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You've Probably Never Heard Of Automatonophobia But If You Grew Up Fearing These 27 Things, You 100% Have It

BuzzFeed
3 min read

1.If you were ever freaked out by LazyTown, you may have automatonophobia.

the puppet characters in "LazyTown"
Nickelodeon

2.In fact, if any puppets ever freaked you out — like the ones from that freaky Angel episode — you definitely have this phobia.

evil puppet on "Angel"
The WB

3.Or if Rex from Victorious sent chills down your spine.

Robbie with his dummy Rex
Nickelodeon

I mean, look at that face. That's the face of pure evil.

Rex close-up
Nickelodeon

4.Did you find that Buffy episode with the ventriloquist dummy especially creepy?

ventriloquist with dummy in suit
The WB

5.What about animal characters that were made to look human — like the ones on the show Dinosaurs?

father and baby dinosaur

The flesh-colored baby... Thanks, I hate it!

Jim Henson Productions / courtesy Everett Collection

6.Or Howard from Howard the Duck?

Howard

This reminds me of Miss Birdy in the worst possible way.

Universal Pictures/ Courtesy: Everett Collection

7.How do you feel overall about bipedal animal puppets that wear clothes?

Barney
Polygram Filmed Entertainment / courtesy Everett Collection

8.What about ones with humanlike hair?

frog puppet with wig from "Alice" movie
First Run Features / courtesy Everett Collection

9.Imagine waking up and seeing this...thing from Meet the Feebles.

puppet with dress and pearl necklace and large snout but flesh-colored skin
Grey Cat Films / courtesy Everett Collection

10.Humanlike objects would also fall under this fear.

Gumby characters from "The Puppetoon Movie"

Gumby, please go back to whatever hell dimension you came from.

Courtesy Everett Collection

11.This fear could even extend to the Muppets.

Waldorf and Statler in "The Muppets Movie"
Associated Film Distribution / courtesy Everett Collection

12.Or The Happytime Murders, which is apparently supposed to be a comedy.

Sandra being interrogated in the film
Hopper Stone / STX Entertainment / courtesy Everett Collection

13.I know Annabelle is supposed to be scary but still. If you're abnormally scared of it, you might have automatonophobia.

Annabelle doll from the movie
Rich Fury / FilmMagic via Getty Images

14.Or maybe you're more freaked out by the real Annabelle doll.

real Annabelle doll in a wooden and glass case

Raggedy Ann dolls in general 100% come from the devil.

Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

15.Have you never been able to sit through Pan's Labyrinth?

alien creature with eyeballs on its palms
Picturehouse / courtesy Everett Collection

16.What about Labyrinth, for that matter?

Hoggle in "Labyrinth"
TriStar Pictures / courtesy Everett Collection

17.Does Big Bird still haunt you?

Big Bird in "Follow That Bird"
Warner Bros / ?Warner Bros / courtesy Everett Collection

18.Did you, like me, have an irrational fear that your Tickle Me Elmo would come alive?

Tickle Me Elmo in box
James Keyser / Getty Images

19.Do you hate absolutely everything about The Dark Crystal?

Jen and Kira walking together
Universal / courtesy Everett Collection

20.Were you, as I was, absolutely horrified to discover they were making a sequel series?

Ordon in "Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance"
Kevin Baker / Netflix / courtesy Everett Collection

21.Have you ever gotten a stomachache at the thought of going into Madame Tussauds?

Al Roker wax figure
Noam Galai / Getty Images

22.Or do you blame House of Wax for your wax figure fear?

wax figures in "House of Wax"
Warner Brothers / courtesy Everett Collection

23.How do you feel about the animatronic band at Chuck E. Cheese?

Pasqually P. Pieplate, Chuck E. Cheese, and Helen Henny
Phillip Faraone / FilmMagic via Getty Images

24.What about those Ronald McDonald statues and balloons?

giant Ronald McDonald balloon
Noam Galai / Getty Images

25.And the Hamburgler?

person in Hamburgler costume
Jana Chytilova / Freestyle Photography / Getty Images

26.How do you feel about the puppets from "Don't Hug Me I'm Scared"?

the yellow puppet from the short
Don't Hug Me I'm Scared / YouTube / Via youtube.com

27.And finally...did you find yourself irrationally afraid of sports mascots growing up?

Gritty the mascot
Kyle Ross / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

If you found any of these scary...congratulations, you may have automatonophobia. But not to worry — you're not alone. We will get through this together. Feel free to use the comments to bond over this strange fear.

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