History Main / AbsurdPhobia

** In ''Island (2007)'', the episode "[[Recap/TotalDramaPhobiaFactor Phobia Factor]]" shows the castmates' worst fears. While some of them are common, like Owen and Izzy's fear of flying and DJ's fear of snakes, others are very absurd. Examples include Tyler's fear of chickens, [[Characters/TotalDramaDuncan Duncan's]] fear of Celine Dion music store cardboard standees, and Courtney's fear of green jello. Lindsay and Sadie both share the same fear, bad haircuts (Lindsay originally said her fear was walking through a minefield in heels before changing it). There are also some that are dangerous things but also rather odd, like Heather's (sumo wrestlers), Harold's (ninjas), and Cody's (having to defuse a time bomb).

** In ''Island (2007)'', the episode "[[Recap/TotalDramaPhobiaFactor Phobia Factor]]" shows the castmates' worst fears. While some of them are common, like Owen and Izzy's fear of flying and DJ's fear of snakes, others are very absurd. Examples include Tyler's fear of chickens, Duncan's fear of Celine Dion music store cardboard standees, and Courtney's fear of green jello. Lindsay and Sadie both share the same fear, bad haircuts (Lindsay originally said her fear was walking through a minefield in heels before changing it). There are also some that are dangerous things but also rather odd, like Heather's (sumo wrestlers), Harold's (ninjas), and Cody's (having to defuse a time bomb).

** Yellow Yoshi is scared of the UsefulNotes/PlayStation2 Red Screen Of Death.

* ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim'': The plots of many episodes revolve around Zim developing an insane phobia of a random mundane Earth object/group/action, and taking drastic measures to be rid of it.

* ''ComicBook/DoomPatrol'': Flex Mentallo mentions during Gerard Way's run that he is afraid of bicycles.

Remember, however, that RealityIsUnrealistic. While an absurd phobia is played for humor in fiction, people in real life can have phobias and trauma triggers that seem ridiculous to others but have very logical origins -- for instance, a person who has repressed memories of being abused by a man in a red cap could develop a phobia of red hats without knowing where it comes from. Ignoring or deliberately poking at the phobia because "it's silly" is cruelty, and helping someone get over a phobia requires psychiatric training and should not be attempted by nonprofessionals.

* ''Manga/The100GirlfriendsWhoReallyReallyReallyReallyReallyLoveYou'': Eira Kaho is a KickChick whose main phobia is anything she ''can't'' beat up with kicks. This comes in two distinct flavors, either anything very small or immaterial such as insects, germs, or ghosts, or things such as babies and animals that she regards as ''so'' fragile a mere touch is enough to break them, nevermind a kick. To heighten the absurdity, Eira has absolutely zero fear towards anything she ''can'' defeat with a kick, such as an oncoming car.

* The Devils in ''Manga/ChainsawMan'' are physical manifestations of different fears humans have, which include some really specific fears such as tomatoes, chickens or even ''marshmallows''. This works against them as each Devil's power are equal to how broadly humans fear the concept, meaning that Devils who represent absurd phobias tend to be really weak.

** Josuke Higashikata from ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureDiamondIsUnbreakable'' has the fear of reptiles - including turtles. This didn't stop him from healing one that was wounded by jerkass upper classmen.

* Mio Akiyama in ''Manga/KOn'' (mostly the anime) has a fear of barnacles, mold, cray fish, other people's blisters, the covers of horror films and pretty much any string of scary words involving blood, injury, or ghosts. In TheMovie, she gains a fear of things that turn (including conveyor belt sushi and ''The London Eye'' of all things).

* ''Manga/OnePiece'': Sugar, a member of Donquixote Pirates, developed a phobia to long noses or anything that resembles them, due to the long-nosed Usopp accidentally scaring her with a NightmareFace (after being unknowingly fed with a spicy pepper) that made her faint.
* Ranma of ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'' has a crippling phobia of cats. It's often played for laughs for being a WeaksauceWeakness. But then it's revealed that this was the result of learning a particularly brutal martial art that activates his BerserkMode whenever said fear reaches its limit. And, of course, the brutal martial art training, which entails being repeatedly thrown to the mercy of hungry cats by his [[AbusiveParents asshole father]] as a child whilst wrapped in fish-meat, kind of makes it very understandable why he is afraid of cats.

* When Momoko of ''Manga/SumomoMoMomoMo'' was six years old, her father tried to increase her protein by putting her on a diet of hardboiled eggs. Momoko has since developed a trauma-induced phobia of them, to the point she won't even use eggs in the food she cooks. She can handle it if they're normal hardboiled eggs, but the trauma kicks in to full gear if faces are drawn on them since her well-meaning father did that to ''all'' of the eggs to try and make it more enjoyable for her.

** Super-Villainess Titania had a crippling fear of Spider-Man, despite the fact that she is far stronger than him and routinely takes on stronger heroes (ComicBook/SheHulk in particular) with gusto. Her debut story in ''ComicBook/{{Secret Wars|1984}}'' has her get defeated in an embarrassing fashion by Spidey, and she fears he'll do it again every time she sees him. She gets over it when she realizes she's been in a battle with a disguised Spidey.

* ''Fanfic/AGrowingFireInMyHeart'': All the dragons in the barracks in chapter 14, despite dragons being huge fire-breathing monsters and many being depicted as a ProudWarriorRaceGuy, are shown to be absolutely ''terrified'' of [[EekAMouse mice]]. When they spot a changeling disguised as a pony sized mouse, they all [[ScreamsLikeALittleGirl scream like little girls]] and run around the room, trying to stay away from it with only a few trying to kill it. Then when they lose track of it they all try PlayingPossum until they are sure it is gone.

'''Camilo:''' Whatever that is, I hate that, too. If it's sheep related.\\

* Jack from ''Film/Blackjack1998'' has a phobia of the colour white, because of a [[BlindedByTheLight flash grenade exploding in front of him]] in the opening shootout nearly blinding him. The main villain took advantage of this by tricking Jack to enter [[KryptoniteIsEverywhere a room filled with white drapes]] in the final battle and attacking Jack in there.

* ''Film/UltramanGingaSTheMovieShowdownThe10UltraBrothers'': The supporting character, Gouki, is revealed to be deathly afraid of.... '''tomatoes'''. Naturally when attempting to infiltrate Etelgar's fortress, his fears then manifests itself into giant, sentient tomatoes that bounces after him.

* To Daisy in ''Literature/AnansiBoys'' it sure looks like Charlie's apprehension concerning birds is an Absurd Phobia:

* Aunt Josephine from ''Literature/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents'' suffers from phobias of everything, tripping over the door mat, getting electrocuted by using a telephone, and finally, ''realtors''. In TheFilmOfTheBook, her fears of them prove amusingly rational for just one evening, when a hurricane strikes her house and causes all her appliances to malfunction in exactly the way she claimed they would. Apart from the realtors.

* ''Series/ANTFarm'': [[InsufferableGenius Olive Doyle]] claims she has many phobias, including "ghosts, vampires, witches, zombies, leprechauns, giraffes, double decker buses, balloons and... ''(shudders)'' curly fries." Cue Fletcher sitting next to her with a tray of curly fries.

* ''Series/BetterCallSaul'' has [[PlayedForDrama a dramatic variation]] with Chuck [=McGill=], who's developed a fear of electronics. Believing he has [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_hypersensitivity electromagnetic hypersensitivity]], he's a [[TheShutIn shut-in]] who lives in a dark house devoid of any modern tech, and relies on family to bring groceries and provide for the bills as he's too afraid to venture out into the world. What's more is that at several points, his condition is challenged (EHS isn't considered a diagnosable condition with scientific backing), and others consider that perhaps his symptoms are [[YourMindMakesItReal psychosomatic]], but he's too much of a stubborn ControlFreak to consider otherwise or [[TherapyIsForTheWeak believe he needs to seek treatment for it]]. [[spoiler:This gets blown wide open when -- during a disbarment hearing -- Jimmy secretly plants a battery on an unknowing Chuck's shirt pocket, showing him to suffer zero symptoms for hours until he's informed of it, where only ''then'' does he freak out, suggesting that even if his condition isn't real, [[{{Hypochondria}} his fear of it certainly is]] and likely represents much more pertinent mental problems.]]

* In the ''Series/MurdochMysteries'' episode "Murdochophobia", the episode is spent surrounding a group of asylum patients being treated for their phobias, one of whom is afraid of ''feathers''. However, beyond the initially absurd introduction, this aspect is PlayedForDrama as the episode's murderer is literally trying to scare the patients to death (the aforementioned patient suffers a terrible panic attack after a rigged pillow sets off in her room, showering her in feathers). Murdoch himself also admits he's phobic of butterflies; at first Dr. Ogden believes he's rather patronizingly attempting to connect with her patients, and starts laughing when she realizes he's serious.

* ''Series/SchittsCreek'': David Rose has a number of phobias, including heights, moths and butterflies, and business women in sneakers.

* ''Series/TheSketchShow'': The "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koNwUeG-iKE Phobias Workshop]]" sketch is about a support group for people with these. The group has one member who is afraid of the word "Aagh!", one who is afraid of apologies, one who is afraid of repetition, one who is afraid of awkward silences and one who doesn't have a phobia but who compulsively barks at other people's. They keep setting one another off.

* ''Series/SoAwkward'': In "Friendundancy", Ollie decides that due to his fear of clothes he can't take the girls talking about clothes any more.

** There'a also a pantophobia episode wherein Dean contracts ghost sickness and develops a fear of everything, including speeding, high floors, ghosts, cats, dogs and teenagers, among others.

* ''Podcast/TheThrillingAdventureHour'': Frank and Sadie Doyle regularly face down supernatural threats, such as ghosts, genies, and even actual gods. Despite this, they both have a crippling fear of bees after a NoodleIncident in which a bee got into their apartment; every time it's mentioned it's with a touch of terror or dread. In the "The Haunting of Howard Schroeder", the Doyles calmly explain to a MonsterClown that they see ghosts all the time, socially even, and there is nothing in the world that can frighten them; they completely freak out when Sadie notices that a bee has gotten in.

* Mera from ''WebAnimation/EpithetErased'' is terrified of ducks, [[spoiler: though this is somewhat justified since [[GlassCannon her Epithet]] would make it easy for a duck to seriously injure her.]] In her words, "they're small, and fast, and they bite, okay?!"

* ''WesternAnimation/TheAdventuresOfJimmyNeutronBoyGenius'': An episode where Jimmy invents a DreamWalker machine to help Carl with his nightmares reveals that the "horrible spooky thing" that Carl doesn't want to talk about is lima beans. Jimmy thinks this is just a case of DoesNotLikeSpam at first, but when he meets a lima bean in Carl's dream, it grows to giant size and reveals itself as a terrifying ManEatingPlant. (It is defeated by luring it out of the dream, where it becomes harmless and is semi-reluctantly eaten by Jimmy, Carl and Sheen.)

* ''WesternAnimation/ChopSockyChooks'': In one episode, we learn that Chucky Chan is afraid of a toy duck called Mr. Quackers for unknown reasons while K.O. Joe is afraid of jelly beans due getting one stuck up his nose as a baby.

* ''WesternAnimation/EdEddNEddy'': Ed is shown to be afraid of soap and deodorant in "Once Upon an Ed", and the fear of soap becomes a plot point in "Run For Your Ed", when Double D's solution to [[ItMakesSenseInContext removing a bottle stuck on his finger]] being to lubricate it with soap to slip it off. He also has a fear of wigs and hairpieces as shown in "X Marks the Ed" For context, Eddy had a pimple on his head that he tried to cover up with his dad's toupee.

* ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'': Wade Duck is afraid of an incredibly large amount of things, that many fall into this category. Some of them include: chocolate donuts, finding out it's Tuesday and being attacked by legion of crazed Pat Sajak impersonators.

** "[[Recap/GravityFallsS1E19Dreamscaperers Dreamscaperers]]": When Bill Chipher declares that he can turn the worst nightmares of people Soos says he hopes he's not talking about the "British Dog Man" he sees in his dreams. Immediately a bulldog in a fancy suit, a monocle and a walking cane appears.

** Ron is also afraid of monkeys, one of several phobias he developed thanks to the trauma he experienced while attending [[SummerCampy Camp Wannaweep]] as a child; in this case due to the camps aggressive and mean-spirited monkey mascot he was forced to share a cabin with. He gradually gets over this phobia as the show progresses, especially after he begins training in Monkey Kung-Fu, and unlocks a superpowered state known as Mystical Monkey Power, which he eventually uses to save the day in the GrandFinale. Ironically, this also nets him a monkey-themed archenemy: [[ArrogantKungFuGuy Monkey Fist]].

** There is an episode of where Hank develops a serious crippling fear of propane, the thing he sells for a living. Justified, in that he had survived a gas leak explosion in the previous episode.

** Lunella's mother, Adira, has a fear of hair relaxers (chemicals that straighten curly hair). This is actually justified, as she used one of them as a child and it made all of her hair fall out. Her reaction to seeing a young Lunella with one, though, was [[NoKillLikeOverkill a little unnecessary]].

* ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'': In the various specials, Charlie Brown admit he's afraid of all sorts of things that seem silly. Partly this is justified as he often tries and fails at things to better himself. However, he does rise up to the challenge despite the odds, and tries again.

** His fantasy counterpart, Malefishmirtz, admits that he's afraid of unicorns, whales, octopus, pegasi, scorpions, barnacles and girls. Then a few seconds later a [[MixAndMatchCritter uni-whale-scorpio-Pega-squid-icorn Candace]] appears behind him, though he admits that when combined it's more ridiculous than scary.

** In ''Island (2007)'', the episode "[[Recap/TotalDramaPhobiaFactor Phobia Factor]]" shows the castmates' worst fears. While some of them are common, like Owen and Izzy's fear of flying and DJ's fear of snakes, others are very absurd. Examples include Tyler's fear of chickens, Duncan's fear of Celine Dion music store cardboard standees and Courtney's fear of green jello. Lindsay and Sadie both share the same fear, bad haircuts (Lindsay originally said her fear was walking through a minefield in heels before changing it). There are also some that are dangerous things but also rather odd, like Heather's (sumo wrestlers), Harold's (ninjas), and Cody's (having to defuse a time bomb).
** Part 2 of ''Island (2023)'' has the episode ''[[Recap/TotalDramaOffTheHook Off the Hook!]]", which also shows the campers' worst fears, with the two most absurd ones being Priya being afraid of thunder and lightning, and Julia being afraid of old people. The first of Wayne's fears, his best friend Raj playing for a different hockey team, is a subversion, since it’s actually a pretty deep fear and a possible sign of separation anxiety. His second fear on the other hand plays the trope straight, since its his own hockey team's mascot, which is just a big cartoony owl costume.

* ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'': Optimus Prime is shown to have a fear of spiders (despite being a giant robot who can't possibly be hurt by an Earth spider), to the amusement of Sari, Bumblebee and Bulkhead. [[DeconstructedTrope However]], the episode quickly shows that he isn't so much afraid of spiders as he is [[TraumaButton triggered]] by them: he lost his friend, Elita-1, on a planet full of gigantic spiders (who were big and deadly enough to kill a Cybertronian).

* ''WesternAnimation/WeBareBears'': In "[[Recap/WeBareBearsS4E14MoreEveryonesTube More Everyone's Tube]]", Grizz and Panda discover that Ice Bear, usually the most fearless of the three, is afraid of cucumbers. They shoot a whole video of them pranking Ice Bear by placing cucumbers all over the house and watching him freak out. (Oddly enough, he reacts normally to a pickle.) It ends with Panda dressing up in a cucumber costume, which causes Ice Bear to throw him out the window and ending up on traction at the hospital.

* There are a wide variety of real-life phobias that can come across as this to other people. Including fear of clowns, ducks, babies, hair, vomit, dolls, colors, numbers ([[ThirteenIsUnlucky triskaidekaphobia]]), words, being upside down etc...
* Probably the single most generally known "absurd" phobia is a fear of firecrackers and fireworks, [[JustifiedTrope a common side effect of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.]] This one, at least, is well-publicized enough not to be used for comedy, and why more and more cities are banning the use of personal fireworks, or even banning their use at all (e.g. festivals, American Independence Day).

* The myths of elephants having a phobia to mice has an element of truth. Elephants' eyesights are not keen enough to clearly see small creatures on the ground, and so they react with fear when they detect unexpected movement from below, not because they hate mice, but because they can't tell the difference between a harmless mouse and a dangerous threat like a snake. Thus their phobia reacts with equal fear, to both harmless creatures and genuine threats. When a mouse is brought up close to the elephant's face, elephants do not tend to fear them at all.

* In an instance that overlaps with ShapedLikeItself, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phobophobia Phobophobia]] is having a phobia of having a phobia. This isn't like [[UsefulNotes/FranklinDRoosevelt FDR's]] famous ''"the only thing we have to fear is fear itself"'', but a literal stress reaction to the feelings of being afraid.

Compare FauxHorrific, NightmareRetardant, and WeaksauceWeakness. An IronicFear can be considered one of these. If one of these phobias is a recurring plot point, then it is WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes; if it's a one-off gag, it's OneEpisodeFear. In contemporary settings, when irrational fear causes magical creatures to hide from Muggles, it is a MasqueradeParadox. To the phobia sufferer, of course, it is always SeriousBusiness. This can add some levity to a WhatDoTheyFearEpisode. See also ElephantsAreScaredOfMice, where a huge and powerful animal is irrationally afraid of a small and harmless one.

** ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaIsland'':

** ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaIsland'': "[[Recap/TotalDramaPhobiaFactor Phobia Factor]]" shows the castmates' worst fears. While some of them are common, like Owen and Izzy's fear of flying and DJ's fear of snakes, others are very absurd. Examples include Tyler's fear of chickens, Duncan's fear of Celine Dion music store cardboard standees and Courtney's fear of green jello. Lindsay and Sadie both share the same fear, bad haircuts (Lindsay originally said her fear was walking through a minefield in heels before changing it). There are also some that are dangerous things but also rather odd, like Heather's (sumo wrestlers), Harold's (ninjas), and Cody's (having to defuse a time bomb).
** ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaPresentsTheRidonculousRace'' gives several to [[BornUnlucky the Adversity Twins]], particularly Mickey. Sometimes these include a FreudianExcuse: for example, he's afraid of pencils because he once tripped on a bunch and tumbled down the stairs, and he's afraid of being on stage because of a serious accident he had during a school play.

* There are a wide variety of real-life phobias that can come across as this to other people. Including fear of clowns, ducks, babies, hair, vomit, dolls, colors, numbers ([[ThirteenIsUnlucky triskaidekaphobia]]), words, etc...

* ''WesternAnimation/FetchWithRuffRuffman'': Ruff's fear of ballet [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes and spiders is somewhat]] PlayedForDrama, [[DarkAndTroubledPast because back then, Ruff was going to star in a ballet that involved fake spiders, but on opening night]] [[PrankGoneTooFar Spotnik snuck in, replaced the fake spiders with real spiders,]] [[KickTheDog and dumped them onto Ruff; which ruined the show and severely traumatized Ruff ever since.]] It took Brian, Sterling, and [[TheCutie Bethany's]] efforts in their challenges to help Ruff love ballet again.

* ''WebComic/ScarletLady'': "[[WhatDoTheyFearEpisode Sandboy]]" reveals that both Chloé and Rose are afraid of having their possessions come to life and turn against them, which is used to [[{{Foil}} highlight their differences]]: for Chloé, the idea stems from a fear of the things she ''owns'' proving to be uncontrollable, while Rose sincerely loves all her stuffed animals and is afraid her affection might not be returned. As Scarlet Lady, Chloé also mocks Rose's fear despite its similarity to her own.

* ''Fanfic/AWitchInBroadDaylight'': [[{{ShrinkingViolet}} Fluttershy]] has a crippling fear of ghosts [[spoiler:despite [[{{FriendlyGhost}} being one herself]]]].

* The ruthless ranger lord Nathanos Marris (who would become Nathanos Blightcaller, one of the most fearsome warriors of the Horde, after dying and being raised in undeath) is revealed, in the ''Dragonflight'' expansion for ''WorldOfWarcraft'', to have a phobia of ducks (and to also dislike most other birds, though not as much as he does ducks).