First off: something that makes me feel cool. I am not afraid of heights. At all. I don’t know why, but I’ve always enjoyed being in high spaces. I did a parachute jump and felt nothing. But you know what I am scared of: enclosed spaces. Lock me up in a cupboard and I’ll be a gibbering wreck within two minutes. I just can’t control that fear.
So today’s Off Topic question is simple: what scares you?
Spiders? Heights? Cockroaches? Jeremy Irons?
That Jeremy Irons guy is terrifying.
Here’s another thing that scares the crap out of me for some random reason: someone or something pushing up against my heart. I can’t even sleep with my heart placed upon the mattress without freaking out.
Actually, it’s not random at all. Screw you Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and screw you Mola Ram.
Comments
88 responses to “Off Topic: What Scares You?”
Spiders,
Also the Dutch.
That picture scares me… Spider with radioactive glowing mandibles…
And Tony Abbott becoming PM
OK, say we rule out Abbott. What is your alternative then?
Sadly, you only have one alternative: Kevin “Kardashian” Rudd.
The greens nor independents will never govern because they do not have the numbers to form government.
Rudd being the option left is not a good thing. First and foremost when he was PM years ago he hardly spent any time in Australia and spent a significant about of time abroad (and at one point abused a air hostess because his short flight had no in-flight lunch).
And when he got axed as PM, he did everything he could by proxy to ensure Julia Gillard did not get a fair go. Granted, it was also half her fault for not roping him in and putting him back in his place but that pales in his frequent puppet master and constantly feeding the leadership spill mill.
Even without focusing on him, the Labor party itself has behaved in an unprofessional manner.
Look at the pink batts scheme. Good idea at the time but it was only possible thanks to the surplus the Howard government had left behind. So contrary to popular belief the batts were not free: Australia as a whole paid for them via taxes to the Howard Government.
Then it all went awry when the standard somehow got dropped. Instead of batts, sheet insulation was installed by contractors that were well below Australian standards. That is how some houses caught fire and some became live: the sheets were put in over power cabling and then stapled when the sheeting is meant to be installed ‘under’ the wood work making up the roof.
Then there was the disaster of the school project schemes. Extensions were being built but at hyper inflated prices.
These and other projects are what lead to the rapid draining of the surplus and thus resulting in the huge deficit we have now.
Then there is the carbon tax and the dismantling of border protection. Sore issues I know but then again there never was going to be a 100% acceptance of them either.
The carbon tax had a fatal flaw: if a company passed on the tax to a consumer the consumer maybe entitled to tax rebates. This pretty much knocked out any incentive to drop the polluting provider and find a green alternative. The only reason the tax was put there was because the Greens demanded it and Labor basically let themselves be held to ransom.
Now border protection. I know a lot of people are going to hate my view put please hear me out.
I for one support it: not because I am heartless, I know there are those desperate to flee for the sake of their lives. But I support it because there are those that are taking advantage the refugee system and we as a nation are entitled to decide who comes in and who doesn’t to ensure the safety of citizens within.
Despite how bizarre this sounds, the following two cases do exist and have happened before.
First case for border protection is to make sure that those who come to the shores are legitimate. There have been cases where those who are well off take this route because it means they can bypass the usual immigration check and get the refugee handouts.
The second case (and the one that concerns me) are those who are in fact criminals. For example, if one commits a crime (such as murder or rape) the crime will try to flee as a refugee to here. Due to legal limbo even though the one in question has done something wrong, we cannot send him back because his life is in danger. If I remember right, in some places the penalty for rape is death which is why some come here as refugees fearing for their life even though they damaged someone else’s.
Do not get me wrong though, the Coalition is not without its faults. The main one is Tony Abbott needs to have his mouth surgically removed. His team is fine, but he just doesn’t know when the shut up.
It also looks bad that he has not revealed his costings. But the bigger question is, how can he? I’m even skeptical when he says the planned projects have been costed because how can his treasurer make any costings when Labor has the books?
As far as I am aware, the nation books are only accessible to the current government.
It is also likely the NBN will be shut down. I personally liked the idea but it has been implemented in such a manner it was far more expensive than it should have been. And it is sad that the Coalition will never look at it and find a way to clean up the mess.
And finally, work choices. We can safely say they will not come back. Any hint of it coming back will be political suicide for the Coalition.
To close (as this is getting far too long) both the Coalition and Labor are unpopular choices but then again the election coming up is not about popularity. It is about who has the experience to run the nation.
If you look at the adds alone, the Coalition has already won because Labor are using the ‘cut’ word like a broken vinyl and have yet to provide an actual source. How can Labor say there will be cuts if the costings have not been released? Or a budget for that matter?
The only way the Coaltion can lose is if someone doesn’t hurry up and put the breaks on Abbott’s out of control motor mouth.
“Cool.”
Ummm….I missed the part where you mentioned what you were scared of.
low temperatures, i assumed.
I think that comment was directed at me. While not intended some passages of my post do come off as a bit “enthusiastic”.
Just remember: One man’s enthusiastic is another man’s unhinged.
*Puts hands up*
Yeap: I should not have said Abbott needs to have his mouth surgically removed.
And this is the last I am saying of this here: I’m so far off topic I’m pushing my luck here.
With a lot of your points against Labor, particularly the pink batts and school projects scheme (@5:38) I give you this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfftbmFCz4o
As for something like work choices, I sincerely doubt anyone could make any sort of guarantee that it would absolutely not come back under a coalition government, political suicide or not.
Re: Asylum seekers, assuming that you really are so very concerned about the welfare of the asylum seekers, wouldn’t the more humanitarian response then be to improve the processing of asylums so they don’t need to resort to using boats?
Maybe it’s my bias showing, but I haven’t really seen any signs that an Abbott government would necessarily be better at managing the economy let alone the country aside from pointing out Labor’s deficits.
Spiders, enclosed spaces, stuff near my neck…
Basically if you want to fuck my head up, lock me in a cupboard with a tie made of funnel webs
Just be aware that you won’t survive the experience long enough to gloat
Lizards. D:
I honestly felt very uncomfortable talking to Wrex in Mass Effect.
At Dreamworld the other day I might’ve cowered when I saw a lizard. @sughly, @freezespreston and @mythamphetamine can confirm that. XD
OMG, are you my wife? My wife if petrified of lizards. I remember being at Dreamworld a few years ago and she saw a lizard. She remained in the food hall for the rest of the day.
I think one of my main fears is being in confined spaces. I hate it.
Can totally confirm.
Also, bananas and polystyrene/cotton balls. Give me all the heights and enclosed spaces and snakes and spiders you want, just keep that styrofoam box filled with bananas the hell away from me.
getting old.
like, not-being-able-to-look-after-yourself old.
Edit: also @dc
asian ghosts/spirits….
Only asian ones?
I think scooby doo and casper ruined all the western ones.
Nah, I’d blame Ghostbusters 2, 😛
Lol, I’m coming off a weekend where my friends and I were watching japanese and thai ghost movies….
I’m not deathly afraid of anything, but more cautious of things. A flock of pigeons in the street is dangerous, especially with a kid running towards them. Snakes I’m a bit weeeerrrrrreee about, but most bugs and animals I know that as long as you leave them alone, they’ll do nothing to you.
The Omen (original) scared the shit out of me though. My dad let me watch it when I was 8. Not a good idea.
I’m most scared about the thought of the kids on 4chan one day growing up and running the world
Bees and Wasps. and @dc.
You and me… we get each other
OTP.
So glad it’s not just me.
I once jumped out of a moving car to get away from a bee >.>
Buzzing death.
Pretty much everything.
Spiders / insects.
I also get completely freaked out if anything goes near my eyes.
Dams.
So creepy.
Spiders are one of only two things that can legitimately terrify me.
The other being @dc.
Dying before achieving my dream.
Colobus Monkeys becoming endangered!
AAARRRGH!!!!!!!!! ITS @DC RUN!!!!!
Spiders… and the thought of getting to work one day to find that Kotaku has been taken offline….. permanently *gasp*
Strife at home and abroad! D:
Aaron Sorkin abandoning TV! :'(
Nuclear war!
Oh god, he’s spreading!
Indoor flooding. Like, leaving a tap on with a blocked drain or an overflowing toilet.
Ducks
Getting phone calls between 9pm and 5am
Mental illness and death. The thought of losing touch with reality in any way really.
My own mortality.
Heights (or, to be more accurate, the implied fall and sudden stop). Spiders used to really freak me out – look at some pictures of wolf spider bites and you’ll see why… but then after spending years only encountering huntsmen, garden spiders and golden orbs, that turned into general curiosity and intrigue. Snakes are awesome – I wanted a children’s python as a pet when I was a kid… was very disappointed when we got a puppy. That’s not to say I’ll happily pick up a snake or spider with my bare hands – no more than I’d pick up a dog I’m not familiar with. That’s just asking for trouble.
Wasps are pretty terrifying. At least you know bees will be somewhat hesitant to sting you, given the whole death thing; wasps will do it for giggles.
Oh, and drowning. Suffice to say that getting sucked into a small underwater tunnel filled with sharp rocks and coral was not a pleasant experience…
It’s not the height that kills you, it’s the ground at the bottom.
Slow internet, comparable to 56k.
O, horrible! most horrible! If thou hast nature in thee, bear it not!
The realization that I will go through my whole life without ever understanding what consciousness is or how the universe came to be. Actually, that’s more frustrating than it is ‘scary’.
EDIT: Also @dc of course. 😛
Heights and I don’t get on, but I have been getting better with them as time passes.
I’m not scared of seeing spiders, that’s a known threat. I’m scared of not seeing spiders.
Spiders.
Driving past a B Double with shipping containers on the back (poor guy got crushed by one of those here on the weekend)
Gun toting morons (admittedly more of a problem in the US and Sydney!)
Diving (can’t do it – refuse to go head first from a grey height – I could never be an Assassin)
Ready for Beardy’s storytime?
I only have two actual phobias. Only two things which kick in my fight-or-flight defence immediately and terrify me beyond belief. The first is large dogs, and the second is animal eyeshine.
When I was five years old, I lived in a little cul de sac called Roseneath Street. We lived in a little low-blocked house, with an Australian Silky Terrier named Butchie. Butchie was around before I was born. He was the type of dog who’d sit by my cot and growl at strangers who got too close. He was my protector. He was my best friend.
At the end of our street was a house that had motorbikes and car wrecks piled into the front yard. The dude who lived there was always working on cars in the garage under the two-storey house. Two German Shepherds lived there too. And when he was out working on his cars, he’d open the front gate and let the German Shepherds run around the street.
One day little Butchie got out as Mum was closing the gate. He only ever went as far our neighbour’s place. It was old, run down, and the old lady who lived there was too old to really take care of it anymore. Butchie went for a bit of a sniff under her house, then we realised that the two German Shepherds were out of their yard. Mum and I ran towards little Butch when we saw them, but it was too late. One of them had him by the head, one of them had him by the legs, and they nearly tore him in half. They’d almost broken his back. He could still get around, but he wasn’t as fast as he had once been. He used to love running up next to our old Kingswood when we got home, but after the attack he was too slow. Mum ran him over accidentally inside our own yard driving up our driveway. He didn’t survive the night.
Cut to a week later. I went to visit our old neighbour. She had this little area underneath her front veranda between her driveway and the underneath of her house. It was filled with sharp stones, and there were some bushes that grew right under the steps. I used to love looking for little skinks under there. I was looking for skinks when I heard the first German Shepherd growling behind me.
All I can remember about it is the sound, and these two flaming eyes that looked like burning coals. Then I heard the other one on my other side, looked around, and it was on top of me. I must have screamed so loud that as soon as the first one started biting my leg and started dragging me off, that the second one got scared before it could grab my head/neck, just like they’d done with Butchie. I screamed so loud that Mum came running and managed to scare the dogs away.
I’ve never been able to look at a big dog or animal eyeshine without being instantly transported back to that moment.
Feels bro. That is horrible. Their owner must’ve been a cunt.
🙁
*hugs*
Oh and did I mention that I’m terrified of @dc? Always threatening to punch people..
(colon pee)
😀
I’m really sorry ’bout the dog thing though, I must admit after witnessing the neighbours dog kill my cat earlier this year I haven’t been able to look at any dog the same again.
🙁
*hugs*
(please don’t punch me)
Sounds silly, but new foods.
It’s actually kind of ruining my life. Huh.
I’m afraid that things seem to be getting worse, people seem to be getting dumber… and all the great minds seems to be gone.
This is one of my true fears, when i say i weep for humanity i mean it literally, the shit people do and say these days it’s incredibly stupid, i did some dumb shit as a kid/teen, but being in high school or finished high school even and not being able to read or write wtf is with that?!
I’ve actually conducted job interviews with multiple 18-21 year olds who couldn’t read or write, other than very BASIC English, none were ESL either.
people shooting people for no reason other than “because”
As someone who believes that guns can be part of a safe and fun hobby, people who shouldn’t have access to them and just randomly shoot people in the street scare me.
And lastly, Zombies, no joke, i have been since i was a kid. i blame the original night of the walking dead.
I know they aren’t real (currently) i know they don’t exist (yet), i know they cant get through my window at night 2 stories up, but i still pack it when my brain goes “hey, could that be a zombie outside?”, full fight or flight mode gets engaged.
Read literature from 100, 200, even 1000 years ago and you will find people saying the same thing even then. Full of disillusion with the way society is heading, plus of course generational disconnect [Get off thyne yard, thou punk kids! [sic]].
It can seem that way sometimes, though, so it’s totally understandable. But take a step back [a BIG one] and you can see that things haven’t really changed that much at all……. in fact, it scares me how much things are the SAME!
Subjectively, dogs.
Shitzus and german shepards I am OK with. But regardless of the breed, if the dog get excited I just want to flee.
But in a illogical twist of irony, I don’t mind puppies.
Insects that can hurt you, well im scared of any insects that arent ants, cockroaches, caterpillers or Butterflies.
Im scared of heights but love being in tall buildings. I absolutely love observation decks on ultra high buildings but can’t go anywhere near look outs on cliffs/mountains. i could never figure out why building on top of buildings (i work in construction so climbing on roofs/plantrooms is normal) doesnt scare me but when im in nature the fall scares me.
Insane fear of things that go boo! can’t bring myself to play any zombie game or watch The Walking Dead because of it. I’m dying to play The Last of Us but can’t bring myself to go near it for my fear.
Not dying. It would mean everything I’d done up to that point based on the assumption that my life was ephemeral was meaningless.
Public speaking: mortal fear.
I present my PhD confirmation tomorrow! Woe is me!
If you made it this far you will be fine and I am sure you will nail it.
The hardest part is write a huge book that only around 5 people will read. You, your supervisor, the examiners and you mother.
Just look around you. How many others started around the same time as you and are still around. Not many if my experience is anything to go by.
Hey, thanks.
Except my thesis is gonna change the world… no doubt about it….
I don’t mean to be rude, but that is a requirement for all theses (sadly that is the plural).
Technically the term is “contribute a new idea to a unexplored body of knowledge”, I like your version better.
Anything with more than four legs. Especially if they move fast.
Heights, I’m usually okay with unless you make me climb stairs with gaps where I can see how high I am as I walk up. That, combined with strong winds, freaks me out.
Snakes and reptiles are pretty cool – planning to get a snake when I have my own place.
Oops
Walking into the wrong movie.
Also, I’m scared whenever my wife and daughter get in the car to go driving that some idiot is going to run a red light or something and smash into them.
I get that about my partner when she takes the car out without me.
Failing to protect loved ones.
(Serious. It is the basis of some cold-sweat, bolt-upright, panting nightmares.)
Edit: Also: Games or movies which might make me feel. I dunwanna feel emotions. The most I’m comfortable with feeling is hungry, horny, or sleepy.
Tiny little spiders. Big ones, no problem. Little ones, I’ll run out of the room and get somebody else to deal with it.
oh god… where do i start…
Big spiders, bees, wasps and anything else that can potentially hurt.
Heights.
Recently realised i have a fear of transportation… not driving per se, but getting my self to an event that i don’t know where is…. don’t know why, but something like that scares me :\
long threads. AAARRRRGH!
As a child I used to be afraid of creepy crawlies, especially spiders and cockroaches, (not to mention that movie arachnophobia). I kicked these tendencies later in life, but for some reason I still have a mortal hatred for cockroaches. Still on – but off topic: the other day I went to open the back door of my car. As you do I slid my hand underneath the handle but felt something squishy. For some reason it felt like a snail (as we have snails everywhere, in our post boxes and a general nuisance in my area). Alas, a giant spider dropped out of the handle and rolled onto the ground – it was either a large huntsman or a giant orbweaver. I didn’t get a good look as it scurried away and I wheeled back from it. Looking down at my hand, the hand that had poked it’s abdomen, it’s abdomen! It gave me the whillies for a few moments, before I jumped in and drove off, on my merry way.
Why hasn’t anyone mentioned sharks? Sharks are terrifying.
Deep water.
Honestly, The deteriorating quality of journalism (especially from popular outlets) and mass amounts of misinformation being given to the general public, along with the fact that a (very) large majority have no interest in checking things for themselves and will blindly accept the ‘facts’.
Plenty of places to lay the blame here (government, power factions, ‘visionaries’, and most of all technological advancement), but the way we interact with information is changing so rapidly into ‘easy to digest’ content that I worry the important information will soon be all but lost. There are exceptions, of course, but I’ll be damned if I’m not sick of sensationalist headlines that take another article completely out context, scientific ‘breakthrough’s’ being published when they are anything but that, not to even mention writers publishing their opinions in a format that makes it read as if it was fact, and editors not correctly checking content before publishing.
Interestingly, most of the articles I end up having issues with have comments disabled or heavily moderated. Which, in my opinion, generally makes it blisteringly obvious the writer has no idea what they are talking about, or no intention to listen to anybodies opinion but their own.
I’m the anti-Mark – can comfortably hang out in a tiny space for a lengthy period of time, but freak right out if heights are involved. And while I don’t particularly like spiders or cockroaches, what I really can’t stand flapping about me are moths. I hate moths, and the disgusting powdery residue they leave in their wake.
Religion and people who are religious.
It really scares me that all these people seem to lack a certain amount of common sense to see that all religion is bullshit. I mean there is no difference in believing in any God than there is in believing in the Xmen or Thor.
Nothing frightens me more than hearing a politician says “God Bless” or “In the name of God”
Girls.
But more seriously/specifically, any kind of confrontation where I have to deal with like… important issues. Or something. I guess I don’t actually know how to word it after all.
Its quite a confrontation on ones manhood when he discovers how scared he is when a mouse runs at him.
At the beginning of the year my room mate and I discovered a mouse frolicking behind our fridge. The plan was – my room mate would tilt the fridge and when the mouse ran out I would trap him with an empty beer carton. Well…my room mate didnt give me the heads up he was tilting the fridge and the bastard ran straight at me. I proceeded to ..errr…squeal/squak and bailed to high ground being the kitchen counter.
My room mate didnt see the mouse come flying out and laughed thinking I was joking around…he cried when I told him it was genuine. Anywho we dont know where the mouse went and never heard from him again. We now live in a different house.
True story.
Humans
Failure
The entire country of Australia. Everything there is either poisonous or deadly! Snakes and spiders everywhere! And let’s not forget those Aussies! Jks luv u guys :p (just keep your critters on your side of the Tasman :p)
Spiders. Anxiety. Vomiting. I really have a lot that I can’t really list due to the fact that I have an anxiety disorder for a reason.
So pretty much everything.