2. Arachnophobia – fear of arachnids Arachnophobia, an irrational fear of spiders and other arachnids like scorpions. It is actually the most common phobia of all. It is believed that half of the women in the United States have a fear of spiders and a quarter of the men.
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4. Acrophobia – fear of heights Acrophobia is the fear of heights. Many people experience panic and even vertigo when confronted with such a situation and find themselves unable to go to the top floors of large buildings, to use ladders, or to cross bridges with any degree of comfort.
5. Claustrophobia – enclosed spaces A person who is said to be claustrophobic is afraid of an enclosed or a severely confined space from which they perceive there to be no escape. People who have this phobia are wary of riding an aircraft, a train, or even an elevator and often experience severe panic attacks when they find themselves in such a situation.
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7. Brontophobia – storms Brontophobia is the fear of both thunder and lightning. It is interchangeably referred to as astraphobia, tonitrophobia, or keraunophobia. This phobia is extremely common in very young children but often lingers into adulthood.
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9. Agoraphobia – public places Agoraphobia can be a crippling and isolating condition. The sufferer, in this case, has a combination of fears associated with public places, leaving their own home, and finding themselves in an an embarrassing or difficult situation over which they have no control. Many agoraphobes remain housebound for years at a time.
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11. Social Phobia – people Social phobia is closely related to social anxiety. It is the excessive fear or being in a social situation where the phobic perceives themselves to be the subject of scrutiny and evaluation. This phobia is associated with extreme depression or distress and can lead to a complete inability to interact with other people.
12. Mysophobia – germs Mysophobia is simply the fear of germs. Sometimes, this is referred to as germophobia or bacterophobia. It may also go by the name of germaphobia or bacillophobia. People who have this are called mysophibic. They may exhibit extreme obsessive-compulsive behavior as well, washing their hands hundreds of times a day or wearing a breathing mask in public
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14. Carcinophobia – cancer Simply stated, carcinophobia is the irrational fear of acquiring cancer. It is a relatively modern phobia, closely associated with the degree of publicity about the disease in modern media. People with this fear often engage in excessive behavior they perceive to be a protection against getting cancer, for instance taking massive quantities of natural supplements like anti-oxidants that are thought to be cancer preventative.
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28. Necrophobia – death Even if death is a reality of life, many are overly afraid of it. Necrophobia is the fear of anything associated with death including coffins, funeral homes, funerals, and cadavers.
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57. After asking students for examples, discuss monsters. Begin with a discussion of the idea of monsters. Why do you think monsters exist? Can you give examples of monsters from your childhood? Can you give examples of the way we see monsters in our society? What are the positive aspects of monsters? What need did monsters fill in society in the past, what need might they fill now?
58. Each student is to create a monster of his/her own. The monster should have a background, name, and history or developmental tale that explains its existence. There must be a visual accompanying the story.
59. Explain to the class that, even today, there are many cultures that believe in the existence of monsters, demons, and other such creatures. Point out that, while most of us consider the notion of their existence unlikely, belief in monsters is not necessarily an unreasonable belief, and that it is, at very least, supported culturally, albeit not scientifically.
