# Things that petrify you **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 12, 2003, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-petrify-you/174599 "2003-05-12T02:30:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kamelion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8baadc/32.png) [@Kamelion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamelion)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-petrify-you/174599/21 "2003-05-12T07:37:31Z")
Only two REAL bad fears I can’t overcome. Heights are still a biggie but I can deal with it, I’ve done high ropes and stuff several times. Needles used to be NUMBER ONE but as I require needles to, like, not die after a wasp sting - MANY of the things - I’ve rather become desensitised to it and accepted that they have a purpose. THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM I can’t stand thinking about blood, ateries, ventricles… ANY OF IT. And I’m a Biology student… Guess what our topic is this term? AUUUUUUURGH! Whenever I start thinking about the subject I get the most AWFUL sensation… all of my extremeties (fingers et cetera) feel warm and sticky, as though my blood is boiling, and that there’s blood all over my hands. I just can’t tough ANYTHING - it feels AWFUL. Let’s just say copying down OHTS about this particular body system is very, VERY interesting for me. Clenching my fingers around the darn pen takes a LOT of self-control. I have no idea what this one’s about. INSECTS. And to a lesser extent, ARACHNIDS. I think they’re beatiful and fascinating creatures. If I see one I’ll ALWAYS examine it for a while before moving on. I don’t squish 'em ON SIGHT FOR NO REASON like many heartless people do just because they’re small and supposedly ‘icky’; I give 'em time to nick off at their own pace. But there are two exceptions to this rule… When they’re HYMENOPTERA - ‘DIE! DIE! DIE!’ - Due to a combination of extreme ant plagues in our house and my wasp allergy. And when they get ON ME… ‘AURGH, GET IF OFF ME, AURGH, GET OFF ME!’. I have no pity for the things when this happens, even if I squish 'em. Comes from knowing what it’s like to put on a sock that was hanging on the clothesline during wasp season, and have a live but dazed wasp between your toes that could kill you at any second (it never stand me due to having been stuck in the sock for about four days - but the damage was done. THE WRIGGLING of the thing. AURGH!). ---
**Author:** ![Mockingbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c68b51/32.png) [@Mockingbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mockingbird)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-petrify-you/174599/22 "2003-05-12T07:49:25Z")
Katherine Hughes. Oh… I menat a gorgon. Easy mistake. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-petrify-you/174599/23 "2003-05-12T07:51:06Z")
Heights. Heights make me sick to my stomach, and this is getting worse with the years. Even with a life preserver or something similar, I just can’t get myself into water that’s over my head. Unfortunately I married into a family that loves boats - I am uncomfortable on board a small boat. (Big ferries and such are okay, I guess I trust them not to sink without warning. :eek: ) I’m getting better about my fear of stinging insects, but the thought of one landing on my skin still sends my heart rate through the roof. **shudder** ---
**Author:** ![Purple\_Scottie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a698b9/32.png) [@Purple\_Scottie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Purple_Scottie)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-petrify-you/174599/24 "2003-05-12T10:23:12Z")
I’m terrified of tornados and other bad weather. It is so bad that I would never consider living in Kansas, Oklahoma, or any other part of Tornado Alley. I’m also afraid of scorpions. I’ve never seen one as they are not common around here, but I’ve heard horror stories about scorpions in shoes. My other big fear is probably fire. It would take me so long back when I lived in the dorm to calm down after a midnight fire alarm. ---
**Author:** ![Einmon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Einmon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Einmon)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-petrify-you/174599/25 "2003-05-12T11:17:06Z")
Being buried alive. Or lying in a coma, wide awake but not able to communicate that. Something like that freaks me out as I’m generally afraid of enclosed spaces. Also, when a butterfly enters my immediate vicinity, I will drop into a fetal position and make little squeaky noises until somebody takes it away. I don’t quite know why, maybe it’s their erratical flight patterns. ---
**Author:** ![superstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f4b2a3/32.png) [@superstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/superstar)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-petrify-you/174599/26 "2003-05-12T11:33:25Z")
Spider webs!! :eek: Not the spiders, nooooo that would make too much sense. The actual web. I once walked in to one as a teenager, and fainted. Now I hyperventilate when I come near one… freaky things! Some times when I’m walking or riding my bike in a bushy or green area, I will walk or ride down the middle of the road to make sure I don’t come in contact with one. Sure I risk my life in traffic, but some stupid little piece of a tiny spiders bum stuff is worth it. Second on the list, and I am dealing with it better than I have ever before, is big black crows!! Don’t know if they are in everyones part of the world, but in Oz they are huge MF’s. I’ll cross the road, or turn around and go the other way if I spy one!:eek: I actually think they can read my mind… but that’s a whole other thread. ---
**Author:** ![insomnia4AM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4bbf92/32.png) [@insomnia4AM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/insomnia4AM)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-petrify-you/174599/27 "2003-05-12T12:48:22Z")
I second the tornado fear **Clipper**. The second there is a tornado watch on the news, I cannot relax until it has passed. Also, thunderstorms happening when I am home alone. I live in an attic apartment, and I can hear _everything_ as if it’s right in my living room. I also have irrational fears like, what if I am driving on the on ramp to the highway, and there is an earthquake? I would plunge to my death into the Connecticut river. Oh yeah, **Second Star** , I have issues with the dark too. ---
**Author:** ![Tony\_Montana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@Tony\_Montana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tony_Montana)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-petrify-you/174599/28 "2003-05-12T15:20:06Z")
Success in life. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-petrify-you/174599/29 "2003-05-12T15:46:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Einmon \* > \*\*Also, when a butterfly enters my immediate vicinity, I will drop into a fetal position and make little squeaky noises until somebody takes it away. I don’t quite know why, maybe it’s their erratical flight patterns. \*\* Have you met Persephone? 😃 The only thing that is truly nightmare inducing for me is rape. I keep the door to my bedroom locked when I’m asleep, because at least that way if someone gets in the house, they will have to make enough noise to wake me and I’ll have a chance to defend myself ---
**Author:** ![TJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@TJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TJay)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-petrify-you/174599/30 "2003-05-12T15:47:47Z")
OK, this is kind of hard to explain, but the way certain animated things move on films, like ED209 in Robocop, and a stained glass knight that came to life in a film I once saw (I think it was Young Sherlock Holmes or something like that). The whole of The Mummy returns was terrifying purely because of those freaky dog soldier things that came out of the sand! Their movements are sort of jerky, and something about them just really creeps me out. Oh, and sloths - I saw a nature documentary once and it showed a sloth swimming underwater. I swear, it looked just like Freddy Kreuger - it had this hideous grin, and long hooked claws, and it terrified me. ---
**Author:** ![elfje](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19b73/32.png) [@elfje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfje)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-petrify-you/174599/31 "2003-05-12T15:57:56Z")
growling dogs always makes my throat seize up, hear beat faster and hair on the back of my neck stand up. I don’t mind when they’re barking, but growling, especially the bigger dogs, makes me go weak at the knees. And not in a good way. I guess this explains why I’m a cat person 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Tony\_Montana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/278dde/32.png) [@Tony\_Montana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tony_Montana)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-petrify-you/174599/32 "2003-05-12T16:03:33Z")
> [@](#): > > I don’t mind when they’re barking, but growling, especially the bigger dogs, makes me go weak at the knees. Sooo… The dates off then? ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Magic8ball](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Miss\_Magic8ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Magic8ball)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-petrify-you/174599/33 "2003-05-12T17:02:32Z")
Hannibal Lecter scares me shitless… The fact that some dude os so smart as to be able to outthink your everymove… _shiver_ He gives me night mares. ---
**Author:** ![Einmon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Einmon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Einmon)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-petrify-you/174599/34 "2003-05-12T20:48:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zyada \* > \*\*Have you met Persephone? 😃 > \*\* I think I actually sided with her in a discussion about butterflies one time 😃 While I know that they’re not really at the top of the “scary things” list, they are very high on the list of “scary things I’ll probably encounter in the summer if I leave the light on and the window open”. And I’ll be petrified then. ---
**Author:** ![ceyjen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3bc359/32.png) [@ceyjen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ceyjen)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-petrify-you/174599/35 "2003-05-12T23:24:04Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by **clipper** _ > I’m also afraid of scorpions. I’ve never seen one as they are not common around here, but I’ve heard horror stories about scorpions in shoes. I live where they are common. I encounter them on a weekly basis, if not more often. They cling to ceilings. They get into sinks. They blend perfectly into our taupe carpet. They can move at an incredibly high rate of speed. And yes, they do get into shoes. I am absolutely, 100%, clinically _ **phobic** _ of the vile creatures. I truly believe they are spawned from Hell. Whenever I come into _any_ contact (visually or…EEK!..physically) I am instantaneously thrown into a state that might be comparable to what it feels like to _fear for one’s life_–complete with sobbing and hyperventilating. I have never been stung by one (knock on wood), but I know people who have had that not-so-pleasant encounter with them on numerous occasions. I hear it burns like fire and stings like alcohol poured into an open wound. So I will remain ever vigilant. I will continue to shake out my shoes, flap the covers on the bed every single night, wear at least flip-flops at all times in and out of the house, and scrutinize the walls and ceilings obsessively. ---
**Author:** ![sivispacem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b19c9b/32.png) [@sivispacem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sivispacem)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-petrify-you/174599/36 "2003-05-12T23:33:02Z")
Something awful happening to my family or other extraneous loved ones, and knowing I could’ve prevented it. ---
**Author:** ![jacksen9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce73a5/32.png) [@jacksen9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacksen9)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2003, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-petrify-you/174599/37 "2003-05-12T23:44:48Z")
Snakes. I had to kill one in my back yard last week. I have dogs and I am scared that they will get snake-bitten. Driving in hard rain when an 18 wheeler passes me going about 70mph. For about three seconds you can’t see anything. ---
**Author:** ![Grace\_In\_Oz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/47e85d/32.png) [@Grace\_In\_Oz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grace_In_Oz)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-petrify-you/174599/38 "2003-05-13T00:11:02Z")
Spiders, heights, roaches (great big brown ones, the little ones are ok.) Bats! And I’ve just moved to Australia, where here in Sydney you just sort of casually see these HUGE horror movie bats. My lovely (and brand new, we just got married Sunday) Aussie husband assures me they aren’t really bats, more of flying foxes, but I think he’s trying to humor me. Ugh. UGH! I have this irrational fear they are going to fly into my long hair. UGH!! :eek: Grace ---
**Author:** ![MC\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@MC\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_E)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-petrify-you/174599/39 "2003-05-13T01:40:35Z")
Heights. More specifically, ladders, or being on the edge of a roof or cliff. I also have an irration fear of either being electrocuted when I touch equipment (even PC’s) I or someone else has been working on. I had a job once working with high pressure gasses and I was always afraid of being blown up working on stuff. I guess I’m just a scaredy-cat. MC$E ---
**Author:** ![Kyann22](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a4c791/32.png) [@Kyann22](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyann22)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2003, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-petrify-you/174599/40 "2003-05-13T04:29:35Z")
Spiders… and WINDOWS (not the Microsoft kind). I know that’s odd, but one of the old Friday the 13th movies has Jason jumping through this big picture window. I had one just like it right beside my bed during the time I watched it. Needless to say, I got a new room (and a night light) soon after that. So much for being a “big” girl and thinking I’m going to sneak and watch a scary movie. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-petrify-you/174599.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-petrify-you/174599.md?page=3)