Scary Clowns? Makes Sense. But Now a Look at 10 of Our Strangest Phobias

As if the last couple of years haven't already been scary enough...

Well since we've all decided to stare our fears right in the face, and dare I say, celebrate them, on October 31, it seems an appropriate time of year to discuss some of the most common types of fears and phobias.

First, let's get this one out of the way. Can we all agree that scary clowns are horrifying? Yes? OK, great let's proceed. By the way, the proper term for fear of clowns? Coulrophobia. Yes, it has an official sounding name.

*Disclaimer: No offense meant to professional clowns of the friendlier variety. Unfortunately, your line of work has been hijacked by purveyors of horror. Hugs.*

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Seriously though. I have a good friend who is a professional clown and he is honestly one of the kindest humans you would ever meet. So any time coulrophobia comes up or clowns are painted in a scary light (no pun intended), I wince a little on his behalf.

Other phobias also make sense to many of us, even if they're not something we ourselves find scary at all. Or maybe we do. Things like snakes, spiders, fear of public speaking, fear of death, generally-speaking--yeah, these are fears and phobias that make sense.

But surprisingly, some of our fellow humans are unsettled or downright terrified (or phobic) of things that many of us take as a normal part of living.

Sure, some of the things on this list may not be our favorite aspects of reality, but we take them in stride. Interestingly, some of these things may even be scenarios or activities we sincerely enjoy...like music.

These are somewhat common fears, believe it or not. However, there are significant amounts of people who have a phobic fear of dancing, going to school, or of peanut butter sticking to the roof of their mouths. Wanna learn about even more? Verywellmind.com has a pretty full list here.

Let's take a look at some of the stranger phobias that plague the human psyche, as strange as it may seem.

Here are some of the more common fears and phobias in our collective human psyche:

Some of our fears are sadly based in reality. Heartbreakingly so.

Here are ten unsolved mysteries plaguing Texas families: