On our blog, we aim to be as engaging as possible, covering a range of topics like movies, chess, and general knowledge. To reach a broad audience, I strive to diversify my posts. This time, I want to explore something a bit different: phobias, with a focus on hydrophobia. While I don’t personally suffer from hydrophobia, I’ll share some intriguing stories related to water—some weird, others strange, and even a few that are quite frightening. If you have hydrophobia, you might want to skip this one!
A bit about me:
Besides my work as an experienced marketer, I’m also a writer with short stories featured in various anthologies and magazines, and I’ve published a novel. Writing is a passion of mine, and I enjoy supporting other writers. Since 2007, I’ve been a long-time member of a writing group where I assist fellow writers by offering feedback and suggestions to help them refine their short stories.
Before I share my stories, I wanted to cover the meaning of the word “Aquaphobia.” We all know that phobia when added to a word means fear of. “Aqua” is the Latin word for water. Whenever you combine both words, you get a serious medical condition that can hamper some from enjoying their lives. Most people with this condition fear water to a point that even the state of being in a shower can frighten them.
Another word for fear of water is “Hydrophobia.” For those who are interested in semantics and word variations, this is useful to know. I’m fascinated by the origins of words, so indulge me, at least for this sentence. I’ll try not to bore you as we go along.
Do I have this condition? No, but I nearly do. For these stories, after I experienced them, they led me to rethink my relationship with water. That’s one of the reasons I do not meditate. Because I have a strong imagination, I can easily transport myself to water-related scenarios, and I don’t want to do that. But I’m getting off the subject.
Lest I go off in different tangents, here are my six strange and weird stories involving water:
1. Almost Drowning
This story was related to me by my mom. She mentioned that I was about one year old and she placed me in a bathtub. Afterwards, she went to take care of some errands for a moment in the home. To her shock, when she returned 5 minutes later, the water had flowed so fast and abundantly that it was up to my neck. I, of course, do not remember this. But every time she relates it to me, it does give me the chills about what could have been.
2. Perpetual Rain in Romania
It was sometime during the summer of 2004. At the time, I lived in Romania. The country is known for its variety, including the weather. Some days will be cold and others hot. Of course, there’s weather in between, but in this particular week, it rained for 6 days straight. I could not believe it. One night, I even woke up during the middle of the night on one occasion to see whether the rain lasted only during the day, but much to my chagrin, it was still raining. That was the first time that I’ve ever seen it rain for 6 days straight. And when I say there was no pause in the rain, I really mean that. To add to the scariness, from my apartment window, I could still see the crows flying across the sky even in the rain. Crows are wonderful and beautiful animals, and they’re also quite intelligent. But I still have a phobia for them, and we all know that they tend to be associated with death and even nefariousness. Even though they’re marvelous creatures and quite innocuous.
3. The Stinging Coral
I had the pleasure of visiting Cuba in November 2004. I detail this trip in my article, 10 of the Most Interesting Places I’ve Traveled To. Among the wonderful activities we enjoyed was snorkeling. My wife, who was from the Soviet Union, also enjoyed the trip. Snorkeling was one of the activities during our sojourn. On that day, which I’ll never forget, we were treated to a delightful multicolored array of fish of different species and sizes. I’m not exaggerating when I say that the water was super clean and it felt like being in an oversized fish tank. The snorkeling trip went well, until I decided to touch a beautiful-looking large coral. And the moment I touched it, I felt an enormous sting. Not as bad as a beastly sting, but nonetheless, it was painful. I continued the 10-minute snorkeling trip, after which one of the fellow travelers suggested that I apply some salt to it. Eventually, it did help, but it wasn’t immediate.
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4. The Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marvelous body of water that I enjoy reading about even though I’ve never been there. The thing is, I’d made plans on visiting the Black Sea during my stay in Romania, but they never came to fruition. They say things happen for a reason. I don’t know if you believe in these types of things, but I sure do. Looking back, I’m actually glad that I never went to the Black Sea. Why? Well, I read some months back about the discovery of a ship from over 2,000 years ago. Somehow, it disturbed me. And I can’t pinpoint exactly what it is, but I guess it’s the fact that I think I would have had nightmares if I had bathed in those waters. I’m not perfect, but I know myself and the things that I fear. And again, back to meditation. As someone with a vivid imagination, I often would have imagined this body of water in my mind’s eye after visiting. The Black Sea also contains no oxygen and it is rumored that there are bodies preserved at the bottom. That was a disturbing thought for me, and I think a therapist would do a good job in dissolving this fear, but as it stands, I have a total fear of the Black Sea.
5. Lake Michigan
I lived in Chicago for 3 years from 1998 until 2001. It was one of the best times of my life. Chicago is very much like New York but with its own flavor and personality. The first time I was in Chicago was in 1994, and I visited Lake Michigan shortly thereafter. I can remember the day. It was a German national whom I met at the hospital. Mostly, we discussed music and foreign languages. When we got to the beach, our conversation stopped, and I told him that I liked to take a dip into the water. For some reason, though, I didn’t, and our conversations about culture continued. I will be honest and tell you that I’ve never been in Lake Michigan. I really think there was a reason why I didn’t go into the lake that day. The combination of Lake Michigan’s size, powerful winds, and sudden weather changes creates conditions where riptides can form quickly, posing a significant risk to even experienced swimmers. Somehow, even to this day, I think to myself that there is a possibility that I would have drowned had I ventured into its waters. The reason is, I was quite young at the time, and I know myself and that I likely would have underestimated the waters’ potential. To this day, I don’t go inside Lake Michigan. I still have that fear of drowning. But, unlike the Black Sea, Lake Michigan does not frighten me with its shipwrecks, some of them centuries old.
6. Lake Superior
Lake Superior, much like Lake Michigan, holds a certain allure for me, albeit with an added layer of trepidation. Recently, I delved into articles about Lake Superior, and it struck me just how fascinating and significant this body of water is, both for its residents and in terms of tourism. Covering more than 31,000 square miles (80,000 square kilometers)—roughly the size of South Carolina—Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area. Siberia’s Lake Baikal holds more water due to its greater depth. Lake Superior’s maximum depth is 1,333 feet (406 meters). It shares a curious similarity with the Black Sea, though for different reasons. The Black Sea is known for its anoxic conditions, which preserve shipwrecks and other artifacts remarkably well. Lake Superior, on the other hand, is famed for its icy waters. It is the coldest of the Great Lakes, and its crystal-clear depths—reaching down to around 600 feet (183 meters)—only intensify the eerie thought of perfectly preserved bodies lurking beneath the surface. I often find myself imagining the unnerving possibility of encountering one of these ghostly presences. Lake Superior, with its stunning beauty, is undeniably captivating, but it remains a place I prefer to admire from afar rather than to venture into its depths.
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