# stupid fears **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 5, 2002, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-fears/102077 "2002-04-05T21:53:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![jkirkman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ac8455/32.png) [@jkirkman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jkirkman)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2002, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-fears/102077/41 "2002-04-09T18:17:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by TVeblen \* > \*\* > My other irrational fear: those scary open metal grates in sidewalks. I assume they’re for access to sub-basement mechanical systems or something. But you can _see_ down through them. It’s like suddenly walking over a cliff edge. And they vibrate ominously when you you walk over them. I’m always afraid a careless workman may have forgotten to latch one shut and I’ll go plummeting down several floors of open space to splat on hard concrete–or whatever’s actually down there. > > ::shudders:: > > Veb \*\* Now, now. We ALL know that no workman would EVER be careless with something as important to safety as that, right? Right? [http://www.amherst.edu/~astudent/1999-2000/issue011/news/02.shtml](http://www.amherst.edu/~astudent/1999-2000/issue011/news/02.shtml) –jack ---
**Author:** ![modro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@modro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/modro)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2002, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-fears/102077/42 "2002-04-09T18:17:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by seawitch \* > \*\*AAAAAHHHH! Thanks a lot, **JohnBckWLD**. Now I’m going to spend all day afraid that I’ll suddenly burst into flames. > > Ew. Ew ew ew eeeeeewwwwww. \*\* For the time being, I might suggest being more worried about 6’ tallk 220 men jumping on top of you while you are sleeping. 😃 My biggest irrational fear is something I am eating making me sick. I have no idea why, I’m just like that. It’s just weird though, because I know it isn’t gonna work that way, but I still worry about it. ---
**Author:** ![modro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@modro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/modro)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2002, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-fears/102077/43 "2002-04-09T18:19:05Z")
That would be 6’ tall, 220 _pound_ men… Preview is my friend, when I use it. ---
**Author:** ![Creaky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e68b1a/32.png) [@Creaky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Creaky)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2002, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-fears/102077/44 "2002-04-09T23:51:38Z")
Air raids. Talk about a stupid fear in the US during peactime (more or less, anyhow). Been scared of them all my life. Every time I hear the one o’clock whistle, it just really gets to me. The whistle in my parents’ town doubles as a general alarm to rouse the local EMTs, so when it happens to go off in the middle of the night, it’s even scarier. But like **David Simmons** pointed out, eventually you realize it’s silly and you either learn to live with it or get over it. ---
**Author:** ![greenlady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@greenlady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/greenlady)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2002, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-fears/102077/45 "2002-04-10T12:06:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DarkWriter \* > \*\* > > Ever read Stephen King’s _The Stand_? He describes a journey through that tunnel by someone who has to walk on foot. He’s very descriptive, making me see the whole thing in my mind. And, being King, you know it’s pretty horrific. > > Sheri \*\* No, I’ve never read _The Stand_ — and never will now, thanks to you.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2002, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-fears/102077/46 "2002-04-10T12:30:40Z")
Heights scare me so badly that I become nauseous. I cannot walk closer than two or three feet from the edge of a cliff and I absolutely cannot look down from one. I cannot abide mountain climbing scenes in a movie, not even on TV. The few times that I have been on observation platforms on skyscrapers, I have kept my back against the wall and have been totally unable to approach the ledge. A six foot stepladder is about all I can manage. Strangely enough, flying doesn’t bother me at all. As a child, I had recurring nightmares about finding a human head. The thought still bothers me, although it no longer terrifies me. And, of course, there is my sig------- ---
**Author:** ![Dirty\_Earthworm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Dirty\_Earthworm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dirty_Earthworm)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2002, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-fears/102077/47 "2002-04-10T20:10:08Z")
Fear of flames. And I don’t mean fire - I’m talking about the “Dirty, you’re a moron. Why the hell even bother posting?” kind of flames. Yes, I know - it happens to us all (or “us most”), but so does death, and I’m not to thrilled with that idea, either. I’m sure someone will see this as an invitation - hell, I would! - so go ahead and do what you gotta do. Irrational? Yes. Stupid? Probably. Real? Unfortuantely. I also fear prison. The confinement, the brutality (by both inmates _and_ guards), the inability to have physical contact with anyone from the outside world … that’s why I’m trying to stay out of trouble. 😃 -Dirty ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2002, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-fears/102077/48 "2002-04-10T20:46:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by LouisB \* > **Heights scare me so badly that I become nauseous. I cannot walk closer than two or three feet from the edge of a cliff and I absolutely cannot look down from one…The few times that I have been on observation platforms on skyscrapers, I have kept my back against the wall and have been totally unable to approach the ledge…** Richard, you son of a bitch, CLIMB, CLIMB, I say ---
**Author:** ![Gundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Gundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gundy)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2002, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-fears/102077/49 "2002-04-10T21:06:37Z")
I hate having my face immersed in water. I can’t swim for this reason. It sends me immediately into panic mode. I am also terrified of learning to drive. And I’m 26. But the worst…I’m very afraid of discovering that everyone I know is only pretending to like me. But I try not to think about that. ---
**Author:** ![BooBoo316](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e0b2c6/32.png) [@BooBoo316](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BooBoo316)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-fears/102077/50 "2002-04-11T01:49:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by David Simmons \* > \*\*What do spiders do that makes that happen? I don’t think they do anything. \*\* They exist. That’s good enough for me. > [@](#): > > \*\* > You run and scream all by yourself. Maybe that’s just because you like to run and scream. And besides, think of the good exercise you’re getting.\*\* Ah, but the only reason i’m running and screaming is because some blood sucking little demon from hell decided to violate my personal space. > [@](#): > > \*\* > Don’t get me wrong. Spiders aren’t cuddly. But they don’t chase you down and leap on you either.\*\* We are obviously meeting different spiders. > [@](#): > > \*\* > Let’s all get over our irrational fears and make this **National Take a Spider To Lunch Week.** > \*\* I have a better idea. I’ll keep my irrational fear and make this **National Make a Spider Go Crunch Week** ---
**Author:** ![gaeila](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@gaeila](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaeila)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-fears/102077/51 "2002-04-11T01:57:41Z")
I never had any phobias or real fears until I was hit by a pickup truck, which rear-ended me at high speed while I was stopped for a road obstacle. Ever since, I’ve been terribly frightened and anxious every time I have to ride in a car. If another car comes “too close”, or we’re passed by a truck, or another driver does any of the myriad stupid driver tricks that stupid drivers do, I have full-on panic attacks (something else I’d never experienced until after the accident)—screaming, hysterical crying, the works. It’s painful, embarrassing, and completely involuntary. I’d never get in a car again if it were possible. Unfortunately, lots of doctors’ office visits are still a necessity. We’ve found that blindfolding me while I travel sometimes prevents some of the worst manifestations of panic attacks (blood-curdling screams when another car comes close), but that’s just a different kind of hell. I can only stand it so long, as my imagination devises various interesting scenarios of twisted metal death, even as the darkness shields me from the actual antics of other drivers. As you might guess, I’m a lot of fun to share a ride with. Thing is, I can’t think of a way to convince my (subconscious, reptilian brain, amygdala—pick your choice of primal neurological system) that it’s overreacting. And is it really a _stupid_ fear? Primitive and dramatic though it is, I can’t honestly argue fear isn’t a rational response, under the circumstances. After all, I _was_ terribly hurt, and the odds are too good it could happen again, no matter how defensively my husband or other chauffeur drives. Heck, the guy who creamed me got **another** speeding ticket just a month after he totaled both our vehicles; so I know he’s still out there and hasn’t changed his ways. If I had a choice, I’d much rather be afraid of something harmless, like spiders or snakes. I’m a lot bigger than they are, and one on one, in a fair fight, I’m going to win. Cars, they’re everywhere, and there’s no winning when one of those comes after you. I guess it comes down to that a phobia is an irrational fear. I feel that if I could logically convince my brain that this fear is indeed irrational, there’d be a chance this fear could lose its power over me. But I can’t do that, since I now have too much direct experience that _really terrible things_ can and do happen from traveling via automobile. ---
**Author:** ![Sylkyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/da6949/32.png) [@Sylkyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylkyn)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-fears/102077/52 "2002-04-11T02:18:35Z")
My totally unreasonable fear: Carnivals (or state fairs) after dark. No…not with the lights out. I mean when everyone is gone and it is empty. I can’t even drive by one without slamming my foot to the accelerator and getting the hell outta there. As a child, I lived less than three minutes from the Alabama State Fairgrounds. At that time, KiddyLand (which is a permanent part of the area) was only open for a few weeks in the summer, and of course Spring Break for a week, and then the State Fair in the fall, for ten days. If I ever had to go past those fairgrounds at night, when it was all shut down and closed up, my ass would grab hold of the drivers’ seat so hard it made ridges in it. I have always said that if a cop tried to pull me over in front of it, while speeding, he’d have to chase me down and probably shoot at me to make me stop about two miles down the road. It’s a miracle that has never happened, as I always drove past it at Mach IV speed. Great. Now that I’ve thought about this admission of terror, I’ll end up having nightmares about it. Like I did for about ten years when I first realized the Fairgrounds were haunted. ---
**Author:** ![hellokitty78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e95f7d/32.png) [@hellokitty78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hellokitty78)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-fears/102077/53 "2002-04-11T02:41:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ralph124c \* > \*\*Remember those old fashioned fortune-telling machines? The kind that had a gysy woman dummy in a glass case? You put a quarter in the slot and her hands would move-and drop a preprinted “fortune/forecast” into your hands. Those things used to creep me out! I haven’t seen one in years-they are probably valuble antiques by now! \*\* Omigod! Those are the scariest things I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Over Christmas I went to Florida with my boyfriend at the time, and we went to the Ripley’s believe it or not museum in Key West. There was this thing where you stand on a ledge about 2 floors up, and suddenly this fake mechanical shark jumps up at you. When I saw it I screamed like a little girl and jumped about half a mile. The BF made so much fun of me afterwards. It was truly scary though. The newest thing I’m scared of is the paper shredder. I don’t know why but it freaks me out. It’s not even that I’m afraid I’ll get my fingers caught in it, but the noise it makes scares me. I don’t like spiders either, but I’m not afraid of squishing them. If I find one in my room, I’d rather do that than have it crawling all over me and biting me during the night…ewww:eek: ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-fears/102077/54 "2002-04-11T02:55:23Z")
I got over my fear of spiders when I read **Charlotte’s Web** at age seven – have enjoyed spiders ever since. ---
**Author:** ![kweekway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/48db29/32.png) [@kweekway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kweekway)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-fears/102077/55 "2002-04-11T05:12:22Z")
I can find something to fear in almost everything and this is mainly due to information on the internet. For instance, right now I am worried about how much radiation I am absorbing from this computer screen. I have to check and make sure my lymph nodes are okay every time I use the computer. This information age is great. ---
**Author:** ![meyer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ccd318/32.png) [@meyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meyer)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-fears/102077/56 "2002-04-11T07:42:57Z")
Welcome to the SDMB, **kweekway**! Here is my list of irrational fears: Old, worn things - especially cloth and metal. Seeing clothes in glass cases at museums makes me think of touching them, the idea of which makes me feel faint and shivery. Ladders - I could stand on a ledge or a roof or a cliff until the cows came home, but I cannot stand on top of a ladder. I get this awfull, sweaty, vertigo feeling and envision myself falling over and over until I get down. This is fun given that I work in theatre. Vomiting - I don’t know why, but sometimes when I go to a movie or a play or something, I suddenly think “What would happen if I were to puke right here?” I know this is silly, because I haven’t thrown up in years, and I have never puked without at least some warning from my body, but once I think of it, I am convinced that my stomach hurts, and I spend the whole night worrying about it. I have missed the plot of entire movies this way. Psychotic People - I’m really worried that one night I will wake up with somebody in my house. Somebody dangerously insane, as opposed to some crack monkey who wants to steal my money. I know this isn’t very likely where I live, but still I think about it. That’s just the biggest three I can think of right now. Given a running start and an empty house, I can start to panic about anything, from plane crashes to the state of the economy to my ever-present concern that nobody likes me. I’m just a natural born worrier that way. ---
**Author:** ![Velma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/85e7bf/32.png) [@Velma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velma)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-fears/102077/57 "2002-04-11T17:04:21Z")
I am also afraid of heights, when I am up in a skyscraper I can’t even watch other people get too close to the edge or especially lean up against the windows, I envision the glass popping out and seeing them fall. But heights is my most normal fear. I really fear balloons, not their presence exactly but the anticipation of them popping. So when they are up in the air or decorations it is fine, but if they are on the floor and people are popping them I have to leave. The worst is when some kid is holding a balloon and running around with it or sitting on it, etc. I keep waiting for it to pop and I can’t think about anything else until it does. I also really had trouble enjoying fireworks as a child for the same reason, although I like them now, but still have that feeling of waiting for them to explode. My other stupid fear is…E.T. Yes, everyone’s favorite little alien is my worst nightmare. I saw the movie when it first came out, I must have been around 4, and it terrified me. His big eyes, long creepy neck, and his long fingers give me the creeps. Especially his voice…bleeech. This is especially bad now as the movie has been re-released and I get to see the commercials every day. I have never met anyone else who is afraid of E.T. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2002, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-fears/102077/58 "2002-04-12T07:47:47Z")
Couple fears. Some of them rational, some not. 1. Being robbed. Probably the most rational. I’ve often had nightmares about coming home and finding out someone has broken into my house. Other will be where I’ll be in the house and there will be no way to keep them out(the door will not close or lock). Sometimes I’ll have a gun(usally a shotgun). When I do, only on rare occasions will it actually work or fire. This next part is probably going to make people think I’m a sicko. I once had a dream where the gun did work, and legions of small childern would continue coming into my house to rob me. I wouldn’t want to kill them/hurt them, but they wouldn’t be bothered by the gun. I’d shoot and kill some, but they’d still keep coming, not even noticing this their buddies dying. Do you know how disturbing it is to A.) not be able to keep people out and B.) have to shoot them and keep shooting them, even though you don’t want to and they still come? (And no, I would never shoot a kid in real life). 1. Deep water swimming. I used to have fears of swimming in deep water that I couldn’t see into or touch bottom. Obviously this excludes swimming pools. I would always have horrible images of some horrible monster(like an giant octopus/squid) living down at the bottom, ready to try to grab me and pull me down. I don’t know if I still have that fear, as I haven’t gone swimming for a long time(due to unrelated reasons). 3.Zombies. Out of all hypotheical monsters, the idea of zombies still creeps me out the most. Don’t know why. Probably the idea that they will keep bearing down on you slowly, slowly enough that you can appreciate the horror. Always scared me a hell of a lot more then idea of vampires or werewolves. I have a hard enough time playing video games with zombies unless you can effectivly fight back againest them. Okay, this rather an irrational fear. Still you’d be hard pressed to get me to stay in a graveyard overnight for any reward. 1. Things that should not be. This is hypotheical, nightmare stuff. Include: -Dolls that move, when they aren’t supposed to. -Seeing things that no one else sees. Like seeing someone looking in the window, but no one else notices or gives a damn(despite the person/thing still being right there). Never encounted anything in part 4 except during my nightmares, but If I saw them in real life, I’d be hard pressed to do much more then scream, run or soil myself in some way. Now as long as I don’t have nightmares tonight… ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2002, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-fears/102077/59 "2002-04-12T15:03:28Z")
I know what you mean with the zombies, **HPL**. I was playing a Super Nintendo game the other day - an RPG called Terranigma - and there was a “world” full of zombies, and you had to hit them a bunch of times to kill them because at first you would only knock their heads off and they would keep schlepping at you. (I don’t know what “schlepping” actually means or if it’s appropriate to use in this sense, but it _sounds_ like a good word for the slow, scary zombie-walk.) It creeped me right the hell out, even though the graphics in that game are really cartoony and I knew it was just a dumb Nintendo game anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Labtrash](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/labtrash/32/528_2.png) [@Labtrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labtrash)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2002, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-fears/102077/60 "2002-04-12T15:34:16Z")
spiders - no problems here - I’m one of the few people I know who doesn’t freak out when they walk into a web strand. Metal grates - man, the C.H.U.D.s are down there - don’t like 'em much, but just avoid them. Ladders-not step ladders, but the straight ones - had a nasty fall once, ever since I’m convinced the damn thing’s gonna slide & I’m history (it DOES get me out of painting the house, though) Old dolls…eeeek! Grandmother had a wall of them in the room I used to sleep over in, and it has officially, undeniably CREEPED ME OUT FOR LIFE…:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-fears/102077.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-fears/102077.md?page=4)