Rain Blanken writes: "I was wondering how common the fear of large objects is. I am a pretty fearless person in most regards, but anytime I get near something like a statue, blimp, airplane, etc., I suddenly turn into a shaking weirdo. I don't want to run away from these objects, I can control the fear, but I shake and sometimes even feel sick. I just learned that this weirdness has a name, 'megalophobia'.
It's sort of like these objects are monsters. Buildings are not part of this fear, I believe I see them as inanimate. This is more connected to objects that are capable of moving, or give the appearance of movement or sentient thought. The idea of being next to a whale or the hull of a ship terrifies me. I saw a cruise ship at a dock for the first time last month and nearly freaked out, the feeling was overwhelming. As though it were looking at me..."
Have you ever felt this way around large objects, or do you have experience with another type of phobia that you would like to share with others? Visit the About Psychology Forums to meet others readers, express your opinions, ask questions and share your knowledge.
Looking for more information about phobias:
- What Is a Phobia?
- Phobias in Children
- Relaxation Techniques for Phobias
Comments
Kendra,
Thanks for posting this up on your blog, I?ve gotten a response so far and I don?t feel like such a weirdo, now.
I really do believe that it is some kind of instinct coming into play when I don?t necessarily want it to! I am taking a trip to Disney World in a couple of months, so I am hoping that there aren?t too many large statues and the like there. Perhaps they?ll be friendly enough not to count?
I get mild vertigo whenever I?m near something really big or looking down from a high place. My spatial mapping is really really bad because of parietal lobe brain damage, so scale fascinates me. One of the things I like to do, for roughly the same reason most folks watch horror movies, is look for identifiable buildings on Google Earth and let this really strange feeling of extreme distance come over me. Does that mean I?m technically a megalo-maniac? ;o)
Thanks for your comments! I?ve experienced these feelings to some extent around very large objects, especially if they?re looming over me. No where near a phobia for me, but not very pleasant either.
My particular phobia is known as Ophidiophobia, or the fear of snakes. Spotting a snake in my yard generally sends me running and screaming in the other direction. There have been a LOT of rattlesnakes near my house this summer, which makes me nervous just to think about.
Interesting. Both of my children have an active dislike of costumed mascots (Mickey Mouse, the Crash Test Dummies, you name it!) and won?t go near them. Is there a phobia that covers this?
Hi Nancy,
I?ve seen several references to a fear of mascots, which is known as Masklophobia. It seems very similar to Coulrophobia, or a fear of clowns.
That is 100% just like me. When I?m around big objects like planes or even when I was near the 9/11 site I start to freak out. But I can stand being near buildings like those in Toronto or New York City.
I have always had a terrible fear of large objects. I never thought that it was an actual phobia. I dread having to go onto the turmac when at an air port, and forget ships. nice to know I?m not the only one?
I thought I was the only one who had to deal with this sort of thing.
Mine is exactly the same as Jessica and Jared?s, except with a twist: I only have anxiety when ?face to face? with the object. For example, I enjoy vintage airplanes. I can be on them, in them, under them all day long and not be bothered ? however if somehow I am directly in front of the plane or propeller, anxiety hits. Same with a statue ? I was in the statue of liberty years ago without a problem. I found it fascinating. However in the museum there is a mockup of the face, and while walking up the stairway you can see the face ?inside out? and both of those instances gave me the anxiety feeling.
Interestingly enough, space doesn?t seem to play a consistent factor. About 20 miles north of my home is a wind farm with what seems like 70 turbines. If I were to drive up to one and get out, look up, etc, they do not bother me. However, while driving down the road, if they are pointed in my direction (due to my position and wind) I get that feeling.
However, like everyone else.. buildings, houses, etc, do not bother me.
Found this after a quick Google of ?fear of large objects?. When I saw a mention of buildings I was about to dimiss it as ?not what I have?, but then read it properly and immediately agreed about the ?monster/sentient beings? theory. Something to do with the fear of being crushed by an extremely large object capable of movement I think. The examples of a huge ship and whale (NYC natural history museum, it wasn?t even real) are the two I?ve experienced too.
It?s not like it ruins my life (limited exposure) but is strangely one of the few things I?m afraid of.
Extra points for posting this on my birthday too !
OMG!! I don?t mean to sound silly, but I thought I was the only one out there that experienced this type of fear. I was embarassed and felt stupid to share my fear of large statues and other large objects thinking that this was something that no one could relate to. I was born and raised in New York, and never have gone near the Statue of Liberty. Atlas holding the earth by Rockefeller Center has me in total freak out mode. The Intrepid, ship that was docked by the marina, I can not go near it. What is the matter with me?? I have ran into oncoming traffic trying to get away from statues because I forget where exactly they are located and I come up on them by accident. I?d rather fight a 7 foot man than face Atlas. HELP!!! I only stand 4?11?, but I don?t think that has anything to do with it. Thanks for listening?..Dee
I have the same fear? another website put it well?Megalophobics are not so much scared of large objects but of objects that are larger than expected. such as suddenly opening your eyes and being next to a giant parade balloon or the anchor on a ship. The first time I felt it I had unexpectedly turned around and the entire two-story wall behind me was covered by an enormous American flag.I don?t restaurants with large objects..like boats hanging from the ceiling.
I never thought that i?d actually find out what my phobia is called. i googled ?fear of large objects? too and found this site. My story is similar but a little different. I have fears of different types of objects. like for example I am terrified of standing near a large flag. I think i?m just scared of it falling on me. I also fear being next to a sail of a sailboat or a hot air balloon or stange things like that. When I was a kid I had this and never knew what it was. It started with the lines at the bottom of pools. Like the dividers i guess? they absolutely scare me. We used to play the games where u had to get the stick thing when you threw it in the water? and if it went anywhere near the lines I would refuse to get it. I?m not really sure why these things scare me. The strange part is that other objects dont bother me, like I went on a cruise this summer and being next to the ship didnt scare me, and planes dont scare me either. I?m not sure its weird.
As with everyone else here, I?m glad I?ve found this website. I have googled fear of oversized objects before but never found responses as recent as this. I live in NYC and my girlfriend found it odd that I would have this phobia but she gave me a clue as to how it started. When I was a child my mother took me to the world?s fair exhibit in Queens, NY where the Unisphere is located. It?s basically a giant steel globe. And around the same age she took me to see a little known B-movie called Food Of The Gods. The gist of the movie is liquid flowing from a rock that lightening hit during a storm is fed to farm animals. It causes the chickens and insects to grow really large. But the main monsters in the movie are really big rats. That?s the other phobia I have. I guess i have my mother to blame. I?m glad I?m not alone.
Wow, I?m so glad I stumbled across this. I have an unexplained fear of things such as parachutes, hot air balloons, blimps, giant flags, etc that I have not been able to explain or understand for years. I?m fine with large buildings, which is good because I live in the city..but I suppose a giant cruise ship would freak me out! I can?t figure out why some large objects bother me and others don?t. The fear is not unbearable, but it is certainly distressing to me. I just get shaky and very uncomfortable around these objects and am unable to go close to them or touch them. Lets just say the Macy?s Thanksgiving Parade would be my worst nightmare?
WOW! After reading these comments, it?s so relieving to know I?m not alone! I really thought I was a big weirdo because I have never in my life met or talked to anyone who had the same fears of big things like I do. And it?s exactly how someone put it in here?like all of a sudden running into something BIG that is out of place or unexpected. I had this happen to me numerous times but this one sticks out in my mind right now? It was a bad rain storm and I was just driving home from a friends house since the rain had finally quit. well I come around this turn in the road and there lies this huge and I mean HUGE tree in the road blocking it all the way across! I couldn?t go any further. It was like all of a sudden the road became a tree! A HUGE TREE! I had tunnel vision and couldn?t take my wide eyes off it for what felt like minutes but I know I wouldn?t look at it that long. You can imagine my sweat and anxiety that built up in an instant and I slammed on my breaks and started bawling! I was so close to the damn tree I?m lucky I didn?t run into it! SO I covered my eyes with my hands because I did not wanna look at it again and I was freaking out like what do I DO???! I can;t just sit here and cry this tree will come alive and swallow me! crazy! So I hurried and put my car in reverse looking behind me the whole time and took off. It was horrifying! Same with flags like people were talking about. I can?t stand seeing big flags hanging over roadways or highways or next to me. It?s frightening. And statues are the same but not all of them. Statue of liberty is the main one really but buildings don?t bother me too much unless something is happening to it, like 9/11. now that will freak me out. Also big bodies of water, ships, planes, etc?i always fear that if I step foot into an ocean that parts of the titanic will venture up to my feet! Or that the ocean will swallow me up and take me so far I won?t ever make it out. I feel dumb to say it but it?s really horrific to me. Glad to get this all out and have others relate. = )
Am glad to have found this page, it describes my odd phobia precisely. I can climb tall objects/buildings and look down with no problems, I?ve been up the eiffel tower and loved it, but when I?m at the base of a tall building or any large, tall object I get a strong sense of dizziness dread. This feeling is stronger with manmade objects, and with objects that have a relatively small base compared to their height.
For example: wind turbines, cooling towers, hot air balloons. I HATE the idea of being right next to one of these or for example looking up into the inside of a hot air balloon.
I have been known to completely lose my balance upon looking up at the high ceiling of a cathedral from inside!
I don?t know if it?s just the fear of the object falling on top of me or what, and it?s not a crippling fear or anything, but it?s a bit scary!
So glad to see this. My fear is a bit different in that I am afraid of large statues of people. I can barely look at pictures of them. One example would be the statue in Rio de Janeiro, Christ the Redeemer?freaks me out?the thought of going there and standing near that statue and looking up?yikes. I would struggle with the Statue of Liberty too I?m sure. Another example would be the Crazy Horse Memorial in the Black hills of South Dakota. I?ve followed this progress on this over the years online but when I am loading a webpage, I have to look away until the pic is loaded. I get a rush of panic in my gut and while I know it?s not going to get me?I can?t help but feel vulnerable and exposed. I?m going to go to Fernbank in Atlanta Georgia in about a month and they have dinosaur exhibits, some of the largest in the world I beleive?I?m anxious about it but it won?t stop me?my friend will probably make fun of me but I?ll get through it?
THanks for sharing your stories. GOod to know I?m not alone.
I am terrified of large statues such as the Statue of Liberty or Mount Rushmore. The thought of flying in a helicopter near their faces makes me crazy. Who knew others had this fear? I?m just glad it is something I can choose not to do.
Oh wow, what a comfort in knowing I?m not the only one?
Like a few others on here, buildings don?t bother me, but like Kendra I feel very anxious around large objects that are moving (such as a blimp) and also with certain animals?especially whales. Just the idea of something so massive floating in the depths of the ocean just gives me the creeps.
The other large object that I fear, which tends to get laughs when I reveal it to people, are icebergs. Not so much the tip, but thinking about how enormous the actual iceberg is underneath the water gives me about the same feeling as thinking about whales.
Thanks for all the posts on here; glad I came across this page!
It?s so cool to find other people with this fear. The Statue of Liberty really freaks me out, especially at the end of _Planet of the Apes_ when she?s out of context, and her face is closer to the ground. I?ve actually had nightmares of coming home and finding her giant head in my apartment. I?m fine with big planes, modern ships, etc, but footage of ship wrecks (like at the beginning of _Titanic_) is terrifying to me. I think that my worst case scenario would be sailing along and suddenly finding some giant statue jutting out of the water. I think I have a greater fear of enormous structures in ruins than enormous structures themselves. Perhaps its the combined authority that size and undeniable history/death wield that frightens me.
Holy smokes. I can?t believe other people are freaked out by the Statue of Liberty. I get get this feeling of dread and fear when I see it and I don?t know why! I just googled ?fear of the statue of liberty? after my boyfriend teased me by showing me the statue in a Grand Theft Auto game and I like scrambled to cover my eyes. Seeing it on Google Earth made me lose my mind hahah. Any thoughts on how to overcome such a weird fear?
Thank goodness I´m not the only one with this phobia! So relieved to hear there are others.
I live in Finland and I´ve always felt a bit sick/queezy/terrified when I´m near huge ships, engines/turbines (are the worst), engine rooms, big statues etc. I can´t bear standing next to any of those things. I get cold chills down my spine and I want to run away.
It´s like they´re too big, like they belong to giants or something..
It´s definately worse if the large objects move or look like they´re going to move. That´s why I hate engine rooms (especially in ships) when there´s big pumps and all sorts of generators and whatnots moving about and making lots of noise.
I visited the Natural History Museum in London a few years ago and was pretty scared seeing the dinosaurs/bones, the whale etc. Buildings don´t really scare me except like the inside of a big cathedral or a large airplane hangar. Yuck.
I?m really glad I found this website. i?m only 18 but since a very young age I have been scared to stand in front of anything that is big and that can move. It sounds crazy but I am scared to stand in front of a train or a plane or anything that moves. I can get on a train fine, it doesn?t bother me, but if I see something big moving towards me I freak out. Even if it?s turned off, and there is no way it could move I still get scared. I encountered another bit to my fear aswell about 3 months ago. I visited the airbus site on the internet and i clicked the interactive tour of the planes, and even that scared me as the planes we looking in my direction?. but it?s a computer screen, why have I got this fear. I don?t like it, it doesnt like ruin my life or anything, but its just not nice when i get the feeling. im gettin scared now just thinking about it.
OMG!!! I am so happy I found this page!! I have lived in Jersey my whole life, now 25, and I?m 100 percent beyond petrified of the Statue of Liberty! I can?t look at her even in pictures, and my biggest fear is being under her and looking up ahhhhh. I think my heart would stop! I have no idea how this fear even started, but I?m glad to know I?m not the only one!
Hey all!
Just read all your posts and some of them are fascinating, I can sympathise with alot of them. My fear seems to fall in this category more than any other I have found, it is a distinct fear of looming and large objects, especially ones with faces and large staring eyes. I can?t stand ?giant flying octopus kites? and have no idea why I?m scared of them so much, I cant even look at images online. I also dont like the idea of being directly under large flags in case they fall as well as at the bottom of very large trees.
Strangely I am ok with hot air balloons, blimps, planes and tall buildings, I seem to fear pretty specific fears and I wonder where this comes from!
Not alone?I?m terrifed of Large Statues, especially Large Biblical Statues, I can?t go in a Catholic Church, for fear of seeing a large Jesus hanging on the cross, (stupid I know)..but my whole body starts shaking, I start crying and having an extreme panic attack. I?m afraid of whales, and other statues,planes,and ships, but not buildings or trees. They had a huge picture of the statue of liberty with a big flag hanging in the background in my local grocery story today,(it was just a picture)but it was huge and hanging over my head, it really upset me. I was shocked to come in the store and be faced with this.I want to overcome this, I dont even remember why or when it started, when I was a child I don?t think I was afraid. (I?m 28 now)..
I?ve known about megalophobia for awhile, but this is the first time I?ve read any firsthand accounts of it, and I hadn?t quite realized it could be so severe ? my sympathies to those of you for whom this is an impediment.
The diversity of the phobia is interesting to see. My personal variant seems to be based on overhangs, oddly enough: The first time I drove by a particular horse racing track with a huge grandstand, I was hit with a very strange, uncomfortable feeling as I saw the massive canopy loom in the distance.
It?s similar with wind farms. The thinness of the blades seems to help a bit, but their length, their suspension far above the ground, their rotation, and the fact that there?s usually a dozen of them gives me a similar kind of discomfort.
Actually, there?s one more thing that doesn?t involve overhangs but seems to be related. Anyone know of the Palm Jumeirah man-made peninsula/archipelago in Dubai? It?s a huge artificial landmass in the shape of a palm branch. I get a similar discomfort looking at it on Google Maps.
All considered, none of these things actually give me panic attacks; I just feel uneasy around them, so I consider myself thus fortunate. I hope those of you with more severe cases can find some help toward relief.
I know everyone has said this, but I REALLY thought I was the only one with this phobia and had no idea it was this common and that it has a name! I just figured odd phobias ran in my family because my sister is deathly afraid of bagpipes?go figure.
Things like: airplanes, large statues, ships, hot air balloons, blimps, whales, manta rays and large, moving shadows in the water give me a very unnerving feeling; this phobia does not cripple me and I can control my external reaction but it feels like my whole insides go white with terror. Glad to know it is more common then I thought! Now how do I get rid of it?!
Oh! what a relief to finally have a name for it. Like a few others, ships freak me out. I went on a Cruise a few years back and if I looked over the side?bad things happened. Also I was glad to see someone here mention turbines. The sinking scene in The Titanic movie terrified me. those huge propellers?eek! I still wonder though if the fear of the openness of the ocean is considered megalophobia or agoraphobia. freaks me out to think of something as huge as the titanic or an aircraft carrier being swallowed whole by the ocean only to rest between underwater mountains.
TREATMENT FOR PHOBIAS: (I found this on a website, would like to know what others think about it)
Advancement in science and technology has come up with various treatments for phobias. The very first and the most essential step in curing phobias is personal motivation to expose oneself to the feared object and to tolerate the anxiety.
Some people have the motivation and dedication to tolerate the anxiety and cope up with the phobia of the feared object and some take help from therapist, psychiatrist and medicines to treat the symptoms.
Following are the most common and successful methods or therapies for managing fears and phobias :
• Cognitive behavioral therapy : This therapy has two elements of treatment. One is the cognitive element that makes the person learn the thinking patterns and change their thoughts. The other element is the behavioral part that focuses on exposing the person to their feared object or situation, and enables them to change specific actions.
• Exposure therapy : This therapy lays emphasis on the behavior of the person when they are exposed to the feared object. The person is gradually exposed to the feared object and is taught to tolerate the anxiety level that naturally falls down after few minutes.
• Counseling : It is also called supportive psychotherapy. This therapy involves discussion and counseling. Some people discuss the ways they had adopted to fight phobias and alter the lifestyle for a better living. This discussion might prove to be useful to some of the people suffering from similar fears and they might adopt the same methods for curing.
• Relaxation training : This includes many breathing exercises and muscular relaxation that tends to reduce the symptoms of anxiety. Once the level of anxiety is reduced, these people are exposed to the feared objects that ultimately help them to tolerate the anxiety and cope up with the fear.
• Medication : Apart from all the therapies and methods, there are some medicines that have proved to be successful in treating the symptoms of phobia. Medicines like benzodiazepines and beta-blockers are often used to ease the symptoms but are not enough to effectively treat phobias.
Wow, I typed into google, fear of large objects as I have never come across another person experiencing the same fear as me.
I can think back to when I was younger going for walks with my grandmother, vividly walking round a corner and spotting a large roller that is used in building sites and I would not walk past it or look at it. Later in life I found I would panic when being next to ships or artic lorries,planes. big tractor wheels are another I cannot be near.
When this has been brought up with friends, they cannot understand why I felt like this and at one point thought I was going mad. Glad to know that Im not alone.
Another thing, after reading through more experiences, I noticed someone put on Grand Theft Auto, I cannot do the challenges where you have to swim in the water as I know if I hit the wrong button, i go underwater and being underwater in the dark I freak out at the possibility of a ship being next to me or anything really being in the water. Even though it is a game, I hate the thought of it.
I also am scared of some large objects, in particular Windmills and huge radio tranmitters, like looking at this gallery gives me nervous butterflies in my stomach: http://tx.mb21.co.uk/gallery/little-shurdington.php
But also the idea of walking around a corner and suddenly a huge windmill is there, really terrifying.
I too wondered if I was alone with this phobia, interesting though. Large buildings don?t bother me per-say, just specific ones.
I am so glad I?m not alone! People always finds me weird but I am so glad that there is a name for it. I am so scared of ships and have actually cried (real sobbing cries) when I had a dream of ships once (my boyfriend related back to me).
I also remember once during the night when I was walking near a pier and suddenly realised there was a ship in front of me. I totally screamed! People around me thought I was crazy.
I cry everytime I see big objects and I get a feeling of dread.
It?s really not funny. For some reason, I am scared of large pools of water at night too. No problem during the day though. Weird.
A big thank you to all who have a fear of large statues. I had personally wondered for years if I was slightly insane. Since, every time, I accidentally come in contact with a large statue, I have a panic attack. This panic attack is severe, although I am able to have a normal conversation with my husband. I usually pretend I?ve forgotten to lock the car, or left my wallet somewhere. Just so we leave IMMEDIATELY then I conveniently make excuses as to why I don?t want to return. Once, we were at the Primm Mall in Las Vegas and I accidentally went into one store, & then came out and went to two more & found myself, by myself standing right in front of exceptionally large male & female statues.My husband was in a Men?s store, I called his cell, & told him I left $500 in our hotel suite probably on the table. Met him at the car, by walking backwards. Got to the hotel amidst a head full of prayers; & snuck the money out of my purse, & onto the table, when he was taking his jacket off.Then proceeded to convince him, it would be a good idea to cut our vacation short, & get back home to the children (who were visiting Grandma in Palm Springs). The whole trip back, I kept looking in the mirror to make sure ?they? weren?t following me. I haven?t been back to Vegas since. But will now seek help, thanks to all of you, I know I am not insane, & wish I would have googled ?fear of large statues? sooner! Best wishes on getting help, everyone. = ? D
I left a comment earlier in the year and came back and found so many other responses. Amazing that after so many years and so many people not believing what I would tell them, and now there?s many of us here.
Two things:
For those people afraid of statues ? do mannequins in stores bother you too, or just sculpture?
Second? For those who also fear being in front of vehicles and such that have potential to move: Were you born in the early 1970s? I suddenly remembered a clip from Sesame Street that used to terrify me as a child, and I wonder if this is where it all started.
Here is a link to the clip. It is the one where two workmen hang up a large photo of a tunnel, and suddenly a large train races through it, straight at the camera.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XJ8qeyqGoc
You?ll have to skip to about 1:20 to get away from the music, but I wonder how many of us were effected by this silly clip.
This is NOT meant to intentionally scare anyone, although I?m sure there are some (like myself) who may be scared by it.
i know exactly what you mean. sometimes just the thought of large things scares me. like when i think of the launch pad for the space shuttle, it makes me shakey. there are these 2 blimp hangers by my house in newport beach california. i cant even drive past them. i get made fun of for it, but now that i know its real, i dont feel so weird.
Well I don?t think I have ever heard of it but, I don?t think it?s common. Maybe you should see someone like a doctor or a psychologist to help you out and maybe get rid of that fear of yours.
Casey, I watched the clip and it DID bother me. When I knew the train was getting close I squinted and then got the weird anxiety/shiver feeling as it got really close to the camera.
I don?t remember seeing that clip before but remember going to an IMAX-type movie in grade school and at one point they showed quick clips of many different things right in a row and one of them was a train coming at the screen and blowing its horn. FREAKED me out!
Things I am bothered by include: windmills (particularly the blades when they are on the back of trucks going down the highway) ? hot air balloons have never bothered me until recently one was flying over our neighborhood and flew JUST over our car. I got out to get my camera out of the back and they pulled the fire to make that loud noise right when I looked up. Also, at the KS History museum on a field trip with my daughter, they have a train engine and I was fine with the engine itself but when I went up on the platform and walked around the front of it, I felt COMPELLED to look at it and then when I did I got the weird shiver-type feeling down my neck and got the heck out of there!
I can get on airplanes because of the tarmac ? if I ever had to board a large plane parked on a runway and go up those little stairs, I would just NOT be going on that trip!
The idea of whales in the ocean freaks me out but one of the things on my ?life list? is to go whale-watching. ?!?
At Disneyworld we went on the TRex ride and I literally had my eyes closed for 3/4 of the ride because I knew the big dinosaur was going to appear out of nowhere and I couldn?t handle it.
One weird thing I notice is that I often HAVE to look, even if I know it will freak me out.
And what many people mentioned, about seeing something unexpected that is large ? THAT freaks me out. Even just reading some of the descriptions of what bothers the other people bother me. The person who said they could see Epcot from the top of a ride at Disney and the person who mentioned flying in a helicopter next to the faces of Mt. Rushmore. YUCK!!!
People do NOT get it and it is SO hard to explain. When I tell people about it, they say, ?So you?re afraid of tall buildings? Or elephants??
im 13, and i have the same phobia
i couldnt go diving or anything as the sea is so vast.. i hate picturing swimming next to a wale or next to the hull of a ship! in airoplanes i hate looking out at the clouds because they?re so big i get such a weird feeling and i feel so vulnerable. is there anything you can do to help this?
When I was younger we used to have a pilon outside our house and I could not look at it, and if walking back to my house, I used to have to crawl alongside the fence just so I couldnt see it. It was taken down some years ago thankfully!!!
I hate to repeat the common phrase, but I thought I was the only one with this phobia also. All I can say is I?m glad I?m not alone. I don?t know when I started feeling this way about certain objects but just thinking about them can cause some unease. I started trying to piece together why certain objects would bother me. Eventually I pin-pointed some of them and looked them up. I watched Casey?s clip of the train ? I do remember that and I did feel uneasy when I watched it. Strange isn?t it.
I?d have to say that my major issues are huge boats and whales. A perfect nightmare would be floating in the water by myself next to a huge aircraft carrier with a whale right beside me. Good thing I only considered joining the navy and didn?t go through with it. UGH, I freaking out thinking about it, haha!
It?s weird how certain large objects don?t freak me out. Airplanes out on a runway don?t bother me at all. But I had this dream once. I walked into a hanger in the middle of nowhere and looked up to see a huge bi-plane (bigger than normal, it?s a dream afterall) hanging down at me, the ceiling seemed limitless. I saw someones earlier post about the statue of liberty?s face being blown up on a wall. I can agree with that causing some unease, also the with large American flag on the wall
9 times out of 10 though, it?s large objects under water that reek havoc on my mind. I don?t know why.
I do agree with Amy though, I do feel the need to look. I don?t know if it?s trying to stand up to the phobia or what.
Anyway, best of luck to all of you.
I posted awhile ago just like a gentleman earlier said and it?s comforting to know I don?t suffer alone. My phobia seems not only to be statues like others here, but also large oversized normal objects. The world?s largest objects tend to be the ones I dislike the most. My girlfriend and I recently went to the crayola factory in pennsylvania. It was all very nice but when we went into the crayola shop they had the world?s largest crayon in there. It spooked me out although I did take a picture with it. Also those roadside large objects like an ax, thimble, chair, hockey puck, etc. would be things I would tend to avoid at all costs. There is that large statue in russia called The Motherland Calls which I think is just as bad as the statue of liberty.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this webpage!
I cannot believe how many people share my phobia and I finally I have a name for it.
Again, in particular, it?s the Statue of Liberty which scares me the most ? someone mentioned The Planet of the Apes film and I think that?s what has stuck with me ? I was terrified of that scene as a small child.
Most statues frighten me but moreso those with a face. Also as has been mentioned, planes, ships (especially out of water), and windfarms.
I am also terrrified of coming across something large unexpectedly, maybe turning a corner and being faced with something.
Also large water towers ? we went to view a house recently and right behind it was a huge water tower ? I felt sick, dizzy and couldn?t even go near it. The thought of living right next to it terrrified me.
I saw a documentary on phobias and a lady suffered from this fear of large objects ? she described it very well as feeling they had ?a presence?.
Thank you very much for posting this! I have just realized my fear of these object in recent years, and I especially realized it when I stood at the base of a ship in Duluth, MN on Lake Superior. You described these feelings almost as if you were reading my mind (especially the part about excluding buildings). I?m glad to now know what this phobia is called, this has been extremely helpful!
Hi All! I thought I was mad until I read that there are so many like minded people out there! I?ve had this phobia for as long as I can remember now and have often thought about the possible reasons as to why I?m so scared and uneasy around such large objects. I personally think my dad is partly to blame! When I was a toddler he would take me to the town hall in Bolton (in UK, near Manchester) and would hold me up to the large statues of lions on the steps. He would also often take us to Bolton museium and hold my brother and I up the the animals heads on the walls and I would always scream the house down and couldn?t bare to look, certainly when I was being held face to face with them, terrifying! It became a sort of nervous disposition whenever I was in any sort of museum. I never even liked going to Laser Quest for fear of suddenly finding myself face to face with a mannequin in the dark! I?m scared of many huge objects, mostly those that have already been mentioned on here and again the main fear being stoof alongside them or finding myself suddenly by them by surprise ? planes, trains, ships, windmills, statues, engines and similar parts, diggers etc etc. My fiance is very aware of my fear and on one holiday in Greece placed me inside the ?scoop? part of a digger and I was just screaming and couldn?t look up at it at all! I also remember once panicking and almost weeing in the car seat as I accidentely came off at the wrong exit of a motorway at night when the roads were quite quiet and found a statue that I had always been fearfful of right on the roundabout of the junction. I had to drive round the roundabout with no other cars around with this thing right next to me. I swerved so quickly round it, really panicking, so no doubt dangerous!! Pictures of it here: http://www.2e-images.co.uk/places/birchwood/encounter.htm That?s when I?m most scared really, if driving alone, especially if the roads aree quiet, ande suddenly coming across such things. Another example of when this has happened to me is when driving in Trafford in Manchester and coming across these large anchor like industrial sculptures by the side of the road. Again, I sped up not being able to look. The best description I have heard on reading through all these posts is the part about the lady in the documentary and how she described the objects as though they had ?a presence?. The summed the feelings up perfrctly for me.
Ps. I?ve just remembered something else too that has no doubt ?given? me this phobia! In the same museum that I mentioned in my initial post, on the walls of all the staircases within the museum were HUGE paintings of people in HUGE frames. Massive they were! You had to get really close to them when using the stairs and again I couldn?t bare to be near them, look at them, be anywhere near them and would feel really uneasy about it. We used to go to the museum most weekends with my dad for years during my early childhood and now I?m scarred for life!!!
Pps!? Each time I send a post I remember something else!!?And again about that museum!!! I think I need some sort of therapy there, lol!!! The museum was right in the centre of town and even when a little older if in town with friends we?d call into the museum. Plus I had a friend whose parents both worked there and we?d often call by. Her stepfather was a taxidermist there and had told us about a large elephant head that he had helped work on and that it was on display in the musueum. My friend and I went to see it and I couldn?t go anywhere near it. I was now about 15 but was absolutelt petrified and so nervous and uneasy. I did go right up to it in the end and it had this sort of uneasy presence that left me feeling really, I don?t know, I guess still just very uneasy for ages afterwards. My fiance and I spent time at an elephant sanctuary in Goa, India a few years ago and the elephants were just massive but yet this didn?t bother me at all so it?s definitely inanimate objects that I?m afraid of.
BTW,on searching for the above, I also came across a photo of the industrial sculptures I had mentioned earlier: http://media.photobucket.com/image/elephant%20inside%20bolton%20museum/Asquith1/Spring%20%202008/Hook01.jpg I don?t even like looking at the photo!!!
And don?t even get me started on the large mill engine wheel in Wigan which we?d go to with school on occasion and I HATED standing next to it!: http://www.wlct.org/Culture/Heritage/trench.htm
Two things?
1? the post from twenserse is spam.
2? Is there a way to set up some sort of conversational area where we can discuss things back and forth in a slightly more private area?
Hi Casey,
You might want to visit the psychology forum for more discussion of megalophobia. There are a couple of existing threads on the topic, but feel free to begin a new thread if you like.
Here are a couple threads you might want to read:
Megalophobia: The Fear of Large Objects
Strange Phobia
?Kendra
I thought my fears were unique until I read this blog.
Large chimneys, boilers, engines, aeroplane engines all freak me out but ships and especially huge propellers make me shake uncontrollably. Even on TV last night the image of men standing in a shipyard under a 20m high propeller made me feel sick.
I have regular nightmares about ships in docks and the horror of being in the water next to the hull?..
I strongly suspect airships would be similar but I?ve never been near one.
Phew. Now my weirdness has a name. Thanks
You know, for as long as i can remember i?ve sporadically experienced this acute fearful fascination of extremely massive objects. Sporadically as in: i experience it when i?m thinking about large things, looking at them, looking at pictures of them, movie clips of them, even looking at statistical data and comparisons of their size. It occurs when the obvious conditions are met, in other words ? and it strikes me like lightning.
I mean, especially objects that are so big you can merely attempt to fathom their size. The attempt to picture picturing their size alone is just too much to bear. Size scares me most of all, but force is also taken into the equation ? another of my absolute phobias are tsunamis and large waves. I?m scared to pieces over how big they are, and the gravitational pull that the object(s) might wreak. Also, these kind of objects interacting with each other also scare me to death. Like picturing two planets colliding, or an expanding red dwarf swallowing a planet like it was a piece of candy (like our beloved sun will do to us in approx. 7.5 billion years, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Future_of_the_Earth).
Just thinking about THINKING ABOUT for example a black hole extending its gargantuan jaw and with a great lens effect consuming the planet in its entirety makes me instantly and noticably physically uncomfortable, i semi-gently toss my head and press my eyes shut to force out the image of this macabre display. Seeing earth disassembled; disintergrating into nothingness and darkness, pulled to pieces by a force so great a portion of the universe TRULY revolves around it and it alone (read: What?s in the middle of a galaxy?). It?s like i?m staring into an abyss that also stares into me when i even glance at these objects (despite them being infinately compact ? the opossite of an abyss), be it in my imagination or ?in real life? (a movie, a picture, something outside my head). It?s like? the feeling of having your soul sucked into a vacuum, really (whatever that means, you know?). My gut is instantly drained of strength and my knees weaken.
However the objects don?t have to be massive even on an astronomical scale (and i don?t mean the moon here or something, i mean Canis Majoris, Black Holes and the eye of Jupiter). As i said, tsunamis and massive waves scare me. Also, looking upwards by the feet of a skyscraper gives me that same feeling, like ?reverse fear of hights? or something. When looking down from a skyscraper i also respond negatively and in a similar way; known as the good old fear of heights. I experience that too, to some degree. But not like the MASSIVE OBJECT phobia. It?s like a practical fear of heights though ? if i?m standing on a ladder i?m scared, but if i?m looking out an airplane window at 10,000 metres i?m like Cool, whatever. Anywho, it?s all very strange. I don?t know why i just looked into this, but i just thought ?i can?t be the only one? and googled it, and ended up here.
Interesting self-test: If you?d like to test something that might help whoever reads this determine if he/she responds similarly (just for the sake of knowing yourself, like everything on here) follow this link to YTMND (Google it if you somehow haven?t heard of it, it?s trustworthy to 100%). Set your browser to fullscreen, make sure the sound is on and at a comfortable volume, make sure you?re not on 56k, dim the lights and hit the link. There?s no screamer or anything like that, you can run the whole thing through once first to make sure if screamers is a phobia of yours.
Here?s the link: http://sizeofworldse.ytmnd.com/
Understand how large these things are. Experience my phobia.
Most of the people have been struggling with anxiety disorders for many years and have usually exhausted themselves looking for a solution in every book, course, or treatment program out there.
You must learn to break the fear Of having another panic attack Or You will never experience complete freedom from anxiety, read more about Anxiety Attack Treatments and Anxiety Disorder Self Help
OH WOW! This is being uttered to the point of cliche on here, but I am SO glad that I am not alone and that people on here are putting such a clear definition on the fear I have not been able to define for so long.
I, like many here, have no fear of objects that ?don?t have the possibility of moving? such as buildings and towers. Well, tall skinny towers like the CN Tower in Toronto or the Space Needle make me a little uneasy but not afraid.
I went to Devil?s Tower in Wyoming wondering if it would scare me, but it didn?t?again b/c it is a big pillar of rock but stuck into the ground and not so skinny?I could climb the rockfield right up to the base of the tower and was fine.
HOWEVER, I am terrified of certain things?like even in certain movies like Indiana Jones and he Last Crusade I freak out every time Indy and his dad ascend the steps to board the zeppelin and then there it is?.whoa?and the picture of the Hindenburg coming down is a NIGHTMARE?being there when that happened would have killed me just seein g it?but the worst ever was the giant fake life-size blue whale hanging from the ceiling of the Smithsonian?s Natural History Museum. I could barely enjoy that wing of the place at all b/c I had to stare down and fight myself to ignore it above me and pretend it didnt exist. In the same trip I had to face the fear of seeing Abe Lincoln?s statue in the Lincoln Memorial?.he freaked me out to be sure but not nearly as much as some other smaller statues have?which leads me to consider that if the statue is of someone who was benevolent in life it helps my imagination to imagine that if he did come to life I?d be ok. And lo and behold he did in Night at the Museum 2?in IMAX no less! but I did alright with it?.if it had been 3D IMAX though maybe not?.
SO, I decided to put that little theory to the test in 2008 when my girlfriend and I went to Rio and we went up to the Jesus statue Cristo Redentor. From a distance he is up on such a massive mountain that he looks like a tiny speck?eh, BIG deal I say?.but then when you get to the base of the mountain you cant see it for the trees so you dont see it until you get tot he top of the mountain?.WOW?.TERRIFYING at first?.but I just kept my head down?enjoyed the ridiculously amazing view of the city from up there?.and glanced up every now and then?.this is a statue taller than the Statue of Liberty mind you from foot to head?and on top of a reeeeally tall mountain?..well, I kept telling myself it?s Jesus it?s Jesus?and eventually I was able to look up more and more until I was taking pics of him?.right on at his face and stuff?and finally the famous pic of my arms spread wide with MASSIVE Jesus behind me?.got the PROOF! So, maybe the niceness of the person the statue is of helps I dunno?but I was darn PROUD of mysef that day I tell you all!
As for the hideously frightening MONSTROSITY that is The Motherland Calls in Volgograd, Russia?wow..hopefully that thing collapses under its own weight before I am tempted to?gulp?go face it down?.double gulp?
Thanks for reading and sharing folks!
I am going on a cruise in March 2010, but I am pretty sure I suffer from megalophobia. Just thinking about walking up to the ship and getting on makes me sick to my stomach. Any suggestions? Cuz, I don?t want to dissapoint my boyfriend or waste a great trip.
I am terrified of big buildings as well as big objects, like airplanes and such. But for some reason, once I am up in the plane, as long as I have my laptop, I am relaxed. And I am okay on cruises too. Small towns and buildings under say 10 stories or so are okay with me, but higher than that and I am like ?Ahhhhhh!? and have the sudden urge to run around like a crazy person. I do deep breathing techniques when I get too stressed, or I take someone with me to the city who I feel safe with. Its rare that I will go someplace other than my hometown though. I need to get out more, maybe I need a behavioural therapist to help me?or perhaps hypnotherapy will help!
Wow. I knew there were others who dealt with this phobia, but after years of searching I?ve finally found a forum where it is being discussed. Just reading through the comments has me a little uneasy. But, oddly enough I couldn?t stop until I had read them all. Interesting stuff.
My earliest memory of fearing a large object was when I was about 13. My cousin and I were throwing a frizbee back and forth near this collossal hedge/tree that had to be about 60 feet tall and 10 feet wide. Every time the frizbee would go near it we?d tease each other about having to retrieve it.
Nothing traumatic, but i have the fear nevertheless.
The word ?presence? mentioned here finally summed it up for me. Not so much that huge objects are alive in a sentient sense but that it is just there. It?s almost like the larger something is, the more of an undeniable presence it has. It?s almost as if it?s challenging you not to look at or acknowledge it.
One thing that helps me cope when I near large object(s) is if I am with someone or there are other people near. That instantly removes 90% the fear for me.
One specific case was on a recent job assignment where I was to capture video of wind turbines. The initial thought somewhat terrified me but I knew I?d be going with a still photographer. So that other presence was a big help.
I think megalophobia is sort of related to agoraphobia(fear of wide open spaces or vastness). A large object, especially in a large confined area sort of defines the space as wide open and vast.
Another thing that helps quell the fear is if I?ve got something covering my peripheral vision like a hat or a hood. On this trip I made sure I had a hoodie?luckily it was a cool day and I had an excuse to put it over my head. Once it was on I could go right up next to the collossal turbines and look straight up at them. I even got brave enough to take off the hoodie?but not the hat!
Ironically, I absolutely love looking at clouds outside the airplane window?perhaps because I got the cover of the plane and that tiny hole as security.
I think the big difference in people who have this fear is a certain presence of mind and probably overactive imagination that makes us more susceptible. I?ll bet if you said to three out of 5 people who don?t have this fear, ?hey, that (thing) is huge?it?s kinda creepin? me out?-3 of them would say??yeah, now that you mention it, it?s kinda creepin? me out too.?
This is my favorite time of year because among other things, the trees have lost their leaves?and they don?t look quite as massive without them?although, if it?s large and misshapen enough?it can be pretty creepy without the leaves.
In the summertime I walk to work and sort of force myself to walk right by large looming trees. It?s easier during the day?slightly more terrifying at night?this is the closest I?ve come to having a panic attack. I had to speak out loud to snap myself out of it. Thanks to overdevelopment of the suburbs, one side of the tree/forrested street has been mowed down to put up a city hall building?guess you know what side of the street i?ll be walking on in the summer!
Thank you guys for posting and reading.
I agree with the comment about this phobia possibly being linked to agoraphobia as I feel a lot of the times I come across such large objects it?s almost like a fear of the big wide world. Like others, I?m terrified when I see such things when on my own but when with others, it is only a very small fear.
Just checking back in? I agree with everyone else about the ?presence? in these objects. that?s the best way to describe it. also, I checked out the photo of ?Motherland Calls? from Russia and it creeps me out! the scale of it is insane, and it looks as though it?s in the middle of nowhere. Quite amazing.
Last time I was on here I couldn?t bring myself to look at a picture of ?The Motherland Calls? but I?ve finally done it and I actually feel sick. This is possibly one of the most frightening images I?ve ever seen! There is no way on Earth I could go near that statue in a million years.
But I have a strange compulsion to keep looking the picture!
I feel your nausea Sheila, but exposure is part of overcoming the fear. Just take it in small doses.
I hope no one in this forum lives anywhere near Houston, TX because plans are in the works for the monstrosity of monstrosities!! The ?Spirit of Houston?. A 555 foot tall chrome woman. To say this will dwarf ?Motherland? is an understatement!
Here?s a the creepy write-up:
At 555 feet, the World?s Tallest Woman, planned for Houston, Texas
by Michels Bollinger, Inc.
STEELING BEAUTY
Imagine the future? your first visit to Houston in the new century, lured here to view a brave new monument, the heroic ?Spirit of Houston?, a grand symbol of friendship. You have seen the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower, and the great St. Louis Arch? famous icons all, now, as you glide into Space City on Loop 610, SHE comes boldly into view! The world?s tallest woman? a chrome Sky Goddess, 555 feet tall, soaring above the HOUTX skyline, her arms raised in a future-friendly embrace.
In a quick series of tourist post cards, we see HER at home in Houston, eye-to-eye with erect downtown skyscrapers, watching over her freeways at rush hour, and dancing above the verdant glades of Memorial Park? She?s ubiquitous, eyes scanning the horizon, head in the clouds, feet poised delicately on her Houston turf. She?s confident, a woman of the future, independent and free? welcoming all to her dynamic city. As they say in art, architecture, and industrial design? ?it?s all about the curve?. From cars and freeways to the female form, it was the concept of curvilinear beauty that inspired Doug Michels (an architect), Peter Bollinger (an industrial designer), and Cybele Rowe (a sculptor), to create their visionary silver icon for new century Houston.
Powerful cultural icons demand originality and true beauty to INSPIRE memory and meaning! As a symbol of the future, the Spirit of Houston is both ?prescient? and traditional? a proud TEXAS ICON, steeling beauty in the bright moonlight above Houston.
Credits:
SPIRIT OF HOUSTON
monument designed by
Michels Bollinger, Inc.
?Doug Michels (email:[email protected])
?Peter Bollinger
?Cybele Rowe
Yeah?thanks a lot guys ;-\
To get a sense
This link http://dl.dropbox.com/u/152289/StatueSize_cmprsn.jpg is a mere line-art comparison of the worlds largest stautes in tiny silouette graphics, but WARNING: the statue of liberty is silouetted behind them all-just the head, crown and part of the flame)
If anyone objects to the temptation posting links here poses to megalophobes I will not do so in the future, but again, I think exposure helps.
OMG there are more people like me!
I have never known until now, well never thought much about it as I live in a small quiet place but well, A month ago I went to see the big jesus statue and it was a terrifying experience I hope to never see that statue again in my life I had a huge panic attack
I have a huge fear of big things like electricity masts and big statues and big bridges that are hanging from above and windmills and stuff,
I went to the Paris and I thought I would be terrified of the eiffel tower cause its like a big electricity mast But I was very ok not afraid at all and I went up
So my friend went to Cologne Germany last year and told me about that church they saw there its HUGE you can google cologne and you will see the church I cant even find a link for you I never wanna see a photo of it again, no way Im googling it I was so terrified just to look at the photo, I encourage you to check it out,
Oh I googled Motherland Calls! Its horrible! I will never in my life go near that thing! gives me the creeps,
Well I have never been to New York and I really wanna go there but I have no idea what it would be like for me,
I am afraid it would be a total disaster and I will just have ahuge panic attack and not be able to go anywhere,
I have never been near scyscrapers or tall buildings like that, so what is it like for you guys that have been there?
How can I get rid of this fear!?
I wasn?t going to say that I?m glad to find others like me but I am. And it?s nice to know that it is a recognised phobia.
I?m a 33 year old man who has lived in England all his life. I am from an engineering background and a general car enthusiast, so you could say I like to tinker with machines on a regular basis. And strangley, it?s very large machines that I am ?scared? of like planes and ships. I even grew up living only a few miles from Heathrow Airport which makes this stranger still.
My wife has the same phobia too as does my brother. I do not have a problem with large buildings, statues or wind turbines however. I remember my parents told me I was always scared of these very large cooling towers that we used to pass when I was a kid. Very odd.
It seems my fear is of objects that can move, or were designed to move and no longer can. A ship that would be permanently harboured would still worry me even though I know it will not. This link below shows a Jumbo Jet that was converted to a restaurant in Korea, and even though it is obviously grounded, just looking at these pics makes my hair stand on end!
Please only look at these if you are comfortable doing so. I can just about manage it and wouldn?t show them to my wife. I just hope someone can understand what I mean.
http://www.darkroastedblend.com/2009/04/abandoned-boeing-747-restaurant.html
Apologies if you find the images uncomfortable.
Regards,
Tej
Bryan, I agree with you when you say exposure can help overcome it. It?s strange because even though I know I will feel nauseous looking at the pictures I still HAVE to.
That proposed statue in Houston looks even more terrifying than the Motherland Calls. And actually, like the Motherland Calls, it looks like it will be designed to have an appearance of movement.
Safia I bet you regret ever googling the picture!
Tej, your link was very interesting because although aeroplanes do not bother me particularly, the picture where you are looking at the plane ?head on? frightened me. I think its going back to the feeling of the object actually ?looking? at you and therefore appearing menacing.
My husband is not at all megalophobic and cannot understand what it is that terrifies me!
I wondered if anyone else felt the same ssensation of nausea when using google earth for example.
The way the globe spins and then suddenly hurtles you towards your chosen destination makes me feel very shaky.
And I made a huge mistake of google earthing The Motherland Calls ? fortunately it appeared to be pretty cloudy over Volgograd and so I couldn?t see it very well!
I know when I do see it on aerial view ? and I feel compelled to see it ? I will regret it?.
RE: Sheila?s comment about her husband (and others) not understanding why this stuff creeps us out so:
That?s essentially what distinguishes irrational fear from, say, the fear of suddenly being confronted by a wild animal or a poisonous snake?which most people are because they?re afraid it?ll bite and/or kill them?THAT?S RATIONAL!
I?m not afraid of snakes. I can look at and handle my son?s snake, but even though it?s not poisonous, I do have a little apprehension it will bite me.
Rats, on the other hand, I can look at and be in the same room with, but I don?t think I could bear to handle one.
Irrational fear, I think, comes from a deeper place. We megalophobes, on a certain level, KNOW the objects can?t harm us?but we?re uneasy around them nevertheless.
Some of the previous comments above about fearing huge flags and buildings because you fear they may fall on you, are perhaps an intermediate level of fear before irrational?though, I think it?s grasping for reasons or explanations for irrational fear.
Rationally, It could fall on you and kill you. Rationally, ?Motherland? could fall on you and kill you, but that?s not why a megalophobe is afraid of it?whether standing right next to it or looking at it on a computer screen-where it?s 3 inches tall , the twisted talent we megalophobes have of immediately being able to sense an object?s scale creeps us out for some reason.
I know we hate to look, but you know we can?t not look?Here?s another drop in the ?exposure? bucket towards us all kicking this fear.
(Who knows, we might all be able to meet-up at the base of ?Motherland? after kicking this fear, huh???maybe not.)
It?s a pic of a brave little lad walking towards the base of the ?Motherland? statue
(calling something this large a statue doesn?t quite seem to do it justice)?IT?S THE FOOT ONLY! but it gives you a better perspective of the sheer size of this thing.
He is using my ?hat on the head? method and looking down, so maybe he?s not so brave?
Megalophobes shrink your browser windows and click-away on the links below
here?s a small one-about 1 inch square on your screen
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/152289/Motherland_foot_boy.jpg
and for the braver megalophobes here?s a larger one-about 5 inches square on your screen
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/152289/MotherlandPrsptv.jpg
Quite frankly I?m amazed and the engineering that went into designing, erecting and keeping this thing from topling over?although that wouldn?t be a bad thing
(with no people around of course)
Thank you so much I thought I was alone in this phobia. I get freaked out when I go to museums and they have hanging whales or sharks. I also went on a cruise over the past summer I tried not to look at the ship as I was boarding. Are you afraid of big waves? Or could that be another phobia, because I went to a wave pool once when I was 10 and I was so scared I couldn?t go near the water and it isn?t the water just the waves,
Omg, I get exactly the same thing, and I?m only 14. Some of these posts actually brought me close to tears just thinking about some of the stuff. I followed some of the links and it was just unbearable. My phobia is mainly large statues, like the statue of liberty. There is a statue in England (where I live) called the Angel of the North, which terrifies me beyond belief. I have had nightmares about it and woken up in actual tears. Google it. I don?t dare. I also hate being face to face with an airplane or boat or train. And also the thought of something popping up unexpectedly makes me shudder. I also agree with what someone else posted about google earth, and the way it zooms into the destination. I almost don?t trust it and think something huge is going to pop up. And models of whales and things like that in museums, huge animals, but not when they?re alive. In the museum in my town a whale jaw hangs from the ceiling, and I just can?t bring myself to walk under it. It?s genuinely horrible.
Hmm this is really interesting? Everyone I tell my fear of large objects to, they just look at me weirdly. I remember once my Dad took me to a plane exhibition and you could walk down the tail of a 747. I remember seeing all the cogs and machinery and the massive engines and freaking out so badly. Especially around trains (Mainly steam engines) and most certainly Ships. Though I agree with this fear of large objects and I really think I do have it I also think I have a fear of Machinery too especially large engines and pipework? Hmmm
This is all still very strange and it?s surprising that no one has carried out any research into it. Looks like we won?t know the cause for a long time yet.
I?ve always thought of it to be something deep down in our DNA as anyone I have seen with this phobia seems to have it from a very young age. Kind of like the automatic fear we have of spiders or snakes, which would have come from the days before civilisation and humans lived in jungles/caves.
The bit I can?t work out is, does this stem from larger objects when we are small children, or is it something more like large dangerous animals that would have interacted with humans of the past. It is very interesting as a lot of us have said that even though we shouldn?t look at the above mentioned pics, we somehow feel like seeing them! I know I am tempted to look at those Jumbo Jet pics that I posted previously! I will wait a bit and then have a look. Maybe get a cup of tea first (I am at work) so don?t want to be too terrorised.
Nice to have seen all the views from similar people. One day we will all be recognised for this phobia.
I have to say that I do think it has been triggered from something in our childhood. I think certainly in my case anyway.
As in one of my earlier posts the Statue of Liberty scene in Planet of the Apes truly terrified me and my mother also reminded me recently of an incident when I was young.
I must have been about 3 or 4 although I do actually vaguely remember this but near our home at the time there was a railway bridge and running under the length of the bridge was a large pipe. As I was tiny, this pipe would have looked abnormally large and my mother said I was so terrified of it she would have to carry me over the bridge screaming and crying! I called it the ?big scary pipe?
I?m in my late thirties now and have decided to try to return to that bridge to see if it can evoke any more memories!
Tej, I agree that it is a phobia that a lot of people seem to suffer from but is never discussed apart from that one programme I saw about weird phobias.
I hope that programme is repeated one day as you would all empathise with the lady in it. It would only be shown in the UK though, sadly.
Sheila,
I will keep a lookout for this programme, maybe try and find it on the internet. Who knows, Youtube may even have something.
Are there any other forums related to this phobia? I haven?t been able to find them.
Has anyone checked out the Angel of the North yet? I want to know if i?m the only one who finds it unbearable. I?ve heard the wings are longer than the height of the statue of liberty! D:
M, I am also from the UK, from the North West but often have to travel around the North East and have driven along the dual carriageway where the Angel of the North suddenly appears in view and I hate it!! I get all panicky driving and when I have passed it and yet I can still see it in my mirrors?.shudder!!!!!!!
Tej, I?ve tried YouTube but no luck.
It?s bound to be repeated at some stage though ? I?m sure it was only on last year.
M ? I know the statue you are talking about although I?ve never been anywhere near it !
I have Googled it though and it?s pretty horrific ? it?s smiliar shape to the Christ statue in Brazil?.
There is a very unnerving photo of the Brazilian statute in which it?s just the head on the ground as they were building it ? look here if you dare:
http://www.copacabana.info/Christ-the-Redeemer-history.html
As some of the posts mentioned fears dating back to childhood, as did my original posts too, I recently remembered something else?when I was very small, around 3 or 4, if walking to my grandparents? house with my family we would pass or sometimes call in a shop which had a sign hanging outside which was basically a large ice-cream and I HATED it!! And you?d think a child would LOVE a large ice-cream wouldn?t you but no, I hated being anywhere near it and couldn?t wait to get passed it. How strange!
I have dreams of the St Louis Arch!I was introduced to it?s significance through science and its ability to stand alone as a ?catenary arch? which supported itself as a an indepenent srtucture. I love and hate the structure because it overwhelms me but also fascinates me?terrifies me. Stuctures which are large and in turn overwhelming shouldn?t be able to exist in my mindframe. I don?t know what freaks me out about large structures but I know it is connected to their rationality and my ability to understand their purpose. Im from Australia and none of the icons which define this country (which are large contemporary structures) eg. Opera House, Centre Point Tower, Harbour Bridge, bother me. But I?m driven to say I do have a phobia of contemporary structure I don?t or can?t fully understand why?
Nicole (comment #21) and others: I am SO relieved to hear you have the same fear as me? I have to cover my eyes too when there?s something on tv re: the Statue of Liberty? the indiglow commercial yrs back where she moves to turn on her watch made me scream & throw the remote at the tv? my husband & friends have always found it funny b/c I?m not a fearful person but for some reason she really freaks me out? about 5 yrs ago I was in NYC & I was going to take the ferry out to see her, but my plane was leaving & we just literally ?missed the boat? before my flight? I wanted to confront the fear? I think that?s the only way to do it? confront her & tell yourself there?s nothing to be afraid of? I try & rationalize my fear when looking at pictures & such? I?ve watched Ghostbusters II & search for pictures to just familiarize myself with her enormousness ? but I have to admit, it doesn?t last long? *sigh*
thought i was alone with this fear even seing a whale on the tv is frightening. i seen a advert of a massive submarine coming up from the ocean and it freaked me out! very strange.
Tonight was the first search that I have ever done on the fear that I have known since childhood. I am amazed. I read story after story of each person?s accounts and experiences as if I were reading the most captivating novel ever written. I live on the West Coast now, but as a child, I lived on the East Coast. I remember first being afraid of the out of ground swimming pools. Soon the object of my Megalophobia were the many gigantic water towers that were around. I once got the nerve to walk up to one and touch it. Walking away was the problem as I felt chills down my spine at the realization of this gigantic, silent object towering over me behind me. I do not in any wise fear the dark. In fact I have walked and even sat alone in some of the darkest areas imaginable. Yet, I have likewise walked in the dark with large to gigantic objects looming in the darkness that I had to passby with great dread. I have never been near or on a hot air balloon and I want to ride on one so badly, but I know that it would be a horrifying experience for me. For me it?s the size and the silence?the very stillness of the object that freaks me out. If I have to pass by a gigantic object, I use the method of shielding my face with one hand on the side that the object is on, but still knowing that it is there messes with me. I have gone whale watching on a boat. Being on the vast open ocean didn?t bother me a bit. Once when I lived in Atlanta, GA for a couple of years, I was walking through a wooded area and as I went through a patch of trees, suddenly, a gigantic body of water stretch out before me starting at my feet. It too was silent and still and freaked me out. Huge flags likewise give me bad chills. I am so glad to find you guys. I felt alone, and always wondered what this fear was about. Now I know it has a name and many others share it. Once I saw an episode of one of those ?Real World? type shows. One of the girls there was passing by a large freighter that was docked at a harbor and she freaked out to the point that she was frozen and couldn?t pass by the ship, and I was like ?WOW, she has what I have?. I?ve never gone in the deep end of a swimming pool because it looks so large and deep and it?s freaky to me seeing the bottom. I have been places that others are afraid to go. I have done a few things that to me were adventurous, but the fear of large objects? WOW!!!
Hi,
Reading all of your comments has been an eye opening experience for me (to say the least). Although, I must admit that reading some of these vivid scenarios (outlined in your comments) gave me great unrest and feelings of nervousness, anxiety and unpleasant fear.
Reflecting back on some of the experiences mentioned by other posters: I most sympathize with those that I identify myself with. As I was reading these posts I got the feeling that the words were being taken out of my mouth: These were those pertaining to ?large bodies of water? (oceans, harbors) and large animate/inanimate objects in the water. My ?worst case? scenario would be to find myself swimming in the middle of a vast ocean and seeing a large ship on the horizon coming right at me. Regardless of my attemts to swim out of the ship?s path it keeps coming closer; aimed right at me. (not to mention, the seemingly endless amount of water beneath me).
Needless to say, I?ve never been on a cruise and considering, I don?t think I?ll be on one any time soon. However, besides the occasional discomfort, I don?t see my life to be all that heavily influenced by this.
Thanks to people who?ve commented before me and those who plan on doing so.
Like everyone else I?m blown away by how many different people have this same problem. I?ve experienced this phobia as far back as I can remember as a very small kid and have always felt it was just me.
It?s interesting though that planes and giant ships don?t bother me. These are more like large buildings to me and not a problem.
What really hits me hard are large statues. Even those that are only 12-15 feet tall will completely freak me out. I remember being 5 years old and on vacation with my family when we visited the ?Christ Of The Ozarks? statue. I was beside myself with fear over being anywhere near it. Obviously my family didn?t really understand what it was that was bothering me. It was always really hard to explain, even to myself. There were many places we went when I was a kid with huge statues. The Cowboy Hall Of Fame in Oklahoma City was another place riddled with giant looming figures. A minefield for someone with this condition.
I?ve searched online a few times for fear of statues and other things, but those mostly came up incorrectly as fear of mannequins or dolls. I have no problem with sculpture or statues of normal size at all. It?s only the very large that get me. Like other people have said, the motherland statue in Russia or the giant blue whale hanging down would be the WORST thing imaginable.
It?s great to hear all these stories from everyone so I thought I should include mine for other people to read.
Thanks so much for starting this forum which obviously was needed and appreciated by so many people.
Just checking back on here and I see that even more people have posted comments about their experiences ? very interesting reading.
It?s strange to think that we all thought we were alone in having this irrational fear.
It manifests itself in different ways but is the same thing.
Aaron I also have to shield the side of my face when passing a large object/statue but as you said, the mere fact that you know the object is there, makes us anxious.
As I mentioned before ? it is a feeling of these objects having a ?presence? ? it?s the best way I can think of to describe it.
Matt I had to google the ?Christ of the Ozarks?statue and I really wish I hadnt? truly horrific.
Wow..I?m going to sound just like others that have returned. This is my third post. It really is an eye opener reading about some other peoples? phobias that I didn?t think would bother me but does since it?s in the same context.
I did confront my fear like others on here have, by actually walking all the way around the Unisphere at the old world?s fair in Queens, Ny where I live years ago. It helped somewhat. And I went back years later with my girlfriend and young son. I was ok as long as I didn?t look up which is almost impossible.
I can now count large, still bodies of water appearing out of nowhere and large structures in the dark as parts of my phobia. And as bad as the Motherland Russia statue is, that proposed Spirit Of Houston statue looks to be 100X worse!
I did notice the Google earth zooming feature bothering some people. I never really thought about it until someone brought it up. It?s all very interesting.
I equate our shared fear like that scene in Close Encounters when all the people affected by the UFO, started painting, drawing, and bonding over the Devil?s Tower mountain.
I did found something different to share with all of you. Beware though, it?s definitely scary. If you go to google earth and go to the Motherland statue in Russia, there is a 360 bubble that you can click on that will give you a 360 degree view of the whole area. It makes that photo of the guy by her foot look like child?s play. I believe the bubble is right in front of her. Thanks again everyone.
Actually the google 360 bubble right by the Motherland statue does not seem as bothersome as the other two bubbles. The one at the church and the one by the reflecting pool with all the soldiers. They may seem worse to me because you can really take in her whole scope as opposed to the the one where you look up and can only see her partially. I don?t like any of them though?
Michael, as much as I want to I cannot bring myself to look at Motherland on Google Earth !!
Although, as many have said on here, exposure is key to overcoming this which is why I have been trying to view images as much as I can ? look at this site if you dare:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_statues_by_height
Aside from Motherland and the Statue of Liberty, there are others which I find truly terrifying.
In particular, Dream, Cristo de la Concordia and the worst one of all ? Christ Blessing (I think it is the obvious appearance of movement on this one)
King of Kings may well be frightening for those of you here who find bodies of water disturbing as this one looks like it is appearing from a river. Water does not bother me but this picture does.
As others have stated, I?m so glad to be in the company of people who understand this phobia.
My problem with large objects (specifically, but not limited to, statues and trees) is the scale. I can see a picture of them as long as nothing is beside them revealing how large they really are.
When I was little, my Mom decided to try and help me get over my fear. There is a large statue of Vulcan near my home. My Mom always told me to cover my eyes when we would pass by it. One day she decided not to tell me. When I first glanced at it, I began screaming and jumping around (the days before car seats). We almost wrecked. Mom never tried that experiment again.
I am not cured of this phobia, but I decided to face my fears when I went to D.C. Mom told me there would be no way to avoid large statues. She encouraged me to brave my fears and I had my picture taken at the Lincoln Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, Iwo Jima Memorial, and in front of the National Archives for proof. I didn?t like it, but I learned I could do it.
I still get panicky at the sight of large objects and don?t like being near them, but slowly I have learned how to be around large things without losing control.
this is just not natural. why? who makes this stuff? http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:20090614_The_Dream_Sutton_011.jpg
jeez!!!!!!! uugghh!!!
Hi all,
James here again from post 25! Just wondering if anyone else has come across the giant flying octopus kites, I?ve been wondering if my fear is a part of megalophobia or if its something else. I have put a link to pics but I can?t look at them for more than a second without turning away. It would be beneficial to know other peoples reactions to the pics.
http://images.google.co.uk/images?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&channel=s&hl=en&source=hp&q=giant%20flying%20octopus%20kites&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi
3/7/2010
Wow, I can?t believe how many posts there have been since I last visited this website. Although relieved to know I’m ?not alone?, I am shocked at how many other people there are all over the world who feel the same way I do. I feel the same way about the statues having a “presence”, and that eerie feeling you get even after you have passed a statue, the need to look back, as if to check that it is still in place, even though your rational mind knows it can’t move. For me it’s the same principle as watching horror films, why do I watch them, when I know I’m going to be scared? I looked at all the posted links and am sad to say that now I know even more horrifying statues exist then the few that I knew about before reading this forum. Lol.
Just an Idea, don’t know how many people on here use facebook, but I was thinking of starting a group on there, where people like us could chat more easily and have a better open forum. I will check back periodically to see what your thoughts are on the subject and read the new post. It is like reading a really good novel
I thought I?d check back here too to see how many others have added their views.
Interesting that the majority have this ?feeling? from statues. Looking at the Wikipedia page that Sheila posted gives me an idea of how this is happening but it still doesn?t bother me as much as an aeroplane or an ocean liner. I think objects which can move are the ones which I have most fear of. Me and my wife were watching New Aircrash Invesigation last night and we found the planes ?scary? but were still fascinated to watch it!!
Jennifer, that facebook thing sounds like a good idea. I will have to sign up just so I can be part of that. (don?t really do social networking sites otherwise)
I too will check here regularly as have saved this page to favourites.
Hello again ? James I looked at the kite pictures but strangely they didn?t bother me ? I think it?s because they look fairly comical and cartoonish therefore non threatening ? I?m also guessing that my fear lies mostly with things that are more ?human? like. I actually don?t think a large statue of animal would bother me much ? very strange.
Having said that, I don?t know how I would feel if the kites were flying over my head?
Jennifer ? I also have to look back to check the statues haven?t moved or turned around and I am the same with horror movies- the more frightened I know I?ll be, the more I look forward to watching.
Your Face book page sounds good but for me personally, I wouldn?t want to sign up to any social network site but good luck with it if you do it!
Hi Lucy back from comment 31, I have been reading over the comments posted after my comments and I see alot of statues, boats come up in conversation, I was never keen on seeing or looking at pictures of submarines and unfortunately whilst watching a film ?the curious case of benjamin butter? there is one in the film and its dark and i did not expect it, and suddenly burst into tears asking my friend to turn it off.
Now? this picture of ?the motherland calls? well i thought i would be brave and have a look, wish i didn?t now as its in my head and im feeling extremely freaked out by it.
Can i ask to everyone, does anyone dream of giants or large objects? I vividly remember having a recurring dream when i was a kid about myself being picked up by a giant of some sort and think this is possibly where it all started.
another question i wanted to ask you all is, have any of you been to see a doctor about this?
Incredible?like some of you, I typed in certain keywords to search for this certain anxiety I have, and found this place. Blimps and planes, and things of that nature never really bothered me, but yes?to see a huge flag coming down does sorta make me feel uneasy. I use to be freaked out by clouds that had big enormous shapes, but I know a fear that still lingers. How about a huge tall building, with a giant picture painted on it?
In my youth, I use to be in downtown Dallas a lot, and there was this towering building, with a little boy playing with a soccer ball I believe?Now I could walk pass it, as I?ve done it several times, but I would never look up. I would keep my eyes forward. I didn?t even like looking at that picture on that building from a distance. Large pictures on large buildings freaks me out for sure, but just a large building I can handle. I remember visiting New york and being up close to the statue of Liberty as well. Not a problem. You know what though? I have yet to click on any of these links being provided. I guess I?m too afraid to see what lingers behind them. Perhaps I?ll develop a an even bigger fear if I do. Thats what I?m afraid of. To be honest though, looking at these posts clearly made me think back to that building with the little child on it, and I felt my heart sinking into my stomach while reading some of the things being said here?Thankfully they took that painting down. Still, I know in my heart that I fear such things, and there may very well be another time when I must confront this darn fear of mine.
K Dubb, I completely agree with you. Large buildings don?t bother me at all, but huge buildings with pictures on them also make me feel uneasy. Still not as uneasy as statues though, they really are the worst thing for me. I guess it is about the presence, and i also turn around to check they haven?t moved, even though i know i?ll be terrified to look at them. It?s a really weird feeling. I just don?t know how to go about sorting it out.
K Dubb, I don?t have a fear of buildings with pictures on them as such however, when I was about 4 or 5 years old there was a building in Glasgow with a large mural on the side ? the picture was a boy and a dog ? I remember it used to terrify me. I think that triggered my megalophobia as well as a few other things I have mentioned in previous posts.
Lucy ? I haven?t seen a doctor because my phobia has not interfered with my life as such. It would be different if there was large statue that I had to walk past every day!!
I watching a TV programme the other night though where a TV presenter was running towards the Angel of the North in Newcastle ? I quickly had to change channels ? felt uneasy for the rest of the night after seeing it.
I had a an idea earlier to see how i reacted to the motherland calls in a video, went on youtube. I would not suggest it at all. I screamed and couldnt look at it and ended up shutting down the computer.
I havent seen a doctor as mentioned it doesn?t interfer with everyday life.
Another example that I want to bring up, in the film the exorcist when the wardrobe is moving towards someone, does that freak anyone else out, the fact a big object can move and possibly fall onto you? Is that what this phobia is about falling large objects?
Sorry, i am probably not making much sense here but Im trying to understand this more.
With regards to some comments about being underwater, is the phobia called Bathophobia? I saw it mentioned somewhere but cannot find it.
There?s an advert that keeps coming up on my television about North East England, and it shows the Angel of the North from loads of different angles. I was nearly sick and hid under my duvet. I find that statue just purely horrific.
Just checking back in..
Firstly, I saw the photo of the big white woman?s head as per post 88. This statue is about 15 mins from where I live and I?m yet to see it in the flesh but definitely want to force myself to visit it to try and cure myself!
I read with interest the posts about the paintings on buildings and it brought back some memories from when I was younger (and perhaps another reason behind why I have developed this phobia, lol!!!). My mum and dad would often take my brother and I out for a drive at night and we?d drive past an old dye works down country lanes. On one of the walls on a sharp bend a large skull had been painted (designed to slow drivers down as a warning) and it would terrify me. As it was a narrow road, when we passed it, if you were sat on that side of the car, it was terrifying!!
Driving into Manchester there is a building that always has a large poster down the side of it, crrently a Nike advert or similar with a large footballer on (Granada Studios for anyone who knows it) and I HATE driving past it. If I had to walk passed it on my own, I?d die, or at least nervously dash by without looking up!!!
A Facebook group sonds fab, count me in!
I am soooo happy to discover the name for this feeling. I am very afraid of wind turbines. Unfortunately, I have to drive past a wind farm that is continuing to develop on a regular basis. I get an anxious feeling, a feeling of slight claustraphobia and am afraid I will drive off of the road. I know it is irrational, but I am afraid I will soon have to find another route.
I am also afraid of the ? world?s largest cross statute? that is off of interstate 70, particularly during night driving when it is illuminated. Thank you for showing me that I am not alone in this fear. Now the only thing is to discover how to live with it or cure it.
WOW. How happy am I that I have discovered this! I have an absolutely huge fear of big buildings, trees and statues. Especially at night. But there is one statue that absolutely horrifies me, the Angel of the North in Gateshead, UK. I really don?t know where its stemmed from because I based my first collection on it. I remember watching Hannibal and seeing a man hanging with some cloth attached to him and it looked like wings?.I saw the Angel of the North on TV and the camera spanned over the wings and I did not realise how disgustingly massive it it. Its got to the point where I actually know to turn over my TV if a song on an advert comes on because that statue will come on. I was rockin my newborn and I wasn?t fast enough to look away from the TV and nearly dropped my daughter on the floor. She?s a toddler now and I feel so bad because if I catch a glimpse of it I let out a bloodcurdling scream and my heart feels like its going to jump out of my chest. And then my daughter jumps because I?ve frightened her with my screaming. I thought it would have gone away by now but it hasn?t. I?ve been to a counsellor for this. He asked me to draw a picture of the angel of the north. I haven?t been back since. I would love to get help. But there is no way I will visit it. Sometimes I egg myself on and I?ll type the name into google and click images and then quickly press the back button. I would love to get this sorted though. Feels so good to get this off my chest though! Phewww. All my friends are accomodating, they text me if a certain show is on so I don?t see it.
Heather-Rose, I completely agree with everything you?ve said. The Angel of the North is the most horrific thing. I haven?t always been scared of it, it just happened. And there seem to be so many adverts with it at the moment, and when it spans round the wings it?s just horrible, because it is actually enormous. Gives me shudders. My friends don?t help out, they find the whole thing ridiculous and can?t think of why I find it scary. It?s a hard thing to explain.
My husband just had to tell me that he drove the past The Angel of the North the other day when he was down in England.
He said I wouldn?t have been able to look!
He does not suffer from megalophobia at all but even he thought it was quite imposing ? he said it seemed to just appear out of nowhere.
I felt a bit uneasy ther other day after seeing the ?gherkin? building in London on a TV programme. Buildings don?t usually cause me anxiety but the angle at which it this one was filmed was horrible. The camera was looking up a street and you could only partially see the ?gherkin? but it looked like it was menacingly coming round the corner!
Also it?s so out of context in shape to the other buildings around it giving it a presence.
Horrible.
Even thinking about a boat, statue, anything really at nightime and just seeing the darkness of it freaks me right out.
Has anyone been on youtube yet and had a look at motherland calls?
Not I?I?m a little too chicken. I?ve actually been freaking out a little bit. While reading what everyone says, I?m hearing normal sounds in the house, but its causing me to jump and slightly panic?.
I haven?t seen anyone talk about twisters though.
I am so glad found this forum. I?ve suffered from this kind of fear since a family trip to NYC when I was about 11. The Statue of Liberty really scared the heck out of me. Now I get very uneasy with any large statue or structure that is large and not surrounded by much. My new ?fear? is looking at pictures of the Shanghai skyline ? I saw it in a commercial, and there is something very creepy about it. Take a look at it on line if you dare.
Sheila, it really does seem to come out of nowhere, you can?t see it at all then all of a sudden you look up and see this ENORMOUS statue. Whenever I?m in the car and we enter the North of England I get really jumpy and panicky, constantly looking for signs and stuff, getting ready to hide. Scary stuff.
Lucy, I thought I?d check out some youtube videos of The Motherland Calls. I?m actually shaking and close to tears. I had to wait for them to buffer and go through frame by frame, it went too fast on it?s own. I also had a quick look at Angel of the North ones to see how that would go for me. Not well is the answer. I saw the pictures on the side and couldn?t even click on a video before I had to close the window.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEB5kdgFS2I&feature=related
Personally I found this one absolutely unbearable, it?s one of The Motherland Calls. I screamed, almost jumped out of my seat, but you know, exposure and what not.
I have never plucked up the courage to look at the Motherland on Youtube but I clicked on your link M ? needless to say, because I knew what was coming when the camera panned round, I just shut the screen down in absolute panic before I saw it. Made me very anxious and also close to tears.
That one is probably just too near the statue for my liking.
I decided to try a more distant video of it but this one for me is just as horrific as the statue is surrounded by buildings at one point ? how people can live near that I?ll never know ? and it also appears to be moving becuase the person filming is on a boat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iZsx7_qw9w
Absolutely terrifying.
Forgot to mention that I looked at the Shanghai Skyline Robyn ? I agree with you.
The problem for me is the futuristic tall building on the left with the ball like shapes ? a sinister looking thing ? take that out and I would probably be ok with the picture.
I cannot watch it anymore, I tried it a few times and its impossible, I freak out.
Had a discussion with a friend the other day and she laughed in my face, she does not believe someone can be scared of any of the above, I actually felt quite hurt because I have spent so long trying to find out why, how etc and come across this page which I am so grateful for BUT then to have a friend tell me that Im making it up.
I had a look at the Motherland Calls on You Tube and OMG, I really wasn?t expecting the camera to suddenly pan round and onto the statue?s feet. The laptop is right next to me on the arm o the chair and I had to push the screen away and I can still feel my heart beating!! Feel really un-nerved now! Watched the second video too (from the boat) and I was much better with that one but agree that I?d HATE to look out at that if I lived in one of the partment blocks right next to it, although I guess if you saw it every day you?d become immune?
I was driving along the motorway the other day and came across two things which I had to drive past but breathe deeply as I did so, trying not to look as I passed. The first was a train engine (the old steam type) on the back of a lorry and a little later the old style train carriage on the back of a lorry. Because I?m driving alone too I just have to hurry past and breeeeeathe!! Awful!!!
wow?here is a new thing to be scared of?.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/04/03/senegal.statue/index.html?hpt=C2
Yeah?I actually came back here to see if anyone posted about the new African Senegal Statue today. That is just ENORMOUS and terrifying.
Also, I don?t know why I haven?t thought to Youtube these statues before but MAN?seeing the video and having it be first person like you?re standing there?that?s intense. Not an easy thing to do.
haven?t posted in while so I thought I would show you guys my latest lame attempt at exposure?lame because, as I mentioned in an earlier post, 90% of my fear of large objects dissapates if there are other people around.
last weekend I visited the Jefferson memorial in dc. I?ve lived in the dc area for 40+ years and have never visited most of the more iconic monuments-not out of fear, but moreso complacency.
all the pictures and video I?d seen of the Jefferson memorial creeped me out considerably but i was able to go right up to it look directly up at it and snap a couple of shots with my iPhone. I decided not to post links to the pictures because I don?t think it?s helping any of us, to be honest?though I found I am able to look at the photo of the senegal sculpture on my phone but not on my computer. so eh?
now granted, in my case, calling this ?exposure? is a bit generous. I?m pretty brave in the company of others. but I believe in some small way this is getting me to the next level.
I have this fear, and I?m glad I am not the only one. My side of the fear is unique, because I do become very nervous around the common things associated with this like; large planes when I?m not in them and large statues, but they have to be pretty big. However my fear is trapped in ancient times. meaning I have a fear of what our ancestors faced, sailing in the ocean which is beyound big enough to facilitate monsters of considerable size. Basically the ocean would make me feel like a creature the size of the statue of liberty could get me. But mainly my fear depends on the circumstances in which it was presented to me for instance, I can see most large things during the day barely but at night I cannot deal with them. The lincoln statue would be offputting to me during the day but at night with those parameter lights shining on it gives it a sentient look. there is a junkyard for airplanes where I live and it has a Gigantic plane in it missing it?s nose so it kind of looks like ghost planes at night in a graveyard. I hate passing that place cause it feel like the plane is looking at me lol?
OMG! I thought I was the only one with a fear of large statues. I have a hard time standing by one. My fear is that they will come alive and grab me; or that they will topple down on me.I think I watched to many scary movies that most of the statues in the movie (Jason and The Argonauts ex.,)
come to life. Arggh! Thanks. Andy
Nice to know that I am not alone. I feel like most of you, a huge fear of large objects. Especially statues. My biggest fear is the Motherland statue in Russia. She is WICKED! I feel sick just thinking about approaching the statue.
And I remember when I was in New York two years ago and took the ferry to Staten Island. I did not even look at the Statue of Liberty. Why do people insist on building these things?
@ Andy, thats funny you should mention ?Jason and the Argonauts?, I am 29yrs old now, and I vividly remember watching that movie with my Uncle as a little kid, Iam wondering if that had something to do with my fear of statues. I notice when Iam afraid, usually they are ?ancient times? statues, such as GreeK statues, and biblical statues,and they have to be extremely large. I don?t exactly know what my fear is..I dont?t think they are going to fall on me, maybe it is the thought that they could grab me, yet my rational mind knows that it is not going to happen. It definately has to do with sentient thought, somehow, like they are looking at me.But I do think exposure is helping me. My goddaughter(5 years old) keeps asking me to take her to museums and I would do just about anything for her. So I have been going, of course I do my research to find out what is going to be there before I go. I have run into many statues, and am doing much better with them. I went to a dinosaur museum, and a museum with a lot of ancient statues,the please touch mueseum in Philadelphia has a big statue of Pegasus with Calliope and Erato in the very from of the entrance, and I was ok. I even took a picture of her with a hugh benjamin franklin statue, and Swann Fountain.(look them up if you like on wikipedia..look up statues of philadelphia) The more I seem to face my fear, and expose myself the less and less overwhelming the feeling becomes, Iam not staying that I want to go to the staute of Liberty tomorrow or walk around the corner and be faced with something overwhelming, but Iam getting to the point when I can walk past statues that would normal bother me, and they dont effect me at all, so iam going to keep exposing myself and hopefully one day be free from this fear.
Jennifer and Andy I agree with the statues in films ? I?ve mentioned previously the original Planet of the Apes film but reading your posts, Jason and the Argonauts rings a bell with me too ? also the original Clash of the Titans film ? I believe there was a large statue in the sea at the end of that one?
Well done on your progression in overcoming your fear Jennifer
Wow, I know people have said it but I have to say it too. I always thought I was the only one. I?ve been made fun of by my own family members from the time I was little that I stopped talking about my problem and just pretended that it didn?t exist when around them by about the age of 12. I?m 30 now and haven?t talked about it to anyone since. My big one is water towers. I think I saw someone a while back who had that one as well and I was so relieved when I saw that I cried. Big statues, monuments and tall buildings freak me out too. I get a little better if I am frequently exposed to a certain one although the idea of getting up close to a water tower makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up and my skin crawl. Pictures apparently don?t freak me out so much and I?m ok from a distance as well as in the car to some degree depending on the size and my familiarity with it. So so so glad I?m not the only one.
Kristen?
Definitely not the only one. Water towers are one of my biggest fears as well. I was trying to search for a name of the phobia when I found this. It makes sense. Technically, its not just water towers for me. It?s pretty much anything big that holds liquid, with few exceptions. (I.E. I can?t open the washer while it?s running because of the water, scared of the hot water tank? Etc?) The thought of the underground tanks at a gas station scares the hell out of me.
Mine, I believe, is a mixture of a fear of water along with the megalophobia. Odd thing is, I?m not afraid of being in water. Just containers that hold it. I?m not sure if that makes sense?
The weird thing about it is that I?m fascinated by them. I watch for them from a distance and have no difficulty looking from a distance but get me up close and the hair goes up, heart beat increases. I can look at the St. Louis arch from a distance but get me up close and?yikes! I also get the ?presence? that others were talking about. If I see it, I know it?s there even when I?m not looking and have to keep looking although I KNOW it isn?t going to move.
I?m so glad I?m not alone in this. I have always had a great fear of ceratin large things?.bombs, fighter planes (stealth planes are REALLy creepy), ships, and especially the Statue of Liberty. In recent years it has grown to include commercial planes (particularly when the nose is right in front of me), rockets, and sometimes buildings. In many cases, like the statue of liberty (a close-up of the face is terrifying) or a commercial plane, even a PHOTO scares me. When I stood under the Tower of the America?s in San Antonio, I felt sick. That stuff really freaks me out!
Wow! All my life i thought I was crazy. I had tears rolling down my face as I read these comments. Now I know I?m not alone. I am so terrified of huge statues, pictures and paintings. My biggest fear is any religious statues, pictures and paintings. I feel like my heart will jump out my chest. I went to Italy to visit my sister a fews years ago. She?s in the military and was stationed there. I nearly freaked out when we came up on this statue in venice. It was beautiful but I started shaking and my sister covered my eyes as we walked past it. I was so embarrassed. It is very very difficult to go to a catholic church. Althought the art work and staues are so gorgeous they trigger an anxiety attack that I can not control. I had to go to a funeral for a very close cousin that lost her battle with cancer, i dreaded stepping into the catholic service funeral. I sisters hel each of my hands the whole time. My chest was so tight I felt like I was going to either pass out or scream. What is wrong with me???!!!
While at the bookstore yesterday, I found a book that some of you might find useful if you?re interested in tackling phobia symptoms on your own. It?s a workbook that includes a variety of activities and exercises that include imaginary desensitization and real-world desensitization.
I didn?t have a chance to browse the the entire book, but it definitely might be worth checking into. The book is available here, but you can also find it at most major booksellers including Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.
Tamika there is absolutely nothing wrong with you! I?ve gone my whole life feeling that way and now that I have found this place I know that I am not the only one either.
hey i m from india n now i m so relieved dat m nt d only1 wid this phobia.
Thank you Kristen. I will say this website has made me feel a little better knowing Im not alone.
Wow? Glad I?m not the only one with this fear.. Even felt better when i found out there are people who experienced worse fears (not saying I?m happy about your phobias, just happy that it wasn?t me that had those fears).. To me, buildings, planes, and ships don?t really terrify me. What terrifies me most is statues of giant heads. Especially ugly heads. Even more scary if they were under/coming out of the water. I?m also scared of some animal statues, especially if they are large and/or under/near water. When I was younger (I?m 14 now) I was swimming in the pool of the hotel I was staying at. I was having so much fun. Until I came out of the water and saw this hideous frog statue with creepy eyes. I think it?s statues with eyes that scares me most. I once had this imagination of swimming in an ocean and then suddenly a giant easter island head pops out in front of me and just the thought of that freaks me out. I had this fear for a long time, but I just realized it a few months ago. I first discovered this funny feeling when I was playing HotWheels Stunt Track Challenge on PS2 and some of the tracks were underwater and had fish swimming near the track. Another track was just above water and had giant octopus tentacles reaching out of the water, and sometimes would even hit cars (most of the time my car). That really freaked me out, but I never really bothered to even talk about it. Recently, I was playing Grand Theft Auto and when the character was swimming, there were dolphins and big glowing jellyfish.. That was the most disturbing thing I have ever seen.
Oh, and James.. I think there is nothing more frightening than a giant octopus. And this has nothing to do with the fact that there is a satanic church in my country (Indonesia) that has a huge octopus statue on top of its roof. Luckily, I never saw that one.
Daniel, your phobia sounds very similar to mine. I?m only 15 and it?s mostly statues that bother me, especially ones with heads like you said. The Statue of Liberty freaks me out because of the eyes. I would probably die if I had to go inside it and right up to the face, it?s actually making me tremble just thinking about it.
I am still extremely bothered by the Angel of the North. A picture of it popped up on my internet today, which reminded me to come back on here. It just has such a creepy presence.
Also, I was watching TV the other day and the Jesus statue in Rio de Janeiro came on, but it was in scaffolding, so I had a minor freak out, and my dad explained that he felt the same way about that statue in particular. I asked him if he disliked the Angel of the North, but he didn?t understand that one as much. So perhaps that has something to do with it.
One more thing, not to ramble but I keep remembering things, when I was much younger, perhaps 5 or 6, I used to play a game called British Isles Explorer, which would take you around British Landmarks, and I used to dread sitting there in case the Angel of the North popped up, it had always given me the creeps, but of course not to that much of an extent at that age, so perhaps the phobia has just exacerbated recently, because it seems that these things have always bothered me.
Sorry if I have mentioned any of that before, I just felt the need to put that all down.
Today I heard the most disturbing news that they are planning to erect a large statue over a motorway that I drive down every day to get to work.
I was in tears when I heard ? I have told my husband I will have to find an alternative route to work as I will most likely cause an accident if I have to pass this.
It is to be a large statue of a person ? the worst possible for me.
mine isnt that severe- it was worse when i was young but i didnt think anything of it. sometimes i think of huge ants or apples and get scared and then instantly forget the feeling
OMG, I thought that I was the only one. I tried to explain to someone about it and they thought I was crazy. You explained it perfectly, its the appearance of movement. For me it is statues and Ships as well. Especially big propellers like on a ship or airplane. When I went to India I had a mini freak out because they have a lot of these huge statues for the religious goods?realistic and everywhere you turn?.
Glad to see I am not the only one
One monstrocity down (burned), countless more to go.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/152289/touchdownjesusburned.jpg
I thought this was a sculture but apparently it was made of something flammable.
I also have a fear of large objects. I can not be in the same room with large moving characters or statues that seem like they could move. I could never ever be close to the hull of a ship. Just a photo will make me feel scared and nervous and totally creep me out!
Wow. I googled ?fear of large things?? and what a relief to see I?m not alone.
I too am scared of cruise ships and barges (the movie ?Titanic? was hard to get through), whales (swimming next to them, or watching them in a movie), and large statues.
I don?t get terrified so much as a rush of adrenaline? the kind you get on roller coasters (which I love). It energizes me in a fun way, but I can?t watch whales and cruise ships for too long? I have to avert my eyes after awhile.
I just woke up from a mini nightmare that I took a wrong turn on my bike and ended up in France. Was quite excited until I turned a corner and saw giant statues!!
I?ve had a fear of them for years; was reduced to a quivering wreck in front of the girlfriend on a trip to NY by the face of the statue of Liberty in the museum. Also had to walk backwards up the steps opposite the Royal Albert Hall to sit with friends who were sitting beneath about five big gold statues!!
Really thought it was only statues; but after reading some of all your comments; I?ve realised it may be large objects like (very large) planes, or ships, but I?d have to go near them again as i?ve not been close to either since childhood.
Lastly I?m quite proud of my statue phobia as it?s so unusual, I scour the net for freaky images, then cover my eyes as the fullsized image downloads. I?ve included a link of the scariest ones so far that i?ve displayed on my f/book page!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=123341&id=743802039&l=bc0e63f545
James, that?s crazy. I had a dream a year or so ago almost exactly the same. I was on my bike and took a wrong turn and somehow ended up in China, going down a very steep street that happened to have these giant warrior statues lining both sides. By the time I got to the end of the street i was out of my mind terrified, only to realize that it was a dead end and the only way out was back up the same street. Weird?
I?m 57. I?ve had this fear of larger-than-life statues all my life. Although, I?ve never let it rule my life. Fortunately, I?m able to avoid them most of the time. I never share it with anyone that I knew other than my husband of 32 years. It was a little hard to explain why I kept my shoulders hunched, fist clinched and tried not to hyperventilate when I crossed the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge with its? ?Guardians of Traffic?. I get sick just thinking about it. Therefore, I was sadden and surprised when, during an out-of-town visit to our youngest daughter, she mentioned that she was ?scared of statues?. Is it possible to unconsciously pass a fear on to your children? Or is this just a coincidence?
Wow. I?ve had a phobia of whales since I was 12, and I?d always linked my fears of similar things ? Nessie, low-angle shots of ships? hulls or airplanes, icebergs etc ? thinking they freaked me out just because they reminded me of whales. Yesterday I mentioned this on a message board and someone mentioned megalophobia. Well, wow ? I have it!
I distinctly remember the moment my whale phobia started ? that scene in Free Willy where the boy sees Willy suddenly by a flash of lightning in the underwater tank. Even thinking about it now, more than a decade later, makes me feel panicky and shaky. It was ghastly. I still have nightmares. It affects me in funny ways ? I never learned to swim, because I?d get panic attacks every time I put my head under the water. I can?t walk next to darkened shop windows at night because they remind me of the tank. I used to work at a movie theatre, and couldn?t do cinema checks for certain films (Whale Rider, The Squid and the Whale, etc). I avoid Kiwiana-type gift shops because they have whales on postcards. At the worst of it, when I was a teenager, I was even afraid to switch channels on the TV because I occasionally came across a nature documentary with underwater scenes. Hate, hate, hate. Even in Stardust, there?s this one low-angle shot of the airship?boat? thingy as it swoops out of the sky, and the sight of the hull makes me panicky. It?s bizarre.
I also have phobias about museums and taxidermied animals. If I ever ventured into Britain?s Museum of Natural History I probably wouldn?t emerge functional. :p Buildings and statues don?t really bother me, but I haven?t had much experience of them.
Next year we?re going to Disneyland, and I have very mixed feelings about it. I?m fascinated by the history of the place and really want to go, but I?m worried about some of the rides scaring me more than they should. The Storybookland Canal Boats, of all things! Avoiding those, avoiding the Finding Nemo ride?. I?m even a little nervous about Pirates of the Caribbean, which isn?t remotely whale-related, but there?s water and it?s dark and I have an unbelievably obnoxious imagination. I?m seriously considering finding some kind of anti-anxiety medication before I go to the Happiest Place on Earth ? messed up, no?
Wow, I am so happy I found this. Everyone I know makes fun of me, but I too am afraid of huge statues, blimps, air planes, giant trees, giant flags, imax screens, ships etc.
I went to the Statue of Liberty when I was 5 and I was freaking out the entire time. Also, when I was younger blimps used to fly really low over my house when the LPGA tour was in town (we lived right next to the golf course) and that freaked me out. I once got really huge tomatoes in my salad and I had to cut them up right away. I also hate huge flags, but I am not sure why?I don?t think they are going to fall on me, I just don?t like them. Hull of ships really scare me as well. Looking up at tall buildings from right below them makes me a little nervous, but its not that bad. And I can look at them from a few blocks away and be fine. Also, whales in the water don?t bother me, but at the Museum of Natural history in NY they have a blue whale hanging from the ceiling of a room and I cannot go into that room without freaking out. Also, being right beneath a huge dome makes me really uncomfortable. Mountains, cliffs, glaciers etc, don?t bother me though.
Once again, I am so glad I found this site! I can?t wait to tell everyone that I am not the only person with this fear.
Also, someone a while back mentioned the lines at the bottom of the pool. I am scared of those too! I really thought I was the only one with that fear.
As I mentioned before (119), I really fear large statues. I will soon travel to Munich, Germany, and thought I would challenge myself to face ?The Walking Man?. This is a statue that looks like it is in motion. My worst nightmare.
However, I do not think I will do it. The mere thought of being in the same city makes me shudder. But I will see it as a win if I manage to watch him from a safe distance.
I hope that some of my phobia will drop if I?m brave enough to confront him. Or I will die, which is most likely.
Luckily I always google if there are dreadful statues in the cities I visit, before I go there. I would have died if I unknowingly ran straight into the arms of The Walking Man, or any other unnecessarily large statue.
Wish me luck!
I suffer from this as well. At NASA, in Houston TX I couldn?t even look or stand behind the thrusters of that huge Saturn V rocket they have on display. At airports, I can?t look at the planes through the window when they are parked up close. At the Statue of Liberty in her pedalstal they have a museum and a replica of her face. I couldn?t go near it. At the Museum of Natural History they have a HUGE Blue Whale hanging from the ceiling, I couldn?t even look that direction.
Wow?I?m so glad I?m not the only one as many people before me have already stated. But yes, I have a fear of large objects?mainly machinery. Nuclear power plants and wind turbines scare me to no end. If I?m driving down the road and either of those two are nearby, I can?t look at them otherwise I start shaking and breathing heavily :/ It feels as if they are going to suck me up towards them and I won?t be able to get away.
I?m also incredibly afraid of anything that resembles Tesla coils, generators, large pipes, machinery that emits deep humming noises or vibrations?If you?ve played the video game Silent Hill, you can get an idea of where I?m coming from. I remember working as a janitor in a hospital (I?m 23 by the way) and whenever I?d get near the MRI room, I couldn?t move. The door blocking the way had like?30 warning signs on it that said not to step near while waearing a watch, pacemakers, don?t do this, don?t do that?.and there was always a very loud hum coming from the other side of the door. At the time, I had no idea there was an MRI machine in there. I thought it was some weird generator room. But I would stand there trying to get close so I can clean what needed to be cleaned but I just couldn?t move?at all.
I do also get scared when I near things like ships. It?s as if my mind is telling me something should not be this large.
Forgot to mention?large things out at sea, especially that are touching the sea floor, scare?me?to?death. Oil rigs get my heart racing!! I just don?t like the idea of seeing pipes/foundation disappearing into the depths of the ocean. I used to live in Chicago and when I?d look out across the water, I would see these large machines in the distance. My mom would scare me and tell me they were sucking up the water and cleaning it. I think that?s what started my whole fear of large things in the water
WOW!!! I am one to have fear of Large Statues with faces!!! OMG!! Looking at a picture of the Statue of Liberty almost can put me into a panic attack!! I once got arrested in DC because I didn?t know that Lincoln?s reflection was because of the Statue? UUmmm to say that least I was arrested for disturbing the peace because I was freaking out, crying and screaming. Sigh?. I can?t go anywhere that I want to go because of this fear. I would love to go to Rome, Germany, Italy but not will ALL the statues that they have!. It?s those damn faces? They are so big and real looking and they make them with garnet eyes so they look so real.
David ? re The Walking Man in Munich ? of course I had to google the image even though I knew it would upset me!
HORRIFYING.
Possibly the worst one I?ve seen yet.
Good luck with that ? you wouldn?t get me anywhere near it.
This is so strange! I, too, have this phobia. Again, Statue of LIberty freaks me out but strangely when I went to NY and saw it close to I was fine. However, recently on a cruise we were docking in a port where there was a huge statue on top of a pillar and could not bear to look. I felt physically sick. I also don?t like seeing movies or tv programmes of underwater scenes and I hated those bits in the Titanic. I hated those angel-type structures round the Hoover Dam, too,
I don?t know what causes this. I can recall being frightened of angels when I was a kid which was probably due to my mother freaking me out about angels coming to visit upon us as we slept or some such nonsense!
Glad it?s got a name, though!
I never knew there was a real phobia, I always thought it was just me.
Mountains and ice burgs make me ill, as do whales and deep, deep water. I love the ocean, hearing the waves and smelling the salty air. I even like jumping waves, but taking a cruise is absolutely out of the question ? just the size of the ocean compared to my size is enough to keep me on dry land. My worst case scenario would be a cruise to Alaska and seeing ice burgs and whales besides the boat. I think I?d die of a heart attack.
I too, own this fear. I was at the city dump unloading some trash with a co-worker when all of a sudden i heard a very loud humming noise and it was getting closer. Another minute or two had passed and right out of the corner of my eye i seen ?it??It, was the smashing unit sorta like a bulldozer with heavy big grinding teeth..it was so big, it blocked out the reflection of the sun. I stood there, speechless, motionless, and frozen. I urinated on myself, and to this day, i will not return there.
As I mentioned in post 145, I traveled to Munich in August. Once there, I thought that I would dare to visit ?The Walking Man?. I live in Sweden, and in this country, there are no giant statues, which is fortunate. So sometimes I like to take the opportunity to challenge my phobia when I visit countries or cities where ?they? exist. And I did it, although I was terrified, dizzy and shaky. It feels like a win anyway.
However, I would NEVER go Moterhland Calls in Volgograd. And especially not now when she leans 8 inches and is on track to collapse. The feeling of witnessing the 7900 tonne statue crashing towards you makes me more than faint. And the fact that she only rests and stands upright on her own weight makes me crazy. If they build such a monster, they should atleast make sure she is really solid built into the ground!
I am amazed so many share my phobia. I never had it until one day, in the ocean, my husband I were avid scuba divers and were heading to a wreck. I loved them and couldn?t wait to get there. As we got closer, my heart started racing and I was about to freak out at the thought of seeing the wreck come into view! IT HAD NEVER BOTHERED ME BEFORE! I surfaced as quickly as I could and headed back to the ship, hyperventilating and in my first panic attack. From that day on, I can?t even look at a picture of an iceberg, a submarine surfacing, a ship wreck or large marine mammals. Just writing this is making my heart race.
I love going on cruise ships, but can?t look at them from the ground while in dock. I find this all very strange to have started in my 40?s after years of enjoying the ocean from all levels.
After reading the comments on here, I agree, it?s comforting to know other people understand. I?m terrified of killer whales, hot air balloons, massive kites (we?ve got a huge striped butterfly kite that we haven?t taken out the package yet because I?ll have a heart attack if I see it). I?m afraid of massive flags too. They had some hanging in the school library, and I stopped in the hall and walked the other way, leaving my friend standing there. How is it that this fear can be called irrational?! Being afraid of things larger than yourself is probably some sort of survival mechanism left over from the cave man days of huge woolly mammoths or something. marine parks are like a personal hell built just for me?hate those killer whales especially. Jeri?s post on the wreck gives me the creeps!
To add to my previous posts, for me, I guess it?s not always necessarily large objects, although primarily it is, but often it is also smaller objects that are ?outside.? This is where I think some of you have been right in saying that this phobia is possibly partially linked to agoraphobia. Allow me to explain.
I am often scared of smaller items also such as signs, road-signs, signs at the side of motorways..items that are alone outside in the world, even when it?s dark outside. I am ok if driving on a busy road but when driving alone, particularly when it?s dark, I also get a little anxious if stopped at lights and I?m stopped next to a road sign. Does that make any sense?
Another example is when I stayed in Shanghai on business and was staying alone. If I looked out of the bedroom, window, my room overlooked what was the roof of the lobby of the hotel of which on this was the sign for the hotel (the letters stating the hotel name). Whilst none of the letters were large as such, it did make me feel a little uneasy seeing the back of them outside my room. Can anyone relate to this at all? I am finding it hard to explain exactly what I mean.
Just for reference purposes and to back up my point, please see the photo I took from my window at the following link: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3364588&l=75d8d68f47&id=556230812
Curiouser and curiouser!
I am SO glad to hear that I?m not the only one with this fear of the Statue of Liberty? she totally & utterly freaks the hell out of me? every time she?s on the television I literally cover my eyes?. the very thought of her moving especially has me on edge! that Indiglow commercial, where she moves to turn on her watch almost made me faint ? I actually threw my remote across the room? that was like 10 years ago & I still remember that horrifying commercial to this day? I have nightmares I?ll see her big fat green face at my window, peering in at me? WTF? I try very hard to think of where this might have come from but can come to no conclusion? I hate thinking that this will be a fear that stays with me forever? *sigh*
LET ME JUST SAY THESE STORIES ARE RATHER STRANGE!!
My phobia is more like seeing regular objects at really abnormally large sizes.
- When I was young, I had a dream where I was putting on my winter ski pants and they started to grow and grow until my body was just a little speck and I was sitting on the middle seem where the two legs meet, looking down what looked like huge pools of darkness on both sides of me! That?s not the only funny part. I was not afraid that I was up so high, I was more scared that my freakin pants were ginormous! I was so freaked out that I woke up and asked to sleep in my mom?s room!
- Another story about my phobia is when I was younger again, in a hardware store. I saw these long cylindrical pieces of wood or something. They were all different diameters, but the same length/height. But there were VERY thin pieces and then next to them were VERY large in diameter pieces. This is what confused me the most about this phobia, and made me feel like I was, well, crazy. It confused me because I thought my phobia was seeing objects very small right next to the same object but very large. This all changed TODAY when I found out about megalophobia.
(Cont?d on next comment)
(Cont?d from comment above)
These incidents didn?t affect me physically, it just gave me a really strange feeling, really creepy, wiggly, shivery feeling. The only time it affected me physically was when I was in Toronto.
- More recently, (I?m 24 and this happened to me when I was 20). I was walking with a friend, down King street in Toronto. Suddenly I found myself walking next to an entire row (on both sides of the street if I remember correctly) of skyscrapers. I looked up once and my knees wanted to give out on me basically. My stomach felt like it was flipping upside down and I wanted to run down the street away from the skyscrapers and the more I thought of that, the more I imagined them crumbling down around me knowing I wouldn?t be able to run away fast enough! My body physically wouldn?t let me look up at these buildings. The strange part about this scenario is I have been to Las Vegas a few times since then and I have absolutely no problems walking past buildings and into them looking up, no problem what-so-ever. It was just that one street in Toronto, I guess it?s because the skyscrapers were one after another after another down the street.
This may not be the best picture to use, but let me know if anyone else feels my pain?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/greyvdm/3559165737/
It feels really great to know there are others that share very similar phobias!!
Immensly huge objects terrify me. Like nebulas. Yeah?nebulas. They?re really huge and the way some of them are shaped freak me out. There are a few that look like one huge eye. I cant stand those. It makes me chuckle sometimes because I have absolutely no idea how I got like this.
I am a classic megalophopia, the most memorable attack was more than 20 years ago, I was driving down a bolevard on my way to work and there was a balloon of a teenager wearing headphones that was 3 stories high on top of a new store. I almost had an accident. I zoomed into a gas station and tried to find a back way out so I wouldn?t have to see it again.
There was no way out so the poor attendant had to guide me out because I was too terrified to even look into my rearview mirror let alone turn my head. He was an absolute saint, he got me safely to the intersection and never even questioned why I couldn?t look at the darn thing. I suppose the freaked out look on my face said it all!
It took me half a day to get over it and I went miles out of my way to drive home. But they ran a picture of the balloon on the front-page of the newspaper and I was afraid to open the paper box for weeks!
If this is what a phobia feels like,I am grateful it isn?t something we see everyday like insects, although I do have nightmares about this all the time.
Now I know what phobia I have (one of many, but at least I know what the others are ? spiders, heights, etc.).
Since I was born I?ve had a fear of ships, aircraft and buildings ? massive skyscrapers that dwarf me make me feel really awful.
Aircraft I seem to have gotten used to, no idea why, I can walk right up to a 747 without any problems now.
Ships, well, the sight of an oil tanker will make me physically gasp in shock, I am OK-ish if I can see it from the side (from a distance!), but if the stern or the bow is facing me my heart pounds and I get all edgy. I could never go scuba diving as coming across a big ship in the dark underwater would kill me.
And submarines? No bloody way!
Thanks to all who have shared their experiences and made me realise that I am not alone in this fear.
I live in England and have the same ?fear? of larger objects. Airplanes were the main phobia, even when they flew over I had to run inside and hide! Then I saw on the TV a statue called the Angel Of The North?wow google it guys, its awful. I can?t even look at it let alone imagine being anywhere near it!!!
OMG!!!! I thought I was retarded for feeling this way. I?m scared of large statues. I mostly hate the big president heads u find through out Houston Tx. Almost wreck one day when I saw these big president heads under the freeway. Like really why are they there? On the way to Dallas Tx there is a big solid white statue of Sam Houston a full body. They light it up at night! I think it?s the large human like statues that scare me the most. I really want to get over it. Has anyone tried to over come there fear of this? I think I might have a heart attack if someone ever brought me to mount rushmore. Please give me some techniques if anyone has some that they have used?
Ok Debbie that above my first comment lol thanks now I?m scared of the angel of the north! Great it?s made of wood but I guess any large human figure scares me!
I?m so relieved to know that others have these same feelings. I have a fear of large, looming objects. I realized this fear when I was about 13 years old. I vistited a dinosaur exhibit and had extreme feelings of vertigo and nausea, which I mistook for a fear of dinosaurs. I later realized that all large, looming objects gave me a similar feeling.
Jay ? I feel your pain. I?m from Houston and I used to drive by those big heads everday! Sometimes I would take an alternate route that was totally out of the way just to avoid them. I?m also afraid of that Sam Houston statue! And some people posted something about a Spirit of Houston statue that seems like it would be awful! I hope they decided not to build that!
Wow, I always thought I was alone! I?m afraid of things like whales and huge statues, and it doesn?t even matter if its in real life or a picture! If it looks really, really big I?m terrified of it! Strange thing is buildings don?t scare me (much) and I?m not afraid of cruise ships or planes. But this fear is horrible because even if I look at whatever it is that scares me, I feel like I?m going to pass out.
Just knowing that I am not alone is comforting. I live in NYC and although most buildings do not bother me, I do have a fear of the Grace Building. The pyramid at the Luxor hotel almost sent me over the edge. It didn?t help that it was night tine. I have visited the Intrepid during the day. I was uncomfortable but it?s at night that the phobia kicks in. Ships, submarines and large sea mammals are too much for me to look even on tv. I have come to realize that if the object is large and dark and has a strange modern shape the phobia is enhanced.
Like so many before me?Oh, my goodness, I can?t believe so many feel the same way. It was tremendously helpful to read everyone?s posts, as it helped me identify my particular phobia. I?m deathly afraid of things being bigger than I?m accustomed?but only flat things. A huge flag, up in the air on a flagpole, cool. A huge flag, laid out on the ground near me, and now I?m nauseous. I can drive by ?Men Working? signs with no problem, but walking past one freaks me out. There?s a car repair place in California with these huge, 2-story numbers identifying each stall. Needless to say, I *neverever* took my car there!
Text is definitely the worst, and my ultimate nightmare is text that gets bigger on its own, or text that suddenly appears seemingly from out of nowhere. So, although statues don?t freak me out at all, I utterly relate to how they could. And those of you who don?t dig Google Earth?right there with ya!!
I have to be very careful when I?m zooming in on anything, as watching text or pictures get bigger is uber-freaky. But big patterns, like a wide checkerboard pattern on a wall in a public restroom, will freak me out, too. Weirdly, certain patterns, like a checkerboard pattern *on the floor* gives me a very pleasant sense of butterflies in my stomach, without the panic reaction.
For me, text and graphics have a ?presence,? as so many of you described. In fact, some fonts are far more disturbing to me than others! I eventually told my husband about my phobia, and he?s been entirely supportive. But it?s nice to see that I?m not alone when it comes to irrationally reacting to a presence in inanimate objects. Phew!!
I haven?t been on here for a while but I came across this photo today which I find highly disturbing?look if you dare
http://www.threadbombing.com/details.php?image_id=2562
Hi Donna ? interesting to read about your fear of fonts and letters and objects laid out flat ? that?s a new perspective which I hadn?t heard before.
It?s funny how we all suffer from the same phobia essentially but it manifests itself in different ways!
Hi, I?m using this blog to work on exposures to help me overcome my general social anxiety. I?m supposed to do something to provoke anxiety in ?safe? situations so I can learn how to get those feelings under control and having this crazy phobia definately does the job! I?m writing to thank everyone for their stories and all the picture and video attachments. I am spending some time each day reading and re-reading hte blog and opening some of the links. When I do this at work and someone walks past my door I feel really jumpy so I know it?s working, but so far I?m still feeling absolutely terrified.
Hi Sheila
Yep, that image was disturbing? It?s not so much the superstructure but the hull of the thing that makes me feel uneasy? and the funnels too.
If I worked in the building on the left of that picture I would be crapping myself every time I went to work!
Wow, where to start with this. Well, I?ve known I?m afraid of big things since I was about 4 or 5. I used to go to Wales a lot with my family and behind on the the local arcades there were a collection of HUGE dinosaur park structures (like a diplodocus with a slide down its neck) and they were behind a big fence but there was a sort of peep hole that you could look through to see them. My dad loved them, probably because I found them so hideous and he knew it ? mean man he is lol ? and so would tell me to come and have a look every time we went past. You could also see the tops of them peeking over the fence too so I would start panicking before I even saw the whole thing. It was strange though because although I hated them I found that I couldn?t NOT look. I knew for certain that I?d be terrified but I still looked.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3593/3291906757_4aaceda04b.jpg
There was also a huge blow up Santa that they use to put on top of the town hall that used to compel me and scare me at the same time, didn?t scare me as much as the dinosaurs though.
http://www.pcreview.co.uk/forums/attachments/490d1070227925-santa-manchester-santa.jpg
Whales are just TOO scary for me, there?s a skeleton on the ceiling in my local museum that just terrifies me. Look if you dare?
http://www.pcreview.co.uk/forums/attachments/490d1070227925-santa-manchester-santa.jpg
And a TRex just round the corner in the same museum. I used to go a lot as a kid but I think if I went now I?d have a heart attack and I?m only 18.
http://www.animal-pedia.com/wiki/images/thumb/3/33/Stan_the_Trex_at_Manchester_Museum.jpg/220px-Stan_the_Trex_at_Manchester_Museum.jpg (cont. next comment)
(cont. from previous comment)
These days I find I?m especially scared of very big animal sculptures, even in pictures and even from far away. Though the fear gets much much worse the closer I am, especially if I?m underneath them (like the whale on the ceiling) and I too have food that even diverting your eyes and shielding them with a hat or my hand at the aide of my face when going past such things helps but only marginally due to the ?presence? factor ? I KNOW it?s there and that fact still scares me.
Looking at all these images on here and trying to work on the exposure thing hasn?t helped me at all ? in fact, I think looking at things like The Statue of Liberty in Planet of the Apes or The Motherland (what PSYCHO decided to erect that utter monstrosity??!) has made me develop a fear of statues I don?t think I had previously. Though I can?t seem to look away or stop :S
I also tried the google earth thing because I was convinced I would be fine. However, once it started zooming in to Mamayev Hill I panicked, got very hot and sweaty, started breathing faster and had to stop. Yes, I was stupid enough to try it with the Motherland statue.
I found myself completely unable to ?venture? the landscape I.e. Turn round once it had finished zooming as the prospect of the Motherland popping out of nowhere had me physically shaking (as it does now).
I?d really love to not have this fear because it makes going to places like Blackpool and Disneyland ? even museums ? a very intense, nerve wrecking experience and it spoils it
Oh and buildings, trains, ships, planes dont really bother me ? in fact I used to take trips to the airport with my dad to watch the planes take off and I loved it.
I think it?s just the sculptures/statues that are of living things and are very very large for me.
Thought I was the only one blah blah?
I get the fear of large bodies of water, and I?m just fine with buildings, but what makes me count to ten and take deep breaths is murals and billboards ? the closer the worse. I happen to live in a town near Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and I dunno if you guys have heard of the ?Whale Walls? (some guy paints them in towns all over the world), but there?s one in the major parking lot in town. Eep!
I had a fairly brief spell last year of being close to over my fear, but it?s back, and I just kind of regard it as a quirk. It doesn?t really prove detrimental to my life ? just have to ask people to park far away from the whale wall and I can?t go to IMAX theatres. Hardly debilitating.
Mikey P ? I couldn?t work in the buildings next to that ship ? it would be impossible.
I find that image one of the most disturbing but I have it saved on my PC and of course have the urge to look at it from time to time.
Andrea ? there is absolutely no way I could even contemplate zooming in on The Motherland Statue on Google Earth!
In response to K Dubb, post 94, I feel kind of comforted to know that Im not alone!!! Ive only had this strange fear since my early 20s, and have only recently found this blog. I can totally relate to the mural on the building which you talk about. I had to pass under a motorway bridge in Glasgow to get a lift home but eventually decided on an alternative route as could not bear to pass the massive mural depicting a swimmer and diver coming out of a pool. Even writing about it gives me goosebumps and leaves me feeling shaky and stressed out. I cannot bear going in the carwash either (much to the amusement of my family) and huge waves terrify me ? like the Guiness advert with the white horses. Also the advert for the bottle of beer with the man walking in the dessert and then he bumps into it?Oh god that makes me freak out!!!!Not afraid of boats but the image of a ship in the street or if I turn the corner and the statue of liberty is there?.oh no!!! And the image of Mother Russia ? again something makes you want to look but can only manage the thumbnail so far with hands over my eyes!!!!
http://different-uk.typepad.com/a_different_way_of_life/2010/03/glasgow-art.html
I cant bear to look at this ? is it just me???
I can?t believe how many people share the same phobia of large statues as me. I?m kind of glad. The sad part is that I?m truly fascinated by large statues but the thought of seeing them frightens me at the same time. When I see images of the Statue of Liberty or the Motherland Calls statue?especially if they are large images?it literally shakes me. The Motherland Calls is truly terrifying to me because she is soooo large and her mouth is open and there is such movement that the thought of her scares the tar out of me. I should have known I had this fear when I was a kid and my parents took me to see Mt. Rushmore. I couldn?t even get out of the car. I was screaming and throwing a fit, so much so that we had to leave. I covered my eyes and was so shaken. My mom thought I was nuts because she couldn?t understand it. She kept saying, ?They?re not real.? However, it didn?t matter because those huge faces?oh dear I get scared just thinking of them. That?s what really does it for me?huge life like faces. The sense of a presence is just overwhelming. I can?t take it.
I am afraid of large objects, but only when they are in/under the water. For example, when I see a picture of a submarine (those are the worst) or a huge boat in the water, I cringe with fear. I?m terribly afraid of going water skiing because I have to be IN the water with the boat. I live near a lake that has some sort of machinery connected to the power plant under the water- you can see pips and stuff in the more shallow areas. That is so scary!!
Just randomly thought of googling my phobias and BAM here i am on this site.
Well now I know the name of the phobia. Mine is almost similar to some.
I am petrified of large structures-statues, even roller coaster when i see them up close though i have no problem getting onto one. And i have absolutely no fear of heights.
Well i remember this ride where we sit and the round thingy stands up to do a full 360degree round. I have no problem on the ride. But looking at the machinery ? the centre at the base of the ride where it stands up to do the 360 freaks me out. I usually try not to look at it when getting on. I have terrible panic attacks and the only thing i want to do then is run away from there.
I also remember another disturbing thing. When google earth was first launched where you know you could watch the earth 3D in real time.
I thought it was very cool and downloaded the first version of it they put on the net. I could look at the sphinx and all. But it also showed the titanic at the base of the sea. That freaked me out so much i ran away from the computer and asked my sister to close the program. Another i also had trouble looking at the bermuda triangle marked there. I just cant look at water and if it zooms into it I feel i might die.
(part1)
(part2)?.
Also the terrible fear of standing very close to large objects. But not buildings/airplanes/hot air balloons.
Water bodies where there isnt clear water and i cant see the base freak me out.
And there is another thing too. I was swimming at a hotel with my dad the other day and there was a mermaid at the center of the pool like on the tiles below and with her were two fish. i first hadnt noticed her while swimming but when i did i just couldnt swim and swam across the borders and cried asking my dad to get me out of there. That was really freaky ! :/
Well thats all that i can remember for now. Sorry its a long post. But I?m just glad after having a look at the entries here. Makes me feel i have people who understand as no one else can !
Like the previous poster, I did randomly decide to look up phobias. I wondered about fear of large objects, googled it, and found this page. I am glad i?m not alone. I?m not so afraid of the objects that I want to run away, like the person who made this topic. Anything that?s large and/or tall I?m afraid of, except for people and buildings lol. I?m not afraid of statues or things in the sky, unless they?re falling. The thing I?m especially afraid of is chandeliers, they are TERRIFYING. They can kill you with out a doubt. I?m shuddering at the thought of it. Well I?m glad to have found this page, it?s nice to also read the comments other people have written.
This forum is absolutely amazing?the way in which it allows everyone sharing a form of ?megalophobia? to come together and candidly discuss experiences. I agree with the many who?ve stated, ?I thought it was just me?. I?m especially phobic of whales, large statues, pictures and things (The Motherland Calls, Statue of Liberty, Christ The Redeemer, parade floats, hot air balloons, mountains, etc.) and of any non-human life-size entity that gives the appearance of human traits?such as the entire Disney gang at Disney-world/Disney-Land, the ?Chuck ?E Cheese? band members (LOL!), etc. Just recently, I was on the highway going to work, when a semi-truck was on the side of me. The semi-truck featured a HUMONGOUS photo of the body of a woman resting on a mattress. The picture was the entire length and width of the semi. Needless to say, I switched lanes in order to avoid feeling the anxiety of the magnitude of that picture.
PS ? I took a peak at the ?Whale Walls? and almost fainted. Yes, the guy who constructs these walls of art is extremely talented, but the magnitude and imagery is just disturbing.
Shannon ? I live just outside Glasgow and I know the very mural you are referring too ? it is absolutely horrifying ? I had to cover my eyes any time we passed.
Reading these posts over the past few hours have given such a sense of acceptance. I have lived in New York all my life and have lived with this fear all my life as well, forty years, and have finally found a name to put with it. I had to go downtown last week to an attorney?s office which is located in the Wall Street area and that?s when I realized I had to find an answer to my fear of large objects. I saw the ?financial bull? and could barely function. It scared me to death and when I left the building and had to walk past it again the same feelings were reinforced. Most large buildings don?t trouble me accept specific ones as a lot of people have stated. It is mostly items that I feel could harm me if they were real, like Atlas holding the world and that bull. When I drive long distances I have to talk myself through the whole trip, passing large trucks, bridges etc.. I will be taking my children to sleep away camp in August and I have to start now, 3 months early to prepare myself for the trip. I want to thank everyone who left a little piece of themselves and their experiences here. We are definitely not alone. I am now more motivated than ever to help myself.
I too have experienced a phobia of very large buildings/objects as well as vast open spaces. And I too take comfort in hearing that there are others who have battled this fear much as I have over these past many years. In my case, however, I was able to find some relief after visiting a Dr. I realized that my phobia tended to increase (or my sensitivity to large objects etc. tended to increase) when I was under stress or following drinking. I also found that while drinking my phobia/sensitivity was lessened. In speaking with my Dr. about his, she suggested that there may be a connection with Serotonin and recommended I take an SSRI (in my case Paxil). While it has not cured me, it has greatly improved my quality of life ? particularly as at the time I started it my phobia was getting so bad (I believe from stress of my job) that I was almost not able to drive on highways. I don?t know if others have had similar effects or have sought help with a Dr., but the paxil worked for me and so I thought I would pass that along.
I was delighted to be able to show this forum to friends and family who I think don?t really believe my fear of statues. I was in a bar in Dubai recently with a large Buddha statue in it. All I saw was the back of his foot, but I had to leave immediately, couldn?t bear the idea of looking at it. I also hated snorkling the one time I did it, the idea of the vastness of the ocean I was seeing totally panicked me. And I can?t do google earth at all, the zooming in freaks me out. Never really linked that to the fear of big statues, thought they were separate things. I do remember that train clip someone put up from Sesame St, don?t remember it bothering me at the time, but can?t look at all of it now, have to look away then the train is approaching.
Great to hear there are others out there!
Just wondering if anyone else used to find it difficult to watch the winged horse at the beginning of Tristar Studio movies in the cinema? I always had to look away as he ran towards the front of the screen.
I have a completely irrational fear of whales. I am a pretty together person for the most part but I will have full on panic attacks when shown a photo or video of a whale. Some friends think it is hilarious, and I must say I am usually quite the comic around people but whenever this gets brought up I have to usually try to inconspicuously leave the room in order to not have a panic attack. It can be uncomfortable for me around large objects too sometimes but not anything like the whale thing. I am from minnesota but because of military duties lived in NC next to the ocean and refused
To go in because of my horrible fear of whales. This IS a real thing.
I regretfully have this fear. I?m extemely scared by large objects, like as you said the hull of a ship. But what makes it worse is that large statues scare me out of my wits. I feel unsafe walking past one or even being around one. I can?t help it, my palms sweat and my body tells me too turn and go the opposite direction.
I get scared of large statues, even looking at pictures can be a problem.
My son showed me a picture of the Tian Tan Buddha in Hong Kong and I just felt sick to my stomach, and yet I felt myself staring and wanting to look at different angles and other similar pictures.
LOL!!! This too funny!! No one can understand why I?m afraid of statues, its good to know Im not the only one. Im afraid of large and small statues of people, their eyes look empty. Im also afraid of life-like paintings of people. I can?t even look at pics of statues as I will start to sweat and panic. I had to have a meeting one time and when I walked into the building there in the middle of the floor was a big ass statue, I panicked and ran straight to my car and sped off as if someone was chasing me. A the Richmond Diamond park there used to be a very large indian statue and OMG very scary I wouldnt drive down that road if I was in the car by myself. also Monument Ave, there are about 20 statues on that street and Im fine driving in the daytime but at night and by myself NO WAY!! Its crazy cause I?m a tough chic and Im not afraid of anything except Statues. It was a childhood fear, that I never grew out of but my sisters did and they even think Im weird when it comes to that..whew my confession and I?m done LOL
I have had this phobia since I was a child. I am turning 37 this year and just found out a couple of years ago that it?s an actual phobia! I remember the first time I realized it was when I was a child and my grandmother took me to a radio tower. I was overwhelmed. And when I knew for sure something wasn?t right was when I saw the USS Battleship as a child.
Now just the thought of a huge cruise ship or airplane makes me crazy. I have had a couple of terrible experiences lately. It is nice to know some other people have this phobia because I always felt like a weirdo!
Shannon: I just opened the link you posted and I wish I hadn?t! I felt sick to my stomach after looking at this for just a second or two. So you?re definitely not alone!
I am SO glad to have found out that this is an actual thing that other people have and I?m not some kind of nutcase? which I feel like when I have to explain myself to others. I have had this problem for about 15 years, seriously, and my whole life to some extent. I remember as a child not liking the large stuffed animals that hung in nets from the ceiling of the toy store and not liking riding past the gigantic flag at the car dealership. It wasn?t until I was about 20 years old and went to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History (which I had visited as a child and it didn?t bother me then) and when I walked in the doors and saw that HUGE elephant in the rotunda, my knees went weak and I nearly collapsed, starting breathing heavy and had to turn around and leave. Since then, I cannot be around large stautes, IMAX theaters, anything big that is inside of a building (like taxidermied animals or like the ferris wheel in the Toys R Us in Times Square), I love roller coasters but I close my eyes on indoor ones so I don?t have to see the tracks inside, you get the idea. I relate to so many of the posts I have read on here. I avoid situations when I know there will be something there that will trigger this. In fact I research places I am going if I am not familiar with what is there (example Rainforest Cafe in Orlando, I was GOING to visit, but now will not because I learned there are large elephant statues inside). I want to try desensitization therapy on myself but I am scared of panic attacks. The sensation I feel, on top of just the hyperventalating is the feeling that something is hovering over my back and shoulders and I can?t escape it? does anyone else feel this same sensation?
OmG!!!!Praise God I found this site. Since about the age of 14 I have been terrified of large objects (balloons, flags, ships, whales, etc.), replicas of humans or characters(Disneyland, statues, etc.), water(looking at bottom of ocean or pool makes me feel sick), and things big screen tv or computer. Clowns-are you kidding me-what are they about????I just got off of a sight showing pictures of some big statue in Holland called ?mermaid?some big life-like statue sitting in a huge lake looking at you!!!I am in my 40?s and I would like to take my daughter to Disneyland but I would just freak if one of those characters comes by me and most people think it is a joke!!!!
Hang in there everyone, we will be cured!!!!!
I hear you, Paula. That nightmare disguised as art is called “The Bather” by Oliver Voss. For anyone who wants to be freaked out look it up on Google Images. I was standing at a computer when I came across it in Yahoo news stories. I was so shaken I had to sit down. That is what prompted me to look for information about this fear I have of large objects. As a child I saw the original Planet of the Apes movie and nearly lost my mind at the end when that image of the Statue of Liberty appears. (That is my earliest memory of feeling this way.) But anything unnaturally large, especially if it is unexpected, causes extreme anxiety in me. Buildings don?t bother me but statues, large sculptures, bridges over large bodies of water, aircraft, ships, objects sticking out of the water?I just feel a sense of dread and panic. Sometimes I can talk myself through a bad moment, but when I can?t ? LOOKOUT! I will do whatever I have to do to remove myself from the situation.
The way you described your feelings when being near an object such as a plane, ship, whale etc is EXACTLY how I feel?I?m glad to find out it isn?t just me that experiences this. It?s really hard to explain to someone who doesn?t suffer from the fear. None on my family or friends understand and they tend to just laugh, it?s so frustrating haha
Debbie, I also live in the uk and the angel of the north makes me feel physically sick..and unfortunately..I HAVE driven past it, it?s horrible! Because its on a hill, as you drive past it, it seems to turn and follow you, it?s hard to explain but it?s terrifying! Me and my family have to drive past it if we are visiting our friends in Scotland, every time I have to close my eyes or I will start to feel dizzy, sick and on the verge of tears.
Kimberly (20) said: ?I think I have a greater fear of enormous structures in ruins than enormous structures themselves. Perhaps its the combined authority that size and undeniable history/death wield that frightens me.? And that?s exactly what happens to me, I?m afraid of big old contructions and statues in ruins (and sometimes not in ruins), watching pictures of a sphinx or large statues of buddha (there is one in Thailand, that strangely is not on its feet but laying and smiling and is like 46 meters long and 15 meters high) really freaks me out. Thinking about how the Colossus of Rhodes was in real life or watching the Lost episodes where the big statue with four toes appears got me that feeling of fear and anxiety; I thunk is like fear of being there in the past looking them, I don?t know. I?m also kind of afraid of huge flags and (is not related to this) being in outer space (I actually think that started when I saw Arnold Schwarzenegger?s head almost exploding in total recall), is like I can?t look at pictures of planets or stars without feeling some fear.
Typically, I felt compelled to look at ?The Bather? ? I had to leave the room and get my husband to shut the screen down as I couldn?t even turn back to face it.
This is probably the worst I?ve ever seen.
Sheila, I wholeheartedly agree with you on ?The Bather?. From hearing its description by some of the members on this forum, I knew that it would be a disturbing sight for me?and it was! I was so apprehensive to look at it, that I asked one of my college classmates to look it up on her phone. Even though her cell phone screen was very small, I still felt very uneasy by the pictures of ?The Bather?. I am very much afraid of large objects such as statues and bodies of water, and because ?The Bather? is a combination of both, it is by far the WORST thing I?ve seen.
I was reading these and while I, too, feel comforted by the fact that I am not alone ? there is something almost creepy about the similarities. Way too many of us were creeped out by the statue of liberty in the planet of the apes, when that really wasn?t considered a scary part of the movie. Too many of us dream about traveling and having a large statue/head/broken unexpectedly appear. Or ?the presence? we all feel. It?s starting to sound creepier than a typical phobia. And if we are scared, why do we all feel compelled to keep looking at more? People afraid of snakes don?t google snake images ? People afraid of the dark don?t turn off the lights ?
I?ve been staring at Hindenburg pictures since before the internet.
Anyway, my story is the same. Since I was a kid ? the biggest being: blimps, The Intrepid, Looking up at the Statue of Liberty, that stupid RCA dog on top of a building, large dinosaur replicas in museums, basically every link on this site, etc.
p.s. blimps are a$$holes.
I feel a lot better knowing that I am not the only one who feels this way now, I didn?t think there would be a name for it.
?The walking man? isn?t so bad, try ?Bavaria?, also in Munich. http://www.free-photos.biz/photographs/art/plastic_arts/151974_bavaria_ma_nchen_schwanthalerha_he_westend.php
I saw it from the distance, incredible, it?s humongous! My boyfriend took me to see it up close and I thought I would choke. Literally I was pulling him away, I didn?t want to get near it. He knew of my fear of statues, despite the fact that I am fascinated with them. I love statues in pictures, as well as paintings as a form of art, but boy do I want to get the hell away from them.
In the end I got to take some pictures with ?Bavaria?, me included (of my God!) because we were also with my boyfriend?s brother and he insisted on going near that thing.
But I only dared to go closer because there were people around, otherwise I would have ran away the second I saw it.
But the statue that tormented my childhood and still my youth is a monument for the heroes in WW2. It?s in Bucharest.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/AcademiaMilitaraB2.JPG
Whenever I have to pass it alone and on foot, I always run.
I can?t control it!
P.S. I googled ?fear of statues? and I discovered that it actually existed, and then I saw the comments posted by you guys. Unbelievable, I was actually kind of ashamed to share my fear with the others, because normally people would just laught and look at you like you?re nuts. But you would understand.
I have a horrible fear/anxiety for large statues. Especially if it involves deep water. The statue of liberty scares me so much. I found something on YOUTUBE that is so scary because it combines these two things! PLEASE BEWARE IF YOU LOOK AT THIS LINK! I actually shivered and had to look away! It terrifies me, but I?m told the more I look at it, the less frightening it will be. HERE IS THE LINK FOR THOSE THAT CAN TAKE IT. FWD THE TIME TO 1:49 AND WATCH IT THRU TO 2:04 ON THE VIDEO. THEN AGAIN AT 2:16. TRULY THE WHOLE VIDEO IS SCARY THOUGH. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSch_IzTFIk
Janine.. I can?t bring myself to click on your link. OMG. I?m terrified just thinking about the images appearing on my screen. I am SOO glad to have come across this forum. I too find morbid curiousity urging me to look at pics of huge ship hulls, and ginormous propellors underwater, etc. I found one video on youtube of a huge prop actually running underwater.. I believe it was on a ship called the Hanjin. Good Lord, that footage terrified me. I also HATE HATE seeing ANY footage of submerged submarines moving beneath the surface. UGHHHHHHHHHHH. It is a relief knowing I?m not alone. Fellow Megalophobes?SO GLAD TO HAVE FOUND YOU!!!!!!!!!!
Cindy, I?m so glad I found this site as well! I just wish I knew why this happened to us? Do you have any info on that? I?m sure it originated in childhood, but I would love to know the event that gave birth to this fear. Just try the link Cindy, I had my daughter stand next to me as I watched it which did help a bit. Good luck to you!
I am so glad to know there are others out there!!! People think I am crazy when I tell them of my fear of statues. Also, large objects or structures and taxidermied animals and heights. I have to go to a football game today at Auburn and I am so afraid of the large structure of the stadium. Also, there is always some type of statue or two (or more) on a large college campus. This whole thing is making it so I can?t go to sleep. I wish my family would understand a little bit better and I am glad this is here so that they can see it is not just me! This is a real fear and others have it too!!
Janine..
I just viewed your link?the closeups of her face in the water are the worst. I held my cat which helped somewhat. lol. I?m gonna TRY and watch it again later tonight. I wish I had more info about this phobia. Two years ago, my daughter and I went out to Long Beach, CA to take the ghost tour of the Queen Mary, and I was ok on the way there, but when we actually got there, and we were walking up the plank to get on the ship..and saw the smoke stacks up close..all I can say is it?s a good thing I had taken my bp meds that morning. That was the first time I actually realized that I was afraid of huge objects. Anyway, I hope all is well with you, and that you?re smiling everyday. =)
Jeannie..Hope the game went well today. Were you able to enjoy it? I can understand your pain because upon attending a Bears game at Soldier Field last season, I felt extremely nauseous when we pulled in the parking lot next to the enormous stadium. YUK. I hope the team you were rooting for today was the winner!!!
I?m glad to find this forum. I forgot all about this phobia of mine till recently. I was at a hotel and our room was right next to this huge satalite dish. Ugh! I immediatly cringed and got the goose bumps as soon as we turned the corner and saw that thing. What was really interesting was that my ten year old saw it too, asked me what it was, then she said it scared her , without me even Mentioning that it was creeping me out! So I guess I passed the phobia down to my daughter. But the sattalite was the only thing she?s mentioned that scares her. It didn?t make us cry, but we refused to look over at it as we walked by. I hear the world largest satalite dish is in south america?uh, no thanks. When I was about five or six I remeber those huge water towers would terrify me. Large trees would creep me out too. As well as whales and dinosaurs at the museums and even large enclosed spaces like indoor roller coasters. It seems like over time the phobia deminished and I just kind forgot about it. But I won?t go on the Jurassic Park ride at Universal Studios because I?m afraid of the big dinosuars! Oh and I don?t like those giant windmills. And I don?t know if I could go into places like Carlsbad Caverns or outer space! I reAlly think I?d have a panic attack if I went into space. I never really had a problem with buildings or statues tho. But We?ll see how I do with the Statue of Liberty. Its strange how this phobia can be so inconsistant. Huge Satalite dishes tho, ICK!! I think its because of their curved shape, they make me feel as though their going to come out and swallow me.
Cindy, I know exactly what you are talking about! My goodness, the closeups of her face in the water is what does for me too! I don?t know why though?.Yeah that sounds pretty scary about your trip to the ghost ship. Well, If I find more info on this phobia I will post it. In the meantime, be well.
wow that statue of liberty video. i clicked somewhere in the middle where the foot was starting to move. i thought i would have a heart attack. .!
i have an equally terrifying video of a tourist attraction in France. I could post it if somebody is curious about it.
for me the buildings, boats, blimps, etc. cause some panic and uneasiness.
but i would say that i mainly have a combination of a fear of large objects along with the fear of inanimate objects that are meant to represent a sentient being. i avoid going to any field museum because i?m afraid of what i might find in there. statues are not that big a deal for me, of course it depends on the statue; the size, the pose, i guess how threatening it appears to be.
it?s almost like my brain is tricked into thinking that this object could take off at any second and i would be in some grave danger.
sometime after my childhood i remember developing a fear of dolls or stuffed animals. feeling as though they were looking at me. i think that my fear took off from there, not sure why though.
I too have a phobia of large objects! Water towers, dams, bridges, all creep me out and give me the heeby jeebies! I never knew there was a name for it! Wow!
@Ger ? What tourist attraction in France? Made me curious.
Janine I only got to the bit where the head is going through the water ? absolutely horrifying. As I?ve said many times before ? there is something about the Statue of Liberty that is just very disturbing ? and so many of us on here agree.
Ger I would also like to see the French tourist attraction one ? there are some terrifying videos of the Eiffel Tower ? I?m guessing it?s this?
Hi again all, as always it is very comforting to know that I?m not alone in this fear!
There is a theme park in the UK called Alton Towers. On my last visit there, they had changed some of the features at the entrance where you queue. I didn?t realise it at first when stood there but once I did I had to turn away and try to take my mind off it?plus I knew my friends just wouldn?t understand if I told them even if they do not know about my fear?
?In the queue area they had placed parts of track from one of their oldest rollercoasters there. The coaster had been removed from the park a year before and they had now used actual parts of the original track to decorate the area. I felt so uneasy standing by it. I hated that it was once part of the rollercoaster structure, again I guess it gave them a presence and being right by them felt very menacing.
To see a picture please click here: http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash2/hs318.ash2/59817_439636217392_689912392
Try this link if above didn?t work: http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?q=alton+towers+entrance+corkscre
Cindy, Thanks for asking. I was very proud of myself, I made it! There were not any statues that i saw, so I was very happy about that. Also, we weren?t as high as i thought we might be, so that was good too. The structure was very large but there were so many people that I believe it made it look a little smaller. All in all it was a good day.
Ger, I know- I almost felt I would have a hear attack too. I?m intested in seeing this tourist attraction in France. Is that the statue of the woman bathing in the water? That is also terrifying. Yes, please post it. I?m curious to see it. Hope all is well.
Sheila, that is the exact part that has me shaking everytime I see it. I even had nightmares about it. I?m curious to see this tourist attraction in France. Did you see it yet?
Be well.
Reading through some more comments made me realize when I really began to feel the fear. I grew up Catholic and the cross in the front of the building inside with the figure on it was terrifying,I used to stare and stare at it wanting to look away but that frightened me too. Not to mention all the other statues throughout the building, big or small, they scared me. Glad I don?t go there now! I am afraid of almost ALL statues, unless they are really small. That photo someone put on here of The Bather is terrifying!! I just saw a glimpse, screamed and made my husband get it off the screen while screaming, ?Get it off? over and over. That is probably the worst thing I have ever seen!! I am trying to desensitize, but it is not working very well at all, and now I just feel sick to my stomach.
Janine I have tried to keep watching the head in the water clip but it?s impossible ? the fear just wont subside on that one!
As for The Bather ? well it makes me sick just to think about looking at that one again. I honestly think I would die if I was ever to see that in real life.
Jeanie I?m not sure that this desensitizing actually works ? I have tried time and time again to keep looking at certain things repeatedly but it just doesn?t work for me.
Those of you in the UK will be familiar with the ?Gherkin? building in London. To me this one is horrific ? it is so out of context to the surrounding buildings. I will be in London at the end of November and I am terrified I come across this. Even seeing it from a distance will be too much.
http://london.allinfo-black-rose-bielefeld.de/features/gherkin.html
Sheila-I cannot handle looking at the Bather either. I don?t how people can be in a little row boat next to it! I think I would faint. That has got to be one of the scarriest things I have ever seen pertaining to our phobia!
I found another scary image
http://www.life.com/celebrity-pictures/98824430/bronze-statue-of-poseidon-greek-god-of-the-sea
Good Lord, Janine! The fact that it has no eyes makes it even more horrifying. UGHH. Also, thinking about the rest of it that would be below the surface is almost too much to fathom.
I have had this fear forever. I also stay away from the water because the dark areas freak me out. I watched Titanic and just about had an attack when the boat started to sink and the propellers came up out of the water?they were WAY too big. I went on a tour of a Great Lakes ship ONCE?.the anchor freaked me out?the size of the chain links freaked me out?pictures of stuff doesn?t bother me, but I could NEVER stand by a tall building, huge statue?.would NEVER catch me on a cruise ship?.getting chills thinking about it?.sadly, I have NO idea when and why this phobia ever started?.
Hei, I?m still interested in the tourist attraction in France but it can?t definetely be ?The Bather? (?die Badende?), as this one is in Hamburg.
And the ?Gerkin? building in London strikes a strong resemblence with ?Torre Agbar? in Barcelona, but these 2 are not scarry at all, I?ve seen ?Gerkin? in the distance and I?ve stayed in the hotel near ?Torre Agbar?, so I saw it practically every day during a week stay.
I think they just look menacing in the pictures, from up close it?s not such big deal.
But I would feel really scared to have to row on a boat on the lake with the ?Bather?, as I?ve seen it people doing in the picture linked above.
And the fact that she is resting under water, and gives this impression, well this makes it even more scarrier.
Have a great day!
I saw this picture in a magazine and thought literally that I would die. But since all of us who have this phobia is driven by a self-destructive behavior to look at pictures we do not want to see, I post this. Sorry! But I think we need it.
It depicts a giant lion that Karl Lagerfeldt used at a fashion show. I do not understand how all these people can even stay in the same room as this monster. While I am jealous because I hate my phobia. It feels so ridiculous sometimes.
http://blogs.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/girlsbehavingstylishly/chanellion.jpg
Oh my God Cindy! You nailed it! Thinking about the rest of the statue under the water! That is part of what freaks me out so bad! I thouht I was the only one with that fear! Thanks for sharing! I too hate dark areas of water. My husband and I have an inground pool and he wanted to go in at night! I could never ever do that. And I didnt understand why I cant because it?s a pool not an ocean with creatures swimming around but yet just the idea of not being able to see in the water scared me. I also have to agree with the movie titanic. I know the exact scene you are referring to! Glad to know other feeling what I do. I truly thought I must be a weirdo for feeling this way-but I do not anymore! Have a great day everyone!
Janine ? I think the picture you posted of Poseidon just has water dubbed on in the background ? I dont think the real statue is in the water thank goodness.
Irna ? I had never seen ?Torre Agbar? ? of course I had to look at it?I find it just as disturbing as the Gherkin ? perhaps even more actually?
David ? strangely enough, I didnt find the lion too frightening -perhaps because it is an animal ? I seem to find animal statues less scary for some reason.
Finally, whilst looking for the Poseidon statue, I found this one of Neptune ? I find this one terrifying due to the appearance of movement and the fact it is only half a body. Also it is very close to the walkway ?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wmarkdyer/122212225/
I remember when I was a kid,I had this big book about different things?.and I remember this picture of a whale,it was a huge picture.I?d always skip that page,or else I?d panic.That?s how it all started.
Nowadays I always say,I?d rather die in a shark?s tummy,then SEE a whale.
I?m scared of big cities,countries,the idea of a continent or a huge land freaks me out.I was scared of the ocean all my life.Last year I cried on geography when I saw the huge Amazon river.No one understood why,my mates started teasing me about piranhas snakes and stuff,but none of those scared me.When I think about the universe,planets,the galaxy,I?.it?s just terrible.HUGE.
I found this pic in a list of abandoned amusement parks. This one happens to be in Japan. The park was called Gulliver?s Kingdom, and this is a 147.5 foot statue of Gulliver lying down. Yikes. This is what nightmares are made of.
http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/eco-tourism/photos/8-eerie-abandoned-amusement-parks/gulliver%E2%80%99s-kingdom
Land based industrial satellite dishes or anything protruding out of the water such as oil rigs makes my stomach turn. There is one particular satellite in Russia, I believe, that has me on edge even when looking at pictures of it on the net. It?s big and looks out of place, behind a forest and across a lake or river. I think it is the largest land based satellite in the world. I am not sure if this is related to the same phobia but when i?m in my car or even if I am on foot, if I suddenly come across a large open space with bright lights without people, I panic. One time I drove onto the entrance of detention center. Suddenly, many lights came on (giant lights, too). I freaked and peeled wheels backwards. Obviously, the lights went on because of motion sensor but man, never been so terrified of something so trivial before. I believe it is just a realization that larger things can harm you. You have no way to escape no matter how fast you run. Maybe it is some primitive instinct carried over from the dinosaur days.
My own fear of large things is traceable back to when I was 4 and dad took me to the Natural History Museum in London. In one of the big halls, they have a plastic blue whale hanging from the ceiling. When I was 4 and looked up and saw it for the first time, it terrified me. I?ve been scared (in varying degrees) by very large objects ever since.
Unlike the majority of commentators here, large buildings used to bother me too, but now I?ve generally learnt to control the fear so much that it is now only truly collosal objects that scare me at all ? I tremble if I try to picture the ssheer size of the planet Jupiter, for instance.
Oddly, the biggest thing that I?m ever likely to see is the sun and it has never bothered me at all. I guess that is because I?m used to it being a normal day-to-day thing that for all intents and purposes looks quite small.
Its not so much the balloon as it is the large hollow space inside it for me. The game in elementary school with giant tarp made me freak out too.
Big Orthodox Churches with huge altars scare me, specially when they are empty of people. I hate being alone there, I think it?s all that space.
And the Saints looking down at you, my God! My Grandma says that I ran out of a Church when I was 3, so?
I?ve experienced the same sensation while visiting the tombs of the royal Spanish family, in Escurial. They?ve got some really menacing angel statues there, freaked me out.
I dindn?t find any pics of the interior, but statues from outside are still as scary.
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=el+escorial+angels+statues&um=1&hl=en&biw=1920&bih=913&tbm=isch&tbnid=NnVmdZz1HGTRkM:&imgrefurl=http://atozoftravel.wordpress.com/2009/03/11/e-is-for-el-escorial/&docid=uFHaEMpO2hBzHM&imgurl=http://atozoftravel.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/vallee-los-caidos14a.jpg%253Fw%253D500%2526h%253D666&w=500&h=666&ei=-o7KTq7PIcvS4QTc54Qk&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=408&sig=115160627309558798795&page=4&tbnh=165&tbnw=121&start=117&ndsp=34&ved=1t:429,r:30,s:117&tx=90&ty=86
i love you all. seriously. i started getting freaked out by large objects when i was 4 or so, and I was watching some Barney movie and there?s a scene where a hot air balloon come out of nowhere from behind a hill.. and there was another movie(pee wee herman? not sure), where there?s a giant dinosaur. it terrified me.. so up close and personal. But the worst was when we would go camping nearly every month in the summer and there was an amphitheater but to get to it you had to walk by a water tower. It would be dark at night, and you could literally touch it when you walked by it. my dad would make fun of me because i refused to look up and i would make him carry me. he?d ask why i was scared after i would shut my eyes and i told him that i could feel it there. i would look behind after we would walk away. that?s the worst part ? the presence.
I think that my main problem is when big objects appear out of no where that shouldn?t be there? no fear of buildings, and i?m okay with a lot of statues? except for the ?motherland? one and the bather. whoever made that is sick. how would you think of even doing something like that?! oh, and there?s a picture. i?m thinking it has to be fake, but it?s of a guy in NYC and you can see the plane on 9/11 coming towards him. It?s so big and out of place. Just thinking of it makes me want to puke. I accidentally saw it yesterday and couldn?t fall asleep afterwards..
thanks so much, i?ve had this for years and now i know what it is
Irina, that picture was horrifying! When I read your post I didn?t want to look at it but all the images I was coming up with in my head were terrible, so I had to look and it was worse then I imagined it!! No matter how hard I try I cannot understand why people think that kind of stuff is nice to look at. And this whole thing is getting worse as I get older, when I had hoped and thought it would get better. Has anyone experienced that, it getting worse as they get older? I just wish it would stop but yet it is oh so comforting to know I am not alone and am not so freakishly odd as I once thought I was, so that helps
I have a fear of large things and also things hanging from the ceiling. I go to places like malls,museums,movie theatres,and sometimes i freak the heck out. like i have to run away as fast as possible,or i just start crying. Things like sings,fans,or lights dont bother me, it has to be a decorative object. Like the geese in the toronto eaton centre. I feel i also suffer from fear of large objects as well. glad to know im not alone.
For as long as I remember I have always had a fear of large buildings. also the hull of a ship, gasometers (the large round things in some towns that store gas). Near to where I live is a very high viaduct that has trains running along it. When I travel to work I have to drive under it, as I approach it I put my sun visor down so that I cannot see it, as I drive under it and out the other side I have to lean forward onto steering wheel because I can fee the viaduct on my back.. A few years ago I was driving through Norfolk down a country lane as I turned a bend there across the fields was the Sizewell B buildings, absolutely horrific it made me feel very ill and sick. I am glad I am not alone with this phobia
This is what I?m talking about?.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/lawrence.roy/cornwall/goonhill.htm
Or this, this is worse???.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/lawrence.roy/cornwall/goonhill.htm
Ick!!!!
It?s so comforting to read these comments/be able to relate to them. I live near London and the first time being stood next to the base of the London eye it almost made me pass out even trying to look up at it. I had to walk with my head down until I was at a far distance from it. I dont get this with all buildings though.
The worst for me has to be giant ships, giant propellers of planes or machinery, giant sea creatures being underwater and a host of other massive objects. Especially any of those hanging from a ceiling. The though absolutely terrifies me and being in museums is a no-go. Can also relate to someones previous post about a giant shadow under water, and the ?tip of the iceberg? thing, the thought of how giant it is under water. Goes hand in hand with the giant ship theory, considering the mass expanse of ship that is hidden beneath the surface.
I have to ask everyone, to think back to their childhood and try to imagine where this came from? It took me a while but I managed to think of a few occassions that used to terrify me.
As a child I used to visit sea world, and at the end before you exit they have a massive great white shark model suspended from the ceiling, jaws open, alongside a replica model of ?megalodon? jaws. Thinking of how small I was at the time, this used to TERRIFY me. I also remember having a nightmare/hallucination as a child of being really really close to a giant fish eye (everyone laughs at me when I tell them this story), I couldn?t get away from it, it just kept getting closer and closer to my vision and bigger and bigger. I remember sweating and crying and not being able to get away from it. Even when I think about it now it makes me feel sick and terrified.
Another thing which possibly relates to the shark/underwater shadows was when I used to do swimming as a child and the lines painted on the floor of the pool were sort of hammer head shark shaped and a dark blue colour.
Would love to know if anyone can relate to these specifically!
OMG ? I am so please to have found that I am not alone!!! However, I now have a whole new range of fears thanks to all the links on here ? the Motherland Calls and the Bather are particularly horrific.
I too found the Statue of Liberty in Planet of the Apes terrifying but also the enormous statues guarding the water in Lord of the Rings ? end of the first film when Frodo and Sam leave by boat.
I also hate water cooling towers, large machinery with valves and pipes and things that vibrate and hum ? and steam hammers are probably the worst things?but I also have a more specific fear of large vegetation like the gunnera plants a kind of mutant giant rhubarb that grow near water with enormous leaves ? they?re just WRONG?.
Hello, what do you think, will catch up if Barcelona Real?
man I am afraid of airplanes and ships since I was born now I?m 20 and still these things scare me even if I played a computer game and there was a giant ship or a plane flew by I was scared like a child and closed my eyes
I didn?t tell it anybody yet because I thought they will laugh at me but now I know that it was the Megalophobia so hopefully I can get a treatment
My phobia is close to most of yours, except like most, mine has a twist. I?m afraid of large, potentially hollow objects. Standing next to a large ship is scary, next to a water tower, or standing inside of a huge, empty warehouse. At night the phobia is worse. My worst fear would be to wake up in the middle of the night next to a large, docked ship or in the middle of an empty warehouse. Weird or what?
How would guys feel if you had to walk through one of those airplane boneyards in the Arizona desert, standing next to rows and rows of large aircraft. For me it would be scary, but exhilarating too.
I believe I have a mild form of this phobia. I am not afraid of planes or ships as I am intrigued by them and feel secure when on them, but one thing that terrifies me is the giant whale in the Museum of Natural History. I have a fear of heights, but sometimes I find Megalophopia mixed in with it. Whenever I am in a huge open room I freak out. Any type of enclosed stadium is deathly terrifying for me to be in. I am afraid of the height from my seat to the floor of the stadium, but I will also be afraid of the size of the mega screen hanging from the roof, or the size of the ceiling. I have even had nightmares of the walls in my room becoming too large. I wouldn?t say I am megalophopic, but I definitely have episodes sometimes with the same aspects
I can not believe I found this site! My twin sister and I share the same phobia of large things like big waves (in movies and on Deadliest Catch), docked ships..hover damn?etc?gives me the hibbie jibbies. Does anyone know why we feel this way? IT?s weird!
What do you guys think about this tragic Costa Concordia? this is sick !!! huge and scary?. and it just lies and can slip into the depths at any time ?. scary!
I have a bathophobia and it only heightens my fear of massive objects. also I?m terrified of rocks under the water, icebergs, silos, water dams, powerful waterfalls, huge statues, large aircraft, submarines and any kind of enormous ship! I actually had a dream that i swam in the sea, close to the shore, and suddenly a HUGE hull appeard right in front of myself. I woke up sweating and crying. worst dream ever?
Yeah, what not to say, ships and submarines have always been the most terrible for me.
Also? I?ve always been afraid of Star Wars Star Destroyers etc !!
please, forgive me my bad english.
Hi everyone,
I found this site a few years ago and its so cool to see that people are posting on here still. I can relate to almost everyone and its funny that a woman posted two above me that she and her twin sister have this phobia when me and my twin sister have this phobia too!
I definitely am creeped out by statues, water towers, wind turbines, big ships.. I don?t know how everyone has been around a hot air balloon but if I was around one I would be freaked out too, lol.
Pretty much anything looming? uh even the word looming gives me a small percentage of the fear and anxiety I feel around these big scary objects. Another fear I have that is somewhat related to this and other people seem to agree, is the fear of wide open spaces. Like someone mentioned the airplane boneyard. I googled that and it would be horrifying for me to be there, the big objects in a wide open space. We should all get together and meet at the statue of liberty or something and hold hands and face our fear! It sounds terrifying but if I wasn?t alone I might be able to do it.
And OMG the Concordia!!! When I saw the picture of that massive ship laying on its side online I immediately got freaked out, that would be my worst nightmare.
Nancy, no they are just kids?i used to be afraid of cats, sunglasses, and hats when i was little
I am so glad others have a fear like myself. I was starting to think I was the only one on earth that had a fear of large objects. Actually, I only have a fear of large statues. When I saw the Statue of Liberty while passing it on a ferry, my body started to tremble really bad and then I had to put my head down while passing it. Another time, I was in Las Vegas staying at the Luxor (which I didn?t choose). I happened to fly in at night and a taxi took me right to the front door. The next morning, I walked outside to the tram, turned around and passed out. The large sphinx literally made me shake so bad that I fainted. I only wish I knew why I have this fear. Its awful because there are so many things I would like to see but can?t. Does anyone know why we have this kind of fear?
This is the first time I have tried to research my phobia. I presume I have ?Megalophobia? but in a weird type of way.
My problem is with pictures of any of these types of things. I have an old Disney book and one A4 size page is the Statue of Liberty. My younger sibblings used to chase me round the house with it when I annoyed them. It scares me to death.
I was reading a mag in my dentist and opened a page with a large picture of a shark in water and I shouted out loud and threw the mag on the floor. I tried to make it look like a sneeze with a delayed ?Achoow?, but that just made me look crazier!
I recently went to ?Xcaret? in Mexico. I love water, but I nearly had a heart attack snorkling! I was in a cave swimming along when suddenly the depth dropped from a few metres to what looked like an abyss. I could make out a large rock protruding towards me at the surface. It was a one way route and I had other people behind me. I swam over it faster than an Olympian. The water changed temprature too making it worse!
Kids at school were aware of it too and used to sneak behind me with a book open and tap my shoulder. I warned them of my reaction though as I lash out towards the image quite violently. I don?t try to strike the person, just the book, but it is a reaction I cannot help if forced in my face.
Does anyone remember the shop ?Athena?? There was one in Manchester. I couldn?t enter that shop due to all the pictures and posters. I can?t look through poster racks either.
So basically, i?m just really scared of big pictures (and snorkling) and not the physical things themselves. Do you think I still have ?Megalophobia??
Hope your all enjoying life to the full anyway, thanks for the stories and take care.
I haven?t been on here in a while ? good to see some new posters sharing their experiences.
I have just watched this video and I found it very disturbing ? the planes are so low they look completely out of context. If I lived there I would die of fright.. the last one is by far the worst.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyU9OLqQ8XA
Haha, the funniest thing happened!
?..and in the corner of the room?of my God, a FREAKING STATUE!
))
I was away with work, so I had to stay in a hotel. Everyone was very nice and said ?Irina, we have a very special room for you! 5 stars!?
?Uraaaaa!? I got really excited, my room had an enormous bathroom (the size of my living room), an enormous bed (the kind with a mirror hanged above, too bad my lover wasn?t around
OMFG, were they trying to kill me?
What was I supposed to do? I mean, the people there have been really nice, got me a super room. What was I supposed to say: Please, I want another room, this one has a statue in it!?
So I went the Steve Irving way ? poked it with the tv remote?thank God that it was a rather small statue, I mean it barely went up to my thigh. It was supposed to represent Atlas holding the world, just that instead of the world it was holding a big pot of flowers.
OK, I can stand a statue that in a bended position reaches up to my thigh. But I still kept a close eye on it.
So I chilled a little, so that I could get some sleep, cause I stayed there for 2 nights.
Hmmm?now that I think about it, a burst from laughing. But then I was hysterical, I called my boyfriend: ?Andrei, there?s a statue in my room!?. I hated him then for laughing his butt off.
But now I think, my statue tolerance has just increased. It?s at a whole new level. Maybe I can just stand next to one as big as me?hmmm?maybe I shouldn?t go that far
But Atlas just seems friendlier after 2 nights together. Haha!
I promise..I thought that I was the only person in the workd that had that fear. Some mentioned being afraid of ships..and whales?ME TOO! my boyfriend lives near the Chelsea area in NY..and wehn we pass the piers. especially at night..I am horrified at how huge those things are! OMGOODNESS..I?m scared just thinking about it! Things that scare me the most are: Whales, Icebergs, Ships, Gigantic statues, large water barrells (makes me want to faint)?the list goes on. I need help!
I only read about the first 20-30 comments and my fear is most closely related to fiets. I feel like dizzy and feel anxious when I look up from inside of or right next to a very tall structure. For example, if I were standing on the floor of a stadium and looked up to the catwalks on the roof I would probably feel like I was falling and would really need to look away before getting sick. I also have that same feeling if I?m standing beside something like a cell phone tower and would try to look to the top. It possibly has to do with it falling but, ironically, when I look up I feel like I?m going to fall. Is that weird?
Yes, I have this condition. It is good to finally know that there is a name for it. My Aunt and I both experience this when we see something over 6 t tall.
One year, while vsiting the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, I was so sure it would get up and chase me around the tidal basin, It was the scariest thing. The statue is beautiful and magnificent upon sight, but scary no less.
Another site that scares me is the St Louis Arch. I?m not sure if it?s because of it?s shape or what? but it is indeed a scary sight to see. I guess you can add the act that I may be afraid of wide open spaces (Agoraphobia) as well.
I have always been wary of huge abandoned cinemas. This just has to be the worst. Apparently abandoned since 1980 (ouch!)
http://amazingdata.com/the-abandoned-uptown-theatre/
This has to be one of the most disturbing images?.
http://static.neatorama.com/images/2007-05/statue-liberty-being-built.jpg
I never explained my fear of large objects to no one?I felt they would think I was a total nut. I feel like I?ve found a family when I stumbled on this site?we all can?t be crazy lol?One of the most scarest for me are massive ships especially at night?though any large object at night is scary?2 of the scariest movie scences for me is in Cast Away when he finally gets off the island and he is floating on his raft and all of a sudden you see the huge ship which eventually rescues him?the size of that ship compared to his size on that raft sends me into total panic. Also the scene in The Day after Tomorrow when they are trapped in the library and all of a sudden they all look in disbelieve at this massive ship drifting by the building in the middle of Manhattan..yikes
Becca, those two pics are absolutely horrifying. How can anyone walk up so close to those objects?? Good Lord. My blood pressure would top out at 200/150 lol. Have you seen the pics of the Bather statue in Germany yet?? Prepare yourself before looking it up, if you haven?t. And Liz..I agree with you.. massive ships are THE WORST. I can?t even fathom the fear I would feel, floating in the water next to the hull..ESPECIALLY at night.
I also have some sort of megalophobia. I am terrified of big ships, plains, big animals as well. I remember my boyfriend once told me there had once been a two meter tall penguin and I literally almost puked in terror. Big things are terrifying.
I am SO glad I read this. I?ve had at least 3 different things that this phobia shows up with. One is those large windmills?not the old fashioned ones, those don?t seem to bug me. But the new ones, with the slim staffs and huge blades?I have seen them and I just couldn?t go near. I have kind of a different upbringing, so I just put it down to a feeling of deja vu or something, like I just had a bad feeling about it. But also, earlier in life, I tried to go to a friend?s house that was near a power station with those big towers. I just couldn?t go there; was scared to my marrow seeing them. I?m also afraid of huge fountains. I get the statue thing, they are sometimes uncomfortable, but not actually truly scary to me, but large amounts of water just make me scared to death. I remember going to Niagra Falls and feeling overwhelmed by a need to either get away or jump in. I?m in no way suicidal, I truly love my life here by the sea in Tampa Bay, but I was just overwhelmed. It?s a strange phobia and I have no idea how to fix it, other that what the other poster mentioned.
Becca the images of the Statue of Liberty being built are horrific to me ? my absolute worst nightmare ? reduced me to tears ? my own fault for looking at them of course.
But again, I have the compulsion to keep looking (something I think we have all discussed before on here!)
The Bather however, Cindy, is one image I cannot ever bring myself to look at again as long as I live
I?m so glad I found this site and I really appreciate everyone leaving their personal stories. I will add mine.
I am not afraid of big buildings or large animals. My fear is giant machines and tires. You know those earth movers at a quarry? The trucks that are the size of a house? Those. I get sick to my stomach around those things. There?s a photo going around on FB with giant THING with wheels and sawblades?it?s some type of mining contraption. That thing freaks me out!
I?m fine with statues and buildings and skeletons. I love everything with a soul, like big animals, and I feel that art has a sort of soul in it too. It?s the mechanical things that MOVE that freak me out. Transformers? Aw hel no.
Thanks for sharing!
This article describes me perfectly. I have a hard time looking at pictures of ships (like the Titanic) when they are out of the water and images of icebergs, particularly the bottoms, make me want to throw up. I was taking photos near a bridge last year and had to MAKE myself get near one of the very oversized bolts?I was shaky and out of breath. Glad there are others; I dont feel so crazy now
Cant believe im not alone. I think i read every single comment. However i dont think that anyone mentioned the inmensity of space, and just thinking of how enormous Jupitor is freaks me out. I can never go to the planiterium, or an imax theatre. I also saw most of the images and i am still shaking, the scariest by far was the motherland. WOW!! great too see there are others like me.
Maybe you don?t know the turkish band Mor ve Otesi, but their video ?Deli? with huge statues makes me unconfortable. I would have to be dragged to film there.
The song is great though
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYKETg82A4M
Wow I am amazed that so many people share this phobia, and that so many of you have found this page and commented on it (I guess it is one of the first results on a google search for fear of tall things). Since I was a little kid I have had this phobia, and while it has never been completely debilitating it is particularly interesting to me the way I react to tall objects. For me, planes, ships, statues, buildings, whales, and most other immense things hold no fear. The things that do are tall and skinny. Light poles (the really tall kind around highways) are definitely my greatest fear. I cannot look at them while driving or I will quickly become distracted. Seeing a light pole after it has fallen or been placed on the ground literally makes me feel sick. Even has I wrote that last sentence I felt a wave of nausea. I do also have a slight fear of heights, I have no problem with heights as long as there is a railing, contained space, etc but the thought of climbing one of those light poles or cell phone towers on a ladder is terrifying to me. My mom always said this was why I was scared of tall things, like an inverse fear of heights. Finally, I also have a strong fear of cavernous spaces like churches, gyms, airplane hangars, warehouses, etc. Even at the supermarket I have to avoid looking at the ceiling or the corners. And if any of those above spaces are not lighted and in use, I will be paralyzed with fear and unable to go in or stay in them.
I am so happy I found this site/post! I have struggled with this phobia for so long and never really knew what it was. I have a huge fear of airplanes?but not riding on one (even though ive never been on one), but actually walking up to one scares the hell out of me! Also big open spaces scare me. Billboards that aren?t really high up make my heart race! I can stand by the river and get really nervous because it?s so big and I don?t know whats lurking beneath the surface. If im walking on the sidewalk and a huge truck drives by I feel like im gonna pass out! It feels so good to get this off my chest lol. Lately ive been taking my son to the park where they have a pool/fountain that?s like a mini waterfall, I can?t even put my feet in the water because it makes me so nervous smh.
I can?t believe so many people have a fear of statue of liberty, she has scared me since I was little and I had this book with her in and my sisters used to dare me o look at her! I used to Imagine her face at my window at night. I am terrified of historic/ Greek statues because I had a dream I was being chased by huge flying Greek god style statues eugh! It?s just something to do with the age if them and the stern look on their faces. A local statue that terrifies me is Minerva it sits on top of liverpool town hall and I find it hard to look at her but can?t look away either.
I also hate big spaces, high ceilings, domes, cathedrals etc and my sister even has a fear of church bells?!
I don?t mind ships or machinery although big Victorian waterwheels scare me, the angel of the north is ok as it is modern and has no facial features!
i knew i couldn?t be the only one, i just had to find the page.
i only read some of the comments but most of you said you weren?t afraid of large buildings. i am. the idea of going to nyc or another big citiy and looking up at 100 story bldgs terrifies me. i am scared it is going to fall on me or something. i have been like this as long as i can remember, way before 9/11.
i am also scared of huge ships, planes, waterfalls, cliffs etc. i am terrified they will fall on me or draw me in and engulf me or something
to make this whole thing even more strange is the fact that i am attracted to the situations that scare me. the fear gives me an adrenaline rush but at the same time i know the ?threat? isnt real??.its all in my head and i am perfectly safe
i have attention deficit disorder and that explains my love of hightened awareness : adrenaline rushes
It?s funny about the commenter mentioning church bells?that?s something I forgot about. I was in Seville, Spain, at the huge cathedral there and they have this amazingly high tower with a church bell that rotates 360 degrees when it rings. That flipped me out, too! And to clarify my earlier post, I?m surely not afraid of water, I?m an excellent swimmer, but those darn fountains (shivers). We have one at the entrance to our neighborhood, and I dearly hate walking past it.
I was reminded of this page after seeing something on television, and almost 2 years after my last comment I?m amazed to see people are still discovering this phobia. I have looked at some of the links left since, and The Bather may have overtaken The Angel of the North for the most terrifying statue I?ve laid eyes on. I think the idea of a huge statue coupled with the idea that it?s underwater is just too much to handle. Absolute nightmare.
Just regarding a few things people have been saying. I go to London quite often and the Gherkin does not really bother me, I?ve seen it being built and look at it all the time, but a few months ago I was with my Mum and we walked right past the bottom of it. It was as I looked up standing at the foot of it that I became really uneasy and anxious and my Mum had to take me away from it because I was getting really nervous. It wasn?t as bad as I get around statues but it did make me feel uneasy.
Good news regarding The Bather, although there are horrendous pictures to remind us of its existence, apparently it was only a 10 day installation so it?s not there to bother us anymore. Although I dread to think what they did with her after they took her out? eek.
Also, a few people have mentioned about a fear of open spaces. I?d agree with that. I don?t think it?s particularly the idea of an open space, but rather than if I was in a desert for example and turned around to see something large, there would be no where to escape from it, and I would be forced to face it or just know it was there. I think that is what?s unsettling about them to me. Particularly the ocean, because if I saw something huge in the ocean (nightmare scenario would be something like The Bather in the middle of the ocean) then I would have absolutely no way to get away from it, which to me is the worst feeling because if there is something physical between me and the object, like another building, then I don?t feel anxious at all.
Dear M,
After reading your last comment I must say that it?s like you?ve read my mind. Picturing myself in the desert/ ocean just made me realise that this is what makes me be afraid of. Not just a statue by itself, but the proximity and the inevitability.
Funny thing is that I really enjoy art, including statues, but mostly from pictures. I?ve been to Naples this summer and I went to their art museum where I saw these huge gods statues. I was alone in the whole room, just with my husband, and I felt really unconfortable.
Huge buildings don?t scare that much, but it?s just as you said, they tend to scare me just when they appear out of nowhere in open spaces. For example, there is a huge industrial building in the big park near my place and I hate to walk by it alone. As you pointed out, this is what makes it so unsettling: all the open space and me needing to confront it, alone.
But otherwise I am ok with huge buildings/statues/ships, when I am near them I keep telling myself that it?s all in my head. And sometimes it works
Amazing?I have had this problem since I was a little girl and I?m so glad I can finally put a name to it! Living in New York City, you?d think I?d never leave my home but oddly I have no problem with buildings. I get queasy however whenever I?m in close proximity to water towers and large statues. I have no problem looking at pictures of them or seeing them from a distance but if I?m close up, I definitely have a problem. Never been to the Statue of Liberty and I never plan on going!
Heg ? I?m very frightened of classical statues too, and statues placed in fountains are absolutely horrendous to me. I?m recently becoming scared in a local hotel swimming pool which has a large mosaic of a mythical bird almost the entire length of the bottom of the pool. I?m of course scared of the statue of Liberty ? but ? not of the Sphinx?.but yes, of Greek sphinxes.
To all those terrified of the Statue of Liberty ? don?t even watch the end scene of Hitchcock?s ?Saboteur ?
I have had this phobia my whole life. The Statue of Liberty is one of the worst for me. The bather pics made me nauseous. wow that is a bad one eh
Here?s one that freaked me out. I was near it a few weeks ago and it made me sick as I drove by. One of the worlds largest satelite dishes:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Bank_Telescope
Like many others, I am compelled to seek these objects out and look at them in pictures and even go see them in person, though they make me anxious and sick. I also am compelled to know their history. I have dreams about large objects, statues, and other things that give me this feeling.
Omg I read every last post, but oddly, i really didn see many people mention movie theature screens. Omg they are so big, i cant sit anywhere near it! I guess i think that if that thing falls, im scewed!!! lol but Large trees at night have been a problem for me for as long as i can remember! They tend to look so sinister, especially without leaves at night. when passing a huge scary tree in the car at night i always feel that urge to look back at it but i am far too afraid because of its ?presence? i feel like its watching me. Water towers are the same for me. I couldnt bring myself to look at any images besides a youtube vid of Motherland Calls that I forced my fiace to sit and watch with me. Statues are not that bad for me, i went to the statue of liberty in 4th grade and it wasnt as bad as the creepy ghostly feeling i got knowing that most people who came here from other countries are dead.
Those huge satelites sound terrifying!!! But what about those big powerlines on the side of highways? they look like they have arms!!! Omg as a child i used to be terrified of them, they look like monsters!
my fiance laughed a me when i told him about how these still freak me out.
whales give me nightmares too
Just read about this:
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-09-27/world-s-biggest-ferris-wheel-will-anchor-staten-island-complex
If lived within viewing distance I?d have to move!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAlyQqB2S1g
This is a video of The Motherland Calls ? just a warning.
Horrifying.
I watched a short filmclip of a French paraglider/parachutist whose ropes got caught up and tangled around the torch of the Statue of Liberty ? so he was stranded suspended up there til he could be rescued.
I?m scared of seeing huge things in odd positions/places. When I see pictures of huge ships that are sinking and the front is pointing straight up I have to cover it with my hand or look away. I saw a picture on a news site once of a large ship lifted out of the water by chains but whatever was lifting it was out of frame and I was like, WHAT lifted that huge ship?! I guess my worst fear is being underwater and seeing the titanic on the ocean floor. I was out in a rubber raft in a lake once and looked down and saw all the way to the bottom and there was a huge black tree (it?s a man-made lake) reaching right toward me. I guess my phobia is water-based but I do have recurring nightmares about seeing planes crash, too.
OMG. I seriously thought I was the only person on the planet with this fear. I first realized this fear when I was about 7 years old when I went to an IMAX theater for the first time in my life. I didn?t know what the heck an IMAX screen was, and my class sat in the first two rows. Oh yeah, and we came in through the side doors up by the screen. I almost screamed in that quiet theater and nearly fainted when I looked up at that 3 story tall screen. The same year I witnessed a hot air balloon being blown up less than 30 ft. in front of me. (OMG, balloons are another phobia of mine) NIGHTMARE!! I?ve always had nightmares about floating in outer space (that scares me too) near HUGE planets and not being able to close my eyes. I think #11 put it best, it?s not so much a fear of large objects, it?s a fear of objects larger than expected. Just take a look at the new Jesus statue erected a couple of years ago. Not the Redeemer in Brazil, the one in Poland. There is a picture of a man on a rooftop (I think) taking a picture of Jesus? face. That?s exactly what I?m talking about. I love my Savior, but He is just TOO BIG!
Casey ? that Jesus statue in Poland is in Swiebodzin .. just search for ?Jezus ze Swiebodzina? in google? if you guys dare!!!
I?m from Poland, and i was on holiday, with my friends, in the city near Swiebodzin? we were shopping in Tesco, which is built beneath this freaking huge statue.. i wasn?t able to get out of the car??
Kate ? You poor thing!! I cringe at the idea of seeing it in person, and I?m thousands of miles away! lol You know I?ve discovered that not only do I have a fear of large objects in real life, but in pictures and computer screens too. And, I?ve read the more you face your fears, the better you?ll be at conquering them. Well, I have been trying very hard. Just today I was looking at some old television logos from my childhood on youtube. Well on the related videos bar on the side, there was a video of the brand new centennial logo for Universal Pictures. To me, that?s pushing it. The new logo is even bigger than the old one. Outer space + bigger planet + bigger letters = eyes closed, sorry. This is going to take longer than I imagined.
Here?s an article about landmarks that will freak megalophobes out, including Easter Island statues, Statue of Liberty in pieces, and Niagara Falls WITH THE WATER SHUT OFF!
http://www.cracked.com/quick-fixes/4-famous-landmarks-that-look-nothing-like-you-think/
The picture of the falls without water really gets me, I would for sure puke if I was surprised by that in person.
Not funny, Dave! Are you trying to kill us? lol
I was always terrified of the Statue of Liberty. Recently stumbled across this photo from Doctor Who Weeping Angels take Manhatten.
pretty terrifying.
http://www.google.ca/imgres?q=winter+quay+statue+of+liberty&um=1&hl=en&safe=off&sa=N&tbo=d&biw=1517&bih=741&tbm=isch&tbnid=lzyVmlUAAh5UuM:&imgrefurl=http://www.sfx.co.uk/2012/09/29/doctor-who-7-05-the-angels-take-manhattan-review3/&docid=HxPr_lFdleMxUM&imgurl=http://media.sfx.co.uk/files/2012/09/doctor-who-angels-take-manhattan-liberty1.png&w=610&h=341&ei=u0XGUMPVHuTWiAK15YCYBQ&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=30&sig=112314080884518796066&page=1&tbnh=136&tbnw=251&start=0&ndsp=25&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0,i:93&tx=185&ty=101
Hi, I read quite a few of your comments, very interesting! I also have a fear of large objects but very different from most I have seen in the posts. The large objects that freak me out are oversized tools and hardware. Things like giant nails or screws and bolts or nuts, giant wrenches. I dont think im afraid of them, I just really dont want to touch them and I dont want anybody that im with to pick them up either. Luckily for me unlike some of your objects you dont come across these things very often, thank goodness!!! Anybody else heard of this one?
I also think I have this. I have dreams of the sun or moon close to the earth and look really big and I start freaking out just looking at it. This sometimes happens when the moon is enlarged by the climate outside and that freaks me out a little bit.
Ah ha!! I knew I couldn?t be the only person who experiences this. I also have a thing for looking at world landmarks on google maps. It?s funny if I look at it from just the map view I?m okay, but switch to the satellite view and I can barely breath! I get a weird sensation?like I?m falling into the computer monitor. I also get the same rush/freaked out feeling when looking at any NASA space pictures.
I?ve had this fear for as long as I can remember, my mother also had it, my son and daughter have it also (although not to the extent as i do). I read where some of you said that you?re not afraid of tall buildings, they don?t bother me either but I think it?s due to the fact that they are usually surrounded by other medium to small buildings. I really believe if there was a huge building out in the middle of nowhere all alone it too would terrify me. Something that really freaked me out was when I took the family to Busch Gardens in Virginia, that night we were heading back to the hotel and I happened to glance out the side window and saw these HUGE ?busts? or statues of the presidents of the U.S. and they were all lit up like it was daytime. Google Presidential Memorial in Williamsburg, Virginia if you want a scare
Shauna, that picture is absolutely terrifying! The weeping angels never bothered me too much because they aren?t that large (and entirely fictional haha) but earlier this year something called Crash of the Elysium came to my town which was essentially a play where you ran around saving the doctors life. At one point you are all trapped in a corner as a weeping angel comes flying down the corridor towards you, I absolutely freaked out! Plus at the end there was a mirror maze and as you turned one corner there was a weeping angel there! The fact that it appeared out of nowhere terrified me beyond belief, and now I can?t stand the sight of the things.
Reading the recent posts is so interesting, I didn?t know there were so many things to be afraid of in the world!!
I?m only 13 and I reallllly want to get over the fear of this. I?m afraid of ANY large object. I lige in canada but when I used to deliver the news papers early in the morning even a regular old pine tree made me feel smaall and shaky I had to run! I was forced to go into an airplane museum and it had trains and cars? there was a HUGE airplane facing me on the ROOF and I balled my face off then I turned the corner there was like a million of all sized planes in there I had to run out by myself I felt so closed in. I?m also afraid of large castles or churches?. when I was younger I viseted PEI and there was a beautiful church there I had to get a pic by it? then I just started to freak! WEIRD but interesting fear?
I have read a lot of the comments here and can really relate to this. I realised that I have this something similar to this years ago in the cinema where there was a shot of some men on a small boat in an advertisement and then the camera panned out rapidly to reveal a huge ocean.
Like many on this forum my fear is mainly of horribly large structures in the middle of nowhere. If they are surrounded by other large buildings I don?t worry at all. Like many phobias, I feel as if there is a ?knowing? in the structure. It has a consciousness of its own and it is aware of me and is a threat to me.
In my case this is not a serious phobia in that it causes me no problems and I am hardly ever aware of it but I relate to a lot of the stuff on this forum, There is a part of me that can get a bit of a buzz out of the feeling, I think my nightmare would be to be suddenly exposed to a vision of something huge rather than knowing that I was about to see it.
I recently discovered the work of the Polish artist Zdzislaw Beksinski and when I look at some of his stuff it triggers these feelings of fear but at the same time I am compelled to sneak a peek.
Hi, I dont know who to ask about my phobia so I really hope some one can help me. I am 48 years old & for as long as I can remember when ever I see a Zepplin my stomach cramps up & I start to feel sick, I also have to close my eyes until I know its gone. The whole experience petrifies me & I have absolutely no idea why I feel that way & always have:(
@Jane, yes we are very similar in the way we react to this phobia. I do get a ?buzz? from it, although it makes me nauseous. Similar to watching a horror, I am compelled to look and enjoy the scare. I find myself looking up Motherland calls or spring temple buddha just to get that buzz going.
I have never heard of Zdzislaw Beksinski, but looked up his artwork (of course) and it is amazing. It however did not give me the same feeling as mega statues do, but I can see where you are coming from.
My fear of large Buildings wasn’t a surprise to me, but it’s not until now i have a name for it. Jokingly i pointed out a huge uncompleted structure in Bayelsa state Nigeria to my stepdaughter and revealed how spooky it looked to me and the anxiety caused by it. She was quite intrigued and also wanted to know more about this type of fear.
wow, i have just discovered this forum through googling ?fear of water towrrs? there are loads of us!!
allow me to share my fears..not really phobias, but discomfort..sometimes extreme!
viaducts! aqueducts! dams! especially the hoover dam ? (the opening sequence of goldeneye ? scariest ever) and water towers! they are so eerie, so menacing , like something from another planet..
anything huge, with curved brickwork, many arches, especially encountered suddenly, out of context as so many have said. when we were lost once as children, my mother was driving and we turned a corner in a small street ? and boom ? there was a huge victorian viaduct..my brother and i both became hysterical with fear!! yes, also christ the redeemer ? huge carved faces in mountains, so unnatural somehow..yes ? also hot air balloons, always been scared by the goodyear balloon, when i was tiny i saw a massive bouncy castle being inflated suddenly in front of me..the same feeling again ..and lastly, that white chalk horse in the hillside somewhere in england..very weird ? wow, megalophobia, at last a name for it
thank this forum so much.. so fascinating..
Here?s one for you. Google ?Morlaix viaduct? My goodness, how anyone can live in that town with that huge horrible thing there amazes me!
Huge Dams scare me, take a look at this?.
http://www.unifr.ch/med/assets/images/mva2013/gallery/ti/20_Verzasca2.jpg
And one final pic. I have never liked huge abandoned old fashioned cinemas/theaters. This has got to be the worst!?.
http://static.neatorama.com/images/2009-01/uptown-theatre-auditorium.jpg
Just wondering if anyone has a similar fear of huge old theaters etc?
Oh my! I discovered this site yesterday and I?m so GLAD I am not alone with my fear! I thought I was the only one who is terribly afraid of large objects. I am comfortable with buildings, planes and ships but hot air balloons really freak me out. I cannot even look at a picture of a hot air balloon without having panic attacks. It just scares me so much. Same with these large octopus kites and very large statues that look like they are going to move, especially Motherland Calls or Christ Blessing are just terrible and give me the creeps! Yikes! I can?t stand looking at them for more than a few seconds and I don?t want to know what would happen if I get near these things. Really weird.