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Strange Things That Scared You (But Aren't Obviously 'Scary')

bugmum said:
As an ex-Fen girl, let me say "Oi!" Things can't creep up on you on the Fen, there are no hills and very few trees to hide behind! Dykes, on the other hand, should give you the fear - some of them are big enough to hide a car in. A school mate of mine went down one on a motorbike, smashed himself up quite badly, and was quite lucky to be found as you wouldn't have noticed from the road.
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A friend who lived in Fen country, East Anglia, I think; had an owl fly into him at night. His comment was "it really fucking hurt", I dare say the owl might have similar sentiments.
 
I think there's overlooking the essential issue:
There is irrational fear and there is a rational fear. We - over generations - have made rational fears irrational. And developed irrational fears too.
Yeah, sounds odd but let me explain.
Rats: associated with refuse and disease, these are actually clean and perform as nature's 'clean-up crew'. Like vultures. But the (past) rational fear of disease - indicated by rats - is now held irrational with our increased knowledge of the creature and likelihood of encounter. Fear of? Rational once but now not.
Spiders: depending on location, spiders may or may not be a real danger. But their appearance is considered unpleasant and parents behaviour informs the child so the child grows up not liking the appearance of a spider. This fear is close to being irrational as in most cases, there is no danger presented by said creature. Fear of? Rational in certain circumstances but now not.
Sharks: Aha! Sharks are dangerous therefore the fear of them is rational. While you are at risk from shark attack. If you are in no risk of shark attack then the fear of them is irrational. :) Fear of? See above.
I've heard explanations of those who fear spiders etc. that it's the appearance of them - the tail (?) in rats, the way they move in spiders. Now this is harder to rationalise.

I'm really interested in truly irrational fears. The "why are you scared of that" moment. Someone of my acquaintance has an absolute, gut-wrenchingly abhorrence of seeing ships sink, such as watching a film about the Titanic. Just can't bring herself to see it. She's been on ships, she's a good sea-traveler ... but it's the visualisation of it sinking that makes her almost faint. I posited that she's a reincarnation of someone who died in a sinking but, of course, I have no evidence of this. But it might be an interesting avenue to analysis of "irrational fears".
Bottom line is that I find it fascinating to examine what someone is feared of and why. :D
 
Stormkhan said:
I think there's overlooking the essential issue:
There is irrational fear and there is a rational fear. We - over generations - have made rational fears irrational. And developed irrational fears too.
Yeah, sounds odd but let me explain.
Rats: associated with refuse and disease, these are actually clean and perform as nature's 'clean-up crew'. Like vultures. But the (past) rational fear of disease - indicated by rats - is now held irrational with our increased knowledge of the creature and likelihood of encounter. Fear of? Rational once but now not.
Spiders: depending on location, spiders may or may not be a real danger. But their appearance is considered unpleasant and parents behaviour informs the child so the child grows up not liking the appearance of a spider. This fear is close to being irrational as in most cases, there is no danger presented by said creature. Fear of? Rational in certain circumstances but now not.
Sharks: Aha! Sharks are dangerous therefore the fear of them is rational. While you are at risk from shark attack. If you are in no risk of shark attack then the fear of them is irrational. :) Fear of? See above.
I've heard explanations of those who fear spiders etc. that it's the appearance of them - the tail (?) in rats, the way they move in spiders. Now this is harder to rationalise.

I'm really interested in truly irrational fears. The "why are you scared of that" moment. Someone of my acquaintance has an absolute, gut-wrenchingly abhorrence of seeing ships sink, such as watching a film about the Titanic. Just can't bring herself to see it. She's been on ships, she's a good sea-traveler ... but it's the visualisation of it sinking that makes her almost faint. I posited that she's a reincarnation of someone who died in a sinking but, of course, I have no evidence of this. But it might be an interesting avenue to analysis of "irrational fears".
Bottom line is that I find it fascinating to examine what someone is feared of and why. :D
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Rats can spread diseases to humans so they certainly are dirty.
 
Spreading a disease is different from being dirty.
Dog poo can spread disease. Dogs are not usually dirty.
 
Stormkhan said:
I think there's overlooking the essential issue:
There is irrational fear and there is a rational fear. We - over generations - have made rational fears irrational. And developed irrational fears too.
Yeah, sounds odd but let me explain.
Rats: associated with refuse and disease, these are actually clean and perform as nature's 'clean-up crew'. Like vultures. But the (past) rational fear of disease - indicated by rats - is now held irrational with our increased knowledge of the creature and likelihood of encounter. Fear of? Rational once but now not.
Spiders: depending on location, spiders may or may not be a real danger. But their appearance is considered unpleasant and parents behaviour informs the child so the child grows up not liking the appearance of a spider. This fear is close to being irrational as in most cases, there is no danger presented by said creature. Fear of? Rational in certain circumstances but now not.
Sharks: Aha! Sharks are dangerous therefore the fear of them is rational. While you are at risk from shark attack. If you are in no risk of shark attack then the fear of them is irrational. :) Fear of? See above.
I've heard explanations of those who fear spiders etc. that it's the appearance of them - the tail (?) in rats, the way they move in spiders. Now this is harder to rationalise.

I'm really interested in truly irrational fears. The "why are you scared of that" moment. Someone of my acquaintance has an absolute, gut-wrenchingly abhorrence of seeing ships sink, such as watching a film about the Titanic. Just can't bring herself to see it. She's been on ships, she's a good sea-traveler ... but it's the visualisation of it sinking that makes her almost faint. I posited that she's a reincarnation of someone who died in a sinking but, of course, I have no evidence of this. But it might be an interesting avenue to analysis of "irrational fears".
Bottom line is that I find it fascinating to examine what someone is feared of and why. :D
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I think ive mentioned before, a friend of mine has globaphobia, a fear of balloons
 
Souleater said:
I think ive mentioned before, a friend of mine has globaphobia, a fear of balloons
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Yup, a younger relation of mine has that. The family believe it was because his father used to frighten him by popping balloons near him when he was a toddler. His father is actually a twat so it's very likely.
 
A prime example of what I've suggested.
So irrational that the reason for it is really interesting. As Scargy points out, a sadistic 'joker'?
 
Stormkhan said:
A prime example of what I've suggested.
So irrational that the reason for it is really interesting. As Scargy points out, a sadistic 'joker'?
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But my friend is in his 50's and even though, i believe, his fear stems from a similar cause, at his age he knows balloons cant hurt him, yet he is still scared of them, that is irrational
 
Interesting discussion. Maybe the key to the difference between a rational and irrational fear comes down to the definition of 'hurt' as either physical hurt or psychological hurt. I mean, someone might fear a thing that can't physically cause them harm, but which has some unpleasant association (maybe forgotten or buried in the subconscious) that makes them feel anxious, threatened or even queasy. This could account for some of the more unusual phobias people have for inanimate objects. Certainly seems to fit with the balloon cruelty mentioned by escargot above. Our old dog used be terrified of balloons, he would turn to jelly at the sight of one, a learned response because of the bang they could make (he was sh*t scared of thunderstorms too) and me and my brother used to tease him mercilessly, as kids do, by approaching him with balloons hidden behind our backs, then whipping them out suddenly and making him bolt for safety under the sofa. Poor mutt.
 
Souleater said:
But my friend is in his 50's and even though, i believe, his fear stems from a similar cause, at his age he knows balloons cant hurt him, yet he is still scared of them, that is irrational
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Can relate. I've had a phobia since I was a kid which I only realised was such in my early 20s, when I suddenly remembered the incident that seemed to have caused it.

The thing still scares me even though I know it can't hurt me and I only fear it because little 4/5 year-old Me had a fright in the woodshed.

I can handle it now though. I just think 'It's a phobia, it's part of me, it's harmless!' whereas years ago I'd have chucked up.
 
Kryptonite said:
Did anyone else think there was something really sinister about the Michelin Man?
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I can see where you're coming from. I'm a bit of a fan of Bibendum (as he is known to his close friends) but you can clearly see below, he has been 'toned down' significantly over the years. He really was pretty grotesque to start with!

20210331_090714.jpg
 
Here is my own personal Michelin Man. He stands on a shelf in my den. Circa 1960s or 70s, I would guess from the chart above. I've owned him for at least 20 years. He isn't generally scary, he's quite a friendly old duffer, but a couple of nights ago I peeked into the room just before going to bed, just to make sure I had left my phone on charge. The room was in darkness, but old Bibendum stood out somehow. He almost seemed to be glowing very slightly. I'd never noticed that before! And then spookily Kryptonite posts on here about finding him sinister..... :oops:

IMG-20210331-WA0002.jpg
 
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I have a totally irrational fear of fish which I seem to have had since I was a child. I don't mind them dead ( although I would rather not have to gut and clean them) but cannot bear to look at them or be close to them. Just writing this makes me tense.

However my fear of frogs is even greater than this, I have been known to wait outside at night in the rain for amphibians to move away from the house so I can get in from walking the dog without getting to close. Worse than this, no-one in my family has seen a frog in the vicinity go th house, they only seem to break cover for my benefit.

No idea what that is all about
 
Eyespy said:
Worse than this, no-one in my family has seen a frog in the vicinity go th house, they only seem to break cover for my benefit.
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I have the same experience with cars when I'm trying to cross the street, or when I'm getting into or out of a parking space. No cars anywhere until I need to do what I do, and then it's a parade. :roll:
Perhaps there is potential for an "Repetitive and Inconvenient Coincidences" thread. :kersplat:
 
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CharmerKamelion said:
I can see where you're coming from. I'm a bit of a fan of Bibendum (as he is known to his close friends) but you can clearly see below, he has been 'toned down' significantly over the years. He really was pretty grotesque to start with!

View attachment 37457
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I even find the name Bibendum slightly sinister, not sure why, but it sounds like the name of a spirit or deity to me.
 
I never found the Michelin Man scarey. I first knew of him in the 50/60s and thought he was quite quite friendly and 'darling'. So much so that I don't see the 1898 version as sinister merely sad and in need of a hug. Ah but that's maternal instinct for ya!

Sollywos x
 
Two things me. One is fairly standard, the other not so.

Firstly, flying scares me. A lot. Every time I get on a plane I’m absolutely convinced it’s going to crash.

Secondly, a song scares me! On their first album Tears for Fears did a song called ‘The Prisoner’. I’ve not heard it for a very long time but whenever I listened to the song it always left me very uneasy!
 
CarlosTheDJ said:
It's not really a fear as such, but cotton wool makes my mouth go funny.
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When you touch it, or just thinking about it? I've heard people react to some textures in that way. Something in the metal of old 10p coins did something similar to me, I think 50p did as well, possibly 5p too. I'd almost get an "itchy" sensation under or around my nails and possibly a funny sensation in my teeth. I recall talking about it with a friend in my teens and she said "can you feel it in your teeth" and then mentioned some thing or things that made her teeth " feel funny" I can't remember what they were but it sounded like similar reactions were common.

By the way, what's your avatar?
 
Dwain Pipe said:
Secondly, a song scares me! On their first album Tears for Fears did a song called ‘The Prisoner’. I’ve not heard it for a very long time but whenever I listened to the song it always left me very uneasy!
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There's a lot of minor key notes in that song. I guess it can induce a feeling of unease.
 
Ogdred Weary said:
When you touch it, or just thinking about it? I've heard people react to some textures in that way. Something in the metal of old 10p coins did something similar to me, I think 50p did as well, possibly 5p too. I'd almost get an "itchy" sensation under or around my nails and possibly a funny sensation in my teeth. I recall talking about it with a friend in my teens and she said "can you feel it in your teeth" and then mentioned some thing or things that made her teeth " feel funny" I can't remember what they were but it sounded like similar reactions were common.

By the way, what's your avatar?
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Touching cotton wool is what sets my teeth on edge - thinking about it sets them off a bit though, as I've just discovered.

For my avatar info, I'll have to quote myself from another thread as I'm not typing that out again.

CarlosTheDJ said:
My new avatar is the next instalment in the occasional series of "Ridiculously Named Star Wars Characters".

And I think you'll agree this fits the bill.

Paodok’Draba’Takat Sap’De’Rekti Nik’Linke’Ti’ Ki’Vef’Nik’NeSevef’Li’Kek (also known as Pao)
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