Is there a specific word meaning “fear of grasshoppers?” Or, any insect vaguely resembling a grasshopper?
Those little bastards are the most frightening things that walk the earth…
A story: Picture it, my junior year of high school, biology class. We had just finished dissecting earthworms, and we were now moving on to something a bit larger and more complex, i.e., grasshoppers. Not just any grasshoppers, African grasshoppers. They were over 6 inches long and black. That entire day, I was psyching myself up for it, “Oh, Mishell, they’re dead, you can handle it, no big deal.” I really was okay with it…for a while. Then, biology class came, and I took my seat. The teacher began passing out the grasshoppers. I was doing okay, until he got to the person seated next to me and I actually saw one somewhat close up. Then, the anxiety began. When he plopped one in front of me, I totally and completely freaked out, I jumped out of my chair, stumbed backwards, hyperventilating, tears streaming down my face, practically trying to climb the shelving behind me…everyone is staring at me, and I just couldn’t control myself, finally, Mr. Markham says, “Mishell, would you like to go to the bathroom?” All I could do was nod. So, I headed to the bathroom and composed myself, and when I returned, Mr. Markham was waiting outside the classroom and he offered to allow me to write a report on grasshoppers instead of dissecting one. I agreed, and he told me to just go to the library every day for the rest of the week. This is when I find out that I can’t even look at a picture of a grasshopper without having a weird panic attack.
Then, I went on to dissect the crawfish, perch, frog, fetal pig, and cat without incident. I even enjoyed it, it was totally fascinating. Go figure.
