There’s nothing better than a weird phobia, don’t you think? While Fear Of Clowns seems pretty common, it’s nice to know that Ventriloquist’s Dummies inspire enough dread to be listed in the pantheon of modern phobias. “Imagine what your life would be like without Automatonophobia, Fear of Ventriloquist’s Dummies, Animatronic Creatures and Wax Statues!” challenges the heading on a website offering therapy. Wow, I CAN’T imagine that, but it sounds great.
At present. I have just three operational phobias: rodents, freeway driving, and midgets. I have a friend whose phobias are jewelry, wigs and mimes. I’ve told him that mimes don’t count because it’s a universal aversion, but he insists on calling it a phobia.
Not to brag, but I used to be terrified of armlessness. More specifically, I was afraid of people with only one arm. Even more specifically, I was afraid of seeing people with one arm, not the people per se. Sometimes I would approach a kid with his sleeves dangling empty, and my heart would freeze. After several close calls, I figured out that kids like to wear sweatshirts with their arms inside against their bodies.
Obviously, phobias can come and go. I plan to cultivate, if possible, both lutraphobia (fear of otters) and apeirophobia (fear of infinity.)
