How I Developed Maskaphobia

While thinking about this post, in the shower (where I do my best thinking), I realized that I have many phobias.  A little google medical search, however, assures me that it's common to have multiple phobias and that all of mine are fairly common and are diagnosed phobias.  So what that means is that I'm probably crazy, but at least I'm not the only one.  

I don't know where most of my phobias came from.  I suspect where a few developed, though, and I'm pretty positive about two of them.  Maskaphobia and coulrophobia.

Coulrophobia is the fear of clowns.  I was not always afraid of clowns, in fact I loved them at one time.  Then I had a traumatic clown experience.  I will not talk about that experience because it was that traumatic.  Suffice it to say that I now hate clowns.

Maskaphobia is the fear of masks.  I looked it up because I didn't know if it actually existed.  Apparently it does and it's very common.  In fact, it's actually considered part of a child's developmental stage and is not considered a phobia unless there is something (generally a traumatic experience) that makes it "stick".  Interestingly enough, many people who suffer from one of these phobias also suffers from the other.  Also, those who are maskaphobics vary greatly in what kinds of masks they are afraid of.  

I am afraid of all masks that cover the face entirely.  All of them.  Bunny rabbits, Barbie, Mickey Mouse, monsters, mascots, presidential candidates...all of them.  A hockey game or a carnival could potentially end my life.

The point at which it is  most likely that I developed this fear is the following story.  My disclaimer is that I was too young to remember the episode (or I blocked it from my memory) and therefore will tell it to you as it was told to me.

I was with my parents in a store near Halloween.  Of course we had to take a little trip to look at the costumes and other Halloween decorations.  Apparently, my father was playing in the masks and decided to put one on.

Let me give you just a little background.  My father can be an...um...intimidating figure due to his sheer size.  He's very tall.  

He once dressed as Frankenstein for Halloween (a very good costume) and, upon trying to help a little boy at the church carnival, nearly scared the child to death.  I'm sure somewhere that child is blogging about his fear of Frankenstein's monster.

The combination of my father's size and the rubber mask that he selected apparently terrified me. I'm unclear as to if he actually "Booed" me or if he just put the mask on without any intent of trying to frighten me.  It doesn't matter.  The damage was done...and I was screaming.  

I would not stop screaming.  Nothing would make me stop.  Even after he removed the mask I continued to scream.  My parents, of course, were frantically trying everything they could think of to get me to calm down since I'm sure this was causing a little bit of scene in the store.

Apparently I didn't care that I was causing a scene.  I just kept screaming.  

Finally, they tell me, they found a doll that calmed me down some.  

I loved that doll and named her "Yellow Baby" (she had a yellow outfit).  It would be years later when I would wonder where I got the doll and would be told the story.

Now I know where I got both Yellow Baby and an irrational fear of masks.  I'm pretty sure that my response probably caused my father to develop a fear of wearing masks...at least I have never seen him put one on since then.  On the other hand, that could just be out of respect for my phobia.  

And now you know why you're not likely to find  me out on Halloween night.  I'd much rather stay inside where it's safe and I will not potentially be caused to have a heart attack by an encounter with Batman on the sidewalk.