Paul Whybrow
Full Member
- Jun 20, 2015
A phobia is defined by Artha, the online thesaurus, as 'an anxiety disorder characterized by extreme and irrational fear of simple things or social situations.'
In an old thread, we discussed what frightens us in in film and fiction, but most of those fears were rational. In my current WIP, I'm in the process of creating an antagonist, a rufty-tufty cat burglar who's an ex-marine. He's plainly unafraid of heights, as he breaks into houses at rooftop level, but I thought it would be fun to give this rugged villain a phobia.
I already have one of my detective team phobic about being on water—he "gets seasick stepping in a puddle"—and a murdering farmer believed he was haunted by ghosts, which is known as Phasmophobia or Spectrophobia. While hallucinating, he spoke to his victims, giving away his crimes to his battered wife, who turned against him in a cunning way.
I intend my cat burglar to be caught out by his phobia, which will gibe with a sub-theme of my story, about how we all tend to trip ourselves up by misdirecting our mental gaze. My detective protagonist will miss vital clues, as he's distracted by falling in love, and his quarry, a homicidal art gallery owner reveres paintings more than he does people, so is unaware of how close the coppers are to capturing him.
I've known people who suffered from strange phobias, picked up in childhood, which is when many phobias begin as a result of some stressful experience. One man, an ex-boxer given to brawling in pubs, was terrified of dogs. His phobia included tiny Chihuahuas, and he'd leave the bar if someone came in with such a lapdog. His fear derived from being badly mauled as a child by a stray dog, which gave him some of the facial scars that people thought came from fisticuffs.
An infant teacher was scared of fish, which sounds like an odd thing to be afraid of, as it included fish of all sizes—not just sharks—and goldfish are common pets in classrooms, which made her job awkward. She got her phobia from a childhood prank, set up by her sister. Their dad was a keen angler, bringing his catches home for the family to eat. One night the little girl went to enter her bedroom, opening the door and reaching around the corner to turn the light on. What she felt was revolting, for her sister had dangled a dead fish from a string, to cover the switch, and sat on the bed laughing at the terror it induced!
My mother was terrified of spiders, from being teased with them by her older sister. Phobias can be passed on through the generations, though thankfully, I avoided this arachnophobia. Mind you, I became considerably more wary of spiders, after living in the U.S.A. where the Black Widow and Brown Recluse thrive. The former has a greater reputation for evil, but as our American members know, the Brown Recluse packs a greater punch with necrotic poison that destroys human tissue:
WARNING: Brown Recluse Spider Bite Pictures :: Brown Recluse Bite
(Not for the squeamish!)
I was bitten by a Black Widow, while cleaning out guttering, standing 20' above the ground on a ladder. I felt something wriggling in my beard and swatted at it, before brushing it off, only noticing the dead spider on climbing down. I felt giddy, with chills and a hot sweat, and I threw up for about nine hours until I was as hollow as a drum. The experience didn't give me any Spidey powers
, though, to this day, my cheek sometimes itches where I was bitten.
Many fictional characters have phobias. Ron Weasley is afraid of spiders, Peter Pan is afraid of growing old, Miss Haversham has a fear of changes, Captain Hook loathes crocodiles,and Indiana Jones detests snakes.
Have you given any of your fictional characters a phobia?
Do you have any phobias?
Hopefully, none of us suffer from Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia—the fear of long words!
In an old thread, we discussed what frightens us in in film and fiction, but most of those fears were rational. In my current WIP, I'm in the process of creating an antagonist, a rufty-tufty cat burglar who's an ex-marine. He's plainly unafraid of heights, as he breaks into houses at rooftop level, but I thought it would be fun to give this rugged villain a phobia.
I already have one of my detective team phobic about being on water—he "gets seasick stepping in a puddle"—and a murdering farmer believed he was haunted by ghosts, which is known as Phasmophobia or Spectrophobia. While hallucinating, he spoke to his victims, giving away his crimes to his battered wife, who turned against him in a cunning way.
I intend my cat burglar to be caught out by his phobia, which will gibe with a sub-theme of my story, about how we all tend to trip ourselves up by misdirecting our mental gaze. My detective protagonist will miss vital clues, as he's distracted by falling in love, and his quarry, a homicidal art gallery owner reveres paintings more than he does people, so is unaware of how close the coppers are to capturing him.
I've known people who suffered from strange phobias, picked up in childhood, which is when many phobias begin as a result of some stressful experience. One man, an ex-boxer given to brawling in pubs, was terrified of dogs. His phobia included tiny Chihuahuas, and he'd leave the bar if someone came in with such a lapdog. His fear derived from being badly mauled as a child by a stray dog, which gave him some of the facial scars that people thought came from fisticuffs.
An infant teacher was scared of fish, which sounds like an odd thing to be afraid of, as it included fish of all sizes—not just sharks—and goldfish are common pets in classrooms, which made her job awkward. She got her phobia from a childhood prank, set up by her sister. Their dad was a keen angler, bringing his catches home for the family to eat. One night the little girl went to enter her bedroom, opening the door and reaching around the corner to turn the light on. What she felt was revolting, for her sister had dangled a dead fish from a string, to cover the switch, and sat on the bed laughing at the terror it induced!
My mother was terrified of spiders, from being teased with them by her older sister. Phobias can be passed on through the generations, though thankfully, I avoided this arachnophobia. Mind you, I became considerably more wary of spiders, after living in the U.S.A. where the Black Widow and Brown Recluse thrive. The former has a greater reputation for evil, but as our American members know, the Brown Recluse packs a greater punch with necrotic poison that destroys human tissue:
WARNING: Brown Recluse Spider Bite Pictures :: Brown Recluse Bite
(Not for the squeamish!)
I was bitten by a Black Widow, while cleaning out guttering, standing 20' above the ground on a ladder. I felt something wriggling in my beard and swatted at it, before brushing it off, only noticing the dead spider on climbing down. I felt giddy, with chills and a hot sweat, and I threw up for about nine hours until I was as hollow as a drum. The experience didn't give me any Spidey powers
, though, to this day, my cheek sometimes itches where I was bitten.Many fictional characters have phobias. Ron Weasley is afraid of spiders, Peter Pan is afraid of growing old, Miss Haversham has a fear of changes, Captain Hook loathes crocodiles,and Indiana Jones detests snakes.
Have you given any of your fictional characters a phobia?
Do you have any phobias?
Hopefully, none of us suffer from Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia—the fear of long words!
Last edited:
