Phun with phobias
Call of Cthulhu fan? Well, the phobias listed in that game aren’t the only fun ones around. Here’s a couple of others to harass your players with. Harassment is good for you. Harassment is bad for them. Bad for them is good for you. Really.
| Ailuraphobia Fear of Cats |
The heroes came closer, bravely ignoring the unpleasant presence of the hired thugs all around them. Don Diego smiled and said, “Welcome to my hacienda, amigos. Now, make yourselves at ho – AAARGH! KILL IT!”
Gabrielle realized that the Spaniard was pointing at her cat which sat on her shoulder, and looked somewhat confused. |
Cats are evil. Anyone who has seen a pair of wicked, yellow eyes glistening in the dark, who has seen a cat play cruelly with its prey for hours on end, who has heard a cat angrily hissing and spitting – he knows that cats are of infinite evil. |
| Alophobia Fear of Pain |
Jameson bowed low and entered the grass hut through the door hole. He was not quite certain what the chief had meant when he said, ‘a test of strength’. Jameson was confident, though, that he was one of the strongest men he knew of, so he was not overly worried. Once he had demonstrated his prowess before these painted brutes, pressing on to Fort Hope should be no big deal.
Inside, a huge pole had been erected in the center of the hut. On top of it, a large bison skull and an assortment of feather decorations. Brutes, they were brutes. A group of young braves were dancing around the pole, and it seemed to Jameson that if all he had to do was to dance, he was going to get off easy. As he few closer he realized that the red paint on the dancers’ chests was not paint. Tiny pieces of wood pierced their chest muscles, pieces to which were tied strings of tendon and leather which in turn were tied to the pole. The dancers were leaning heavily on the strings. Blood was pouring down their chests, stomachs, and legs. “You will dance,” the chief said. “Dance until the wood comes out and the visions begin. Make no sound and do not show that you are in pain. Such is the way of the warrior.” Jameson felt the floor give beneath his feet as he fainted. |
Pain is terrible. There is nothing worse in the entire universe than pain. It is a red veil that draws down before your eyes, and there are only the screams and then, the silence. |
| Entemophobia Fear of Insects |
Hank hushed the children. “It’s time to play the quiet game, kids. We all will be very quiet, or the redskins will find us.” Marietta and Claude shut up as the cowboy said to. A humming bee landed on Hank’s shoulder, but neither child paid it any heed as they watched the Iroquois braves surrounding their hiding place. Then, suddenly, Hank leapt to his feet, pounding his shoulder madly and screaming, “Get it off me! Get it off me!”
The nearest brave raised his axe as if to comply. |
Insects are the worst things. They creep and crawl and buzz. Have you seen what insects do to each other? Eat their mates, kill each other, poison each other, torture each other. Insects are magnificent life forms, almost impossible to get rid of, and that’s what makes them so dangerous. In the race for survival, insects are the real winners. |
| Monophobia Fear of Being Alone |
Harris called the others up close behind him and ordered phasers on maximum stun. Then he took a few tentative steps forward in the general direction of the massive complex. Behind them and to the sides, the away team could hear the muffled sounds of dying aliens. “Cover me and stay close,” Harris ordered, feeling unsafe.
“With all due respect, sir,” the Vulcan ensign argued. “It would be more logical if only one of us proceed to the alien transporter. This would minimize the possible fatality rate.” “With all due respect, Tok,” Harris snapped. “No one goes anywhere alone on my command. Is that clear, Tok?” The ensign nodded. In his head he was already rehearsing ways to complain to the captain when they got home. If they got home. |
Being alone is the worst thing that can happen to anyone. When there is no one to look after you, who knows what can come crawling out of a dark corner? Who will help you? Survivors always move in groups. |
| Erytrophobia Fear of Blushing |
Marie-Claudette had everything under control. She could handle it. This time she was not going to make a fool out of herself, not like the last time. She was going to walk up to Henri and tell him right there what she thought of his business methods and the other guests would listen to her. Not like the last time. This time she would not blush and stutter and look stupid. This time!
“Henri!” she yelled. “Henri, I have something to tell you!” Then she remembered just how embarrassing it had been the last time. Her courage rapidly dwindled and her cheeks began to flush. And all the people looked at her and laughed. Just like the last time. |
Never be in the middle of things. People could begin to look at you and then you would most certainly blush and look like an idiot. You always blush and look stupid, and then everything turns terrible. Never, ever blush! |
| Scotophobia Fear of Darkness |
Laughing Wolf paced the outskirts of the camp, his fingers lovingly tracing the hilt of his obsidian battle axe, eager to put it to use against soft Shaer Dhuyan braves. Night was falling. The fortress of Shaer Dhuyan, overseeing the mountain pass, made it very difficult to launch an attack against the city behind it. The archers up there could pick the eyebrow off a fly with ease, never getting into danger.
Laughing Wolf sent his page boy to give word to break camp. Though outnumbered and outgunned, the prince had one advantage over the Dhuyani: They would not fight in the dark, refusing to even be out of doors when the moons rose. With this kind of fear, the defenders would scatter before Laughing Wolf’s troops like sheep. |
There are things in the dark. Never be alone in the dark. The wicked things will get you. In the dark. You never know what’s hiding in the dark. |
| Xenophobia Fear of Strangers |
“You can find Ray up his mountain,” the farmer said. “It’s a shame though. He hasn’t got a phone, or even a radio up there. You might want to warn him that you’re coming somehow.” The farmer shrugged. “He saw some ugly things back in ‘Nam. Made him kind of strange in the head, if you know what I mean. Don’t worry, though. If he likes you he’ll just set his dogs on you. He only shoots people he doesn’t like.” | Strange people are dangerous people. How can you know that someone isn’t there to harm you when you don’t know him? How can you spend time alone with someone you don’t know? Strange people could be the agents of anything out there, or just plain cruel people who want to hurt you. |
| Agoraphobia Fear of Open Spaces |
“I don’t care if I can save the world!” The words run out sharply though the thick wood of the closet muffled them just a bit. Terry and Julie sighed. What were they going to do with Dr. Invincible? Ever since his last encounter with Venom Woman, the superhero had refused to come out of the closet. And frankly, the living-room was beginning to develop a smell. | I’ve never liked it when there was too much room around me. Sometimes I feel like the sky is going to drop down on my head or that someone is watching from the heavens. The pressure of all that air around me makes me sick. I can get the feeling that I’m going to fall off the planet next. |
| Demophobia Fear of Crowds |
Jean-Michel could easily make out the cardinal in the middle of the crowd. The bright red robe and wide-brimmed hat made him easy to tell apart from the filthy, poor people who surrounded him. Jean-Michel sighed, tears running down his grimy cheeks. The boy had stood there on the fringe of the mob for some time now that in his fist he had the letter from the bishop that would prove the cardinal’s innocence.
The cardinal would be so grateful to him. He would pay Jean-Michel in red gold, and the boy would be able to take his mother out of the brothel. They could find work on a farm and be decent people. But Jean-Michel did not dare enter the crowd. |
Too many people in one place is dangerous. In a crowd, how can you tell what the others are up to? The guy next to you could be a mad rapist, or holding a big knife. He could be thinking all kinds of dirty things about you. Maybe they’re all thinking about you. |
| Dendrophobia Fear of Trees |
Cedric looked at his captive and smiled. “An elf. At last.” He glanced at his fellow mercenaries and yelled, “Now we have a guide into Darkwood! This time, the forbidden paths of the elves will lead us into fabled Certival where the streets are paved with gold!”
The elf screamed and fell to his knees. “Please, not the woods, please, I’ll do anything, just don’t make me go into the forest!” |
Trees are terrible. They have been here so long and then they just stand there, looming over you, and throwing branches and twigs at you. Trees are evil. Listen to the rustling of their leaves and you can hear their wicked laughter, like a constant humming of the deep forests of prehistory. |
The Fear of cats makes me think of an anime Ranma 1/2 his dad tied him with fish sausage and tied him up it in a pit of hungry cats, to teach him cat-fu or the cat fist technique, so the way it works is when he sees a cat he becomes so scared he becomes a cat in mind. If you have never watched it check it out too funny.