A phobia is an irrational fear of an object or situation, which isnt the same as simply being afraid of something. While some folks genuinely suffer from coulrophobia (fear of clowns), its actually a relatively obscure phobic affliction compared to, say, arachnophobia. Simply being freaked out by Pennywise the Clown doesnt necessarily make one coulrophobic. Unless their mere presence affects you physically, you simply hate clowns, and probably have Stephen King to thank for that. Then there are the most common phobias were all familiar with, and even though we may not all share these afflictions, were at least able to empathize with those who do. So is Hollywood, which is why filmmakers frequently tap into common fears by including moments calculated to make your toes curl, your heart beat faster and your palms sweat. One might understandably assume horror films would dominate any list where phobias are exploited for the sake of entertainment, because no sane individual is a big fan of death. But surprisingly, death-anxiety doesnt appear on any list of most common fears researched for this article. In fact, more people suffer from Emetophobia (fear of vomiting) than a visit from the Grim Reaper. Hence, only three entries on this list are full-blooded horror films. This is a list of ten films which best-exploit common phobias for our amusement. Enter at your own risk
D.M. Anderson works and lives in Portland Oregon. He is the author of two young adult novels (Killer Cows & Shaken) and a collection of dark tales (With the Wicked). He has also published several short stories which have appeared (or will appear) in various anthologies and magazines such as 69 Flavors of Paranoia, Night Terrors, Trembles, Encounters, Implosion, Strange Fucking Stories, Perpetual Motion Machine. He documents his adventures in the dark on on his movie site, Free Kittens Movie Guide
