A friend of mine once laughed when I explained I was more afraid of cockroaches than the harmful chemicals polluting my lungs with each spray of Baygon. Her haughty response? A roach isn’t going to kill you.But that’s the strange thing about phobias, they usually make no sense except to the person with the fear.In honour of Halloween, The Royal Gazette asked residents about their phobias and got some interesting results: spiders, leaving a phone at home, public speaking, tunnels and living statues.What we learned is even people considered strong and tough, like bodybuilder Terry Lee Smith, sometimes have fears.“My fear, believe it or not, is of flocks of birds,” Mr Smith said. “From the first and only time I ever saw the movie ‘Birds’, I have had a phobia of large flocks of birds. When in New York City I will cross the street to avoid groups of pigeons on the street.“I could not watch the scenes where the birds were attacking people at all. The friend I was watching the movie with was loving all that and the fact that I could not watch. Here in Bermuda in the parks where the pigeons rule, I am not to be found there if they are present in large [numbers].”Cindy Swan, co-founder of charity Project Action, said as a child in Latin America she was exposed to many different fears and superstitions.“Growing up in Belize infused with my Mayan and Honduran cultures, we were afraid of it all. Ghosts, burial grounds ... not stepping on a crack on the ground because it could break your mother's back.“Our folklore phobias and fright included the mystical ‘tata duhende’ (a man whose feet were backwards so he couldn't be found and we were told he took away all badly behaved children) to a real masked man who rode around Belize City on his bicycle all year covered from head to toe.“Any unexplained illness or bad luck was due to someone paying the obeah man/woman to inflict the negative stance in your life at the time.”Bermuda Regiment Commanding Officer Lieutenant Colonel Brian Gonsalves said snakes were the only thing that really made his skin crawl.“Snakes don’t do it for me. It’s the danger they bring and the slithery thing they do and [the fact] they can be somewhere and you don’t know where they are.“I’ve been afraid of them ever since I was a kid. When I was younger I was also scared of the dark when you go down to the garage or basement but children grow out of that.”Boxer Teresa Perozzi, the reigning WBA middleweight champ, couldn’t think of any serious phobias, but said: “I guess my biggest thing is cockroaches getting in my hair when I see them flying around.“I don’t have a major fear of anything, but every time I see a roach that is what I think. I freak out and it makes my skin crawl.”Zoe Brady, from the National Museum of Bermuda, said she was completely terrified of living statues. She said: “I feel terrible, because I know that they are actually buskers trying to make a living, but even that cannot stop me from turning the other way when I am alone or giving a (hopefully unnoticed) wide berth when I'm with friends.“Covent Garden [in London] is a nightmare. I'm fine with mime and tableaux, but I guess not being able to rationalise something is what makes it a fear. Thank [goodness] they haven't made it to Bermuda yet.”Local sailor Hubert Watlington Sr said it’s the doctor’s visit that gets him.“I am so scared of needles,” he explained. “My lovely wife [author Betsy Mulderig] is afraid of everything, but mainly closed spaces or crowds, elevators, aeroplanes. Yes, it's claustrophobia. But ghosts? Forget about it.”Cockroaches seem to be a common fear, with artist and designer Kendra Earls also saying she was terrified of the creatures. “I have an extreme phobia of cockroaches and living in Bermuda where they are abundant is challenging. I really think even though one may be dead, it's going to wake up and jump me [which is] crazy, but for real.”Environmentalist Frances Eddy said she can’t stand being confined to small spaces. “Whether it is on my roof or in Gibbs' Hill Lighthouse I get the willies. My son wanted us to have lunch on the top floor of the World Trade Centre. No way. I prefer to be at ground zero. Cruises on mega ships? You can have them. The thought of being confined to a ship, no matter how large and entertainment-filled, is a mind-numbing idea to me.”Phenomenal People president Margaret Giloth asked a member of the girls’ club about their biggest fear. Ten-year-old Amirh said she was most afraid of leaving her phone at home.Nomophobia, the fear of being without your mobile, is considered the biggest phobia in the world, affecting approximately 66 percent of people.The youngster’s other fears include leaving her account for anything on, cockroaches and talking in front of large crowds. Ms Giloth said: “Her responses typify those of many young people. My fear is of snakes. I cannot even bear to see them on TV just before going to bed; and my sister's fear is of spiders.”Author Geoff Parker is afraid of what lurks beneath the water, but with good reason.“When I was a little tyke, about four years old, I was poking around a submerged rock at Gibbett's Island in Flatts [and] an octopus didn't appreciate it. The octopus caught hold of my arm and was soon around my neck.“Some huge man looking like Tarzan suddenly appeared and turned the creature inside out leaving me covered with welts and black goo. [It was] quite scary for a four-year-old. Since then I never swim off the rocks, especially off the North Shore — just beaches and boats.”Troncossi Public Relations spokeswoman Victoria Benz said there were many little quirky fears in her life, but the worst was popping balloons.“There was this game when I was little that was played at every child’s birthday party. They tie a balloon to each kid’s ankle and then you run around trying to pop each other’s balloons and the last one standing, wins. OMG! I was terrified. I would be too embarrassed to ask to sit out of the game, so I would act like I had to go to the bathroom and hide.“But once at one girl’s birthday party, her mother made fun of me for being afraid and tried to force me to play. I ended up having a full-on ‘Rain Man’ meltdown, screaming and crying.“My mom had to pick me up while everyone stared and laughed at me. To this day, I will not blow up a balloon or go near blown up balloons. Don’t even get me started on those balloon animal-maker people. I cringe the entire time I watch them just waiting for the balloons to pop.”For a chance to win the latest iPod touch, e-mail in pictures of you dressed up in your Halloween costume to photos@royalgazette.bm. You can also drop your pictures off at The Royal Gazette on Par-la-Ville Road, the Stationery Store on Reid Street, or the iClick store, also on Reid Street.l A real life ghosthunter, Lifestyle, Page 13.