Enter if you dare…
If there’s one thing housemate Angela Clancy has already learned during her stay in the Big Brother house, it’s that this is not her house. It’s Big Brother’s.
And in Big Brother’s house, if Big Brother wants you to face your biggest fears, you face them.
For Sunday’s in-house task, the housemates were introduced to the “Ginger-Dread house” where they were called one-at-a-time to enter a makeshift gingerbread home. Instead of delicious treats, they came face-to-face with their worst fears.
In order to successfully complete the task, every person chosen needed to stay for the allotted time — and with a delicious banquet including a chocolate fountain, sweets and champagne for the entire house up for grabs, everyone was willing to face their most dreaded neurosis.
Here, we break down each fear and spoiler alert! They’re all real.
Fear of Knees — Sarah
Known as: Genuphobia (from Latin word “gene” meaning “knee”) is the fear of one’s own knees or someone else’s knees or the act of kneeling.
What is is: Sufferers may get severe anxiety and even vomit (like Sarah), have trouble touching other people’s knees or sharing a bed with someone in case they brush knees.
According to Phobia Wiki, causes of fear include being scared of looking at bare knees or getting a knee injury. It can be difficult when participating in certain activities, as well as certain jobs especially those that involve kneeling down frequently.
Fear of Bubbles — Danni
Known as: Ebulliophobia (from Latin ebullio, “bubble”, “boil”)
What it is: People suffering this fear may avoid looking at liquids and soap that might bubble, as well as bubble wrap, chewing gum, and even foods that are prone to bubble.
The fear may result in a dislike or annoyance of hearing bubbles, fear of getting suffocated by them (like Danni) or getting scared by the loud pop.
Fear of Dogs — Angela
Known as: Cynophobia (from Greek kyon, “dog”).
What happens: People suffering this have a fear of dogs that’s both irrational and persistent. This fear may interfere with daily life and trigger a number of symptoms, like trouble breathing or dizziness.
What it is: The most common cause of this phobia is getting bitten by a dog.
For Angela, who grew up in Africa, dogs were wild and never taken as pets. This has now resulted in genuine fear of all canines.
Fear of Snakes — Sophie
Known as: Ophidiophobia or ophiophobia (from Greek ophis, “snake”), also known as snakephobia and serpentophobia (from Latin serpens, “snake”)
What it is: According to Phobia Wiki, this is the most commonly reported phobia, affecting one-third of adults.
Most people are scared of being bitten or strangled by a snake.
Fear of Fish — Garth*
*Technically Garth had a fear of scaling fish, however, the fear is most likely stemmed from having a fear of actual fish.
Known as: Ichthyophobia (from Greek ichthus, meaning “fish”).
What it is: Having a fear of fish is often caused by traumatic experiences involving fish, like getting bitten or stung by fish, or even bad experiences involving a fish.
Fear of Cheese — Casey*
*Technically Casey had a fear of grating cheese, however, the fear is most likely stemmed from having a fear of actual cheese.
Known as: Turophobia (from Greek tȳrós, meaning “cheese”).
What it is: Turophobia is an irrational or disproportionate fear of cheese which may form from a bad experience or the texture or even taste.
Fear of Pigeons — Daniel
Known as: Peristeriphobia is the fear of pigeons and Ornithophobia (from Greek ornitho, “bird”) is the fear of birds.
What it is: According to Phobia Wiki, Sufferers would be uncomfortable being outdoors and seeing or hearing birds may make them dread, anxious, or panic depending on the severity of one’s phobia. Some ornithopods may only fear certain birds, like Daniel.
