Age regression
Encyclopedia
Age Regression in Myths and Mainstream Fiction
Age regression is a popular theme in transformation fictionShapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
involving the physical and/or mental reduction in age. This age regression often occurs via magic
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
, including potion
Potion
A potion is a consumable medicine or poison.In mythology and literature, a potion is usually made by a magician, sorcerer, dragon, fairy or witch and has magical properties. It might be used to heal, bewitch or poison people...
s or the legendary fountain of youth
Fountain of Youth
The Fountain of Youth is a legendary spring that reputedly restores the youth of anyone who drinks of its waters. Tales of such a fountain have been recounted across the world for thousands of years, appearing in writings by Herodotus, the Alexander romance, and the stories of Prester John...
, or from a science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
plot device
Plot device
A plot device is an object or character in a story whose sole purpose is to advance the plot of the story, or alternatively to overcome some difficulty in the plot....
. There are also some characters who are born adults and then age backwards, such as the protagonist of F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, the Mork and Mindy
Mork and Mindy
Mork & Mindy is an American science fiction sitcom broadcast from 1978 until 1982 on ABC. The series starred Robin Williams as Mork, an alien who comes to Earth from the planet Ork in a small, one-man egg-shaped spaceship. Pam Dawber co-starred as Mindy McConnell, his human friend and roommate...
character, Mearth, or Merlin
Merlin
Merlin is a legendary figure best known as the wizard featured in the Arthurian legend. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written c. 1136, and is based on an amalgamation of previous historical and legendary figures...
in T.H. White's The Once and Future King
The Once and Future King
The Once and Future King is an Arthurian fantasy novel written by T. H. White. It was first published in 1958 and is mostly a composite of earlier works written in a period between 1938 and 1941....
.
Age regression in many children's series allows for the children to 'take care' of the regressed parents. The children prevent them from doing behaviour that the children themselves were engaged that the parent was scolding the child for, e.g. making messes, doing dangerous things etc. The lesson is the realization that the parents' rules are for the good of the children. Other times the parent was overly harsh or inattentive towards their children, and by being regressed, seeing what childhood is like, and then returned to adulthood, they learn their lesson.
As a kind of offshoot to the age regression genre, many body swap
Body swap
A body swap is a storytelling device seen in a variety of fiction, most often in television shows and movies, in which two people exchange minds and end up in each other's bodies. Alternatively, their minds may stay where they are as their bodies adjust...
stories (such as the Freaky Friday
Freaky Friday
Freaky Friday is a classic comedic children’s novel written by Mary Rodgers first published in the USA in 1972, and adapted for film several times.-Plot:...
films) involve an uptight adult and an irresponsible child or teen swapping bodies, with the adult learning to loosen up and have more fun, the child learning that adults lead stressful lives, and both developing a deeper appreciation for the other. There are also many stories where a character is regressed mentally but not physically, so that, for instance, a prim, middle-aged woman will believe she is actually a teenager, and will revert to the wild behavior of her youth. (Both American Dad and Buffy the Vampire Slayer have done episodes comically playing on this idea.)
A related concept, age progression, obviously involves a character rapidly aging. This is often portrayed as a horrific thing, as a character's youth is stripped away, but it is also sometimes played for comedy (as in Big and 13 Going On 30
13 Going on 30
13 Going on 30 is a 2004 American romantic comedy fantasy film starring Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo. It has a similar premise to the classic short story Rip Van Winkle, in which a young person falls asleep and wakes up many years later as an older person...
); in these cases, the story typically concerns a child briefly forced to cope with adulthood and later returning to childhood with a new perspective and confidence. (This element is of course also a typical element of the previously mentioned bodyswap stories, with the swapped child and adult both gaining new perspectives.)
The Age Regression Fetish
Age regression is a sexual fetishSexual fetishism
Sexual fetishism, or erotic fetishism, is the sexual arousal a person receives from a physical object, or from a specific situation. The object or situation of interest is called the fetish, the person a fetishist who has a fetish for that object/situation. Sexual fetishism may be regarded, e.g...
for some individuals. Individuals with this fetish often enjoy mainstream age regression stories, although there are also specific stories that cater to the fetish and even some pornographic films in which an elderly person becomes a young adult again. Age regression fetish fiction follows several frequent plots, playing on the same themes as mainstream age regression but usually taking it to sexualized extremes. Often, an arrogant, cruel or otherwise errant character is regressed - in other words, "cut down to size". Other times, a character who is unable or unwilling to cope with adult responsibilities will have their adulthood revoked by various means, either forcibly or by choice. In either case, the newly regressed character may be taunted and humiliated, or they may be pampered and babied, sometimes including breast feeding and lengthy diapering scenes. In some stories the character is regressed all the way back into the womb, leading to a related fetish, unbirthing. Sometimes, the age regression is temporary. Other times, the character is stuck as a child or teen and will begin a new life. Occasionally, transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
elements are part of these fetish stories as well, as the characters find themselves not just younger but with a new sex. Aside from the more obviously sexual aspects of fetish stories, they often differ from mainstream age regression stories in other ways. While mainstream age regression or bodyswap stories almost always end with the protagonist returned to normal, in fetish fiction it's more likely for the character to remain stuck in a younger body. Also, while mainstream age regression fiction often features characters turned into blissfully unaware infants (these stories typically concern another character's frantic attempts to turn the person back into an adult), in fetish fiction the regressed characters are rarely fully mentally regressed to an infant's level, as they would lose awareness of what had happened to them. They usually retain at least some of their adult memories, but they now find themselves unable to speak, control their bodily functions, etc. This plays into the fetishist's fantasies of loss of control, while for those without the fetish, the loss of speech and bowel control is generally a horrifying concept. Age-related bodyswap stories are also popular with age regression fetishists.
The age regression fetish typically arises from a desire to escape the stresses of adult life. Some age regression fetishists had happy childhoods they now wish to return to, while others had unhappy childhoods they now want to "do over". While it's mostly an adult fetish, it's not unheard of for teens to have the fetish also. The fetish is generally not well accepted in mainstream society, and age regression fetishists typically keep their desires a secret, often even from their lovers.
The age regression fetish is closely related to the adult baby fetish, but while it can be probably said that all adult babies have an age regression fetish to some degree (in that they enjoy the fantasy of becoming children), not all age regression fetishists are adult babies (in that not all of them are excited by wearing diapers or engaging in other aspects of ageplay
Ageplay
Ageplay or age play is a form of roleplaying in which an individual acts or treats another as if they were a different age. The practice can be regressive, in which the goal is to re-experience childhood, or sexual, recreating a sexual relationship with people of the pretend and/or true ages...
.)
Age progression is less common as a fetish than age regression, but there are fetishists who enjoy the idea of a child or teen suddenly accelerated into a sexually mature adult and forced to cope with their new body and new feelings, or of an adult aged to the point of helplessness and feebleness. There are also some age regression fetishists within the furry community who enjoy the idea of furry characters being regressed, or human characters being transformed into baby animals.
Many age regression websites feature captioned photo stories, mostly using pictures taken from movies, TV and stock photo sources, although sometimes these are family pictures taken from a stranger's personal website. These photos are controversial both within and without the fetish community, as they include children in a sexual context (even when the photos depict no nudity, the age regression website itself is a sexual context). It should be pointed out, however, that age regression is very distinct from pedophilia
Pedophilia
As a medical diagnosis, pedophilia is defined as a psychiatric disorder in adults or late adolescents typically characterized by a primary or exclusive sexual interest in prepubescent children...
and the people posting these pictures are aroused by the idea of being the children rather than engaging in sexual activity with them.
Age Regression In Therapy
Age regression, unrelated to the fictional forms described above but literally concerning returning to the memories of one's childhood, is also a very controversial aspect of hypnotherapyHypnotherapy
Hypnotherapy is a therapy that is undertaken with a subject in hypnosis.The word "hypnosis" is an abbreviation of James Braid's term "neuro-hypnotism", meaning "sleep of the nervous system"....
in which the patient returns to an earlier stage of life in order to explore a memory or to get in touch with some difficult-to-access aspect of their personality. Age progression is sometimes employed in hypnotherapy as well, allowing the patient to project themselves forward to see a desired outcome or the consequences of their current destructive behavior. Age regression has become quite controversial inside and outside the therapeutic community, with many cases of "recovered memories" involving child abuse, alien abduction and other traumatic incidents subsequently being discredited.
Movies
- Big featuring Tom HanksTom HanksThomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
- While primarily an age progression story, the film does contain age regression as well. - Vice VersaVice Versa (1988 film)Vice Versa is a 1988 comedy film starring Judge Reinhold and Fred Savage. It is the fourth screen adaptation of the 1882 novel of the same name by F. Anstey...
featuring Fred SavageFred SavageFredrick Aaron "Fred" Savage is an American actor, director and producer of television and film.He is best known for his role as Kevin Arnold in the American television series The Wonder Years and as the grandson in The Princess Bride...
, based on the 1882 novel by F. Anstey - Story of a bodyswap between a father and son. Released during the peculiar '80s vogue for bodyswap movies, a vogue that included 18 Again, Like Father, Like Son and others. - CocoonCocoon (film)The score for Cocoon was composed and conducted by James Horner. The soundtrack was released twice, through Polydor Records in 1985 and a reprint through P.E.G. in 1997 and features eleven tracks of score and a vocal track performed by Michael Sembello...
- featuring Hume Cronyn. - All three Freaky FridayFreaky FridayFreaky Friday is a classic comedic children’s novel written by Mary Rodgers first published in the USA in 1972, and adapted for film several times.-Plot:...
movies - Bodyswap family comedies featuring a swap between a mother and daughter. - Merlin's Shop of Mystical WondersMerlin's Shop of Mystical WondersMerlin’s Shop of Mystical Wonders is a 1996 fantasy/horror film directed by Kenneth J. Berton. The film stars Ernest Borgnine, who plays a grandfather telling his grandson a story about the wizard Merlin opening up a store in modern-day America...
- One segment of this low-budget, horror anthology film ends with an unpleasant character being rapidly aged, then turned into a baby and raised by his former wife. - Shrimps For a DayShrimps for a DayShrimps for a Day is a 1934 Our Gang short comedy film directed by Gus Meins. It was the 133rd Our Gang short that was released.-Plot:...
- Two adults are regressed by a magic lamp in this Little Rascals short, and end up in an orphanage. In the end, the cruel orphanage owner is also regressed, although he somehow retains his moustache. - Boy Meets DogBoy Meets DogBoy Meets Dog is an American animated commercial short made in 1938. It was produced by Walter Lantz as a Technicolor cartoon for theatrical release by Universal Pictures...
- In this 1939 animated short, an overly strict father dreams that he is punished by a group of forest elves, who put him into a "youth machine" that slaps and squashes him into a baby. In the end he awakens, an adult once again, having learned his lesson to be less strict with his son. - Sky HighSky High (2005 film)Sky High is a 2005 American comedic superhero family film about an airborne school for teenage superheroes. It was directed by Mike Mitchell and written by Paul Hernandez, Robert Schooley, and Mark McCorkle...
- Towards the end of the movie the villain crashes the prom and uses the "pacifier" gun to regress all the students, teachers and parents into babies.
Television series
- The Twilight ZoneThe Twilight ZoneThe Twilight Zone is an American television anthology series created by Rod Serling. Each episode is a mixture of self-contained drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist...
: A Short Drink From a Certain FountainA Short Drink From a Certain Fountain"A Short Drink From a Certain Fountain" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Synopsis:A wealthy old man married to a younger woman is exhausted by his wife's youthful lifestyle...
- In an episode of the original series, an aging, wealthy man, desperate to keep up with his younger trophy wifeTrophy wifeTrophy wife is an expression used to describe a wife, usually young and attractive, who is regarded as a status symbol for the husband, who is often older and affluent.-History:The term's etymological origins are disputed...
, tries an experimental treatment that ends up regressing him to toddlerhood. In the end, his outraged wife is forced to raise him. - BewitchedBewitchedBewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...
- This '60s sitcom had several episodes involving age regression, with Darrin, his boss, Larry Tate, and Endora all becoming children at different points. - Case ClosedCase ClosedCase Closed, known as in Japan, is a Japanese detective manga series written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama. The series is serialized in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday since February 2, 1994, and has been collected in 73 tankōbon volumes as of September 2011...
(Detective Conan) - Jimmy KudoJimmy KudoJimmy Kudo, also known as in Japan, is the protagonist of Gosho Aoyama's series Case Closed, which is known in Japan as . A High-school Detective, he is forced to in ingest the lethal poison APTX 4869 after his encounter with Gin and Vodka. Due to a rare side effect, the poison shrinks him into a...
(Shin'ichi Kudo) is forced to swallow an experimental poison pill that, instead of killing him, reverts him to a 7 year old kid, but keeping his memories intact. Jimmy then adopts an aliasPseudonymA pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
, Conan Edogawa, for his younger self. - Dragon Ball GT - GokuSon Goku (Dragon Ball)Goku, known as in the English-language manga and original Japanese-language version, is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Dragon Ball franchise created by Akira Toriyama. He is loosely based on Sun Wukong, a central character in Journey to the West...
is wished younger for the whole series. Age regression has been a popular element in many other animeAnimeis the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
series. - GoosebumpsGoosebumpsGoosebumps is a series of children's horror fiction novels written by American author R. L. Stine and first published by Scholastic Publishing. It is a collection of stories that feature semi-homogenous plot structures, with fictional children being involved in scary situations...
- The Cuckoo Clock Of Doom - Michael is regressed (physically) further and further; eventually becoming a baby. He must stop an antique clock and reverse the change. Originally a book by R. L. StineR. L. StineRobert Lawrence Stine , known as R. L. Stine, and Jovial Bob Stine, is an American writer. Stine, who is called the "Stephen King of children's literature," is the author of hundreds of horror fiction novels, including the books in the Fear Street, Goosebumps, Rotten School, Mostly Ghostly, and The... - The Little MermaidThe Little Mermaid (TV series)The Little Mermaid is an American animated television series produced by Walt Disney Television Animation based on the 1989 Disney film of the same name. It features the adventures of Ariel as a mermaid prior to the events of the film. This series is the first Disney television series to be spun...
- Episode 11: "Red" - The Outer LimitsThe Outer Limits (1995 TV series)The Outer Limits is an American television series that originally aired on Showtime,the Sci Fi Channel and in syndication between 1995 and 2002...
- Season 3, Episode 4 "Last Supper" - The SmurfsThe SmurfsThe Smurfs is a comic and television franchise centred on a group of small blue fictional creatures called Smurfs, created and first introduced as a series of comic strips by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo on October 23, 1958...
-The Smurflings were adult Smurfs who were turned into children. - Big John, Little JohnBig John, Little JohnBig John, Little John is an American Saturday morning sitcom produced by Sherwood Schwartz which stars Robbie Rist as Little John, and Herb Edelman as Big John. The show first aired on September 11, 1976 on NBC, and ran for one season of 13 episodes...
-- American, '70s Saturday morning children's series about a suburban father who discovers the fountain of youthFountain of YouthThe Fountain of Youth is a legendary spring that reputedly restores the youth of anyone who drinks of its waters. Tales of such a fountain have been recounted across the world for thousands of years, appearing in writings by Herodotus, the Alexander romance, and the stories of Prester John...
and subsequently turns into a child at inopportune moments. - Star Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next GenerationStar Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
- Season 1, Episode 15: "Too Short a SeasonToo Short a Season (TNG episode)"Too Short a Season" is the 16th episode of the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation.-Overview:The Enterprise must transport a legendary geriatric admiral who must once again negotiate a hostage situation.-Plot:...
", involved a diplomat who attempted an age regression procedure with dire results. Season 6, Episode 7: "RascalsRascals (TNG episode)"Rascals" is the 133rd episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation and the seventh episode of its sixth-season.-Plot:Captain Picard, Guinan, Ro Laren and Keiko O'Brien are returning to the Enterprise, but an anomaly causes them to materialize on the transporter pad as 12-year old children...
", had several members of the Enterprise crew regressed by a transporter accident. - The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! is an American television series based upon Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. 2 video games. It was originally broadcast via first-run syndication to mostly independent or Fox television stations from September 4, 1989, to December 1, 1989, with...
- Season 1, Episode 10: "Two Plumbers and a Baby". In this episode, King Koopa turns many people (three old men and Princess ToadstoolPrincess Peachis a character in Nintendo's Mario series of video games. She is the Princess of the fictitious Mushroom Kingdom, and often plays the damsel in distress role within the adventure series. In 2007, Princess Peach landed on Forbes magazine's Wealthiest Fictional People list, with a fortune upwards of...
included) into babies and tries to force them into doing his evil bidding. - The X-FilesThe X-FilesThe X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
- Although the series dealt with supernatural phenomena, it is notable that apparently it never featured magical age regression but did explore the real world concept of hypnotic age regression, as Fox MulderFox MulderFBI Special Agent Fox William Mulder is a fictional character and protagonist in the American Fox television shows The X-Files and The Lone Gunmen, two science fiction shows about a government conspiracy to hide or deny the truth of Alien existence. Mulder's peers consider his theories on...
used the technique to explore his memories of his sister's abduction by aliens. In one episode, Mulder and Scully were temporarily aged by a virus aboard a decrepit boat.
Books
- RewindRewind (novel)Rewind is a science fiction novel by Terry England which is predominantly about the fate of a group of seventeen humans who are transformed into apparent 9-year-olds by extraterrestrial visitors to Earth. Although they retain their adult memories and personalities, they are legally regarded as...
by Terry England - TurnaboutTurnabout (novel)Turnabout is a novel by Margaret Peterson Haddix, set in the future. It was first published in 2002 by the Aladdin division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.-Plot summary:...
by Margaret Peterson Haddix - The Identity Matrix by Jack L. ChalkerJack L. ChalkerJack Laurence Chalker was an American science fiction author. Chalker was also a Baltimore City Schools history teacher in Maryland for 12 years, retiring in 1978 to write full-time...
- The Heris Serrano trilogy by Elizabeth MoonElizabeth MoonElizabeth Moon is an American science fiction and fantasy author. Her novel The Speed of Dark won the 2003 Nebula Award.-Biography:...
, in which age regression is known as rejuv - GoosebumpsGoosebumpsGoosebumps is a series of children's horror fiction novels written by American author R. L. Stine and first published by Scholastic Publishing. It is a collection of stories that feature semi-homogenous plot structures, with fictional children being involved in scary situations...
series by R.L.Stine, The Cuckoo Clock Of Doom - In the book Harry Potter and the Order of the PhoenixHarry Potter and the Order of the PhoenixHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the fifth in the Harry Potter series written by J. K. Rowling, and was published on 21 June 2003 by Bloomsbury in the United Kingdom, Scholastic in the United States, and Raincoast in Canada...
, during the battle of the Department of Mysteries a Death Eater gets his head stuck in a jar that shrinks his head back to that of a baby. - The Search For Bridey Murphy by Morey Bernstein
Videogames
- Space AceSpace AceSpace Ace is a laserdisc video game produced by Don Bluth Studios, Cinematronics, and Advanced Microcomputer Systems...
: The '80s arcade game, featuring full cell animation by Don BluthDon BluthDonald Virgil "Don" Bluth is an American animator and independent studio owner. He is best known for his departure from The Walt Disney Company in 1979 and his subsequent directing of animated films such as The Secret of NIMH , An American Tail ,The Land Before Time , and All Dogs Go to Heaven ,...
's studio, followed Ace, a Flash GordonFlash GordonFlash Gordon is the hero of a science fiction adventure comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond. First published January 7, 1934, the strip was inspired by and created to compete with the already established Buck Rogers adventure strip. Also inspired by these series were comics such as Dash...
-like space hero. At the start of the game, the villainous Commander Borf attacks Ace with the "Infanto Ray", a weapon that transforms him into an adolescent version of himself; Ace (now called Dexter) spends the rest of the game attempting to become an adult again. If the player beats the game, Dexter turns back into an adult and Borf is turned into a baby.
Websites
- The Age Regression Story Archive - http://www.ararchive.com
- 2 Be Young Again - http://web.archive.org/web/20101203152601/http://www.geocities.com/jeffr_2bya/2young.htm
- Sebtomato AR Stories - http://www14.brinkster.com/sebtomato/index.html
Sebtomato stories are age regression tales "without the ouch" - that is, without violent content such as rape or murder.
- Aryion.com A vore/unbirth community site