Stupid Things

The top 30 stupid things that scare you.

1. Legs Hanging off the Bed

I’m scared of letting my legs hang off the bed when I’m sleeping at night. One time, I had a dream that a hand had reached up from under my bed and grabbed my ankle and pulled me under. It scared the poop out of me. I used to have to run at the bed and jump onto it, so nothing could grab my ankle. And when I got out of bed at night to go to the toilet, I would always have to stand up on my bed and launch myself halfway across the room so nothing could reach that far.

I eventually grew out of this when I got a bed with storage drawers underneath. No space for anything to hide under there. Now, i just have a fear that if I don’t cover my feet when I’m sleeping, someone is going to come into my bedroom and cut off my toes with a bolt cutters…

2. Deep Water

Lakes, ponds, any deep body of water terrifies the absolute poop out of me for some reason. By deep, I mean whenever I can’t see the bottom. I feel like, at any moment, a giant squid tentacle is just going to grab hold of my leg and drag me down into its beaked mouth.

When I was a kid, I went swimming in a lake. I didn’t realize until I got to the middle of the lake that there was some kind of very long grass-like plant growing up from underneath the lake everywhere. It was like long, soft fingers brushing up against my legs.

When my friends are having fun swimming in the lake, I’m out. “Have fun when the giant lake monster eats you!”

3. Cotton Balls

I have a terrible fear of cotton balls. Not just an aversion. They actually give me anxiety attacks. It’s the feeling of touching them that scares me. I can’t describe it… They have sort of have a squeaky feeling… Just the thought of it is making my teeth clench. It’s worse than fingernails on a chalkboard. I once passed out on the bathroom floor because I needed to take some pills, but I couldn’t work up the courage to take the cotton out of the bottle.

4. Zombies

I’m terrified by the idea of a Zombie Apocalypse. I’m dead serious, just the thought of waking up to a world of panic, chaos, and… zombies… freaks me out. The thought of it can keep me up all night after watching a zombie movie… Hahaha…. “dead serious”… Get it?

But can you blame me for being scared of the zombie apocalypse? I mean really. That is how it’s all going to end. Actually, being afraid of a zombie apocalypse isn’t stupid, it’s sane. When it happens, you’ll see. It’ll be every man for himself.

5. Soda Cans

Every time I open a soda can, I imagine my fingernails bending backwards or being ripped off. It’s so bad that when someone offers me a can of soda I always have to turn it down, because I’m afraid to open it and too embarrassed to ask someone else to open it for me.

6. Snails

I hate them. I’m afraid of them. I’m terrified of them. Snails are just gross and sticky and yucky and icky. Ever since I can remember, I have lived in fear of this small, slow, sluggish thing. I really don’t know why, but I can’t seem to get over it. Sometimes I think it’s ridiculous. When I was young, I had a bad dream about a man turning into a giant, smiling, oozing slug and I have never been able to shake the fear that instilled in me.

Once, when I was a kid, I was sitting on the ground, and I noticed snails all around me. It was like I was surrounded. I jumped up, ran into the house and asked my friend if there were any snails on me. She was like, “Yeah, they’re crawling all over you.” There and then, I stripped off all my clothes and ran, naked and screaming, through the living room and out onto the street.

7. Lizards

Lizard tails in particular… When I was young, I had a TV in my bedroom and the VCR was over my bed. One evening, while I was lying in bed, I was attempting to insert a video tape into the player which was somewhere over my head. A lizard came out and dropped its tail into my mouth. INTO. MY. MOUTH. After that, every time I even thought about a lizard, I would feel the lizard’s tail in my mouth all over again… BooHooHoo! =(

8. Balloons

I can’t be around balloons because I am convinced all they want to do is pop in my face. I hate the anticipation. You never know when they are going to pop. I have an irrational fear that they will spontaneously pop at any uncontrollable and unexpected time. The sound of a balloon popping startles me so much that I actually get uneasy at parties where there are tons of them. I start to shake uncontrollably and cover my ears. It’s like being in a room full of unexploded bombs.

Also, the squeak they make when people hold them or rub them is unbearable. I can’t even look at balloons on TV. If I’m at a party and someone is making balloon animals, I will leave or else I will end up crying. I’m 17.

As Roy said in the IT Crowd, “They have the capacity to give me a little fright, and I find that unbearable.”

9. Kites

I am terrified of kites. I guess it’s the idea of getting pulled into the sky that horrifies me? If I fly a kite, I feel genuinely unsettled and want to let it go before it drags me up into the air and takes me away.

10. Shower Drains

Drains scare me. Always have and always will. You never know what’s lurking under them. They’re so gross. Chills go down my spine just thinking about them. Stepping on drains or even getting near them freaks me out. Like the big drains at the bottom of a pool. If I stepped on one of those I’d probably scream. Or in the shower, I hate putting my foot near the drain. Just thinking about them gives me goosebumps. I don’t know why, it’s not like I think I’ll get sucked down or something like that.

When I was little, I was playing in the swimming pool and my mom walked past and said, “Be careful! Little kids die ALL THE TIME from getting their hair sucked into the drain and they can’t get it out and they get stuck underwater and drown…” Ever since then, I’ve been freaked out by drains in showers, baths, pools and jacuzzis. I know how they work. I know how safe they are. I know that it isn’t possible, but it still creeps me out…

11. Mirrors

I can’t be in the same room as mirrors at night without getting extremely uncomfortable. One of my biggest fears is that I’m going to see something out of place in the mirror or my reflection will do something weird. I will not go to the bathroom in the dark. I blame Bloody Mary.

12. Still Water

It’s more extreme disgust than fear, but I’m afraid of still water. I can’t deal with ponds and lakes, swimming pools, puddles or even full sinks and bathtubs. I can’t touch or be near them or I will start screaming and freaking out. If dishes get left in the sink to soak, I have to make someone else reach in and pull the plug or I start dry heaving. I don’t know what it is, but I imagine creepy things living or growing in any body of still water.

13. Holes in the Skin

Pores. Over-sized pores. They’re just the perfect size for a bug to crawl into them and lay eggs or eat and whatnot. Oh great. I am freaking myself out. I used to have dreams when I was in high school that I’d scratch at my acne and the heads would open and little tiny pellets would come pouring out of my forehead.

14. 18-wheelers

I hate large trucks. I have this morbid fear that a large truck is going to make a sharp turn and fall over onto me and crush me while I’m sitting at an intersection, waiting for the light. Every time I pass them on the road, I imagine them slightly wobbling like they are going to tip over and transform my car into an squashed tin can.

It’s especially bad when I have to drive next to them. I just grab the wheel and pray, “Pleasedontsquashme… Pleasedontsquashme… Pleasedontsquashme…”

I have recurring nightmares where I get pushed by the truck and crash head-on at full speed into one of those signs that reads: “Caution!”

Actually, this almost happened to me a few years ago. A dump truck was going to fast when it turned and it flipped on its side and landed right behind my car, but I had the fear LONG before that ever happened.

15. Seaweed

I’m absolutely terrified of seaweed. When I go swimming in lakes, I can’t go near the edges or I will start to hyperventilate. I can’t go swimming in a lake unless it’s deep enough that I can’t touch and someone else has been in first. One time, I went underwater in a submarine and we went through a kelp forest. I started to cry and flip out. Sadly, I’m not kidding. It’s a crippling fear.

16. Escalators

I will literally walk a mile just to avoid a damn escalator. I can’t go down an escalator without holding someone’s hand and closing my eyes. I shake like a leaf whenever I’m forced to ride one. They’re too long, too steep and I always imagine falling down them, getting sucked under and chewed up, getting my shoelaces caught in them

It’s the going down part that freaks me out most of all. It feels like the earth is falling away from my feet. The steps are so small and looking down makes you disoriented and dizzy. Heights in general don’t bother me as long as my feet are not moving.

There was one Dateline episode I watched when I was a kid and some poor boy got his shirt caught at the bottom of an escalator and he was being dragged down. They managed to stop the escalator, but he stuck there for a really long time and they showed the poor kid’s face and he looked so terrified.

17. Airplane Toilets

I’m deathly afraid of airplane toilets. I hate the loud noise when you flush I’m convinced that I’ll get sucked out through that little hole and fall 6 miles… 6 frozen, windy, piss-covered miles… to land with a sickening splat on the ground. I will only use the toilet while flying if it’s an emergency, and even then I’ll only pee. Never poop on an airplane. NEVER!

18. Hobos

They’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain…

19. Meteors

I am TERRIFIED of meteors. Just knowing that, at any moment, this big-ass space rock could come hurtling out of the sky and turn my brains into scrambled egg freaks me out. And nowhere is safe. Whether you’re outside or in your house, the meteor will get you.

20. Vomiting

I am scared of seeing someone vomit because I fear I might start throwing up too. I’m afraid of projectile vomiting in someone’s face while they’re talking to me… kind of like the girl in the Exorcist. The worst part about getting sick is that horrible sweaty feeling you get when you’re about to puke. And as it starts, you go kinda insane and can’t see right and then just start hurling uncontrollably. It sucks. I haven’t puked in years and I never intend to again. Vomit-free since 2003!

The Dream

There is an image in the Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark book that I am unreasonably scared of. It’s the illustration for a story called “The Dream”. I’m 21 now and the book is for kids, but the image still scares me to death. I haven’t seen it in about a year, but I always think about it and it keeps me up at night.

Look at the picture and read the scary story The Dream here.

Ceiling Fans

I am scared senseless of ceiling fans. I always think they are going drop on me and chop my face off when I am asleep.

Mannequins

I always think they’re pretending to stand still, just watching and waiting with those frozen smiles on their faces. And then, when nobody else is watching, I think they’re going to come alive and chase me.

My job is in landscaping, and one day, I was working for a lady who asked me to cut back this huge overgrown bush in her garden. As I was cutting, I revealed something hidden way deep inside. It was a statue of a little girl with her hands over her face like the weeping angels. The minute I laid eyes on it, the worst kind of fear shot through every inch of my body.

Tongues

I realize I have a tounge and so does everyone else in the world, but they’re so freaking weird. It’s like there’s a slug living in your mouth and you cant get it out.

Seals

Ever since I was young I have been terrified of seals, sea-lions, and walruses. Forget sharks, these guys are the true predators. Have you seen them? They are like, the tanks of the ocean. And their body shape? They are pretty much just a lump of blubber with some fins and a face stuck on. I still can’t enter any salt water without being afraid that there’s a seal waiting for me right where I’m about to jump in.

Napkins

When I was little, I was a messy eater and my mom would put multiple napkins next to my plate during meal times. My older brother would often kill insects (cockroaches, flies, spiders, crickets, etc) and hide them in between the napkins. Imagine my surprise when I picked up some napkins to wipe my face and a creepy crawly fell into my food or onto my lap. To this day, I never use napkins. I cringe at the sight of them. If my hands or face are messy, I’ll just wash them and let them dry naturally. Damn you, big brother!

Bananas

Thats right people. I have bananaphobia and it causes me to hyperventelate, vomit or stop breathing completely. I usually tell people I am allergic to bananas so they don’t make fun of me. The worst case was when I had a full-on panic attack and fainted in the post office because the woman behind me in the line was eating a banana. That was VERY embarassing to explain to the paramedics…

Grave Robbers

I am scared that after I die, my body will be stolen. I am a registered organ donor, so everything is up for grabs when I die. But once that is done, the leftovers are going in a casket and that casket is going in the ground, and it better STAY THERE. I will not have my moldy corpse dug up by some thrill seekers. I do not want my skull sitting on some teenager’s mantlepiece. I don’t want to become famous because then my fans might try digging me up and stealing my corpse. If my remains do go missing, I’ll be dead, so I won’t know about it, but I hope my wishes are granted, because I don’t want to become one of those skeletons hanging up in a science room. My will specifically mentions this: BURIED FOR KEEPS!

Tall Buildings

Tall buildings, skyscrapers and large structures scare me. It’s not that I’m afraid of heights. It doesn’t really bother me that much when I’m actually on them and looking down, but when I’m in the city, looking up at the huge buildings and skyscrapers, it freaks me out. I just feel like they are going to fall on me at any second.

Mind Readers

I am very scared that people can read my mind. Whenever I catch myself thinking something I don’t want other people to know about, I actively think of the sound of static sound so that if that if the telepaths tune into my brain waves, they can’t hear and will skip over me. I also try to think of funny things and then look around to see if anyone is laughing for no reason. I have actually done this since high school. I know this is absolutely ridiculous but I am still afraid. I recently found out my boyfriend does the same thing. We are obviously soulmates.

Popsicle Sticks

The feeling of my tongue against a popsicle stick makes every inch of my skin crawl. It makes me so nauseous, I want to throw up. My aunt is also terrified by the feeling of popsicle sticks. She literally screams at the top of her lungs if she so much as touches one.

Garage Doors

I’m afraid of garage doors… The automatic kind that have motion sensors and close on their own. I’m deathly afraid that something will go wrong and I will get trapped under it while it is closing and I’ll end up getting crushed.

Clocks

Clocks are terrifying. Seriously, they are so rhythmically haunting. I always feel like the ticking starts to speed up. It gets faster an faster until my head starts spinning and I can’t take it anymore. Then it goes back to normal as if nothing happened.

Bees

My dad told me a story when I was a kid about how some guy at his work got a wasp stuck in his ear, which stung the guy repeatedly until he got to the hospital and had to get it pulled out with tweezers. Ever since, I cover my ears when there’s a bee buzzing near my head.

Pressure Cookers

I hate these things. I am pretty sure that, one day, my pressure cooker will explode and tear me to pieces.

Bathroom Doors

When I’m in the bathroom, cleaning my ears with a Q-tip and my elbow is near the door, I’m always afraid someone is going to burst in without knocking and the door will slam against my elbow, causing me to poke the Q-tip deep into my ear canal and possibly damage my brain.

Also, when I’m barefoot in the bathroom and I’m standing at the toilet, peeing, I’m always afraid the door will open suddenly and the bottom of the door will scrape over my toes. There is also a nail sticking out of the bottom of the bathroom door to ensure they get scraped up real good. Maybe it’s just MY bathroom I’m afraid of.

Shells

When I was young, my parents used to have a crab shell hanging on the wall of our house. I was so terrified of it that I always avoided going into that room. My family and friends would tease me about it and sometimes they would even chase me with that shell and have me screaming and crying. I didn’t know why it scared me so much. There was no rational reason for it. Then, years later, I ate shrimp for the first time. All of a sudden, I had difficulty breathing and started to swell up. When I went to the doctor, I was diagnosed with a shellfish allergy.