Cotton Wool...
...I'm finding it difficult to even write about this (really...my skin is crawling and i'm finding it hard to stop shaking) but my irrational fear is...the awful white stuff mentioned above (sorry, can't bring myself to type it again)...I would explain my reasons but I can't 'cos i'm starting to freak out.

On a slightly less odd note I can't go near any more water than a puddle for fear of sharks and I have an absolute soul freezing terror whenever I think about death.

I am normal though yes?
( The Reverend Lord Lizard, Tue 27 Jan 2004, 16:02, Reply)

Many and varied
I'm afraid of eels, because when we were kids, a plumber fixing our sink told us that they can jump down your throat and eat your stomach out.

I don't like long metal bannisters. This goes back to when we were about 14. You know when someone says something like "There's nothing worse than having to queue for ten minutes at the post office" well, we decided to find the *real* worst thing, and we eventually agreed on: "There's nothing worse than sliding down the bannisters, discovering it's a razor blade, and having to use your balls as a brake". This is why I don't like bannisters.

Also Doncaster (nuff said)

Also, newspapers on the floor used as a dust sheet, with paint on them - having to clear them up makes my teeth go on edge and I shiver.

Last summer I couldn't drink beer out of a bottle for weeks after a massive blue-bottle drowned in my beer and I practically swallowed it.

Lastly, the Chuckle Brothers.

Whew! It's good to get that lot off my chest.

Thanx, Che
(Che Grimsdale Best before:, Tue 27 Jan 2004, 16:01, Reply)

Poor person 'The Schnitzel of Karate'
You poor sod! (terrified of badgers).
Someone should put you on Weebl's most famous video just to see what happens.

Not just to sound hard, but I'm not really scared, per se of anything because I've no problem with dying whatsoever. Heights can be a bit disorientating, and bugs put the shits up me though.
I don't like mirrors either - I don't like thinking there's some complete other world on the other side.

Imagine a world of lefties? shudder...
(BabyLoaf, Tue 27 Jan 2004, 16:00, Reply)

Loud noises and ballons.
Reason being: I got exploded as a child (100% of FACT!), by a "special" party popper my dearest grandpapa had made for some sort of display at a corporate hospitality thing.
I can't go out on bonfire night, or any night near it, without earplugs becuase the noise actually makes me run home crying.
And balloons becuase... ergh! Taut rubber full of nothing, and they pop so loudly.
Curiously: I nearly drowned as a child, but love water. I like fire too, but not explosive fire. I think I am a wrongbrain.
( wanky art student is liable to phwoar at any minute, Tue 27 Jan 2004, 15:58, Reply)

Mine's a bit boring really
I'm afraid of heights, but only in certain circumstances, like a tall ladder/balcony/cliff edge. I'm usually alright if I'm on my own, I can gradually get closer to the edge until I feel reasonably happy, but if I'm with other people I get the urge to kick their teeth in if they happen to get in my way or accidentally knock into me. Even if it's someone I really trust I just can't stand people being close to me when I'm high up. Strangely, I love flying - so 40,000 feet isn't a problem but 20 foot can be.
( Dogtanian, Tue 27 Jan 2004, 15:56, Reply)

My friend is afraid of celery.
My husband is afraid of small children dancing.
I have a very irrational reaction to news pictures of evil people on TV (serial killers etc). I don't like to breathe when their picture is showing as if somehow I'll inhale evil. Next to that, phobias of celery & children dancing seem fairly normal to me.
Oh, and I also have a fear of climbing - not of heights but just of going up hills/escalators/spiral staircases etc.
(MrsA, Tue 27 Jan 2004, 15:50, Reply)

I cringe...
... as I approach slip roads, and I don't even drive.
( Yoofaloof 'I like it here, wherever it is...', Tue 27 Jan 2004, 15:43, Reply)

This is true.
I am deathly afraid of the little girl who used to be on the Asda adverts - the one who whispered 'it's magic' in the worst serial killer rasp you could imagine.
I hate her.
I am also afraid of clowns because they kidnap children and bum them. I have proof.

Edit: I am also concerned that Silent Hill might be real.
(Sir Harrington Titsmith disgraced himself on, Tue 27 Jan 2004, 15:41, Reply)

Arrggghhhh! Armer Farmer!
"I'm always terrified that when I swim in a lake and I can't see the bottom, because it's more than 20 feet deep I flip-out, because I think some sort of monster is gonna get me."

I have this exact same fear - but I, at least, have an excuse.

When I was very young, I fell into a boating lake. Swimming (clutching in dear life more like!!) to the surface, I could just about make out the shape of a giant alligator on the surface, wating to eat me, so I stayed underwater. Seconds later, my Dad dragged me out of the water by my hair (literally).

The 'alligator' was actually a tethered railway sleeper, used to prevent the boats bashing into the sides. Suffice to say, this irrational fear of 'dark water' has stayed with me to this day! (Oh! The shame!!)
(Xodiak Gangrene is at work :(, Tue 27 Jan 2004, 15:40, Reply)

Odd...
No. 1
Friend arranged for a bunch of mates to go to a rugby match, all OK you might say... but no.
One of the group didn't mentioned their irrational fear, not of crowds or bug burly blokes or even bone-crunching violence but, most bizarrely, flags. What with the corner flags and the big Union Jack on the roof of the stand opposite he was a pretty unhappy puppy. Poor bugger spent the whole time gripping on to his girlfriend and had to leave before the end of the match.
Apparently the fear gets worse when the wind gets up and they start flapping about.
Never found out why though.

No 2
Mrs Bob has a phobia of wooden spoons, can't touch 'em, has to use the dishcloth to hold them when cooking. Multiply the fear tenfold when wet...(the spoon, not her).
(bob n bev, Tue 27 Jan 2004, 15:31, Reply)

Lemon
meringue!

Fucking sick bastards, i hope they all die of large pox!

Cunts!!!

Oh, and that white crud that builds up in the corner of your gob when your are intoxicated.
( Cosmo Smallpiece Nickers Nackers Knockers, Tue 27 Jan 2004, 15:29, Reply)

I can't walk on drain or manhole covers.
Oh and signs above the pavement that make a square. I can't walk under them. |**| = bad, |** = fine.

I'm 25 FFS.

I also worked with someone who had mortal fear of cotton wool and candy floss. He would seriously freak out when confronted with either. So obviously one time when he left his desk, I selotaped some cotton wool to his phone. When he got back to his desk I rang his extension.
( cupboardy, Tue 27 Jan 2004, 15:26, Reply)

I dunno...
but i have to put toilet paper on the seat before i use it... guess it's cause i've had a physically disabled person use my toilet when i was young, and i still fear that her germs are on it..

even though it's a completly different loo now


I really really hate cockroaches and woodlice too. Any insects with a hard shell. But that's not irrational... just girly


and another one! this is a bit more irrational... ROSIE AND FUCKING JIM

hate it hate it. gotta turn it over if it's on
( Naive Amoeba Bored Cig, Tue 27 Jan 2004, 15:20, Reply)

Clowns
Clowns erghhh!!
There demented psychos who have nothing better to do than to dress up and act funny. But underneath the mask, lies the a crazy psychos who plan there attack to take over human race and the end as we know it!!!
(jcmrocks247, Tue 27 Jan 2004, 15:15, Reply)

Hmm, where to start
Chalk. I hate that stuff on my hands. When I was in art class at school, I used to hate using it.

Telephones. I hate ringing people. I hate it so much that if I would quite happily never ring anyone again. Ever. I don't even like ringing up automated phone services. Thank goodness for email.

Fairgrounds, hospitals, sometimes pub toilets, but most of all, Boats/Ferries. Why? The possibility of seeing or hearing someone puke. Puking is my all time biggest fear and I would quite happily peel my skin off with razor blades than see anything like that happening.

Bonkers? Moi?
(pisshole_in_the_snow_eyes, Tue 27 Jan 2004, 15:15, Reply)

Birds
The dad of a friend of mine was afraid of birds. If they came anywhere near to him he'd start flapping his hands, try to hide and scream like a little girl. He was also a Policeman in the VIP Protection branch, Scottish, about 6'4" and looked like he should have been in the SAS.

Apparently, when he was a very wee babby, a bird flew into his pram and this is where it all stemmed from. Personally, I think he's just a bit of a wetpants.
(JamScones, Tue 27 Jan 2004, 15:07, Reply)

true but not interesting
heights.

big ones, tiny ones.

I can climb a tower fine - but once I get to a place where I can see a potential fall, my mind clicks over into this weird what if mode - and I start to plan all sorts of outlandish escape plans (if that guard rail gives way, I could perhaps jump to that house roof over there...).

Boring. Crazy all the same.
( Claws of Doom I am no longer infected, Tue 27 Jan 2004, 15:06, Reply)

When I was young I was terrified of waves
so I wouldn't go near the sea. This is because when people said "ooh - look at the waves" I never realised they just meant "look at the moving water" and I assumed that waves were nasty sea creatures that hid underwater and made it go all wobbly/peaky, which I couldn't see because the water was in the way.

These days I only have a fear of caterpillars sticking to me. And telephones. And I can't stand using peoples' names, I have to say "oi you" instead.
( dr_fonz, Tue 27 Jan 2004, 15:03, Reply)

I have a few...
first, I'm afraid that whenever I see someone is gonna be the last time I see them, i.e. "Mum, you're dying tomorrow of acne."
I am terrified of mirrors. For some reason, my subconscious believes that my reflection is going to kill me, and I'm mistrustful of mirrors as they don't show vampires. And I'm terrified of the dark. Especially looking in a mirror in the dark. Meh.

I also used to be frightened by toilets. When I was about seven I flushed the toilet at a resturaunt and it completely overflowed, water all over the floor *just water, mind you* because of that, up until I was 11 I was terrified of toilets so much that I would flush, run out of the bathroom, and sometimes hide behind my mum, saying the toilet water was out to get me. strange, strange child.
(Mreek, Tue 27 Jan 2004, 15:01, Reply)

I have an irrational fear of the word
I can barely say it...

"frothing"
( isthisyou?, Tue 27 Jan 2004, 14:55, Reply)

oh yeah
I'm also afraid of the Furby, I ended up getting my dad to take his batteries out and I shut his eyes and faced him away from my bed.
(iced_cooly, Tue 27 Jan 2004, 14:55, Reply)

flushing the toilet
scares me too. I always used to think that the tap and the toilet were connected to the same pipe, so if you turned on the tap while the toilet was flushing, all your pee pee or ca ca would get all over your hands.
(iced_cooly, Tue 27 Jan 2004, 14:54, Reply)

My mate Peter
used to be afraid that he was going to fall into the sky.
( isthisyou?, Tue 27 Jan 2004, 14:53, Reply)

caterpillars
fucking evil things. give me major fear.
( Dr. Kitteny Berk almost certainly drunk, Tue 27 Jan 2004, 14:52, Reply)

i know someone who
has a phobia of squashed peas. She doesn't mind eating peas, as long as she doesn't see any get squashed. If you squash them in front of her she cries. she is in her late twenties.
( mikeisbrill, Tue 27 Jan 2004, 14:49, Reply)

Flip-Top Lid
Teeth.........well, more precisely the sound or sight of people cleaning their teeth. Gives me the hee-bee-jee-bees
(Wombling nowhere near Wimbledon, Tue 27 Jan 2004, 14:48, Reply)

polystyrene
i hate the stuff especially when its squeaks.
i hate it when i open a box to find the pasta shaped ones and you have to dig into them to get an item out.
makes me grit my teeth just writing this
( Plomien is Polish for flame, Tue 27 Jan 2004, 14:48, Reply)

oh yes. something i specialise in = )
huge fear of spiders
a fear of walking on or touching rubbish in the street
a *massive* phobia of chewing gum. watching people with it makes me feel ill, i have to watch where i walk constantly so i don't step on any. that would probably make me physically sick
a fear of asking for help from strangers, though i am getting over that
fears around returning items to stores / asking for refunds
a fear my old school, from the horrors which went on there
a fear of a certain bus stop near me, and people with a certain name, as the last time i saw a person i *really* didn't want to see it was at that bus stop
a fear of the whole of leeds train station, especially the ticket collection booths, and to a lesser extent, all train stations, due to not paying the train fare once 3 or 4 years ago and getting caught
i used to have a fear of the court we kept the rubbish bins in at my old house due to a nightmare i had once of putting the bins out, and it falling over and spilling rubbish everywhere which i then had to clean up, and as i mentioned i hate touching rubbish
a fear of other people's old hair - like if it's on a cushion or something and i'm expected to sit on the cushion
a fear of the whole of liverpool as it's where someone who badly hurt me lived
a fear of the whole of denver for similar reasons, though i'm less likely to need to visit denver than liverpool
a fear of bouncers, they intimidate me, especially as i'm only 5'2"
a fear of weighing scales, though more what they'll tell me i weigh
a fear of public transport - because they're usually so dirty and full of rubbish, plus i expect the people on them to make fun of me
a fear of having people moving around behind me when i dont know what they're doing
a fear of crowds
a fear of loud, noisy, busy, crowded places - especially pubs and clubs. not helped by the fact these places have floors which are usually covered in cigarette butts - see the fear of dirt and rubbish
a fear of becoming my parents - suburban, middle class, decent income, 2 cars, 2.4 children; mediocre, soul destroying and the equivilent of already being dead to me
a *huge* fear of childbirth
a fear of items entering my vagina. it causes large amounts of physical pain, you see. no, i haven't had much sex recently
also due to the one above, a fear of being made to have a smear test. they keep pestering me to go have one you see.

EDIT: oh jesus, this is gonna be on my profile for ever now, isnt it?
( evil pixie, Tue 27 Jan 2004, 14:43, Reply)

This is serious now
I am not making this up, i've had this long before the B3ta/Weebl craze. I am terrified of Badgers.

I was told at a young age that they pounce on you and eat your neck.

I now get shivers when anyone mentions Badgers.
( karatesausage, Tue 27 Jan 2004, 14:39, Reply)

Barnacles. And swimming pools. And chickens.
When I was little I went on holiday, and met a girl who told me that if you step on a barnacle it will attach onto your foot and bite you, until you bleed to death. I'm not a big fan of the seaside now.....

Also, the grids at the bottom or side of swimming pools. They freak me out - as a kid I always thought if you swam near them they would suck you in and you'd drown.

And chickens cos of their freaky red eyes and lizard-like feet.

Is it sad to live your life in fear....?
(emma_fisi, Tue 27 Jan 2004, 14:39, Reply)