Phobia ~ an irrational fear of a particular person, place or thing.
1. Ailurophobia – fear of cats.
2. Nyctophobia – fear of the dark.
3. Demophobia – fear of crowds.
4. Erythrophobia – fear of blushing.
5. Gephyrophobia – fear of bridges.
6. Gamophobia – fear of marriage.
7. Kakorrhaphiophobia – fear of failure.
8. Phasmophobia – fear of ghosts.
9. Triskaidekaphobia – fear of number 13.
10. Hypengyophobia – fear of responsibility.
11. Musophobia – fear of mice.
12. Ergophobia – fear of work.
13. Lalophobia – fear of speaking.
After typing all these I’ve developed a fear of spelling one of them wrong! I thought I could inflict a phobia on one of my characters. Which one sounds interesting to you? I thought fear of blushing of was an interesting phobia and wondered how the person was going to stop blushing or avoid those who blushed.
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January 10th, 2008 at 12:51 am · Link
The obvious phobia for romance is fear of marriage but I say go for fear of bridges. Depending on where you live it could lead to some interesting problems!!
January 10th, 2008 at 2:20 am · Link
What a nifty TT. Umm Thursday Thirteen that is. I didn’t mean your ta-tas, although I image they are spectacular. :P
I was tagged, Shelley, so you are too. LOL Go to my website’s blog and you’ll see I’ve changed the rules a bit. Oh…and bring all your characters. Hee, hee…
http://cassandracurtis.com/blog
January 10th, 2008 at 4:21 am · Link
Fear of work…ROFL! Most of the latest generation of workers have that, don’t they. *g* There I go being very unPC again. Shoot! I’ll never get the hang of it.
January 10th, 2008 at 4:34 am · Link
I just finished reading a story with a heroine who’s terrified of the dark. I’ll be coming back to check this list later. What a great idea!
January 10th, 2008 at 5:30 am · Link
Ha! Doesn’t every Hero have #6 in a romance novel. LOL!
I really like the idea of giving a character #3.
Pretty cool list. :)
January 10th, 2008 at 6:04 am · Link
Gamophobic and proud of it
January 10th, 2008 at 6:28 am · Link
I definitely have Kakorrhaphiophobia but I don’t know if that makes me an interesting character. LOL.
January 10th, 2008 at 7:37 am · Link
You’re a brave woman to attempt to spell all those phobias! (Not that I’d have a clue if you’d missed a letter or two *lol*)
Great List!
http://debbie-mumford.blogspot.com/
January 10th, 2008 at 7:43 am · Link
well i should have a fear of posting now since the first one was eaten by gremlins in cyber space. I was going to lend you my three pound yorkie kirby who gets rid of all phobias but the site here saw him and decided i shouldnt post, he must be really scary… though he suffers from Ergophobia. LOL
January 10th, 2008 at 7:49 am · Link
Interesting list. I personally have 4 of them
I wonder if there’s a classified phobia for those of us scared to begin writing chapter one
January 10th, 2008 at 8:10 am · Link
Fear of speaking? I know some people I wish had that phobia. ;)
This is a great list. I’ll have to come back to it next time I’m outlining. Very inspiring.
Hmmm, which character will I torture?
January 10th, 2008 at 9:00 am · Link
Oooo I like 4. 6 is overdone.
January 10th, 2008 at 9:27 am · Link
Erythrophobia – fear of blushing-
I think I have that! And I can blush beeeeet beeet red!
Great list today!
January 10th, 2008 at 9:45 am · Link
Cool list!
*hugs*
Paige
January 10th, 2008 at 10:24 am · Link
I have a phobia of thunder and lightining…
January 10th, 2008 at 10:42 am · Link
Fear of blushing? I’ve never heard of that one!!!
I sometimes think I have Demophobia – the mall can freak me out. I’ve turned into a hermit!
January 10th, 2008 at 12:24 pm · Link
A friend used to say I had circumvenaterraphobia: The fear of being landlocked! (I grew up by a big lake, and can’t imagine not being within driving distance of a very large body of water. I live about 2 miles from the ocean now!)
January 10th, 2008 at 12:42 pm · Link
Great list, Shelley!
I’d say whichever phobia your character has should depend on the plot. If she’s afraid of cats, then have her interested in a vet, or assigned to do community service at an animal shelter. If she’s afraid of bridges, have her overcome that fear by crossing a high, spindly bridge. Afraid of the darK? Power goes out at dusk.
January 10th, 2008 at 1:01 pm · Link
I’d imagine that whichever of these you pick will color the character entirely. Fear of blushing, for example. Does it turn the heroine into a wallflower who’s afraid to attract attention?
If she’s afraid of bridges, how does she get about (okay, you need to understand I live in Pittsburgh, which has more bridges than any city other than Venice)?
It’s going to be a defining characteristic, so play with them all and see what works most naturally.
Good luck!
January 10th, 2008 at 1:27 pm · Link
What a great idea to get a jumping off point for a story. Fears always make great motivations and these were some I had never thought of. Thanks for posting it.
January 10th, 2008 at 2:23 pm · Link
What about sharks. Big fear of those suckers to the point I won’t fly over water. It’s sad …
January 10th, 2008 at 3:08 pm · Link
I’m busy developing a fear of writing short stories. I can’t get the damn sucker to work, and it’s due Jan 15.
January 10th, 2008 at 5:28 pm · Link
Oh I’m writing some of these down. Having a fear of blushing sounds like an awesome idea. Especially if it’s the hero.
I have a terrible fear of heights. I can’t go up step ladders. I’m working on it.
January 12th, 2008 at 7:34 pm · Link
Thursday Thirteens is cute idea.