Sometimes Fears can be more broad concepts such as Fear of Getting Sick, or something like Fear of Heights. It’s not necessarily a particular illness one might be afraid of or specifically climbing to the top of an abandoned radio tower only for its ladder to fall off leaving you stranded hundreds of feet in the air with your friend unable to call for help. Good movie though. Should probably review that one. Sometimes Fears can be more specific such as in the case of Fear of Moths. Not necessarily butterflies, not all types of bugs, but just moths. That idea was recently submitted to me to write about and you can certainly do the same thing or write your own content to be featured on the website too! Let’s dive into Fear of Moths and maybe even talk about Mothra if there’s time.
Mottephobia, Lepidopterophobia, & Fear of Moths
Fear of Moths is called Mottephobia but it’s probably more known as Lepidopterophobia. While it’s not as bad as writing Triskaidekaphobia or Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia, let’s stick to Fear of Moths. Who has time for more than one syllable these days? Here’s a basic anatomy of a moth: they have wings so they can fly around unpredictably. They also have weird little heads with antennae. That’s the plural of antenna when not referring to an old television set. Fun fact. Anyway, so moths basically serve one purpose which is to eat your old clothing and then fly into light bulbs. Not sure if that’s all moths because I didn’t fact-check that part but sounds accurate so we’re going to go with it. That means at any time, you are likely either swatting away a moth that’s hovering around your head, it’s currently in your closet eating your favourite pair of overpriced jeggings, or it’s dead somewhere in your house because it couldn’t resist artificial light. We all have our quirks.
Have you ever held a moth? Of course not because that’s insane and you know moths have this weird, powdery residue coating them that allows them to make a larger mess than is otherwise necessary. While not toxic enough to kill you on its own (it’s actually not poisonous at all), moths produce enough of this dust to manufacture those little balls of chemicals and pesticides used in shipping or as a deterrent for pests. That is why they are called “mothballs”. Without this manufacturing process, however, the dust from a moth can cause you to sneeze which in itself can be worse because then you make a sudden loud noise that can frighten someone. Moths are also not necessarily known to attack or consume humans but I wouldn’t put it past them and their beady, little eyes. None of the above is true and I refuse to fact-check anything, apparently. Just ignore this whole paragraph, alright?
Like Fear of Moths to a Flame
Originally created as PSA spokesperson for Fear of Moths, Mothra was later rebranded as an action hero due to complaints stemming from the destruction of local schools and assembly halls during awareness events. While not an urban legend like Slender Man or Santa Claus, Mothra has since been featured in several cinematic documentaries alongside its best friend and ruthless foe who is also an overly large creature. Why does that history lesson matter? Well, just like Mothra, a Fear of Moths can also be overcome in several ways. Moths are actually harmless. They pretty much just fly around unless they spot fire or a lightbulb and gracefully zap themselves into oblivion. If a moth does find its way into your house, don’t panic. Unlike snakes, sharks, and zombies, moths are more afraid of you than you are of them. Just open your front door and let it go back from whence it came. This can be a cathartic experience as you release your Fear into the wild to terrorize someone else instead. Moths can also make great pets if you are into things that can live for almost 30 days at a time.
Well, we’ve reached the end of this post. This means I only have a short amount of time to encourage you to Like & Share Things I Fear on Facebook to help grow the community! You should definitely do that. 1 Like can be the difference between creating more great content or releasing this swarm of moths I’ve been training to do my bidding.
