Our Fears And Films That Play On Them

The Phobias Within:

How Horror Films Play on our Fears

Fear is something we all experience in our lives. It is an emotion that is bound to human nature regardless of any circumstance. However, fear also drives us or sometimes even acts as inspiration. Several films have presented different fears in their own ways. The different portrayals of fear are not always conveyed in Horror or Thriller genres alone, but in films of different genres such as "Finding Nemo" (Comedy) where it is least expected. Themes such as fear of oceans and fear of maturity are both relate able to a wide audience demographic. 

However, there are more obscure works such as the film "Sharknado" where a literal tornado of sharks terrorizes cities (Shark + Tornado = Sharknado). Nevertheless, whether these films are deep, convoluted philosophical thrillers or just plain escapism, they all serve to instill fear. Here is a list of Fears/Phobias and films that address them. 

Fear of Things: Occasionally people are frightened by objects, which can either be real (i.e. Spider) or non-existent (Ghosts)

Arachnophobia – The fear of spiders and Arachnids e.g Lord of the Rings

Ophidiophobia – The fear of snakes. Phobics avoid certain cities because they have more snakes. e.g Anaconda, Lake Placid

Galeophobia – The fear of sharks in the ocean or even in swimming pools. e.g Sharknado, Jaws

Phasmophobia – The fear of ghosts. AKA Spectrophobia. e.g Ouiji, Excorsist

Coulrophobia – The fear of clowns. Some people find clowns funny, coulrophobics certainly don’t. e.g It


Somniphobia – The fear of sleep. Being terrified of what might happen right after you fall asleep. e.g. Nightmare on Elm-street

Fear of Environments: This is quite a common fear; people can find themselves in a certain physical environment and feel frightened and unable to function. 

Acrophobia – The fear of heights. e.g Vertigo

Nyctophobia – The fear of darkness. Being afraid of the dark or the night is common for kids. e.g Lights out, Riddick

Thalassophobia – The fear of the ocean. Water, waves and unknown spaces. e.g Finding Nemo, 10000 leagues



Fear of Situations: Sometimes people are frightened by being in a particular situation, such as not having any one around. 

Monophobia – The fear of being alone. Even while eating and/or sleeping. e.g Home Alone

Autophobia – The fear of abandonment and being abandoned by someone. e.g. Babadook

Xenophobia – The fear of the unknown. Fearing anything or anyone that is strange or foreign. e.g. X-men, American History X

Panophobia – The fear of everything or fear that terrible things will happen. e.g Final Destination

Paraskevidekatriaphobia – The fear of Friday the 13th. e.g. Friday the 13th...

Chronophobia – The fear of the future. A persistent fear of what is to come. e.g. Back to the Future