The tragedy of the ill-fated Titan sub has sparked a flood of interest in ocean adventures and misadventures but there’s a particular group of people who steer well-clear of such subjects.
These are sufferers of the rare phobia submechanophpbia, which is the fear of man-made objects submerged partially or fully underwater.
For those with the condition, snorkelling expeditions and trips to the local pool can be fraught with dread as the prospect of glimpsing so much as a ball beneath the surface can be enough to trigger waves of panic.
Anyone unfamiliar with the phobia but who recognises such feelings of terror might want to check whether they’re submechanophobics themselves.
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Handily, the TikTok account 'br1ghtfacts' has created a test to do just that, featuring images that might seem innocuous to many, but strike horror in the hearts of that unique group.
It begins with a picture of a flooded mine shaft before moving on to an eye-popping underwater statue.
From there, we’re greeted by a photo of a diver hovering by the propellor of an abandoned ship, then by a pretty convincing statue of a crocodile peeking through the surface.
Finally, we’re confronted by what the video’s voiceover describes as “the stairway to hell”, showing a metal staircase leading into a body of frozen water.
The slideshow has racked up more than 2.6 million views and 193,000 likes as commentators shared their alarm at the catalogue.
Interestingly, the most fright-inducing was the second image: the googly-faced statue.
“Number two was a JUMP SCARE,” one TikToker wrote.
“I have submechanophobia but number 2 got me terrified,” admitted another.
“The second one… my soul left my body for a second,” said a third.
While a fourth said they “almost fainted at the statue”.
@br1ghtfactsPhobia test - submechanophobia ? Submechanophobia is a fear of submerged human-made objects, either partially or entirely underwater. These objects could be shipwrecks, statues, animatronics as seen in theme parks, or old buildings, but also more mundane items such as buoys and miscellaneous debris. #abcxyz #fypシ #creepy #phobia #fy
For readers who manage to survive the challenge with your sanity in tact, br1ghtfacts offer other phobia tests that you might want to try out.
There’s one for nyctophophia – an extreme fear of the dark; thalassophobia– the fear of deep water; and even fykiaphobia –the fear of seaweed.
All we can say is, we’re glad to have our feet planted firmly on solid ground right now.
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