These 13 Rare (but Real) Phobias May Surprise You

Do you know anyone with arachnophobia? It's a much better known condition than koumpounophobia, the fear of buttons... even though one of the best known figures in computing was a sufferer! Let's explore...

• The Difference Between Fear and Phobia
• Fear of Yellow: Xanthophobia
• Fear of Mirrors: Catoptrophobia, Spectrophobia or Eisoptrophobia
• Fear of Stairs: Bathmophobia or Climacophobia
• Fear of String: Linonophobia
• Fear of Forgetting: Athazagoraphobia
• Fear of Buttons: Koumpounophobia
• Fear of Chickens: Alektorophobia
• Fear of Bananas: Bananaphobia
• Fear of Being Watched by a Duck or Goose: Anatidaephobia
• Fear of Balloons: Globophobia
• Fear of Woods or Wooden Objects: Xylophobia
• Fear of Fear: Phobophobia
• Fear of Thirteen: Triskaidekaphobia

The Difference Between Fear and Phobia

Fear's a normal part of the healthy human mind. It kept your ancestors from petting hissing snakes and growling bears or hanging around cliff edges and armed rivals.

Phobias are different because the fear they cause is excessive, irrational or both. Someone might reasonably fear a snarling dog, but phobia could see someone running from a sleeping pug puppy!

There doesn't seem to be a single cause for phobias - they've developed out of traumatic incidents, been "learned" from family members and may even have roots in our genetics.

One experiment found that babies reacted to pictures of snakes and spiders with larger pupils than when they were shown pictures of flowers and fish... which suggests that they are "ready" to fear these animals, even without any personal experience!

It's easy to see how someone could become phobic of venomous creepy crawlies, but (as I mentioned above) phobias can also be irrational...

Fear of Yellow: Xanthophobia

Did you know that it's possible to be phobic of a color? Xanthobia is a chromophobia, specifically the fear of the color yellow - something that can be incredibly hard to avoid. Sufferers can end up cutting themselves off from the outside world in an attempt to avoid seeing it.

Though the phobia may sound strange, it is worth pointing out that wasps, bees and hornets often have yellow coloration - a bad experience with one of these insects at an early age might cause enough trauma to build a phobia... as could seeing yellow cars involved in an accident.

Fear of Mirrors: Catoptrophobia, Spectrophobia or Eisoptrophobia

Do you think you could handle being afraid of your own reflection? This phobia goes by several names, but all amount to an intense fear of mirrors - or what they reflect.

It's thought that problems with body image might lead to spectrophobia... but a strong belief in the supernatural (and speculating on what might be lurking "in" a mirror) could also lead to developing this condition!

Fear of Stairs: Bathmophobia or Climacophobia

Probably one of the most understandable strange phobias on this list, bathmophobia is a fear of stairs.

It's pretty easy to see how someone could develop such a fear when you think about it - I imagine almost everyone has had that heart-stopping moment when you slip on the edge of a stair (or simply put your foot down in the wrong place.) Imagine how much more traumatic it must be to fall down a stairway (or witness someone else taking such a tumble.)

Fear of String: Linonophobia

How long is a piece of string? Any length at all would be too long in the opinion of folk with linonophobia.

This rare phobia is characterized by a dread of string or thread - it's thought to stem from fear of being restrained or tied up, whether through personal experience... or through watching too many movies involving kidnappings!

Fear of Forgetting: Athazagoraphobia

How well do you think you'd cope with the loss of your memory - or the those you care about forgetting you?

Athazagoraphobia is an intense fear of forgetting or being forgotten. People who have family experiencing Alzheimer's disease or other forms of amnesia are particularly at risk of developing it, for obvious reasons.

Fear of Buttons: Koumpounophobia

They may seem pretty innocuous, but people with koumpounophobia have a fear of buttons.

There's no clear reason as to why this phobia develops. One possible explanation is that old buttons can seem dirty and may trigger disgust or a fear of infection. Another is that a bad experience with buttons as a child (swallowing or inhaling them) could lead to an aversion in later life.

Steve Jobs (co-founder of Apple) had koumpounophobia, which may have driven him towards Apple products relying on touchscreens rather than keys and buttons!

Fear of Chickens: Alektorophobia

The somewhat ironic fear of chickens is known as alektorophobia.

To be honest, it's not as mystifying as it seems. Real live chickens can be noisy and aggressive, flapping, squawking and pecking when agitated. A bad experience when young could easily set one on the path of a phobia!

Fear of Bananas: Bananaphobia

As strange as it sounds, there are folk with bananaphobia, an unimaginatively named fear of bananas.

Perhaps this one isn't so hard to explain. Many people like bananas, but if you don't... and were forced to eat them as a child, you could develop a strong aversion to them The fact that they have a distinctive color, shape, texture and smell probably doesn't help!

Fear of Being Watched by a Duck or Goose: Anatidaephobia

Anatidaephobia (a term originally coined in a Far Side cartoon) isn't explicitly recognized in psychology... but being afraid that you are being stalked by a duck or goose still counts as a phobia, since sufferers are irrationally afraid of a type of animal.

I can also tell you that some people are genuinely terrified by geese - I know someone that outright panics if one gets close!

Fear of Balloons: Globophobia

Globophobia is a fear of balloons, one that can be triggered by sight, feeling or scent... but most easily, by the sound of a balloon popping.

This actually makes quite a lot of sense - you're most likely to encounter balloons when you're young and attending parties. You've got a colorful balloon to play with, when suddenly it pops. The sharp bang and the sting of recoiling rubber could easily leave you with a bad memory that could grow into a phobia.

Fear of Woods or Wooden Objects: Xylophobia

Far from enjoying peaceful walks in woodland, people with xylophobia have a deep fear of wooden objects and wooded areas.

Being lost in the woods could easily be the kind of experience that leads to a phobia, but other unpleasant experiences (such as being struck by a baseball bat or picking up a wooden object and getting a hand full of splinters) might also be culprits!

Fear of Fear: Phobophobia

When Roosevelt said "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself" he probably didn't want people to take it literally. Unfortunately there are people out there who genuinely fear the sensation of fear.

This is a self-fulfilling phobia, as becoming anxious about the possibility of experiencing fear will set the phobia going in a feedback loop. It's thought that experiencing panic attacks, extreme fear or even witnessing scared people might play a role in developing phobophobia.

Fear of Thirteen: Triskaidekaphobia

The number thirteen is often considered bad luck in the west, though it's not completely clear how it got this terrible reputation. Some have suggested that it might be a product of religion - Christianity's Last Supper featured thirteen people, with Judas (who betrayed Jesus) being the last to join. Meanwhile in Nordic mythology, the treacherous trickster Loki was the thirteenth (and uninvited) guest to one of the god's feasts... shortly before arranging the death of Baldur.

Avoiding thirteen is usually just considered a superstition, but some people do have a serious fear to the number. As a result, it's not uncommon for hotels to "skip" having the thirteenth floor or airlines to avoid having row thirteen in the seating plan.

There's an even more specific phobia called paraskevidekatriaphobia, which is the fear of Friday the 13th!

Thanks for reading - for more on psychology, try...

• Fire, Murder and Media Feeds: 4 Unsettling Psychological Studies
• Alien Hand Syndrome: A Real Condition Behind “Evil” Limbs

Some Further Info:

• NHS: Overview - Phobias
• Are We Born Fearing Spiders and Snakes?