# What are you afraid of? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 15, 2010, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-afraid-of/546834 "2010-07-15T21:18:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-afraid-of/546834/61 "2010-07-17T21:06:56Z")
> [@Palo\_Verde](#): > > Earthquakes. I shutter to even write that. “Shudder”, not “shutter”. Unless you suddenly run to close up the windows whenever you think about it. Maybe I have a fear of word misuse. Heights, actually. Yeah, mundane as hell. Give me a bridge over a river with see-through metal grates and I’ll give you a quivering blob of jello. I don’t know which is worse: the fear of heights or the fear of drowning when I fall from it. Otherwise, I’m completely nor. . .GAH! What the fuck is THAT!? ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-afraid-of/546834/62 "2010-07-17T21:56:27Z")
> [@ivan\_astikov](#): > > As to what I’m afraid of, heights with nothing to hold onto. I couldn’t walk to the edge of a cliff face, for example. Thanks for articulating that. I’m not afraid of all heights, but that situation is quite daunting. Like a sturdy-looking rope bridge might be okay, but not if it is only the planks without handrails. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-afraid-of/546834/63 "2010-07-17T22:05:01Z")
1. Tsunamis. I’ve had multiple nightmares of tsunamis, the first ones predating the 2004 tsunami. The idea of the sea rising up and washing me away…oh god, I’ll probably have a nightmare about it tonight. 2. Losing my mind. 3. Tornadoes. We’ve had the tornado sirens go off like five times this summer, too. I’m PETRIFIED of tornadoes. 4. Cockroaches. I had a cockroach infestation in my house in India. OMG IT WAS AWFUL I CAN SPEAK OF IT NO MORE. 5. Fucking house centipedes. The world needs to be rid of house centipedes. They serve no purpose other than to freak me the fuck out. WHY SO MANY LEGS. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2010, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-afraid-of/546834/64 "2010-07-17T23:47:42Z")
Forty-three years after Vietnam, loud noises and fireworks still make me duck and my heart rate go up. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-afraid-of/546834/65 "2010-07-18T01:09:26Z")
Frankenstein never scared me! ---
**Author:** ![Giltathriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b38774/32.png) [@Giltathriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giltathriel)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-afraid-of/546834/66 "2010-07-18T01:15:23Z")
minor: caterpillars, worms and anything else that moves like that…::shudder:: major: never finding love ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-afraid-of/546834/67 "2010-07-18T06:10:17Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Thanks for articulating that. I’m not afraid of all heights, but that situation is quite daunting. Like a sturdy-looking rope bridge might be okay, but not if it is only the planks without handrails. Hey, at least we don’t have an irrational fear. A general wariness of great heights and a larger wariness of great falls, is an important survival trait, I’m sure. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-afraid-of/546834/68 "2010-07-18T06:39:35Z")
Room 101. Also what MacGiver said about sleeping and claustrophobia. I thought that was only me who did that, though only a few times. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-afraid-of/546834/69 "2010-07-18T06:56:11Z")
Ghosts is the biggest one. I don’t believe in them, yet the shivers I get just won’t go away. There’s a conference room I used to nap in at lunchtime, and after having a few nightmares (including one where I was being shaken awake!) I just can’t go in there any more. Buildings that have been said to be haunted I won’t go in, or if I do I will be very creeped out the whole time. Being in water deeper than I can touch the bottom. Especially natural waters like lakes and the ocean. People in general. ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2010, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-afraid-of/546834/70 "2010-07-18T07:23:10Z")
> [@EvilTOJ](#): > > Ghosts is the biggest one. I don’t believe in them, yet the shivers I get just won’t go away. There’s a conference room I used to nap in at lunchtime, and after having a few nightmares (including one where I was being shaken awake!) I just can’t go in there any more. Buildings that have been said to be haunted I won’t go in, or if I do I will be very creeped out the whole time. > > Being in water deeper than I can touch the bottom. Especially natural waters like lakes and the ocean. Ha, these are two of my fears EXACTLY. Even down to the not believing in ghosts bit. I’m actually really glad I don’t have the ability to “see” ghosts, because I think I’d literally shit myself to death if I saw one. My family and I all think that those “ghost hunter” type shows are ridiculous, but if I were actually ON one of those shows, I’d be curled up in a ball on the floor, weeping. Also, I’ve literally had nightmares about deep water. As for other little, stupid fears: I hate centipedes. Absolutely fucking hate them. Spiders are up there, too, though little tiny ones aren’t so bad. For a more serious fear, I am deeply afraid of home invasions, especially when sexual assault is involved. Home is supposed to be a safe place, after all, so any violation of that belief is, to me, unspeakably horrifying. And, of course, the idea of someone using my body as their own personal plaything without my consent is also deeply disturbing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-afraid-of/546834.md?page=3)