Unusual fears and phobias?

[Aclh13]

I was interested to see people's unusual fears or phobias and how crazy they can get, I have a serious phobia of other people's Germs, ie no sharing of utensils of any kind, if someone offers me a bite of their food I gag, can't sit on old furniture of any kind it's creeps me out, I absolutely can't sleep in hotels unless the beds look virtually new ect. A family member has an irrational fear of wooden lollipop sticks, they cry when they are even near them!

Height and water , doesn't even have to be too high.
Can't walk near to the edge of harbours or canals, it gives me the creeps .

Hands getting wet! Hate it. I don’t like touching wet things. I used to be like this with germs, I’d change my bed with rubber gloves on, then I went through a stage of being Afraid to touch my face in case of germs. I’m very odd

Turophobia or fear of cheese of all types I can’t even have an advert on tv it makes me want to vomit. All cheese infested plates or cutlery have to be Bleached and scrubbed with gloves on that then have have to be disposed with the cleaning cloth - normally kitchen towel otherwise a scrubbie or cloth would be infected.

Candlewick bedspreads (I shudder even writing that)
Like other posters - ships In dry dock or being near ships in very deep water. Though I'm ok when I'm on the ship it's just being stood next to it or seeing the underneath of a ship.

I'm also not very keen on seeing programmes about people sailing around the world when they've got to the Southern Ocean/Roaring Forties/Furious Fifties & going round Cape Horn. It's those massive waves & I feel like I'm going to fall off the edge of the world. Which is weird because I'm not actually there.

Zombies. Rationally, I know they don't exist. I love Zombie films. However, I am scared to go out to the bin in the dark in case there is one (or a few) roaming around. I put the lights on in the sitting room and the outside light so the bin area is not dark, and look out of the glass in the door before I open it then scan the street before I go across to the bin. I run back and shut and lock the door with the key, then look out through the glass just to check again.

Public toilets with exposed pipework, sensor lights and vents in the ceilings. I also can’t use the hand dryers in the single cubicle toilets. The filters or wave machine grills in swimming pools. And there is no reason I can link back to explain any of these fears.

Koumpounophobia. Check it out. It's surprisingly common.

I know why I have it but I can't tell you. Not because it's secret or reprehensible but because it would make me puke.

ET the extra terrestrial

I wouldn't say it is extreme as a phobia but I am scared of cats and can't be near one. I find them too unpredictable and I am scared of their claws. When I was a child I was at someone's house and their cat just walked up to me and scratched and bit me completely unprovoked. Sorry to any cat owners, they are cute they just scare me.

For years I was afraid of the sound of the toilet flushing

Someone who’s Googled lastweek’s one tell me what it is.

No way, no how am I googling any of this shit.

DameHannahRelf one of my pupils is terrified of the sound of any gushing water, toilets included! She properly has melt downs and becomes so distressed poor little mite.
Any idea why you hate it so much?

Thanatophobia: Hello everyone, I wasn't expecting the amount if responses so probably stayed too quiet, abit morbid but another phobia of mine is of death. I've had it since childhood, not normal worries, it got to the point I was scared to go to sleep incase I didn't wake up. Anyone else have this problem.? I think it's called thanatophobia, sorry if anyone has already commented that I didn't see. I think my fear is more being dead than dying, I didn't realise until today there was a difference

@MayFayner lastweeks phobia is of buttons. I know someone who has this, I'd never heard of it before I met her.

Pigeons! They give me the creeps/shakes/sometimes make me almost cry. I have to cross the road / change directions if I'm near them. So I spend a lot of my time "on diversion"

I'm fine with other birds though.

Also emetophobia, but that's a common one.

I used to be terrified of the sound of flushing toilets! It was the loudness and suddeness of it and the way it would gurgle off into silence... I used to flush ours at home and then run like hell down the stairs so it would just have reached peak horror when I was back with other people.

@Zaphodsotherhead As a child, I used to be terrified of seeing a toilet with the seat up, never mind having to use it! Nothing to do with men leaving it up, but as a small child, it was right at my eye level, and looked like a monster with a huge open mouth and teeth (the rubber supports). Also, before soft-close seats, there was also the danger that if I fumbled the lowering of it, it might fall with a loud bang. I used to have dreams about opening the door, seeing this toilet right in my face, which would then start creaking and clicking ominously.

Frogs!
My neighbour has a very large fish pond in their garden which doesn't help.