Phobias! It's Friday the 13th...muah ha ha EVIL LAUGH

Hello Fellow Fathomers and welcome to Friday the 13^th in The Locker. Today we celebrate by discussing PHOBIAS. According to the good folks at Wikipedia “phobia” is simply described as follows: “A phobia (from the Greek: φόβος, Phóbos, meaning "fear" or "morbid fear") is, when used in the context of clinical psychology, a type of anxiety disorder, usually defined as a persistent fear of an object or situation in which the sufferer commits to great lengths in avoiding, typically disproportional to the actual danger posed, often being recognized as irrational. In the event the phobia cannot be avoided entirely the sufferer will endure the situation or object with marked distress and significant interference in social or occupational activities.^{[1]” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phobia}

Therefore, while many people may throw the word “phobia” around to emphasize their specific fear, however, generally, the diagnosis of “phobia” comes with a heftier price tag of terror than a usual “I’m afraid of –fill in the blank here.” For example, I have a phobia of snakes, a.k.a. ophidiophobia. I do not want to be anywhere near snakes and it took forever before I would enter the reptile house at the zoo. However, my daughter, Allee, absolutely loves snakes and I couldn’t very well let her enter the snake house alone. Shudder shudder shudder. As a young child, I’ve been chased, literally CHASED, on two occasions by cottonmouth snakes during mating season. It is NO kind of fun watching one of those suckers open mouth, fangs bared, streaking at you from across the water. One time, my cousin had to jerk me to get me to move, I was literally frozen in fear. Ugh.

Arachnophobia is also a common phobia, the fear of spiders. Shoot, Hollywood made that phobia famous by naming a movie after it. Spiders don’t really bother me in the scheme of things, they eat bugs. But, I respect anyone with a need to stay away from the Eight Legged Freaks (another gratuitous Hollywood plug).

Realizing phobias are a significant and diagnosable human condition- I try not to question or snicker at some phobias. Such as: Anuptaphobia-the fear of staying single (really?) Eurotophobia- Fear of female genitalia (uh, ok) and I guess va-jay-jays are so bad they get two Kolpophobia- Fear of genitals, particularly female. In the case of the male persuasion, some guys might be the object of mycrophobia-the fear of small things (sorry, guys, I had to do it) Phallophobia- Fear of a penis, esp erect and Medorthophobia- Fear of an erect penis—for those proud few they instill Megalophobia- Fear of large things.

Sometimes, I think my kids have scolionophobia the fear of school.  Sheesh

And, we wouldn’t want these two in the same room- Coprastasophobia- Fear of constipation and Rhypophobia- Fear of defecation. How would that conversation go? It would be “strained”, I’m sure.

Whatever happens in the minds of any of us, I only make light because sometimes, laughter is the only way I survive in this world…because, honestly, at one time or another, my OCD lent me to several phobias on that list. It seemed like when I conquered one, something else took its’ place. (I’ve been through fear of Vomiting- Emetophobia- fear of Night or dark- Nyctophobia- fear of falling and heights- acrophobia and the aforementioned, ophidiophobia-snakes) I doubt I ever shake the falling or snakes complexes.)

This is where phobias tie into my fourth installment of my WIP, Blue Ink-The Skin Stalker. As tribute
 to Friday the 13^th (or if you have the phobia Triskaidekaphobia-  fear of number 13 or   paraskevidekatriaphobia or friggatriskaidekaphobia.- both specific phobias to Friday the 13^th- in which case you can come out from under the covers on Saturday the 14^th (another Hollywood “classic”) okay, I will stop soon, I promise.

 Bogyphobia is fear of the boogeyman and Daemonophobia is a phobia of demons, both of which could characterize the creepiness hanging out under these unsuspecting girls’ bed…..take a read-

Blue Ink –installment 4

“Nightfall arrived with an eerie quiet, and an unexpected twist in The Skin Stalker’s routine. “I could always take care of both of you right here.” He slipped through their door late that night and whooshed by their sleeping bodies, filling the air with a cold draft. He watched the goosebumps prickle up and down their tanned arms.

He willed his evil essence to hover over their bodies, taking in their labored breathing of deep sleep. They almost breathed in unison and he extracted life as they expelled CO2. What poisons you powers me. Yet, he lingered not long, as his human host shell could still be weakened by the usual dangers. He stretched his gnarly hands out and pretended to squeeze Sascha’s neck as he slithered to her bedside. It would be so easy and I could take you both now…oh, the deliciousness. He salivated and drops hit the floor, hissing as they sizzled away on impact, indicating something hideous comprised this sub-human creature.

He slid under their bed and took respite as he recharged his foul human form. The pong of unbathed skin, sweat, and the sulfurs of hell permeated the cramped space under the girls. He reveled in his own stench, enjoying how his demon melded so perfectly with his human host, completely overtaking him.

He remained there until they began the stirrings of pre-awakening REM sleep. In a smooth, almost lurid motion, he slipped to Sascha’s underside of the bed and stretched his gangly, ashy arm up the side of the mattress. She lay on her side, facing the inside of the bed and her bare back exposed to the edge.  He raked his sharp, chipped fingernails across her naked skin and caused her to shudder in response.”

 Happy Friday fathomers!