lol.
i had firemen and cops falling to ground.
i parked a truck so that as people were leaving they had to walk along side it and i ran and jumped out of bed of the truck wile rattling shaker can and then chased them to there cars and they were hauling to get out of there.

i had a theory maybe someone else has another explaination.
"People are afraid of stuff they dont recognize, like unfamiliar enviroments so forth. people are so used to screams its almost second nature. A shaker can has such a weird sound people dont know what it is and they get scared it might be worse than it really is" if you think this is true how could we expand on this concept and do it on a grander scale.

[Haunting Copy]

Hmm. Maybe the type of noise they make?

A scream is a suspended sound that only bangs against your ears once. The sound from a shaker can pounds again and again, jolting the nerves over and over in quick succession.

Hell, I don't know.

Sarah

[UnDeRTaKer313]

lol idk but it sure is strang how well it worked.
Really great

[BrainDonor13]

Sarah pretty much nailed it. Sudden loud repetitive sound barraging us is more feared than a shriek or scream once.

[Jim Warfield]

Our brains really do work very quickly when hyped up from fear and anticipation.
All senses alert.
What was that!? Brain identifys a human scream, sends message to the logic /control area of the brain, "Some idiot just screamed into my face/ ears."
Potential expansion of alert and fear caused by the "Unknown" is cancelled.
It's not the unknown, it's "some idiot screaming!"
Sight and sound work together in over-time mode in threat identification.
Take away the sound, just leave an object coming in for possible attack and the mind faulters for an extra moment or two, ellicting fear.
Remove the visual part, just have sounds that hover near the threshold of hearing and once again the mind has to work overtime to determine whether or nor to tell the brain to duck and run or stand your ground.
Remove all light , leaving the eyes useless and feed sounds and possibly slight touch sensations, real or imagined , in this darkness and the imagination fills in those blanks, which is why it is hard to scare people who either have no imagination or their imagination has not yet been engaged.
Engaging the imagination requires effort and time with some people.
The preceeding theorys explain how I have scared people using items that are incredibly inexpensive and mundane. I am giving the customer unusual visions or sounds in unexpected situations. You do have to set up the customer somewhat though.

[brad]

Hmm. Maybe the type of noise they make?

A scream is a suspended sound that only bangs against your ears once. The sound from a shaker can pounds again and again, jolting the nerves over and over in quick succession.

Hell, I don't know.

Sarah

Sarah, if you were just BS-ing there, it sounded pretty good to me!

[robert]

Perhaps more study should be given this in order to find more sounds that work like the shaker cans. Could this same phenomenon be part of why chainsaws work so well????????

[Jim Warfield]

My Grandfather's "Shaker Can", circa 1890s, was a very small glass bottle, small enough to hide in the palm of your hand, containing a rattlesnake's rattle.
Shake this behind your friends and it demanded their attention!
Maybe man's dread of snakes ties in with the shaker can type of sounds?
We had a few of Grandfather's "Snaker-Cans", and even then being 50 year old dried rattlesnake rattles they still worked!