kate / July 26, 2006 3:16 AM

Random acts of violence.

And centipedes. Millipedes? The things with so many legs it looks like fur that scurry quicker than I can stomp them. Creepy little fuckers.

printdude / July 26, 2006 6:28 AM

I am deathly afraid of the Tyranny of the Masses.

Alex / July 26, 2006 8:02 AM

Clowns...and zombies. There's no beating zombies.

On a more realistic level, getting hit by an idiot driver that turns left AFTER their light has changed and I have the green. Seriously, Chicago drivers you have to STOP this stupidity. You're scaring me!

(Yes, and get off your freakin' cell phone while you are turning, you assclown!)

Ben / July 26, 2006 8:11 AM

Alderman Joe Moore

velo / July 26, 2006 8:21 AM

Having my heart and soul turned into hamburger meat.

Legless reptiles.

missmolly / July 26, 2006 8:38 AM

high winds. i become hysterical.

mike / July 26, 2006 8:44 AM

Butterflies.

Diphthongs.

Y A J / July 26, 2006 9:04 AM

Me too on those many, many-legged bugs, so I’ve trained my dogs to kill them.

But the scariest thing to me is our Republican controlled congress.

Alison / July 26, 2006 9:38 AM

Snakes (but not so much snakes on a plane) and being in the bathroom with the lights turned off. I must have played too much 'Bloody Mary' when I was a kid.

Steve / July 26, 2006 9:43 AM

The Twin Tigers to the North and East of Us.

scaredy cat / July 26, 2006 9:46 AM

A room full of young, drunk, white guys.

Carrie / July 26, 2006 9:51 AM

Yes, centipedes. I'm terrified of them touching me, therefore, I'm terrified of them. My cat likes to kill them, so she does most of the dirty work. She just leaves the body for me to clean up.

Avalanches also scare me.

And thunderstorms late at night when I'm alone. Too many scary movies as a kid, I think.

printdude / July 26, 2006 9:59 AM

Texans.

jen / July 26, 2006 10:10 AM

Alex - do you not understand the concept that if you do not turn left from the middle of the intersection once the light has turned red that you're: a) blocking traffic and if you don't do that then b) you may never get to turn? Even though you have the green, you need to make sure the intersection is clear before going anyway. Duh.

Personally, I'm afraid of getting curbed (how this would happen, I don't know. I mean, ice skating and falling on my face would have the same effect, I suppose. Or falling out of the back door of the bus like I kind of did last night.)

Other than that, the usual random acts of violence someone mentioned before.
And drunk frat guys.

Bub / July 26, 2006 10:15 AM

That this and the one or two other American big cities worth living in will price out their middle class residents and leave the poor in an even deeper ditch.

That a totalitarian mindset will take hold this country--you don't need torchlight parades through Nuremburg to be a totalitarian society.

That even more people will confuse comments and link-making on blogs with serious, original journalism.

p / July 26, 2006 10:24 AM

paper cuts, parked car doors opening vs. bike, not having enough time, "Pockets" sandwiches, sharks, IPasses, insane clown posse fans, throwing up on the treadmill, going deaf, wrinkled mouths covered with bright smudged lipstick and cigarettes in them.

Mo / July 26, 2006 10:27 AM

Spiders
Rape
Amputation
Tornados

And although I used to never be afraid because I had no real conception of it, with every year older, I get more afraid of death.

daruma / July 26, 2006 10:30 AM

Frogs
Stairs

paul / July 26, 2006 10:38 AM

Cancer
Dentists
The IRS

And then there's the things that both frighten and fascinate me enough to attract me towards them:

Lightning
Tornados
Caves
Speed (the motion-kind, not the drug, although that scares and fascinates me too)

mary / July 26, 2006 10:38 AM

scorpions in couches.
being alone too long.
eating something that i never knew i was allergic to and dying.

fluffy / July 26, 2006 10:40 AM

1.) violence & 2.) being in an earthquake - during and after both, you have absolutely no control of what is happening or how long it will lastand you just want it to end. I have more fear of not having control of a situation than of dying, I think.
3.) Old creepy dolls, men dressed as clowns, and even worse, clown dolls.
4.) sickness/death in the family
5) inbred racist NRA types (printdude- I lived in Tx for over 10 yrs and understand your fear).

I think I took this question too seriously

amyc / July 26, 2006 10:45 AM

Cancer (the family tree is riddled with tumors), Alzheimer's, that the migraine might be something more than a migraine this time, the escalator at Landmark Century Center, fire, and the creeping religious fascism that is taking over this country.

Leelah / July 26, 2006 10:49 AM

Heights.
I've been known to run screaming from a thousand-legged centipede, but I wouldn't say I'm afraid of them...

Blagg the Axman / July 26, 2006 10:51 AM

Nothing--save for the final judgment of my soul.

dl / July 26, 2006 10:57 AM

Can we just start creating thread questions specifically for Blagg the Axman? Stuff like, what's your favorite ale to drink after a night of pillaging, how many horseshoes does a warrior go through in a year - or for that matter, horses, How do you get blood out of goatskin, or how much should you be paying, and where you should go, for a new ax handle...stuff like that?

lara / July 26, 2006 11:01 AM

the world sustaining its current levels of oppression and pain. and my (potential) complete helplessness thereof.

the day when the coffee runs out.

people who don't feel.

bugs.

biking accidents-stupid drivers down to me falling off said bike.

my body's own vulnerability.

did i mention life without coffee?!?!?!? (shudders abound)

annie / July 26, 2006 11:02 AM

I am extremely afraid of the Ocean. Actually, what lives in the Ocean...all of it, not just sharks, eels and jellyfish. Although those are the worst for me. I decided to face my fears a month ago and went snorkeling in Mexico, dumb idea. I had my first real panic attack while in the water b/c I knew I was surrounded by fish and I could see there mouths opening and closing. It was the worst experience I've had in a long time. And every night since I have a snorkeling related nightmare.

ahn / July 26, 2006 11:20 AM

centipedes. i thought my cat would eat them but so far i've seen a couple. they live in the corners of my room, by where the wall meets the ceiling, and i see them when i'm in bed, about to turn out the light. casting big centipoedal shadows. and when i hit them with a broom they drop to the floor and disappear. then i go sleep in the living room.

*shudder*

also, tornados.

Mikey / July 26, 2006 11:26 AM

I too find centipedes creepy. I once went to grab a particularly large one with a paper towel and came back with nothing but a cluster of still-wriggling legs, allowing the bastard to escape. I was paranoid of retribution for several days after that...

I'im afraid of dying alone and without ever having accomplished anything of any real importance...

I'm also afraid of the direction Bush is taking this country. Sinclair Lewis said over 50 years ago:

When fascism comes to America, it will come wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross.

Now that is indeed scary...

leah / July 26, 2006 11:29 AM

Making the wrong decision.

I will stay unhappy or unfulfilled longer than any human should for fear that making a change could worsen my situation further and I would be unhappier than I was in the first place.

It's like opposite of the "grass is always greener" for me.

Brandy / July 26, 2006 11:31 AM

I'm ANOTHER centipedophobe.

Plus: tax time, Alzheimers, groups of drunk men, that my life will end by some accident caused by an idiot on a cellphone, that cellphone will become even more ubiquitous.

And I'm ochlophobic - fear of crowds. That one cannot be rationalized. If I'm packed in with other people my body shuts down.

Funny, I actually consider myself fairly fearless.

Greg / July 26, 2006 11:51 AM

It's mundane as phobias go, but heights. Specifically unenclosed heights.

I'm fine in planes or at an enclosed observation deck, but I have to work up courage to approach the railing on so much as a 3rd-floor balcony. That gust of wind will surely carry all 200+ lbs. of me away and send me plummeting to my death.

Baldeesh / July 26, 2006 11:52 AM

Angry people. Not irate, over-the-top psycho rage, but the slam-stuff-around and swear type. I don't do well around that.
My mom's chihuahua, Chico. He'll be cute and cuddly one minute, actively seeking your affections, then he'll turn and nail ya.

Forgetting important stuff.

A long, slow, painful death.

Zombies. Though if I became one, I wouldn't mind. That would be pretty bad-ass, actually.

christy / July 26, 2006 12:20 PM

I'm too often afraid to let go, stop censuring my own thoughts, and be fully concious and present in the moment. When I do -- wow -- I feel so alive!

On a global scale, I'm terrified of the Bush administration -- have been for six years so far. The current U.S. government is horribly destructive, in both an active and passive manner, both within this country and internationally. There's no real accountability; there's no long-term, strategic thinking (thinking beyond one's own lifetime); there's no empathy or desire to enrich society and culture. Our government truly frightens me.

april / July 26, 2006 12:20 PM

- getting doored
- worms [seriously]
- needing to go to the hospital [since I have no health insurance]
- going crazy and/or becoming helpless when I'm old

ahn / July 26, 2006 12:39 PM

i forgot to mention volcanos. one of my scariest dreams as a kid was having a volcano slowly destroy the entire village of skokie, lava flowing down main street, etc. i would wake up in tears.

realistically, though, i'm afraid the el will derail, fall off the tracks and everyone on the train will die. i'm afraid of opening the trib and seeing headlines about another 9/11-type attack. i'm afraid of war in the middleeast, and the bastard in the white house, and the lengths i go to sabatogue myself.

centipedes, though, are still the worst. ;)

Bill V / July 26, 2006 12:42 PM

Car doors when biking, World War III, Rap-Metal, Jam-Bands, Real Pirates and any more Super-Hero Movies (please stop making them, they all suck!).

JB / July 26, 2006 12:42 PM

I'm afraid of his fear. Terrified, actually.

jonesybot / July 26, 2006 12:46 PM

My tremendous fear of mental Illness has no morphed into fearing all medical abnormalities. But i still think that not being able to trust your own brain seems most terrible.

Also, every time my parents call at an unexpected time, I fear someone is dead or heading in that direction. This has been going on for nearly two decades, and despite many "false alarms" I still respond the same--fear.

julie / July 26, 2006 12:55 PM

Myself. I am afraid of myself. I think nobody is as ugly or as hurtful as my potentially powerful urges. But I keep them in check. And, they're only directed towards myself anyway.

TaJ / July 26, 2006 1:04 PM

death
flying
war
cancer or other disease
my own thoughts
fear
rape

hm... pretty scary

Kevin / July 26, 2006 1:08 PM

According to my south side born and raised friend, the Chicago name for those creepy centipedes is: Thousand leggers.

I hate them too.

I fear my wife realizing that I'm not the massive rich studmuffin I made myself out to be.

eep / July 26, 2006 1:21 PM

Heights. Like Greg, it's only open heights, though. Tthe mere thought of standing near the edge of the Grand Canyon is making my palms tingly. Whenever I see people on TV rock climbing without ropes, I feel woozy. It's weird.

Daddy Long-Legs. As a kid I had a bad allergic reaction to meds and hallucinated for 3 days straight. The worst of it was a giant daddy long-legs coming for me. I know they're harmless, but they still make me freak out.

Zombies. I'm so glad to hear others fear the zombies.

a. / July 26, 2006 1:40 PM

I'm afraid of growing old and needing medicine, and then robots coming and stealing my medicine. Why? Because when they grab you with those metal claws, you can't break free.. because they're made of metal, and robots are strong.

Y A J / July 26, 2006 1:41 PM

Yep Kevin, I grew up in Chicago calling centipedes
"thousand leggers". Is that another Chicago specific phrase?
My husband's from everywhere and he likes to call them silverfish. Anyone else use that name?

I'm relieved to see so many other centiphobes here. Why are leggy bugs so much creepier than other bugs?

Pat / July 26, 2006 1:46 PM

Peak oil.

Every other fear listed pales in comparison to what will happen to our global civilization when we run out of cheap oil. Afraid of centipedes? Expect the insect population double and then double again once cars quit running. Afraid of heights? Don't worry, once the electrical grids fail you won't hafta worry about taking elevator rides to the top.

Josh / July 26, 2006 1:49 PM

Ending someone else's life. I worry that I'll have to defend myself someday and I'll overdo it. I underestimate my own strength most of the time.

I fear my wife will turn into another overweight woman who complains all day.

Dying in a hospital bed.

Tarantulas. I can deal with the thousand-legger bugs, I can deal with small spiders, but the big hairy ones freak me out. Can't even look at them.

Meeting a lot of new people all at once. Large social groups aren't my thing. I like to meet people in a one-on-one setting.

fluffy / July 26, 2006 1:53 PM

In my next life, I want to come back as a centipede.
...a vampire centipede..so I can fly, disappear & appear at will, suck your blood, and live forever!

I'm still kinda scared of my father- although I haven't seen him for years and never will again.

Alice / July 26, 2006 1:57 PM

I also never considered that "1,000 leggers" might be Chicago-specific. I grew up here, and that's what I always heard them called them, too.

So, yes, since all the centipede-phobes are outing themselves, I will, too. But my phobia really extends to almost every crawling thing with more than four legs.

p / July 26, 2006 2:04 PM

maggots, embarrassing arrest, dark forearm hair on a lady, florida teenagers, the gooch, ham sandwiches, wilted lettuce.

aeb / July 26, 2006 2:04 PM

I'm scared that I may never fall in love again.

Lori / July 26, 2006 2:08 PM

I am too superstitious to write the bad things that I fear will befall me and my family, but let's just say it's the usual list.

the dumb things I am irrationally afraid of are "thousand leggers" of course, being in the basement with the lights out , especially when I'm walking up the steps with the dark basement yawning behind me! I just about threw up driving over the Macinac bridge recently, so bridges/heights that are not enclosed, like someone else mentioned earlier. Especially a suspension bridge.

Marilyn / July 26, 2006 2:11 PM

Tornadoes. Big time!

Being at the mercy of a nurse home staff, which as a childless, hermit-like individual, I probably will be when I get old and infirm.

printdude / July 26, 2006 2:20 PM

Another century where Cubdom=failure

litty / July 26, 2006 2:25 PM

Nascar

Hairy insects with fangs.

The Conservative Christian Lobby (AIPAC has NOTHING on these people)

an independent Qurdistan

Going down in the middle of an ocean on a ship, Titanic style. The though of this one makes me physically shake

Mikey / July 26, 2006 2:38 PM

OK...

I'm going to add 'never falling in love again' to my list of fears...

Also, I'm surprised so many people are afraid of zombies. I love zombie flicks, and often daydream about leading a group of armed-to-the-teeth survivors against the zombie hordes that have overrun civilization. Of course, they would have to be the Romero-esque slow zombies. None of that 28 Days Later fast-moving-zombie bullshit for me...

spook / July 26, 2006 2:50 PM

That in my life time the Cubs will win the world series, unleashing a yuppie, suburban, frat boy mindless drunken Horde of Hell onto the city, signaling the coming of Darth Daley III, in the form of Richard Daley's son who is learning to kill( from a safe distance) in Iraq as we speak

Emerson Dameron / July 26, 2006 2:54 PM

To quote Major Briggs, I fear "that love may not be enough." I'm also afraid of death. Mine moreso than yours.

esskaycee / July 26, 2006 2:54 PM

I am also terrified of those thousand-leggers you all speak of -- seen here in all their glory. Like a clump of hair come to wriggling, scurrying life.
Silverfish are different, though -- much smaller with decidedly fewer legs.

Angie / July 26, 2006 2:54 PM

To get out the back of my building you have to walk through this dark corrider that has rubber flaps hanging over the entryway, which are always rustling softly. It creeps me out.

Amy / July 26, 2006 2:56 PM

Losing my mind.
Blades.
Dying of cancer or some other long drawn out way.
Getting into a car accident.
But mostly I'm afraid I'll never figure out how to be content.

kyra / July 26, 2006 3:02 PM

wiper blades.

selma / July 26, 2006 3:13 PM

bioterrorism attacks- tainting our food or water.

Load Zone / July 26, 2006 3:19 PM

- axl rose's face.
- that people won't accept centipiedes as beneficial and won't kill you like a spider could.
- people who follow the same walking path that I cover for more than a few blocks (old ladies included).
- drawing a blank at the wrong moment.
- breaking my teeth on concrete/asphalt.
- realizing that whatever it is I try/tried to accomplish was a waste.

Mo / July 26, 2006 3:20 PM

YAJ, we had silverfish at home in NC, but they were very small, like the length of your last pinkie joint, and skinny, with much fewer legs, and they were...silver. As for whether the thousand legs name is Chicago centric, I've never even seen those monsters anywhere else. Our NC centipedes look like this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centipede

A few days ago I tried to kill one with a newspaper, and instead of killing it, it got on top of the paper, which I didn't realize until I went to smash it again and flung it into the air and toward my face. Times like that are when you hear your truly scared voice, and it's usually not a scream.

I also want to add to my fears:
the death of loved ones (more than my own, honestly), and like so many others, never falling in love again. and poo.

jen / July 26, 2006 3:24 PM

forgot to say small spaces. going to a party last weekend, i had to walk to the back porch between two buildings... the narrowest walkway i've seen yet in chicago. could not have been more than 3 feet wide (with 3 stories high buildings on either side!)

ABF / July 26, 2006 3:27 PM

That I'm slowly turning into my mother with each passing year.

vit / July 26, 2006 3:30 PM

spook -- a frightening thought indeed!

meg / July 26, 2006 3:47 PM

Swimming in water when I can't see what's beneath me. There are most likely sea monsters that will slice open my exposed underbelly. I go swimming anyway.

Gun violence. It's gotten so that I have to leave the room during many TV shows and movies because I cannot stand to watch people being shot or having guns pointed at them.

Creepies and crawlies don't bother me too much, but they can be startling.

amanda / July 26, 2006 4:00 PM

The Olympics coming to chicago. And Wal-Mart.

annie / July 26, 2006 4:02 PM

I have more..I realized after reading more of yours.

large umbrellas..I fear that the little knot on the end of each panel will get hooked in my eye somehow.

a pit bull attack

and Father Pfleger

Avril2080 / July 26, 2006 4:11 PM

Ending up in a marriage where I am expected to adhere to 'traditional' gender roles and conservative family values.

Emergency warning sirens.

The Oompa Loompas from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

annie / July 26, 2006 4:24 PM

last one.
The commercial that is running on WGN right now where 2 girls are standing outside of Wrigley talking about the new CW format, it really scares me.

leah / July 26, 2006 4:31 PM

Those thousand-leggers (they are million-leggers in my family) are sick, you guys.

Blegh the pictures are giving me goosebumps.

blerggghsick.

Baldeesh / July 26, 2006 4:52 PM

Million-leggers was what I called them for a long time. Then one day, a roommate aptly renamed them "hellspawn."

I've seen those things attack and eat spiders, among other things. Wigged me right the fuck out.

Alex / July 26, 2006 5:02 PM

Jen, do YOU not understand the concept that if there are two cars ahead of you already waiting to turn, then you shouldn't go after those two cars have gone and the light has long been red? You wait until your next light to turn.

It's idiotic thinking like that have caused many a deaths. So go "duh" yourself and let's hope no one is driving behind you.

spook / July 26, 2006 5:21 PM

After careful consideration and extensive conversations will Joe Lieberman, Barack Obama
will admit he is more comfortable with the Republican Party and defect. Not to be outdone Hillary Clinton will then do the same

drunkfratguy / July 26, 2006 5:42 PM

band camp
and
Alex driving

Hal / July 26, 2006 5:54 PM

* Reading in front of an audience. Though, strangely, I have no problem speaking in public otherwise.
* A pit bull or Akita attacking my own dog and not getting there in time to save her.
* Developing a long-term condition like diabetes or kidney failure. A doctor a few years back misunderstood me regarding an antibodic I took whilst self-medicating and said, "Well, you probably just destroyed your kidneys." Visions of a lifetime of dialysis flooded my brain until another doctor read back the chart to me and we corrected the error. Never been so scared in my life.
* The prospect of Helen Shiller's Wilson Yard plan. Hopefully, today's vote on the Big Box Ordinance killed any hope of that plan and will force a new one which actually has a prayer of working.

fluffy / July 26, 2006 5:57 PM

Um, Alex...you never said anything about 2 cars in front of the one making the left turn in your original post. You also didn't say the light had "long" been red.

Re-read your first post.

You're probably that guy waiting for the light to turn green, revving up your super-shiny car's engine so you can take off faster than the car next to you.....you guys are funny.

And don't argue with me about this issue cause I was a disputed-liability auto claims adjuster for over 14 years with a HUGE insurance company and settled these things...You also have to use common sense- there aren't many green turn arrows in Chicago, so most drivers do have to turn left at the last minute or a second after the light turns red. You can't come from Podunk Iowa and think you can still drive like that in Chicago.
It's angry fuckos like you that are quick to do something stupid and impulsive (like your second post- that's rude!) in a dangerous situation. Go suck clown ass.

april / July 26, 2006 6:01 PM

YAJ- I call them silverfish, too and I grew up just a few hours south of Chicago. And I, too, would like to add them to my list of fears. I can't even click on the link.

Naz / July 26, 2006 6:10 PM

Fluffy -- heh, Alex is actually a woman and a mother.

Alex / July 26, 2006 7:28 PM

Wow! And I'm a clown ass too. Cool!

Alex / July 26, 2006 7:31 PM

Oh wait, I'm not. I misread that, I was told to suck clown ass. COOL!

Naz / July 26, 2006 7:35 PM

Clowns get a bad rap around here.

Ronald deserves it though. And the clown from "IT".

Alex / July 26, 2006 7:41 PM

Yeah, the clown from "It" is definitely bad news, so I don't think I'll be sucking his ass. Now imagine if that clown became a zombie?! Imagine if that It Zombie Clown turns left on red? HOLY SHIT talk about scary!

steve / July 26, 2006 8:38 PM

As someone above noted, peak oil. I think we're at or past it already, and we're now pretty much the proverbial frog being boiled alive without much realizing it outside of those darn high gas prices.

Vanessa / July 26, 2006 9:05 PM

Being wrong about my choices in life.

Spook / July 26, 2006 10:13 PM

The Israeli War Machine bombing all of Logan Square and Humboldt Park, after accusing the old lefties who gathered in Logan Square on Saturdays( for the last year) to hold signs that say “Honk If You Want Peace!” of being Hezbolah, while people in Skokie hold huge rallies and scream hysterically," support Israel,unconditionally!"

vit / July 26, 2006 10:26 PM

I grew up in the south burbs and never hear them called 'thousand leggers' just centipedes, but then again my family is orginally from the East Coast, so they all talk funny ;)

freddie / July 27, 2006 12:11 AM

right wing christians inside
mega-churches

&

not being able to let go of the past

mike / July 27, 2006 1:09 AM

white people.
the more money they have the more afriad i become.

jonesybot / July 27, 2006 8:34 AM

Axl Rose's face- ha!

Truly terror worthy. What happened to that guy?

C. / July 27, 2006 9:23 AM

Earwigs! I'll take centipedes and silverfish over them any day.

I'm also afraid of airplane landings after touchdown, because you're in this huge, top-heavy vehicle that's trying to brake very quickly on three tiny, spindly wheels.

sky / July 27, 2006 9:34 AM

The GRE

Driving next to trucks on the highway in bad weather.

Accidents, boating, falling, flying, driving, anything. I was once in a snow mobiling accident and it screwed with my head for life.

Extremists of any kind.

Not finding love.

Rape.

I love the centipede overflow considering my roommate has been freaking out because she keeps finding them in her bedroom.

FlyBoy / July 27, 2006 9:37 AM

Hey C.,

I can't help you get over your earwig fear (I hate 'em too), but I can cure your airplane issue. Remember that JetBlue flight that landed in California with the nose gear sideways? The plane skidded on the nose wheel, grinding the wheels down to the hub, but the gear didn't snap off. The gear looks spindly, but it must be strong.

Check out this link:
http://www.airlinesafety.com/editorials/JetBlueLAX.htm

49 / July 27, 2006 9:57 AM

Being old and alone.

jgs / July 27, 2006 10:31 AM

scorpions
brown recluse spiders
pregnant women
drowning
allergies
going blind

C. / July 27, 2006 10:35 AM

Flyboy,

I remember that. The passengers onboard were actually watching their plane land via live local news, weren't they?

Although this defies the laws the physics, my plane-landing fear is more that a turned front wheel could actually turn the plane, while momentum causes it to roll over, much like all those top-heavy SUVs. Who says fear is logical? :)

fluffy / July 27, 2006 11:09 AM

I'm scared of flying of the handle and making an ass of myself on-line.

Oh wait, I just did it, so I guess I've conquered that fear.

emmy / July 27, 2006 1:34 PM

Heights. Getting doored. Serial Killers. My boss. In no particular order.

VinceJose / July 27, 2006 2:36 PM

Dying in a fashion that wins me a Darwin Award. Like strapping a jet engine to the top of my Civic or something.

And scary video games for some reason.

Brad / June 3, 2007 12:25 AM

I am really scared of midgetz!!! laugh! every1 else has ... ..