16 Weirdest Phobias

One could argue that there are many reasons to fear reality star Kim Kardashian (the self-absorbed conspicuous consumption some think her show represents, for example.) But those who suffer from Venustraphobia, also known as Caligynephobia, are afraid of beautiful women in general, not just reality stars.

Pedophobia

The evil little kid from "The Omen" would give anyone the creeps, but people with pedophobia have a fear of children in general.

Ancraophobia

Dorothy and Toto were about to get whisked up into the air by a tornado, so if they developed a little ancraophobia, who could blame them. If you fear the wind, you may be ancraophobic too.

Heliophobia

You won't catch this vampire bat in the daylight hours. You could say the little guy is heliophobic - afraid of the sun.

Ephebiphobia

AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Adrien Veczan

Attention frazzled parents: Those frightened by teens have a name - ephebiphobiac. Now you have a fancy reason to keep your kids away from Miley Cyrus.

Automatonophobia

Since the lady in pink is posing with a wax figure of the rapper Tupac in one of Madame Tussauds wax museums, we can safely assume that she doesn't suffer from automatonophobia - the fear of dummies, mannequins, wax figures and the like.

Photo courtesy of MyRealVegas.com

Chorophobia

So not everyone watches "Dancing with the Stars" and thinks, "I should be up there!" Maybe you just don't like dancing. But some people take it to the extreme - the very idea of moving to the beat fills them with horror. They are very possibly chorophobic.

Anthrophobia

Remember the movie "Little Shop of Horrors?" It was the one about the flower shop employee who ends up raising a plant that feeds on human blood.

He had a darn good reason for having anthrophobia - a fear of flowers.

Ecclesiophobia

In Hollywood, those possessed by the devil are typically afraid of churches. If you're not possessed, but nevertheless have an aversion to churches, you just might be ecclesiophobic.

Spectrophobia

Does your dog bark at his own reflection in the mirror. Maybe he is spectrophobic. Spectrophobes are afraid of their own reflections.

Chemophobia

Some people want their food straight up - no chemical fertilizers, no pesticides. Clothes too - organic cotton, only please. But when does being a purist become pathology? Chemophobics have an extreme fear of chemicals, not just a healthy aversion.

Genuphobia

Genuphobia - a deep fear of knees. Some people find them extraordinarily ugly, others may have been traumatized by kneeling in childhood. There are many possible reasons for this highly individualized phobia.

Asymmetriphobia

The detective "Monk" is probably an asymmetriphobe. If you are afraid of asymmetrical objects, mismatched socks, mismatched earrings and the like, you could be too.

Ablutophobia

Just because you do a dirty job for a living doesn't mean you have ablutophobia. True ablutophobes are afraid to wash themselves. Luckily, "Dirty Jobs" host Mike Rowe isn't one of them.

Gelotophobia

Neither Tina Fey nor her old alter ego Sarah Palin could be called gelotophobes - they're both good sports and appreciate a good laugh, even when the joke is on them. Gelotophobes, on the other hand, have a pathological fear of being laughed at or made fun of.

Domatophobia

Movie poster for 1979 horror classic Amityville Horror. — AIP

The unfortunate family that moved into the "The Amityville Horror" home had every reason to be domatophobic. So did the Wicked Witch of the East, who Dorothy dropped in on! Still, domatophobes, those afraid of being in houses, are a rare breed.