Trying to figure out what I'm afraid of
Over the past year or so it's become more and more obvious to me that I have some kind of specific phobia, but I can't quite figure out what exactly I am afraid of, and what all the things that trigger the feeling have in common. Some things that trigger the same specific feeling of fear:
- model turtles: fake ones, a real taxidermied or living turtle is fine. Toy turtles are okay. The bigger they are the worse the fear. I also feel similar about other large fake fish
- model animals with plastic/hard fur: again, taxidermy or models with synthetic fur/fur that mimics the real texture is fine. It's when they look plastic that's the issue. Thinking specifically of a tiger in this case
- inflatable Christmas decorations
- hot air balloons that are human/animal/creature shaped
I'm fine with human mannequins and those wiggly inflatable people that you see at car dealerships, which are the only two other things I can think of that might fit into whatever category this is. It seems to me that the issue is large things meets uncanny valley. Any ideas, anyone relate?