Subliminal perception was used to explore the magical contagion paradigm and ascertain whether drawings of germs perceived as harmful or threatening would be assumed to belong to members of stigmatized groups. In study 1, descriptions of persons (primes) were shown subliminally for 50 milliseconds and participants chose which germ they felt belonged to that person after the presentation. The germs perceived as least harmful and threatening were assigned to participants' best friends' first names, subjects' own first names, and young Hispanic persons. The groups of persons assigned the most harmful and threatening germs were older black and older Hispanic persons. In study 2, primes were shown for a longer period of time that allowed for conscious processing and males were assigned the more harmful germs at a statistically significant rate.