There’s nothing funny about being scared, but it’d be difficult to stifle your laughter if someone told you they suffered from one of these weird phobias.
We’ve all got our own fears, but at least we can be thankful that we aren’t afraid of ducks or garden gnomes.
Here are 20 weird phobias you’ll be glad you don’t have.
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20 Weird Phobias You'll Be Glad You Don't Have
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Anatidaephobia
Is the fear of... Being Watched by a Duck
Anatidaephobia isn't a fear of ducks, but rather it's a fear of the feeling that you are always being watched by a duck. Absolutely quackers.
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Caligynephobia
Is the fear of... Beautiful Women
Sufferers include every teenage boy ever.
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Papaphobia
Is the fear of... The Pope
We're not afraid of the Pope, but the Catholic church is utterly terrifying.
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Pogonophobia
Is the fear of... Beards
Pogonophobics are afraid of furry chin fuzz, which also means that they are afraid of REAL MEN.
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Phobophobia
Is the fear of... Phobias
Phobophobias probably won't enjoy reading this list.
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Nomophobia
Is the fear of... Not Having Mobile Phone Contact
We'd like to say that we're not a little nomophobic. We'd like to say that, but we can't.
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Ambulophobia
Is the fear of... Walking
Fear is never funny, but watching ambulophobics crawl to their psychiatrist's office must be worth a chuckle or two.
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Clinophobia
Is the fear of... Sleeping
Clinophobia is the thoroughly impractical fear of sleeping. Unless you live on Elm Street, in which case it is thoroughly practical.
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Catoptrophobia
Is the fear of... Mirrors
We've all been afraid of what we've seen looking back at us in the mirror after a long night out, but catoptrophobia is the fear of mirrors in general, not just the reflections they create.
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Geniophobia
Is the fear of... Chins
Jay Leno, Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston must be geniophobics' equivalent of Michael Myers, Freddie Krueger and Jason.
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Euphobia
Is the fear of... Receiving Good News
Luckily for euphobics, being diagnosed with euphobia would definitely be bad news.
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Panphobia
Is the fear of... Everything
Suffice to say this one must be particularly debilitating.
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Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia
Is the fear of... Long Words
I needn't point out the irony here.
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Ephebiphobia
Is the fear of... Teenagers
To be fair to ephebiphobics, no one really likes teenagers.
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Barophobia
Is the fear of... Gravity
Not the fear of the Sandra Bullock and George Clooney sci-fi movie, but rather the fear of actual gravity. Y'know, the force that keeps us tethered to the Earth.
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Geliophobia
Is the fear of... Laughter
There's nothing funny about geliophobia.
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Ommetaphobia
Is the fear of... Eyes
If the eyes are the windows to the soul, then ommetaphobics must be sociopaths.
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Koinoniphobia
Is the fear of... Rooms
On the plus side, koinoniphobics can say they are "outdoorsy" on dating profiles.
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Gnomophobia
Is the fear of... Gnomes
Although not officially recognised, someone out there must be afraid of gnomes for the condition to have been given a name.
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Omphalophobia
Is the fear of... Belly Buttons
At least omphalophobic's get a lot done, as they don't spend all their time navel-gazing.
