10+ People Share the 'Irrational Fears' They Had as a Child

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Remember being a kid and being totally afraid of the dark? Or maybe you had a fear of clowns, or heights, or bugs? We all feared things as children, and these fears weren’t always entirely rational. That’s probably what prompted Reddit user beowulf50c to pose the question in the AskReddit section of the popular online forum. And the answers? Well, they vary from the very common to the eyebrow raising.

Talking backwards? Yeah, okay. I watched a lot of Twin Peaks, too. I definitely get it. Wonder if these folks also used to try to listen to records on backwards?

Hrm…what else?

I’ve never called them angel sharks before, but I totally know what this is like. You KNOW that there can’t be sharks in the pool, but sometimes you feel something brush past your leg or you see your own shadow near you, and your heart immediately starts racing. More so when you’re a kid because you don’t know any better. But as an adult, yeah, it can still happen.

What other fears ya got?

I think I had this one sometimes, though I think I always feared it would be aliens out there. Probably totally irrational, but whatever.

What else ya got, Reddit?

I think most kids fear things like long, dark hallways (or dark rooms in general) for fear of monsters. But where does this even come from? Some could say that watching cartoons and shows where kids are fearful of this might cause it. What if you didn’t watch any TV, though? Chances are, your imagination will still run wild with you. I still don’t like the idea of dark basements or attics. Nope, nope, nope.

Speaking of basements, though…

Yep. Like NewColor, still doing it 30some years later. Any other weird fears?

I can totally get behind this. Of course, a fear of snakes while growing up in Florida like I did is probably somewhat healthy. But my “toilet monster” fear was about rats, because I saw a news report as a child that rats were coming out of people’s toilets in New York City. Maybe it was just one toilet, who knows. But my imagination heard it, and ran with it.

As for the Egyptian Pharaoh part? Uhm…well…that one might be a stretch, user canwewinthisweek.

I’d say this is a fairly common thought to have. As a child, as an adult, as anyone. So while it’s an irrational fear in that there’s little chance the door will open on its own, it’s not far fetched to think that it is a possibility to a degree. Much more so than snakes in a toilet or ghosts at your window on the 10th floor.