The Fear List
Compiled using the articles Bump in the Night by Sara B. Cooper, and The Eleven Tenets of Fear by Christine Conradt
- Pain. Emotional. Physical. This is the premise behind torture.
- Death/mortality. The inability to escape death. The beliefs about what happens after one dies.
- Disfigurement. The ugliness. The social exclusion. The evil associated with it.
- Making a mistake that will cost lives or cause retribution. Eye for an eye. Justice. What we do and how we act can unleash horrific consequences (pay back).
- Being out of control or feeling limited. Having control taken from us by evil forces. Being manipulated or tricked by someone or something. Feeling powerless in the face of someone or something that is stronger or has supernatural powers.
- Loss of a loved one. The stronger the connection to others, the greater the fear of losing them. Characters are motivated to act because a loved one has been killed or kidnapped.
- Abandonment/being alone. Facing something awful alone is even more horrifying than facing it with others. We don’t like being alone.
- The unseen. What we can’t see poses danger. The unknown. What we don’t understand poses a danger.
- Something goes wrong inside of someone. The dark depths of what humans are capable of doing/becoming is scary.
- The familiar gone wrong. When an object or activity that is normally safe, routine, or comforting isn’t anymore, it’s scary.
- The depths of our own depravity. The things humans are capable of doing to other humans is scary.
For names of very specific fears and phobias, check out The Phobia List at phobialist.com.
