Photo: TikTok
One little girl shows us that fear is learned, and she has none of it!
By Hawthorn Martin — Written on Mar 27, 2023
When most of us think of scary costumes and horror performances, the last people we expect to enjoy those things are kids. Won’t they be more easily frightened? Scarred for life, even?
But not everyone reacts to a scary face in the same way. To one little girl, the scary face wasn’t scary at all. It was the face of a soon-to-be friend.
Here’s how one unfazed toddler befriended the 'Spiritwalker' performance creature.
The innovative costume builder, engineer, and street performer, Brandon Johnson, has spent years artistically developing and performing as a creature he calls “Spiritwalker.”
Although his work is referred to by one name, there are many different costumes and designs he has explored over the years. One makes use of a plastic face mask with antlers and brown fur, while another has a more reptilian appearance with large toothy jaws and gray skin.
The costumes are pieced together with items Johnson retrieves from thrift and craft stores, as well as trash if he can make it work. He creates most of the rigging by hand and dons the costumes himself to perform for strangers.
According to him, the act is all about creating experiences for people and inspiring them to create and design on their own. “It’s never meant to be terrifying,” he told 60 Second Docs. “The Spiritwalker personality is curious, cute, [and] fun. It’s an old soul, but it’s in a new land.”
Although he intends for the costumes to inspire individuals, they still have an intimidating presence. By walking on all fours with stilts, Johnson is able to recreate the movements of a giant creature that looks, unlike anything most people have come across in real life.
The usual reactions range from laughter to screaming and running away.
Occasionally, however, the Spiritwalker creature will meet someone who responds to it very differently.
Evona, a sweet girl who just barely turned two had a chance encounter with one of the Spiritwalker costumes out on the street, and instead of turning and running, she faced her uncertainty and took a sweeter path: trying to befriend it.
Despite the Spiritwalker’s size, toothy appearance, and jerky movements, little Evona waved in delight at the creature until it bent down to say hi to her on her level. Faced with the fearsome costume up close, she hesitated only a little bit before reaching out to pet its head, unafraid.
Johnson was utterly charmed by the interaction and posted it to all of his social media accounts, where the interaction quickly went viral. Over 50 million people across platforms viewed the video, and the hype grew until Johnson knew he wanted to reconnect the child with the experience.
The performer was able to get into contact with Evona’s mom, Eboni, who was more than happy to reconnect the two after such a heartwarming experience.
Then, Johnson surprised Evona by appearing in costume at a restaurant the family was eating at to say hello and give her one of his custom plushies. He told Tik Tok that she was the first person to receive one of the custom stuffed animals in person because of how much their sweet interaction had moved him.
Evona was beyond delighted to see the performer again. Where at first there had been some hesitation before, there was now nothing but joy as she ran up to the menacing creature. “It’s the dinosaur!” She exclaimed. “Hi, dinosaur!”
Johnson then used the Spiritwalker to deliver the plushie to her, handing it over straight from its jaws. Once Evona realized what it was, she squealed with joy and hugged it tightly.
The little girl then got to spend the rest of her time at the restaurant playing with the performer, running in between the tall, spooky legs, playing pretend, and pushing a ball back and forth with the Spiritwalker.
At the end of the video, she even hugged the creature’s leg, overcome with delight.
Evona’s pure joy is contagious and touched the hearts of many, with some making the claim that the wholesome interaction proves hatred and fear are learned behaviors. Kids are often receptive to connecting with people or things that look different or would otherwise scare people because they haven’t learned to treat others with scorn or fear yet.
If a giant, menacing, toothy black creature on the street seems friendly and treats her kindly, then what is there for her to fear? Her example of fearlessness and connection in the face of difference is a beautiful lesson to all of us and has certainly made her mom proud. It seems like the kids are alright after all.
Hawthorn Martin is a news and entertainment writer living in Texas. They focus on social justice, pop culture, and human interest stories.