Featured Fear: Pediophobia

There is no shame in a phobia, everybody fears something. Without fear to fuel the flames of...some other kind of horrific f word (but not he sexual one), there'd be no horror. No Halloween. NO TERROR. Be glad we all have some kind of fear in our lives, and try not to be so judgmental of the ones that may seem a little...silly.

No, surprisingly this isn't the fear of children or the fear of the love of children. It's the fear of dolls. This can range from any type of doll, but I'm sure you aren't surprised the most common form of Pediophobia is for those rather eery porcelain dolls your grandmother used to keep on the mantle.

Sometimes a child has trouble telling the difference between a real person and something that may look like one, so it isn't surprising they may even believe dolls are people. People who just...stare at you. People who don't blink (unless of course you have the kind that blinks when you tip it backwards.) People who don't change and are always witness to the naughty things a child does when their parents aren't around.

Believe it or not, Pediophobia does not group itself with the fear of ventriloquist dummies, robots and wax statues (automatonophobia). But it makes sense people might feel uncomfortable towards not-quite-people, things that seem to have all of the appearances of a human being, but lacking that one important aspect...a soul.

But I leave you with a short commercial as a reminder. When you talk to your dolls...sometimes...they talk back.