Does Horror Make Your Hair Turn White

[Yahweh]

I was surfing the internet and I came across a picture of a clown. Then I immediately started thinking about Stephen King's "It" (because I have such healthy thought processes). There is a scene where one boy witnesses his friend being dragged off by a mysterious glowing ball of "dead light". The event is so traumatic and horrific that the boy's hair instantly turns white.

So, can a horrific event make your hair white?

(If so, what is the biological chemistry behind it?)

 

[bjornart]

I was surfing the internet and I came across a picture of a clown. Then I immediately started thinking about Stephen King's "It" (because I have such healthy thought processes). There is a scene where one boy witnesses his friend being dragged off by a mysterious glowing ball of "dead light". The event is so traumatic and horrific that the boy's hair instantly turns white.

So, can a horrific event make your hair white?

(If so, what is the biological chemistry behind it?)

No. Hair is a dead substance, for all of it to turn white, horror would have to cause the skull to emit bleach...

You can, however, loose all the coloured hair in a short period of time. This will look very much like your hair suddenly turning white.

 

[Frostbite]

I think white hair is indeed related to anxiety, stress and fear. White hair also doesn't fall off, so eventually, with age, colored hair falls off or turns white, leaving you with a white head.

 

[Drifterman]

Didn't that happen to Leland Palmer in the 3rd series of Twin Peaks?

 

[Bluegill]

Didn't that happen to Leland Palmer in the 3rd series of Twin Peaks?

Yes. Hair can turn white overnight, but only under certain, very specific circumstances: Namely, by becoming possessed by a spirit from the Black Lodge which prompts you dance with your golf clubs. Or if that gum you like comes back into style.

 

[Liamo]

The Straight Dope

Liam