"being sent to jail two years ago, Doug Richardson a.k.a. ""Shivers The Clown"" was sent to a mental asylum, and Lynn Blodgett has quit her painting career and gone on to write a book called ""Coulrophobia"", which talks about her ""fear of clowns"" and the story about the stalking killer clown two years ago; she and Tucker Reid have broken up and haven't seen each other for a while. But things go terribly wrong: An orderly named Ralph helps Shivers and two other inmates escape the asylum. Shivers takes Ralph and the inmates back to his old house, which is"
"other types of clowns. The comedy that clowns perform is usually in the role of a fool whose everyday actions and tasks become extraordinary—and for whom the ridiculous, for a short while, becomes ordinary. This style of comedy has a long history in many countries and cultures across the world. Some writers have argued that due to the widespread use of such comedy and its long history it is a need that is part of the human condition. The ""fear of clowns,"" circus clowns in particular as a psychiatric condition has become known by the term coulrophobia. The """"clown"""" character"
"Ochlophobia Ochlophobia (""Fear of Crowds"") and demophobia (""Fear of Unruly Mobs"") are terms for types of social phobia or social anxiety disorder whose sufferers have a fear of crowds. Sufferers may offer various rationalizations of the phobia, such as the fear being trampled in a crowd, getting a deadly disease from people within the crowd, getting lost in the crowd, or feeling insignificant when surrounded by a crowd. People who are shy and introverted are most likely to experience ochlophobia, but not all introverts have anxiety problems. Ochlophobic people are often unable to handle situations involving parties, going to theaters,"
"famous stars have struggled to cope with their anxiety. Hugh Grant said on starring in the movie ""Music and Lyrics"" that he ""did the whole film full of lorazepam."" Ethel Merman was one performer who never suffered from stage fright: Notes Sources Stage fright Stage fright or performance anxiety is the anxiety, fear, or persistent phobia which may be aroused in an individual by the requirement to perform in front of an audience, whether actually or potentially (for example, when performing before a camera). Performing in front of an unknown audience can cause significantly more anxiety than performing in front"
"Stage fright Stage fright or performance anxiety is the anxiety, fear, or persistent phobia which may be aroused in an individual by the requirement to perform in front of an audience, whether actually or potentially (for example, when performing before a camera). Performing in front of an unknown audience can cause significantly more anxiety than performing in front of familiar faces. In some cases, the person will suffer no such fright from this, while they might suffer from not knowing who they're performing to. In the context of public speaking, this may precede or accompany participation in any activity involving"
"going to sports games, or going to the mall. Ochlophobia Ochlophobia (""Fear of Crowds"") and demophobia (""Fear of Unruly Mobs"") are terms for types of social phobia or social anxiety disorder whose sufferers have a fear of crowds. Sufferers may offer various rationalizations of the phobia, such as the fear being trampled in a crowd, getting a deadly disease from people within the crowd, getting lost in the crowd, or feeling insignificant when surrounded by a crowd. People who are shy and introverted are most likely to experience ochlophobia, but not all introverts have anxiety problems. Ochlophobic people are often"
"has a fear of cats. The title character in the comic strip ""Big Nate"" has ailurophobia. The character Robbie Jackson, in the BBC soap opera ""EastEnders"" has the condition. Impractical Joker Sal Vulcano has ailurophobia. Xiumin of musical group Exo developed ailurophobia in his childhood due to being attacked by a cat. He apparently overcame his fear at some point in his mid 20s, as he's had a pet cat since at least December 2016 and stated cats as his favorite animal in the seventh volume of the Exo-L Japan Official Book, which was released February 2018. Ailurophobia Ailurophobia is"
"Ailurophobia Ailurophobia is a type of specific phobia: the persistent, irrational fear of cats. The name comes from the Greek (), 'cat' and (), 'fear'. Other names include felinophobia, elurophobia, and cat phobia. The phobia manifests itself in different ways. For most people it is less about fear than about loathing, similar to the reaction many people have to snakes or rats. Some people experience it almost all the time, others just in response to direct stimuli. Some possible situations that can trigger the loathing of cats are hearing purring, seeing a cat in real life, imagining the possibility of"
"Research shows that most people do not fear clowns but actually love them and that bad clowns are ""the exception, not the rule."" The concept of the evil clown is related to the irrational fear of clowns, known as coulrophobia, a neologism coined in the context of informal """"-phobia"" lists"". The cultural critic Mark Dery has theorized the postmodern archetype of the evil clown in ""Cotton Candy Autopsy: Deconstructing Psycho-Killer Clowns"" (a chapter in his cultural critique ""The Pyrotechnic Insanitarium: American Culture on the Brink""). Tracking the image of the demented or deviant clown across popular culture, Dery analyzes the"
"Mageirocophobia Mageirocophobia (""pronunciation"": ˌmædʒaɪrɪk-a-pho-bee-a) is the fear of cooking. It is spectral and can take on several forms, although it is not considered severe enough for treatment unless a person is severely afraid or impacted. Most frequently, it is a common social anxiety disorder caused by negative reactions to common culinary mishaps, post-traumatic stress episodes from cooking or the fear of others' cooking for the phobic person that either prevents them from eating, eating only pre-prepared foods and snacks, or causes them to eat away or take away foods that can result in unhealthy diets associated with hypertension, obesity, and"
"Roller coaster phobia Roller coaster phobia is a colloquial and slang term describing an individual's fear of roller coasters and other rides which involve excessive heights, restraints or g-forces on the body. While roller coasters are a popular theme park attraction, certain people feel nauseated, afraid, dizzy, or unsafe when riding roller coasters. In many cases, this fear is related to other phobias – such as acrophobia, claustrophobia or emetophobia – a condition like vertigo, or to a traumatic event. While not an officially recognized phobia, some cases have been treated successfully with a specialized therapy program. Most roller coasters"
"Aversion to happiness Aversion to happiness, also called cherophobia or fear of happiness, is an attitude towards happiness in which individuals may deliberately avoid experiences that invoke positive emotions or happiness. One of several reasons why cherophobia may develop is the belief that when one becomes happy, a negative event will soon occur that will taint that happiness, as if punishing that individual for satisfaction. This belief is thought to be more prevalent in Eastern cultures. In Western cultures, such as American culture, ""it is almost taken for granted that happiness is one of the most important values guiding people's"
"Gelotophobia Gelotophobia is a fear of being laughed at, a type of social phobia. While most people do not like being laughed at, there is a sub-group of people that exceedingly fear it, and without obvious reasons, they relate laughter they hear to be directed at themselves. Since 2008, this phenomenon has attracted attention from scholars in psychology, sociology, and psychiatry, and has been studied intensively. In his clinical observations, found that some of his patients seemed to be primarily worried about being laughed at. They tended to scan their environment for signs of laughter and ridicule. Furthermore, they reported"
"ticket-holders contacted the organizers, expressing a fear of clowns. Evil clown The evil clown is a subversion of the traditional comic clown character, in which the playful trope is instead rendered as disturbing through the use of horror elements and dark humor. The modern archetype of the evil clown was popularized by Stephen King's 1986 novel ""It"". The character can be seen as playing off the sense of unease felt by sufferers of coulrophobia, the fear of clowns. The modern archetype of the evil clown has unclear origins; the stock character appeared infrequently during the 19th century, in such works"
"Ergophobia Ergophobia, ergasiophobia or ponophobia is an abnormal and persistent fear of work (manual labor, non-manual labour, etc.) or fear of finding employment. It may be a form of social phobia or performance anxiety. People with ergophobia experience undue anxiety about the workplace environment even though they realize their fear is irrational. Their fear may actually be a combination of fears, such as fear of failing at assigned tasks, speaking before groups at work (both of which are types of performance anxiety), socializing with co-workers (a type of social phobia), and other fears of emotional, psychological and/or physiological injuries. The"
"Hoplophobia Hoplophobia is a political neologism coined by retired American military officer Jeff Cooper as a pejorative to describe an ""irrational aversion to weapons."" It is also used to describe the ""fear of firearms"" or the ""fear of armed citizens."" Hoplophobia is listed simply as a phobia in some medical dictionaries as a fear of weapons or firearms. American firearms expert and retired Marine colonel Jeff Cooper coined the word in 1962 to denigrate and anger proponents of gun control by implying that their thoughts were ""aberrant"" and unreasoning: I coined the term ""hoplophobia"" in 1962 in response to a"
"Communication apprehension Communication apprehension is the level of anxiety triggered by the real or anticipated communication act, as defined by McCroskey. It is connected to the idea of judgment from the audience, and self-image. Communication apprehension, CA, can cause a variety of involuntary responses such as ""stomach butterflies"", shaking, nausea, sweating, forgetting the information, among many others. The term communication apprehension is usually connected with 'stage fright'; however, this response is not necessarily connected with a delivery on a stage or in front of a large audience. This anxiety can be caused by any of the five forms of communication:"
"Acrophobia Acrophobia is an extreme or irrational fear or phobia of heights, especially when one is not particularly high up. It belongs to a category of specific phobias, called space and motion discomfort, that share both similar causes and options for treatment. Most people experience a degree of natural fear when exposed to heights, known as the fear of falling. On the other hand, those who have little fear of such exposure are said to have a head for heights. A head for heights is advantageous for those hiking or climbing in mountainous terrain and also in certain jobs e.g."
"with strong understandings of literature, art and sometimes philosophy, has continued to have influence on cinephiles. On the other hand, many directors emphasize their lack of cinephilia or interest in movies. Abbas Kiarostami, popular with cinephiles, often emphasized his disinterest in cinema when interviewed. There has also been different forms of ""cinephobia"" (fear or hatred of cinema) from the current fear of ""losing"" celluloid film in the digital age through anxieties about moral values on the big screen to the point of censorship. Telephilia is the term used to refer to a passionate interest in television. It was coined by"
"Glossophobia Glossophobia or speech anxiety is the fear of public speaking. The word ""glossophobia"" derives from the Greek γλῶσσα ""glōssa"", meaning tongue, and φόβος ""phobos"", fear or dread. Some people have this specific phobia, while others may also have broader social phobia or social anxiety disorder. The aspect of speaking publicly whether it be in front of a group of unknown people, or a close group of friends, is what triggers the anxiety for the speaker. The speaker may be comfortable if they speak in front of a group of complete strangers, but when it comes to speaking in front"
"Claustrophobia Claustrophobia is the fear of being enclosed in a small space or room and unable to escape or get out. It can be triggered by many situations or stimuli, including elevators crowded to capacity, windowless rooms, hotel rooms with closed doors and sealed windows, small cars and even tight-necked clothing. It is typically classified as an anxiety disorder, which often results in panic attacks. The onset of claustrophobia has been attributed to many factors, including a reduction in the size of the amygdala, classical conditioning, or a genetic predisposition to fear small spaces. One study indicates that anywhere from"
"Cooper as tongue-in-cheek to mock those who think guns have free will. Hoplophobia Hoplophobia is a political neologism coined by retired American military officer Jeff Cooper as a pejorative to describe an ""irrational aversion to weapons."" It is also used to describe the ""fear of firearms"" or the ""fear of armed citizens."" Hoplophobia is listed simply as a phobia in some medical dictionaries as a fear of weapons or firearms. American firearms expert and retired Marine colonel Jeff Cooper coined the word in 1962 to denigrate and anger proponents of gun control by implying that their thoughts were ""aberrant"" and"
"of audience members becoming impatient with what they regard as a low quality performance. Some comedians ignore the heckling and dislike the practice. In an interview for a 2011 BBC documentary, Billy Connolly said that ""I loathe hecklers. I haven't one good syllable to say about hecklers. When you've come out of the club circuit and all that and you're in the concert hall...they should be gone."" Other stand-up comedians devise a strategy for quashing such outbursts, usually by having a store of retorts (known as ""squelches"") on hand. The idea is to get the audience laughing at the heckler"
"Whorephobia Whorephobia is the fear of and discrimination against sex workers. Whorephobics stereotype sex workers as deviant, hypersexual, sexually risky and substance abusive. Sex workers cope with this stigmatization, or othering, in ways such as hiding their occupation from non-sex workers, social withdrawal and creating a false self to perform at work. Whorephobia perpetuates rape culture and leads to slut-shaming. Globally sex workers encounter barriers in accessing health care, legislation, legal resources and labor rights. In a study of U.S sex workers, 43% of interviews showed reports of intimate-partner violence, physical violence, armed physical violence, and sexual violence in the"
"certain mythos was part of the show's inception, show producers did not set out to create a loyal following; the joke was that the character thought he had an influence, but that was a figment of his ego-riddled imagination. Despite his appearance of always being in charge, Colbert is vulnerable: he feels deeply threatened by those wielding more power than he, and he suffers from ""arctophobia"", the fear of bears, which he refers to as ""giant, marauding, godless killing machines"". He will alert the audience to what he perceives as the latest national threat (the subject of a recurring bit,"
"and the Big Five models of personality. Gelotophobia correlates highly with introversion and neuroticism, and on older P-scales, gelotophobes score higher in psychoticism. The dimensional assessment of personality pathology, a DSM personality disorder instrument, showed that those with a fear of being laughed at tend to be socially avoidant and submissive, as well as having identity problems. Social withdrawal and suspiciousness most frequently predicted gelotophobia. Paul Lewis (Boston College, US) speculated whether political gelotophobia might affect elections in the US (""The twin fears of being effectively mocked or ineffective in mocking others [too harsh, blunt, tasteless] led candidates to aggressive"
"Scopophobia Scopophobia, scoptophobia, or ophthalmophobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by a morbid fear of being seen or stared at by others. The term ""scopophobia"" comes from the Greek σκοπέω ""skopeō"", ""look to, examine"", and φόβος ""phobos"", ""fear"". ""Ophthalmophobia"" comes from the Greek ὀφθαλμός ""ophthalmos"", ""eye"". Phobias have a long history. The concept of social phobias was referred to as long ago as 400 B.C. One of the first references to scopophobia was by Hippocrates who commented on an overly-shy individual, explaining that such a person ""loves darkness as light"" and ""thinks every man observes him.” The term ""social phobia"""
"Phonophobia Phonophobia, also called ligyrophobia or sonophobia, is a fear of or aversion to loud sounds—a type of specific phobia. It can also mean a fear of voices, or a fear of one's own voice. It is a very rare phobia which is often the symptom of hyperacusis. Sonophobia can refer to the hypersensitivity of a patient to sound and can be part of the diagnosis of a migraine. Occasionally it is called acousticophobia. The term ""phonophobia"" comes from Greek φωνή - ""phōnē"", ""sound"" and φόβος - ""phobos"", ""fear"". Ligyrophobics may be fearful of devices that can suddenly emit loud"
"ligyrophobics also steer clear of any events in which fireworks are to be let off . Another example is watching someone blow up a balloon beyond its normal capacity. This is often an unsettling, even disturbing thing for a person with ligyrophobia to observe, as he or she anticipates a loud sound when the balloon pops. When balloons pop, two types of reactions are heavy breathing and panic attacks. The sufferer becomes anxious to get away from the source of the loud sound and may get headaches. It may also be related to, caused by, or confused with ""hyperacusis"", extreme"
"Robert Wolterstorff...""Executive Producer"" Danger Theatre Danger Theatre is an American half-hour comedy anthology series for television, produced by Universal Studios and originally aired on the American Fox network in 1993. With two exceptions, each half-hour-long show consisted of two comedy segments, each a spoof of a familiar action/anthology format. The style of the comedy was somewhat similar to that of films like ""Airplane!"" and TV shows like ""Police Squad!"" Robert Vaughn was the host for each episode, introducing to camera each fifteen-minute segment with mock earnestness. The jokes ranged from humorous or preposterous dialogue to visual gags and slapstick designed"
"Gephyrophobia Gephyrophobia is the anxiety disorder or specific phobia characterized by the fear of bridges. As a result, sufferers of gephyrophobia may avoid routes that will take them over bridges. Some possible explanations of gephyrophobia may be the fear of driving off the bridge, the fear of a gust of wind blowing one off the bridge, or the fear that the bridge will collapse if they try to cross it (a fear that the bridge lacks structural integrity). The fear overlaps with acrophobia, the fear of heights, as gephyrophobia tends to be exacerbated in tall bridges vs. ones close to"
"was successful with the initial test group. Similar self-help techniques can be found online, for reducing the phobic reaction to rollercoasters and similar rides. Roller coaster phobia Roller coaster phobia is a colloquial and slang term describing an individual's fear of roller coasters and other rides which involve excessive heights, restraints or g-forces on the body. While roller coasters are a popular theme park attraction, certain people feel nauseated, afraid, dizzy, or unsafe when riding roller coasters. In many cases, this fear is related to other phobias – such as acrophobia, claustrophobia or emetophobia – a condition like vertigo, or"
"A Problem with Fear A Problem with Fear, or Laurie's Anxiety Confronting the Escalator is a 2003 absurdist comedy film by Canadian film-maker Gary Burns. Laurie Harding (Paulo Costanzo) is a small shop clerk in the local Calgary mall. His world is full of tragic accidents - crosswalks, elevators, escalators and virtually anything associated with commercialism or technology is parodied as objects of fear and tragedy. An elevator plunges 30 stories. A woman's scarf is caught in an escalator, strangling her to death. A man is struck by a car, right before Laurie had the premonition to not cross. His"