We all have things that scare us enough to keep us awake at night.
A phobia, if you will.
Some of these are fairly common, be they somewhat trivial, such as heights, rodents, or the supernatural.
While others are on the more serious side, such as the possibility of your friends and families being in danger.
Others suffer from phobias which are anything but common.
Ridiculous as they may seem in the eyes of others, these phobias still send shivers up the spines of those who suffer from them, scaring them far more than a scary story or a turbulent flight.
Redditor NeZur was eager to hear the things that make the hairs on the backs of people's necks stand on end, leading them to ask:
"What type of phobia do yo have?"
It Is, In Fact, One Of The Most Dangerous Modes Of Transportation...
"Driving."
"I drive every day."
"People be crazy out on the roads."
"Scares me to death."- Same-Ad-1266
Arachnophobia To The Max...
"Spiders."- evandollardon
"Especially with big paws."- NeZur
"A pregnant spider, with big paws."- TwoLittleNeedleMarks
Some People Stick To Puddle Stomping
"Thalassophobia, the fear of deep bodies of water."- GentlyDead
Searching For The Nearest Boat...
"Gephyrophobia."
"I especially hate it when the traffic backs up and you are stuck on the bridge."- mspolytheist
Design 3D GIF by BADCODECGiphyThe Only Thing Scarier Than Snakes on A Plane...
"I have a phobia of anacondas coming up the toilet while I'm taking a dump."- dingbatyokel5000
Especially When They're Your Own...
"Teenagers."
"Scare the living sh*t outta me."- Randomees
Anything Scarier Than Getting Shot? Getting A Shot...
"Needles."- Chocolatelover4ever
"I always faint with needles."
"My blood pools into my legs and I'm out like a light."
"I have to clench and squeal if I see a needle ANYWHERE."
"I used to get faintish but COVID flashes of needles actually desensitized me a bit."
"I've only had one nurse keep me conscious through a blood draw and it was because she (Lowkey knowing I faint) started ranting about how her brother went to Colorado and got to smoke like snoop while she takes the other 'high' road (nursing)."
"Versus a nurse doing the cliche 'what's your favorite XYZ' while drawing 6 vials."
"She apparently got to 4 when I told her I was going to faint."
"She got another vial in while I was out."
"I got help from my ex to a room as they checked my pulse saying I was coma levels."
"Shots, I'm alright if I can lay down or sit with my head between my legs."
"I have tons of piercings but no ink."
"Hell I even pierced my own labret."- This_User_Said
Getting Nervous Could Be A Problem...
"Emetophobia."
"Haven't puked since preschool, now I'm a college freshman."- thrashmusican
gross james van der beek GIFGiphyThere Is Little Worse Than A Cracked Nail...
"Anything to do with damage to finger/toe nails."
"Makes me seriously queezy thinking about it."- silentarcher00
As If The Sound Isn't Scary Enough...
"The garbage disposal."
"Under NO circumstance will I put my hand in there."
"Lost a spoon?"
"It's dead to me until my husband gets home."- potato-keeper
Two For The Price Of One...
"Forgot the term for it but underwater machinery and deep water in general."- Limp_Telephone2280
Das Boot Water GIF by WoodblockGiphyNot "Sailing Away" Any Time Soon...
"I don't like the open sea as a concept."
"Not a fear of sharks/drowning or anything specific."
"The sh*t is just horrifying."-TreefrogJ
SIze Does Matter...
'"Megalophobia."
"I am pretty scared next to tall buildings and statues."
"For some reason I can't look up when I am close to it."- MIKE_THE_KILLER
Holey Moley...
"Trypophobia."
"Lately on my FYP, those videos of people with tons of seashells (I think, I didn’t get a close look) attached to they’re arms or legs keep popping up and it makes me physically sick."
"It legit ruins my mood."- irllylikeurpeaches
According to FDR, "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself."
If only all phobias were so simple...
Reddit user BlueberryJingle13 asked:
"What is something harmless you were scared of as a child?"
Most of us outgrow those irrational childhood fears, though that doesn't mean they didn't have us in their grips when we were younger.
Here's what freaked Reddit out.
Drains!
drain GIFGiphy"The drain in the bath tub. The tiny whirlpool of water would suck me down with it"
- JAR-man999
"Apparently when I was a toddler my dad told me spiders would come out of the drain if I stayed in the bath after the plug got taken out. I still feel uncomfortable taking the plug out the drain if I'm still in the bath, even now I'm 28"
- ImQuiteRandy
"I seem to remember being a daredevil with that and sticking my finger in it while holding onto the side of the tub to make sure it couldn't actually pull me in."
- doomalgae
"I had a children's book about a baby crocodile that was sucked into the drain and was crying alone in the sewer system because it didn't know how to get back to the zoo and it's parents. Also scared me for a while after reading that."
- More_Example6153
"38 years old and I’m still frightened I’ll get sucked down the drain."
- Arkady2009
Auctions
season 7 GIFGiphy"Fidgeting at a livestock auction and accidentally buying a cow."
- graceamazed
"This one made me lol. This is exactly the brand of anxiety I would have as one-off fears as a kid."
- Triairius
"I went to a house foreclosure auction in my 20s and I had the same concern. I was convinced that I'd make the wrong move and end up buying a house that I couldn't afford."
- UndeadBread
"2000$ to that little kid that scratched his head. SOLD"
- l0u1s11
Sinkhole De Mayo
"I had an irrational fear that a sinkhole would randomly open under me. I would walk around grabbing onto nearby objects just so I'd have something to grab onto when the Earth inevitably tried to consume me."
- DatWeirdo04
"I was scared a hole would open up under me just to swallow me then close up as if nothing happened."
- Theveryshyboy
"Me too!"
"What’s ironic is that I’m 34 years old and moved to a town 2 years ago and there’s been 4 sinkholes already! Like why?!"
- TitusLemonades
"Holy sh*t! I thought that I was the only one with that fear!!!"
- Tricksyknitsy
"I'm not alone. Yaaaay"
- gliitch0xFF
Draft Or Giraffe?
"Giraffes. Not because of what you think. I lost a fair amount of hearing due to a compilation with my tonsils, so when my dad tucked me in at night and said “I’ll close the window, wouldn’t want the draft to get you…” Well, you can assume what I heard."
"I thought there was a rabid giraffe that would step over backyard fences and eat kids if their windows were open."
- SsjAndromeda
"That’s too funny and somewhat wholesome. It was sloths for me. I used to have nightmares of a sloth slowly chasing me. You can never run fast in dreams."
- Strongbad23
"Bro, same f*cking thing. My mum used to say wow the drafts coming from there at a cold dark place on the house and I used to imagine like a giraffe hiding there or an invisible giraffe and it was kinda scary lol"
- notarealpersondw
"I literally had the same fear!! "
"I was in a car when I was told to close the windows so that the draft doesn’t get in and I also heard ‘giraffe’, I then envisioned rabid giraffes trying to break into the car.. I thought I was the only one with this experience!"
- Kovu-and-Dedenne
You Too Will Have A Mullet
"My brother told me someday I too had to get a mullet haircut"
- MuluLizidrummer
"I have a mullet currently. I'd be scared too"
- BlueberryJingle
"Such an older brother thing to say"
- catnmoose
"I mean, mullet families are a thing. I used to see at least a few day when I lived in the midwest. Granted the oldest son usually has a buzzcut."
- 0kokuryu0
Loud Sound Check
scared season 5 GIFGiphy"The THX sound before movies"
- Geezson123
"The audience is now deaf…”
- User Deleted
"Convinced that's why I have tinnitus."
- DillPixels
"Same, little me would run behind the couch and plug my ears. Now I've just learned I have sensitive hearing, and that urge to run and hide when it comes has never left."
- OtaPotato
Vacuums
"When I was really young, like 3 - 5 years old, I thought the vacuum would come to life at night and try to suck out my lungs while I slept."
"So, I insisted that the vacuum be kept in the basement, locked in a closet, because clearly it couldn't climb two whole flights of stairs."
- smokehidesstars
"Imagine you wake up one night and the vacuum is just in the middle of your room LOL"
- BlueberryJingle
"Lol. My sister was terrified of the vacuum as well but it was because one time it caught the edge of her nightgown and I guess she thought it was going to suck her up. She was scared of vacuums until a pretty unreasonable age"
- mercenaryblade17
Surprise Flush
"Automatic flushing toilets in public places."
"Not me, but my 2 daughters when they were young (like 3y-6y). I had to stand next to them with my hand over the sensor so they could escape the stall before the toilet flushed."
- AltyMcSalty
"Loud toilet flushes still scare the crap out of me, even if they aren’t automatic and I’m prepared. I have no idea why. I’m 27, and I still have to sprint from the washroom at once I flush."
"It’s only when I’m alone though for some reason. During shifts when lots of other people are around, I have no issues. I have no explanation for this fear."
- TwiceUponADecember
"As a former daughter who was petrified of auto flush toilets, I want to thank you on their behalf."
- wevegotscience
"Pro tip for if you become a grandparent. Carry a pad of post it notes. Stick one to the sensor so the toilet won't flush unexpectedly."
- Paradisedreamer7
Bald Head
"The bald head of my uncle"
- italoomg
"Bald heads used to freak me out too when I was a kid, they just looked weird to me."
- idratherchangemyold1
"As a teen, I thought going bald would be the worst thing imaginable. Now that I’m 40, lost most of my hair, and shave it down every day, I couldn’t be happier. I love the easiness of having a bald head."
-Every1onRedditisDumb
Aqua Vacuum
Water Satisfying GIF by MaytronicsGiphy"My grandparents robotic pool cleaner 😂"
- minivan2022
"Oh man I can't believe the first comment is one I can actually relate to. I totally forgot about it until reading this. Yeah that 'creepy crawly' thing sliding around the bottom of the pool was unsettling, especially since when in the water at the same time of it you could hear it 'ticking' every second through the water. I remember asking them to pull it out before I went in. This was a fairly brief phase but it happened."
- Chromattix
"Lived in a house for years with a pool vacuum. Many adults are scared of those too lol"
- Triairius
"I actually have an irrational phobia of that thing it's wack"
"Stupid Barracuda/Creepy Crawly pool cleaner it looks so creepy"
- thegoldilocks_zone
"I came here to also say pool cleaner! We had one with two long “tentacles” that sprayed water out of the tips and swirled around the bottom of a pool….like a creepy robot octopus ."
- HAYYme
Do you and Reddit share similar phobias?
Is there something you want to add to the list?
Want to hear about my (completely understandable when you know the backstory) severe distrust of clowns that USED TO BE a childhood phobia?
Let's get into it in the comments.
Redditor An_Anxious_Mess_Idk asked:
"What is one fear you have that would be considered stupid by most people?"
Never See It Coming
"I’m scared that when I’m driving anywhere late at night and the roads are clear I’ll be struck by one of those land speed record vehicles."
"I’d be afraid it would come out of nowhere and I wouldn’t see it coming."
- gameofthrones_addict
"I always had this fear (a vehicle coming out of nowhere) when crossing streets as a kid. Suburban streets, mind you..."
- unknown-permutation
"Yeah pretty much, just middle of nowhere you don’t always see everything…"
"I know it wouldn’t happen. So I know it’s an irrational fear."
- gameofthrones_addict
Detached
"Becoming detached on a space walk and drifting off into the void."
"I am not an astronaut, for clarity."
- LoneKharnivore
GiphyWooly Bully
"Cotton balls."
- DatDude999
"I can't touch cotton wool or anything of that texture. It gives me the chills and the jitters."
"My wife thinks I'm an idiot."
- cloudstrifeuk
"Me too. Everyone always tries messing with me by showing me them or chasing me because I actually run as soon as I see them!"
- AdministrativeCap998
"It's called Sidonglobophobia. The sounds and the static they make when you touch them makes me shake."
- DatDude999
Hiisssss
"Toilet snakes. Thanks, Stephen King."
- Beesareourcousins
"Wife found a 5 foot long black snake in her mom’s washer. She thought it was some sort of gasket that fell in the tub at first….reached for it and it moved."
"Our house is 500 feet away, heard her scream from the front porch."
"Mother-in-law’s house was built 1890 or so. Not very well sealed up anymore."
- tatpig
"Omg. I found a 3-4 foot snake in my hamper once."
"I heard what I THOUGHT was like, a soda bottle slowly letting out fizz, and when I went to investigate, it was A F'KING SNAKE hissing."
"Carried the whole thing, dirty clothes and all, out to the driveway and kicked it over so the snake would slither away."
"I had bombed for spiders the day before. I had opened all the windows and doors for several hours to air the house out. I’m guessing he snuck in then."
"I was ready to burn the place to the ground after that. 😳"
- SamSepiol-ER28_0652
GiphyTake A Seat
"I can't sleep with my desk chair facing my bed."
"I have to get up, turn on a light, face it away from me, and then I can go back to bed."
"I get irrationally afraid that I'm going to turn over or blink and look at it and someone is going to be sitting in it watching me sleep."
"No idea where that fear came from."
- lockehearte
Deep Blue
"Swimming in a lake, or in the ocean without being able to see the bottom."
"I was bit/cut by something once and since then it's a fear I just can't control.
"I will still go and do it though because I hate it when people tell me what to do. Even when that's myself."
- Personality4Hire
"Thank god water shoes were invented or I’d never go in the ocean or lake again."
"I stepped on a horseshoe crab and it freaked me out so bad I can’t go into those bodies of water unless I have shoes on."
- JRich61
"We had a little sand shark swimming by us one trip to the ocean."
"Haven’t been able to get past ankle deep since. It’s been probably closer to 14 years ago now."
- Negative_Shake1478
GiphyReflection
"Fear of mirrors."
"Creepy things they are."
- The_dead_are_rising
"I'm specifically scared of mirrors in the dark, or any reflective surface."
"I'm convinced that if I look at it, I'm gonna see something horrible standing behind me."
- Kotori425
"Same but I’m not scared of seeing something behind me."
"I’m scared of seeing something in it that could possibly reach or step out."
"Mirrors in the dark feel like a door to another dimension to me and I have no idea why."
- christopharo
"My worst nightmare is getting up at night to go to the bathroom, going past my mirror and I'll see myself in the mirror but the me in the mirror does something different than me..."
"It's that bad that I'll walk past my mirror with my eyes closed at night."
- JenJMLC
Unblinking Eyes
"DEAD FISH."
"UGLY MOTHERF'KERS."
"UNBLINKING EYES ALWAYS STARING"
- Flat_Bodybuilder_175
"Hate to break it to you, but fish don’t blink when they’re alive either."
- Itsafinelife
"You're... not wrong. By the law of my own phobia, I now have a fear of living fish too."
- Flat_Bodybuilder_175
"The sharks got your back bro, they wink."
- salinase
discovery eye roll GIF by Shark WeekGiphyMothra Is A Monster
"Moths."
"I get teased all the times about it and my reasons and people try to trick me in to liking them or admitting it's fake.
"Apparently being scared of spiders is ok (I like spiders) but terrified of moths is weird because I like butterflies and 'they are the same thing'."
- kyaria17
That Moth Fear Is Justified
"May 2020, my husband and I took off on a road trip. Everything was mostly shut down but that’s fine, what we like to see and do are outdoor, nature things. We stopped at a state park in Oklahoma that had only partially opened that very day."
"We walked around for a bit, let the dog run around as we were the only ones there. Then I had to pee. Now I’m a chick and 'I’ve got to find somewhere to pee' is pretty much always happening or going to within half an hour."
"The usual state park bathroom places were one hole situations but in little concrete buildings….nice enough, I’ve used way worse."
"When we first opened the door a LOT of moths flew out. I’m not scared of moths but it was a LOT. So we let them fly away and I went in. I’m sitting there beside one of those large toilet roll things….the one foot diameter ones with the black cover and you pull the paper from under."
"Even as I gave the toilet paper a yank, a tiny part of my brain knew what would happen. A truly biblical number of moths burst out from the bottom of the paper roll when I pulled."
"I ran/hobbled with shorts pulled down and toilet paper in hand just screaming out of the bathroom. My husband all but dropped he was laughing so hard. My poor dog was sure I was being attacked and ran into the bathroom barking and growling."
"It was all hilarious in hindsight. But trying to explain to anyone how moths could make me run screaming is difficult to say the least."
- rebel1031
GiphyFor me?
June bugs.
June bugs crawl out of the ground in the summer because they're mini demons emerging from Hell. I cannot be convinced otherwise.
So what's your irrational fear?
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In reality, some fears just stick.
No matter how old you get, or how much math you do to convince your anxiety that it's probably NOT going to happen... some things just stick.
Reddit user iron_horse_ asked:
"What's one thing that still scares the hell out of you no matter how old you get?"
When I was young, my dad's car spun out on an overpass while I was driving with him. I was sitting upfront because there wasn't much of a back seat.
The car came to a stop facing the wall, the windshield framing the long fall that we could have taken. Just a few more inches forward. If he had been going just a little bit faster ...
It's probably not a coincidence that my first actual panic attack happened as I was driving on an overpass on a rainy night.
It just stuck.
Here's what "just stuck" for Reddit.
The Stairs
"Walking up the stairs at night when all the lights are off downstairs."
"No matter how hard I resist, I always end up sprinting."- metee_agar
michael douglas stairs GIF by JustinGiphyOverboard
"The thought of being dropped in the middle of an ocean."
"I'm terrified of the emptiness."
"Nothing but water stretching into the horizon in every directions."
"Treading water and wondering if you should even try to swim or give up and let yourself sink into the ocean ... and to God Knows what that lives there."-jmongevida
"When I was in the Navy, I'd look out at the sea and it wasn't too bad most of the time."
"There are people watching out in every direction all the time, and there's usually someone working topside to keep an eye on you when you fall in."
"But even the THOUGHT of falling overboard at night is terrifying to me."
"It is damn near pitch black, so even the people watching at night won't see you, and you'll just sit there watching the ship's lights fade into the distance, knowing they'll never find you in the dark."- MS-07B-3
blue planet oceans GIF by BBC AmericaGiphyMirror Mirror
"Often times when I'm washing cleanser off of my face, I fear that when I lift my head to look in the mirror, there will be a stranger/monster/axe murderer suddenly standing behind me."
"I've had this paranoid thought since I was around 7 years old."-juliannedattas
scared looney tunes GIFGiphyLights In The Dark
"Small, red lights in the dark."
"My TV has one that’s always on, but not many things do anymore."
"It makes me extremely anxious and on guard."
"Maybe that I’m being watched?"
"I can’t really explain it and I’ve pondered why get all wigged out for a hot minute."- SpoolBus6Oh
Im Watching You GIF by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy FallonGiphySleep Situations
"I can't sleep with my back to the door."
"I saw a movie as a kid where a girl was sleeping with her back to the door and someone came in and stabbed her in the back."
"Also, the closet door has to be closed because there are monsters in there at night."
"I will still occasionally jump into bed so the monsters under the bed can't grab me."
"A dark house, I flip on every light as I walk through."
"So I guess this means I'm afraid of the dark? *Sighs*"
"I'm 47. I guess I won't be growing out of it anytime soon."- r_ylenia
new jersey woman GIFGiphySpiders
"Spiders."
"God damn spiders."
"Big ones, small ones, fat ones, skinny ones, all of them."
"They keep me awake at night thinking about them."
"The idea that there is probably at least one hiding in my room somewhere at this exact moment freaks me the f*ck out."
"I once punched my sister in the face for putting a fake one on me."
"When I was a kid, I was going to take a shower and a daddy long leg came crawling out of the drain hole."
"I puked from the fear and didn't take another shower from the next 2 months."
"Spiders can all die in a fiery pit."
"They're all gross and disgusting and I hate them."- aizen_vx
The Floor Is ... Crabs?
"Bathing in lakes and seas."
"Once, as a small kid, I went for a swim in the sea only to discover that the ground was covered in small crabs."
"I'm not talking 50, I'm talking thousands of small crabs that would be everywhere where I put my feet down."
"I was stepping on them, they were scrambling over my feet."
"I couldn't touch the bottom without touching a crab."
"Now I hate to go swimming if I cant see the bottom."- LakeTop7461
bbc one crab GIF by BBCGiphy3:33
"It's bizarre, but it freaks me out when I randomly wake up at 3:33am or happen to notice the time at 3:33pm."
"I think it was some Exorcist movie when I was a kid. I just look the other way like 'nope not noticing this devil sh*t!' "
"The funny part is I'm agnostic."
"Mom was catholic, though, and quite nuts so this may have played a role in my legit fear of demons, even if rationally I don't think they're real... Probably."- Otherwise_Flan_7854
Scared Bruce Campbell GIF by Ash vs Evil DeadGiphyJust Bots
"The Dead Internet Theory"
"It's getting scarier and more obvious as we get older."
"The theory is that internet 'died' somewhere around late 2016 to early 2017 and is being discreetly replaced by bots designed to selectively challenge or reaffirm your opinions to maximize engagement."
"This is also supported by the spread of link rot and content drift."
"Read up. It's not as tin-foil-hat at you might be thinking."
"People massively undervalue their intuition these days, and are quick to play the tin-foil-hat card when something like this is brought up."
"If something feels off, it usually is."- Spxders
Robots Free Yourself GIF by The Chemical BrothersGiphyFire
"Bushfires."
"I live in a very bushfire-prone area."
"It was made super clear growing up how awfully terrifying fires are."
"They kill. It isn't quick and painless."
"An extremely intense wariness and fear of them has always been deep-rooted in my mind."
"Just the sight of smoke on the horizon makes me nervous."
"God forbid I see it on a hot and windy day."
"F*ck fires. So much."- No-Acanthisitta423
Virtual Reality Fire GIF by The Weather ChannelGiphyStairs Again
"Heights, glass railings, steps/escalators and especially around children."
"As a small child I fell backwards down a escalator and managed to catch myself before a point at which I probably would have died."
"It still scares me today."
"All I saw was the mall floor and glass railings as I fell."
"My ex husband had a little cousin that died on steps."
"It really bothered me - he was a gorgeous, happy little kid and I spent so much time around him."
"He happened to fall a day after we spent time with him." - ChineseChaiTea
Chris Hemsworth Movie GIF by NETFLIXGiphyA Very Hard "Grudge" To Shake
"Kayako."
"The dead woman from 'The Grudge' movie."
"I know it's irrational, even for being in my mid 30s and how absolutely tacky that movie and the originals are."
"But her face is so creepy."
"It's so dumb, but it still weird me out."
"Its nothing racial, just her specific face weird me out."- bohemianjb
Consider Public Transport?
"My wife's driving."- Agreeable_Mango_1288
Always Guaranteed To Be Unpleasant
"Vomit."
"It’s called emetophobia, and it’s not just gross."
"It’s terrifying."
"It’s scariest when it’s my daughter."- barredowl123
Vomit Reaction GIF by MOODMANGiphyWho Would Really Expect Them To Hurt So Much?!?
"Stepping on lego."- Confused_Magpie
Stranger Danger
"That when i'm alone at night I'll look out into the back yard and see the silhouette of someone/something looking back at me."- Belerophon17
Anticipation...
"Opening a can of biscuits."
"Peeling back the piece of paper waiting for the can to pop gives me anxiety."
"I have this irrational fear it’s going to burst open and eviscerate my hands."- BurntToasterWaffle
What Waits On The Other Side?...
"The doorbell."
"Doesn’t matter If I’m watching my postmates driver on the map, it spooks me every time because it’s a murderer."- dooropen3inches
Height...
"Really high bridges."
"Driving over them scares the sauce out of me."
"Not the ordinary ones where I live, but ones like the Mackinac Bridge, the George Washington and Verrazano Narrows in NYC, the Grand Island bridges near Buffalo, etc."- The_Sanch1128
san francisco art GIFGiphyPeeing On It Won't Help...
"Stepping on and getting stung by a jellyfish in the ocean."
"It happened to me once as a kid and I'm still extremely careful out swimming at the beach."- Iya_Taisho
Peer Pressure
"Being judged by my peers."- english_rose86
Welp ... Reddit has just given me a bunch of new stuff to lose sleep over at night. What about you?