Things that terrify: A rundown

I discovered something quite strange while on holiday at the Devon Cliffs Haven this week. I have a semi-phobia of amusement arcades. It's not as though I can't set foot in them without having a full-on panic attack or anything like that. They just make me feel quite nervous. Every time we had to walk through the arcade at Haven to get to the entertainment club, I had a sensation of unease. I think it's the jarring, discordant music of all of the machines, each attempting to entice you in with their creepy, overly cheerful tune. Then there's the garish flashing lights everywhere and the sudden, urgent ringing bells. Nope, arcades are not for me.

Having unearthed this hitherto unknown facet of my personality, I began contemplating my various other fears, and came to the conclusion that I am more mentally unstable than even I previously suspected. And so, on this dull Sunday evening, I bring you Lemonie's Top Five Phobias.


1. Enochlophobia (fear of crowds)
I hate being surrounded by lots of people. Not all the time - sometimes I'm fine - but if I'm in a club and there are too many people around me, I can't stand it, especially when they're touching me. I have been know to indulge in some irate elbowing of those who choose to dance enthusiastically right next to me, thus seriously invading my space. Mosh pits sound truly hellish.

2. Emetophobia (fear of vomit) 
Apparently this is pretty common, but I spoke to a friend about it the other day and she thought it was a bit odd. I can't watch people being sick on screen, even in films where I know it isn't real. Ugh. If a film has someone throwing up in it, even if the rest of the film is brilliant, I usually won't watch it again. Why oh why did I go to see The Hangover? I have no idea what I'll do if I ever have children.

3. Trypophobia (fear of clusters of holes)
Yeah, this is weird. I don't like things with lots of little holes in. Honeycombs, termite-eaten wood, pitted surfaces - they make my skin crawl. Even clusters of round things that aren't holes, like eggs, make me feel itchy all over.

The honeycomb picture isn't so bad, but I couldn't bring myself to post any of the ones that truly freak me out. Google 'trypophobia' and there's an image of a frog with eggs on its back. I can't look at that one!


4. Scoleciphobia (fear of worms and/or maggots)
Thinking about it, my hole phobia may be linked to this - maggots emerging from holes would be my worst nightmare; I'm shuddering at the thought. I've had a few dreams about having to walk over ground covered in lots of tiny worms. I think this fear was heightened after my school Head of Year's assembly on fishing. He picked up a box which he led us to believe contained maggots, and threw them into the audience. They were supposed to scatter across the first few rows, but in fact landed entirely on me. I jumped up from my seat, cried, 'Get them off me!' and then realised the 'maggots' were actually bits of string. Cue looking very stupid in front of my entire year.

5. Opidiophobia (fear of snakes)
Similar to the maggots, I suppose, but it's mostly the way they move that creeps me out. I made the mistake of watching 'Anaconda' when I was about 12 - horrendous film. Snakes are just horrible, enough said.

I want to include on the list a strong aversion to the noise things in the freezer make when they grate against each other, but I thought that was a little too odd. It's not even the noise, more like the sensation you can feel that goes right through your teeth and bones. It's my equivalent of the dislike people have of fingers scratching on a blackboard. Unfortunately this particular pet hate has no name, mainly because nobody else shares it!