Bogyphobia and Other Fears

by Lisa Binion

For each of the following phobias, develop a story line and write a story. Or you may use the story line that I suggest, then write a story. The important thing is to have fun as you develop your writing skills.

Bogyphobia is fear of the bogeyman. This phobia, probably shared by many children, sometimes follows a person on into adulthood causing them to even fear going down into basements alone. Those who have a phobia of the bogeyman hiding under his bed, down the hall, or in the basement oftentimes also fear demons, goblins, or spirits.

As a child, your character was one of few that did not have bogyphobia. Now that she has reached adulthood, for some reason she has developed this phobia. Has she developed it because of a traumatic experience? Or has she developed it because of a scary book she has read or a scary movie that she has seen? Write a story about how she develops this phobia.

Catoptrophobia is a fear of mirrors, but not a fear of seeing your own reflection. An individual may fear that breaking a mirror will bring bad luck. He may fear that there is someone inside the mirror watching him, ready to reach out and grab him. If this individual glances at a mirror, he is afraid he will see something he doesn’t expect.

What caused your character to have this fear? He doesn’t remember ever having a bad experience with a mirror, but something happened in his childhood that he has blocked out. Write a story about what happened to him. How has this fear of mirrors affected his life?

Chaetophobia is the fear of hair, whether it be human or animal. The mild form of this phobia may just be fear of the loose hair that randomly falls out, say when you are brushing your hair or combing it. In the more severe form of this phobia,

Life would definitely be interesting (as if it isn’t already interesting enough) if I happened to have chaetophobia. My hair is extremely thick and tends to fall out – a lot. So much of my hair has fallen out that I am surprised I have any left. I seriously think that I grow twice the amount that falls out. Anyway, what if I had a fear of hair and decided to have my hair cut really short so I didn’t have to deal with it anymore. Going to a place to have my hair cut is bad enough, but then for some reason - earthquake, robbery, tornado – I end up being trapped inside for an extended period of time. How would I deal with my unwanted confinement in a place overflowing with what I fear?

Chionophobia is one of the weather phobias. It is a fear of snow. Some with chionophobia even hate snow. The fear could come from the possibility of probably of being snowbound and cut off from ‘civilization’.

Snow brings to mind the abominable snowman. Let’s say that Andrea and her husband are taking a road trip through the Rocky Mountains. It is winter, but so far the winter has been warm and this week is predicted to be unseasonably warm, so the threat of snow is minimal. But a cold front unexpectedly runs through the area and brings with it a massive snowfall. Andrea and her husband have no clue the storm was coming; they are camping out in a tent. The temperature drops during the night and their tent collapses on them from the weight of the snow. Andrea immediately has a panic attack, which only intensifies when she sees this huge creature approaching them. What happens? Take it from there.

Dromophobia is a fear of crossing the road. I imagine that this fear would tend to develop during childhood. Could this fear develop from a nightmare? Or could it develop by accidentally running into a parked car? How would an adult who lived in a huge, busy city deal with this fear?

Ronald grew up in the country where there were no busy roads and everyone drove so slowly that there was about no chance of being hit or being in a car accident. His job transfers him to a big city that has more cars than he ever imagined existed. In order to get to work, there are several majorly busy streets that he must cross. Going to work on the first day, he finds that he is unable to do so, but he can’t miss work. What happens?