15 Uncommon Phobias That People Actually Have

    You probably were never afraid of dying in a hotel and embarrassing your mom... until now.

    Davi Rocha
    by Davi Rocha

    Equipe BuzzFeed, Brasil

    These are all true stories from actual people, collected by our colleagues at BuzzFeed Brazil. The stories have been edited for clarity and/or length.

    1. Fear of people dressed as characters

    Twitter / Via Twitter: @heyreinaldo

    "I always used to run away when I saw people at the mall in costumes. The only place I can face this fear is at Disney parks, haha." –Juliana Azevedo

    2. Fear of capybaras

    Edgar Sylvester / Getty Images

    "I've never seen one, but I've avoided them ever since I was a kid and saw a report on the ticks carried by capybaras. Horses have them too, and they're apparently the size of beetles. I've hates capybaras ever since, and I thank god that I've never seen one." –Sheyla Hamashy

    3. Fear of caterpillars

    Nina_piankova / Getty Images

    "I'm absolutely terrified of seeing one cross in front of me while I'm walking down the sidewalk." –Gabriela Salles Gratão

    4. An irrational fear of pregnancy

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    "It seems like women are always in agony, but they pretend that they aren't. I always feel like their stomachs are about to burst open that there will be blood everywhere. And when you can see the baby move, it looks like it's eating its mom from the inside." –Julia Mattos

    5. Fear of electric sockets

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    "They seem so harmless, but they're actually pretty damn dangerous." –Karina Stephanie

    6. Fear of flushing toilets

    Giphy / Via quicklol.com

    "I always close the lid before I flush, and then I get out of the bathroom as fast as possible." –Adriano Cezar

    7. Fear of dying in a motel

    FX

    "I'm terrified of dying in a motel somewhere, and that the scandalous reports will come out and embarrass my mom." –Drieli Sousa

    8. Fear of parking in a parking garage

    Vasiliki / Getty Images

    "It always feels like a serial killer is going to jump out and get me." –Cátia Rubira Fernandes

    9. Fear of dams

    Norberto Duarte / AFP / Getty Images

    "Just thinking about all that water, and the possibility of it bursting out. When they go on about the millions of cubic meters of water being held back by dams, it just gives me the creeps." –Lorena Lisboa

    10. Fear of marine animals

    Twitter / Via Twitter: @Unexplained

    "As soon as I get in the water, I think about jellyfish stinging me, or worry that I'm going to step on one of those fish that have spines, or that I'm going to fall out of a boat and a shark if going to eat me." –Beatriz Mafra

    11. Fear of planets

    12. Fear of revolving doors

    SBT

    "I'm scared stiff of not having time to get out of a revolving door, and getting trapped inside and then being shamed by that. In the airport where I'm from, there's one of those enormous revolving doors that has room for several people at once, and it always makes me tense when I use it. I always bump into the glass in front of me because I'm looking back and worrying about the glass behind me." –Elaine Andrade Barbosa

    13. Fear of the movie The Others

    Dimension Films

    "I have an almost irrational fear of that movie The Others. I can't even watch the trailer without feeling terrified. Even the mere mention of it scares me." –Ana Claudia Squarça

    14. Fear of ABBA

    Hulton Archive / Getty Images

    "When i was a kid, I was terrified of the musicians from ABBA." –Gabriela Salles Gratão

    15. Fear of sharks

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    "My Selachophobia (fear of sharks) is so bad that I can't even close my eyes when I'm in the bathtub, and I never get into pools alone. Even the Bruce character from Finding Nemo and that 'duh-dun duh-dun' theme from Jaws give me panic attacks." –Tati Claro

    This post was translated from Portuguese.