Meteorophobia: the fear of meteors

By Hayley Birch

What's so scary about them?
Er, big ball of rock and flame travelling at twenty six miles per second. Yep, got it.

What do the scientists say about it?
Nothing. Silence. Which is absolutely appalling for something so terrifying. I don't care what anyone says. Surely if it's rational to be scared of clowns, it's perfectly rational to be scared of a ruddy great ball of fire hurtling towards our tiny, fragile planet.

There seems to be a blatant disregard for people with this very legitimate fear and a lack of treatment options. So, if you’re in need of counselling for your meteorophobia, I suggest you take note of the following, which I have adapted from Cambridge University’s arachnophobia coping hierarchy.

1. Reading about meteors.
2. Looking at and then touching a photograph of a meteor.
3. Looking at/touching a plastic model of a meteor.
4. Looking at/touching a jar with a small meteor in (could be tricky).
5. Picking the meteor out of the jar.
6. Picking up a large meteor (perhaps over ambitious).

Meteorophobia: True or false?
The scientists might be overlooking it for the moment, but you wait until we're all about to die thanks to an impending meteor strike. It'll be global meteorophobia. True.

Back to Top Ten Weird Phobias

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