I have fought a grizzly bear, tracked a cobra to its lair,
Killed a crocodile who dared to cross my path
But the thing I really dread, when I've just got out of bed
Is to find that there's a spider in the bath...
Killed a crocodile who dared to cross my path
But the thing I really dread, when I've just got out of bed
Is to find that there's a spider in the bath...
— Flanders and Swann, "The Spider"
Indiana Jones: There's a big snake in the plane, Jock!
Jock: Oh, that's just my pet snake Reggie!
Indiana Jones: I hate snakes, Jock! I hate 'em!
Jock: Come on! Show a little backbone, will ya?
Jock: Oh, that's just my pet snake Reggie!
Indiana Jones: I hate snakes, Jock! I hate 'em!
Jock: Come on! Show a little backbone, will ya?
"Snakes. Why does it always have to be snakes?"
— Daffy Duck, Tear Factor
Indiana Jones: Snakes. Why'd it have be snakes?
Sallah: Asps. Very dangerous. You go first.
Sallah: Asps. Very dangerous. You go first.
"Sharks. Why did it have to be sharks?"
— O'Chul, The Order of the Stick
"No! COVERED WITH SCORPIONS! Get them off me!
— Wolverine, X-Men: The Animated Series, "Captive Heart"
"The only thing we have to fear is FEAR ITSELF... and spiders."
— Gilgamesh Wulfenbach, Girl Genius
"That was a small army, this is a big spider!"
— Gilgamesh Wulfenbach, Girl Genius
"Why spiders? Why couldn't it be, 'Follow the butterflies'?"
— Ronald Weasley, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
"Follow the spiders! Follow the spiders! If Hagrid ever gets out of Azkaban, I'll kill him!"
— Ronald Weasley, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Ronald Weasley: (talking in his sleep) Spiders! They want me to tap-dance! I don't want to tap-dance!
Harry Potter: You tell those spiders, Ron.
Ronald Weasley: Yeah, tell them. ...I'll tell them.
Harry Potter: You tell those spiders, Ron.
Ronald Weasley: Yeah, tell them. ...I'll tell them.
...And at the last, I say to you, look to your -Snakesnakesnakesnake-SNAKE!-SNAKE! OH MY GOD TAKE IT AWAAAY!
— Medieval II: Total War Pre-battle speech (enabled by a general's acquired character trait)
Swede: Don't make me do it, Gunny, I'm afraid of heights!
Highway: So am I, kid.
Swede: You are?
Highway: Jumping out of a perfectly good aircraft is not a natural act. Now let's do this right and enjoy the view.
Highway: So am I, kid.
Swede: You are?
Highway: Jumping out of a perfectly good aircraft is not a natural act. Now let's do this right and enjoy the view.
— Heartbreak Ridge during a parachute jump into a warzone.
Homer: Kids, your mother has a fear of flying.
Bart: So much for the days when I could say "at least my mother's normal".
Marge: Well, everybody's got a fear of something.
Homer: Not everybody!
Marge: [irritated] Sock puppets!
Homer: WHERE?! WHERE?! AAH! AAH! [runs off]
Bart: So much for the days when I could say "at least my mother's normal".
Marge: Well, everybody's got a fear of something.
Homer: Not everybody!
Marge: [irritated] Sock puppets!
Homer: WHERE?! WHERE?! AAH! AAH! [runs off]
"I can handle anything but snakes. Well, I can handle the one in "Kinda" but pretty much no other."
— Joe Ford
"Geese mate for life. I had no idea that such jerks could attach for that long. It's unknown to us whether or not if one of them dies from being an asshole, that the other one gets a new asshole mate. And to know they have anything in common with something as adorable as penguins hurts.... goose poop is poisonous, yup. Their poop contains e.coli, so when they're poopin' in your lakes and water and stuff, then...you swim in the water, and you could get e.coli, so don't do that.
And our final fact from our in-house goose expert, me: They're dicks."
And our final fact from our in-house goose expert, me: They're dicks."
Okay, don't panic. They're not actual bugs that can crawl into your body and die and get their disgusting bug guts all over your internal systems and make your body incredibly gross forever. They're just hyperdimensionally divided intersections of a monster outside time and space. You can fight that. You have fought that. It's not bugs.
— Atomic Robo, reassuring himself.
Port: Fear is like any other emotion, it comes and goes. It's all in how you handle it. Why, even I find myself wrestling with that emotion from time to time.
Yang: Really. You?
Oobleck: He's afraid of mice.
Port: THEY BRING ONLY DISEASE AND FAMINE!!
Yang: Really. You?
Oobleck: He's afraid of mice.
Port: THEY BRING ONLY DISEASE AND FAMINE!!
— RWBY
I'm not afraid of ghosts
I'm not afraid of sharks
I'm not afraid of cancer
I'm just afraid of snakes
They really creep me out
Where are their arms and legs?
It's not okay!
I'm not afraid of sharks
I'm not afraid of cancer
I'm just afraid of snakes
They really creep me out
Where are their arms and legs?
It's not okay!
— Gene's "Snake Song", Bob's Burgers, episode "It Snakes a Village"
(to failing light) I'm sorry, but that's absolutely unacceptable! I'm under enough strain as it is: I can't have you quitting on me! (to himself) Get a hold of yourself, Garak. After all, you haven't had one of these attacks in years. Yes, this is a tight, enclosed space, yes, there's not a lot of room to move, but a disciplined mind does not allow itself to be sidetracked by niggling psychological disorders like... claustrophobia. Besides, this isn't like Tzenketh: the walls won't collapse in on you. Your friends are nearby, there's plenty of air, so there's nothing to be concerned about.
(the light fades a little further.)
Focus on the job. You're the only one who can contact the Runabout. People are depending on you. Ziyal is depending on you. You promised you'd come back... and that young lady has had quite enough disappointments in her life without you adding to them. So... control yourself. You're stronger than this. A disciplined mind-
(the light goes out; cue panic attack)
— Garak, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, "By Inferno's Light"
Interviewer: What's your biggest fear?
Danny: I'M NOT AFRAID OF SHIT! [beat] ...Except snakes.
Danny: I'M NOT AFRAID OF SHIT! [beat] ...Except snakes.
Dean: I know what you're thinking, Sammy. "Why did it have to be clowns?" [...] C'mon, you - you still bust out crying whenever you see Ronald McDonald on television.
Sam: At least I'm not afraid of flying.
Dean: Planes crash!
Sam: And apparently, clowns kill.
Sam: At least I'm not afraid of flying.
Dean: Planes crash!
Sam: And apparently, clowns kill.
— Supernatural, "Everybody Loves A Clown"
You shouldn't have done that. Don't ever put me in the dark. Closed in. It's like I told Superboy. I can't handle it.
"Aaaauuuuggghh, I'm scared of ghosts! I'm scared! I'm scared! I've failed. I came here to rescue my comrades and became trapped in this hell! Now I'm so frightened I can't take a single step outside this room! I can face any physical enemy, be it dragon or dog-like man! But not ghosts! For some reason I just can't handle ghosts! And yet I slash and slash, but there are more ghosts and more ghosts! Are they without number!? What!? New ghosts!? They take the forms of Master and Lady Mash!? Curse you! How dare you strike me where I am weak!? What fearsome wit you have, Ghost! Arrrgh, how my blood boils at this outrage! So reprehensible, it makes my very hair upon my head smolder! Raaaargh! Aid me, valorous men of Sparta! Here I come! Thermopylae Enomoti...waaaahh!!!"
— King Leonidas I of Sparta, Fate/Grand Order, on his one weak spot during the Garden of Order event.
Webby: Half-person, half-fish... do you know what that is?!
Della: Dis-GUST-ing!
Mrs. Beakley: Still afraid of sea life, I take it?
Della: I'm not afraid of fish! I'm just not a fan of anything made out of fish PARTS! Slimey, wall-eyed, unnatural—!
Della: Dis-GUST-ing!
Mrs. Beakley: Still afraid of sea life, I take it?
Della: I'm not afraid of fish! I'm just not a fan of anything made out of fish PARTS! Slimey, wall-eyed, unnatural—!
— DuckTales (2017), "The Lost Harp of Mervana!"
I've been afraid of big words since I was a kid. I thought that I'd get over it; somehow I never did. Usually, it's no big deal, but every now and then: "You're audaciously loquacious!" "Ahh!"— It kicks in again.
— Songdrops, "The Long Word Song"
Mrs. Burns: "There's a spider in the bath!"
Mr. Burns: "That's all [you screamed about]? I thought it was something serious."
Mrs. Burns: "You've never seen the spider."
Mr. Burns: "That's all [you screamed about]? I thought it was something serious."
Mrs. Burns: "You've never seen the spider."
— Dirty Bertie, "Spider!"
BUGS EVERYWHERE! IN ALL THE ROOMS. BELOW ROCKS. INSIDE EGGS. ON FRIGGIN' TINY ICY PLATFORMS. WHY WOULD THEY DO THIS TO ME?! Sacrebleu! This dungeon is the worst.
— Emilienator, CrossCode
"Martin hates boats. Martin hates water. Martin... Martin sits in his car when we go on the ferry to the mainland. I guess it's a childhood thing."
— Ellen Brody on Martin Brody, Jaws
General Yunan: (scoffs) Oh, please. Nothing scares the great GENERAL YUNAN! SCOURGE OF THE SANDWARS! DEFEATER OF- (freezes) Oh, no.
Marcy: What? It's just a cute little-
General Yunan: (points at it) GRUBHOG!!! (the grubhog makes a noise)
Marcy: You're afraid of this little cutie?
General Yunan: I had a bad experience, okay? When I was a little girl, one of those monsters nearly took my arm off.
Marcy: What? It's just a cute little-
General Yunan: (points at it) GRUBHOG!!! (the grubhog makes a noise)
Marcy: You're afraid of this little cutie?
General Yunan: I had a bad experience, okay? When I was a little girl, one of those monsters nearly took my arm off.
— Amphibia, Olivia & Yunan
Hellboy: Can't say I've met a Ninja Turtle.
Donatello: Hope you're not turtle-phobic, Hellboy.
Hellboy: Nah. My problem's with frogs.
Donatello: Hope you're not turtle-phobic, Hellboy.
Hellboy: Nah. My problem's with frogs.
Princess Toadstool: I'll never sign my kingdom over to you!
King Koopa: No? Then, let me add some incentive!
(Bob-ombs are deployed to the dungeon)
Mario: Bob-ombs! Next to Koopa himself, they're my most unfavorite things!
King Koopa: No? Then, let me add some incentive!
(Bob-ombs are deployed to the dungeon)
Mario: Bob-ombs! Next to Koopa himself, they're my most unfavorite things!
— The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3, "Never Koop a Koopa"
"Uh... Uh, spiders! SPIDERS! GET 'EM OFF ME! GET 'EM OFF ME! GET 'EM OFF ME! GET! GET! OFF! OFF! ME! OFF, OFF, OFF!"
— Patrick Star, SpongeBob SquarePants, "Home Sweet Pineapple"
Ragatha: You shouldn't have keys to anyone's room!
Jax: Nah, I've got keys everywhere, and you've all been fine. By the way, I might have left something in your room today, so let me know if you find it. You're not afraid of centipedes, are ya?
Ragatha: JAX! That's LITERALLY my only fear! WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS?!
Jax: What, it could be a completely unrelated question! You never know until it's too late.
Jax: Nah, I've got keys everywhere, and you've all been fine. By the way, I might have left something in your room today, so let me know if you find it. You're not afraid of centipedes, are ya?
Ragatha: JAX! That's LITERALLY my only fear! WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS?!
Jax: What, it could be a completely unrelated question! You never know until it's too late.
— The Amazing Digital Circus, "Pilot"
