# What's your greatest unholy dread? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 19, 2004, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unholy-dread/264942 "2004-09-19T03:10:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2004, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unholy-dread/264942/61 "2004-09-22T14:23:38Z")
> [@flamingbananas](#): > > Ahhhhhh! I’ve had that HAPPEN to me before! A friend stepped on a hive and I had more then **100 WASPS CRAWLING UP MY LEGS!** :eek: :eek: :eek: Yeeeesh! That’s terrible! I hope you recovered okay. How badly was your friend stung? ---
**Author:** ![smartini](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/22d042/32.png) [@smartini](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smartini)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2004, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unholy-dread/264942/62 "2004-09-22T14:33:19Z")
> [@Yumblie](#): > > Also, beehives, or any dense collection of bees. There was a news story of people finding an old abandoned trailor that had been turned into a giant beehive. Just imagine walking in it, or falling in it. Ugh. Just thinking about it makes me shudder. When I was a kid I was quite the tomboy. One day I decided to walk around the outside edge of my neighbors second floor porch sticking my hands under the banister to hold on…yep…you guessed it…about halfway around I stuck my hand into a wasps’ nest :eek: Much yelling and carrying on brought the adults who hoisted me over the bannister but not before I was stung quite a few times. For some reason it did not give me an inordinate fear of bees or heights…unless the bees were under my bed, of course. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![gfloyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d2c977/32.png) [@gfloyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gfloyd)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unholy-dread/264942/63 "2004-09-23T00:56:13Z")
I have three bizarre fears. Doctors, butterflies and stairs. And all for good reasons. But I’ve had to come to deal with it, as well, you can’t really hide from butterflies, doctors and stairs for the rest of your life. ---
**Author:** ![flamingbananas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f4b2a3/32.png) [@flamingbananas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flamingbananas)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unholy-dread/264942/64 "2004-09-23T01:04:23Z")
> [@dwc1970](#): > > Yeeeesh! That’s terrible! I hope you recovered okay. How badly was your friend stung? She was only stung twice while I was stung over 20 times. _grumbles_ ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unholy-dread/264942/65 "2004-09-23T03:10:53Z")
Doctors, and specifically those sharp things they stick into me. Yeah, yeah, everyone hates shots. Would that it were this simple. I’ve fainted when getting injections before; I’ve avoided travelling to other countries because I couldn’t stand the thought of getting a needle stuck in me; I’ve gotten physically ill at the mere idea that a doctor was about to draw blood from me. It makes no sense, and I can belittle it all I want now, but if I so much as see a movie in which a character is getting a shot, I go pale and find myself wanting to whimper. It doesn’t help that my father is a doctor, and his girlfriend is a diabetes nurse, and that they love to discuss procedures when I visit them. ☹ Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Fish\_Cheer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fish_cheer/32/17179_2.png) [@Fish\_Cheer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish_Cheer)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unholy-dread/264942/66 "2004-09-23T09:47:35Z")
> [@Ghanima](#): > > A paper cut…on my eyeball!!! Whoa. This is gross. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![bluecanary](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bluecanary/32/3614_2.png) [@bluecanary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bluecanary)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unholy-dread/264942/67 "2004-09-23T13:12:22Z")
Doctors and Stairs I think I can understand, but _butterflies_? Pray tell, **gfloyd**. ---
**Author:** ![gfloyd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d2c977/32.png) [@gfloyd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gfloyd)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unholy-dread/264942/68 "2004-09-23T17:29:38Z")
I’m actually not bothered by needles, I’m a regular blood and platelette donor, it’s the doctors that freak me out. Odd, as for a good junk of my youth I thought I wanted to be one. Oh well. Butterflies and moths, actually. When I was three, a huge, dinner plate sized one got into my bedroom as I was about to fall asleep and scared to bejeezes out of me. Ever since, they make my heart race. I can take small butterflies in big spaces, but other than that, I want to freak out. ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unholy-dread/264942/69 "2004-09-23T18:00:02Z")
I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one freaked out by the idea of a papercut on your eyeball. It makes me feel less alone. But I am puzzled… **FilmGeek, Mirror** are you saying that when this happens, the highly pressurized, gelatinous blue-ish slimy goo that I imagine to be inside one’s eyeball does not come gushing out and dripping down your face? Maybe its not so bad after all… **tries to imagine papercut on one’s eyeball again** Nope, still horribly, horribly terrifying. ---
**Author:** ![flamingbananas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f4b2a3/32.png) [@flamingbananas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flamingbananas)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unholy-dread/264942/70 "2004-09-23T20:40:00Z")
> [@Ghanima](#): > > I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one freaked out by the idea of a papercut on your eyeball. It makes me feel less alone. But I am puzzled… **FilmGeek, Mirror** are you saying that when this happens, the highly pressurized, gelatinous blue-ish slimy goo that I imagine to be inside one’s eyeball does not come gushing out and dripping down your face? Maybe its not so bad after all… > > **tries to imagine papercut on one’s eyeball again** > > Nope, still horribly, horribly terrifying. You mean there is blue-ish slime in your eyeball? Ewwww… ---
**Author:** ![Chimpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@Chimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimpy)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unholy-dread/264942/71 "2004-09-23T20:48:53Z")
> [@Ghanima](#): > > I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one freaked out by the idea of a papercut on your eyeball. It makes me feel less alone. But I am puzzled… **FilmGeek, Mirror** are you saying that when this happens, the highly pressurized, gelatinous blue-ish slimy goo that I imagine to be inside one’s eyeball does not come gushing out and dripping down your face? Maybe its not so bad after all… > > **tries to imagine papercut on one’s eyeball again** > > Nope, still horribly, horribly terrifying. The sclera is extremely thick, you’d just slice through the outter layer, the name of which i can’t remember but i remember disecting pig’s eyes- trying to cut through the sclera was very hard. Mine used to be being upside down in a kayak with a spraydeck on, I once broke my arm during an eskimo rescue so it wasn’t totally irrational. Nowadays I have no trouble with water confidence like that I got over with plenty of practice but the thought of being trapped underwater like I was still sends shivers down my spine. ---
**Author:** ![Shrinking\_Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Shrinking\_Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shrinking_Violet)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2004, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unholy-dread/264942/72 "2004-09-23T23:46:12Z")
Spontaneous human combustion. _shudder_ ---
**Author:** ![look\_ninjas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b2d939/32.png) [@look\_ninjas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/look_ninjas)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unholy-dread/264942/73 "2004-09-24T00:12:29Z")
Headlights in the rearview mirror, especially if they’re from a large truck or SUV. I think **Maximum Overdrive** is to blame; I watched it when I was little, and it freaked the Hell out of me. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unholy-dread/264942/74 "2004-09-24T00:50:19Z")
> [@Ghanima](#): > > A paper cut…on my eyeball!!! For whatever reason this freaks me the hell out. You know, you’d be surprised how quickly and easily the eye heals itself. I once saw someone accidentally cut her eyeball with scissors. (She was blonde. Real blonde. She asked me today if Tucson was in Asia, and upon being informed of its being in Arizona, she asked, “Arizona…sounds familiar…is that near Vietnam?”) Anyway, the teacher who was there with us told her to stay calm and close her eyes, and the ol’ looker would heal right up. I seem to remember it healing totally within 20 minutes. Resilient little things, those eyes. Having something stuck in your eye is a different story, but it would seem that cuts on the eyes, while surely incredibly painful, are not incredibly dangerous in light of the eye’s self repairing mechanisms. As for the things that truly scare me: - Swimming in the ocean. I’d never venture beyond waist-deep into the ocean unless I were on a boat or other such vessel. Swimming and pools scared me for a long time because my first pool experience was falling in one and, were it not for my parents being there, almost drowning. I can swim in pools these days, but even then I’m a little freaked. - Small, cramped, dark tunnels, because of the possibility of getting bitten/eaten/poisoned/covered by bugs. - Fire or being burned. One of my friends has an intense fear of getting razorblades stuck in his teeth whenever he handles said razorblades. Was quite interesting, since he was truly a cocaine addict for several months and was thus handling razorblades on a regular basis. Another friend has a fear of vampires, leading him to be uncomfortable in any situation involving baring his shoulders and neck–yes, that too. Another friend has a fear of a monster coming up from the depths of the toilet bowl and pulling out her innards. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unholy-dread/264942/75 "2004-09-24T00:59:42Z")
> [@flamingbananas](#): > > You mean there is blue-ish slime in your eyeball? Ewwww… > [@Ghanima](#): > > I’m glad to see that I’m not the only one freaked out by the idea of a papercut on your eyeball. It makes me feel less alone. But I am puzzled…FilmGeek, Mirror are you saying that when this happens, the highly pressurized, gelatinous blue-ish slimy goo that **I imagine** to be inside one’s eyeball does not come gushing out and dripping down your face? Maybe its not so bad after all… (Bolding mine) She said she imagined it. As in, it’s not really there. Easy detail to miss. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unholy-dread/264942/76 "2004-09-24T12:32:29Z")
> [@Binarydrone](#): > > I am sure that this is going to sound strange, but for me it is the gas masks and boot leggings (those kaki lace up things that go over the boots) associated with World War I. Can’t say why, but when I see them I get the Screaming Meemies™. I don’t get the screaming meemies from gas masks, but I hyperventilate when I have to use 'em. I never think I’m getting enough air. What gives me my worst moments are two thigns: First, the idea of anyone or anything touching my belly button; and secondly, the concept of eternity makes me want to curl into a feotal ball and make it all go away. ---
**Author:** ![Tiggrkitty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tiggrkitty/32/17966_2.png) [@Tiggrkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tiggrkitty)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unholy-dread/264942/77 "2004-09-24T12:36:10Z")
When I was in grade school my parents owned a boat. Not a big boat, just a 15 foot cabin cruiser. Every weekend in the summer we went to the lake. I had this unGodly fear of the dam in one of those lakes. My dad always pulled skiiers around the damn because the water was deeper and there were no stumps. I swear, I cried everytime he got near the dam. For some reason I was afraid they would open the dam gates and we would get sucked down into it. Terrified doesn’t even begin to explain how scared I was. As an adult, nothing really freaks me out too much. I think my worst fear would be waking up to a stranger in my house ready to stab me to death. ---
**Author:** ![elfbabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b782af/32.png) [@elfbabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfbabe)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unholy-dread/264942/78 "2004-09-24T13:28:01Z")
Zombies, particularly the idea of my boyfriend turning into one. (Yeah, _Dawn of the Dead_ was… a little upsetting for me.) Zombie **Qadgop** is scary too, but I know I could probably outrun HIM even if we ended up in a fast-zombie scenario. Swarms of bees, wasps, or hornets. I can handle them okay individually, but writhing masses of them are very scary. Tan Toyota Camrys, but only while someone’s driving them. Actually, I’ve mostly gotten over this one. Now it’s only tan Camrys driven by thin, dark-haired males that make me start hyperventilating. Going to a doctor doesn’t scare me at all and never has - probably for obvious reasons. ---
**Author:** ![bdandhr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9d8465/32.png) [@bdandhr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdandhr)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unholy-dread/264942/79 "2004-09-24T14:38:48Z")
Just the thought of any tragedy befalling my grandson. He is almost three and (to me) the most adorable thing on this planet!! I never, ever want to see him suffer… ---
**Author:** ![Cluricaun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2004, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unholy-dread/264942/80 "2004-09-24T15:43:28Z")
I remeber reading somewhere once that all humans have an innate fear of dark water and falling. These are programmed as survival instincts. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unholy-dread/264942.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-greatest-unholy-dread/264942.md?page=5)