ADVERTISEMENT

Fran Krause is a comic writer, illustrator, animator, and educator based in California, who teaches animation at the California Institute of the Arts. Fran needs no introduction to those familiar with the weird and wonderful world of animation, as he worked for various projects on television and a bunch of popular comic series, like James Kochalka’s SuperF*ckers.

But today Fran is best known for his “Deep Dark Fears” project where he puts a creepy, captivating, and insanely funny spin on things people fear the most. Fran gets sent fear submissions from strangers on the internet that he then turns into colorful comics, putting our irrational anxieties into a whole new spotlight.

In 2015, his first book “Deep Dark Fears” became a New York Times bestseller for hardcover graphic novels, followed by a second volume “The Creeps: A Deep Dark Fears Collection” in 2017. So welcome to the internet’s beloved corner of idiosyncratic fears that capture imagination and release the silent demons inside, some of whom are funnier than we tend to think.

More info: DeepDarkFears.com | Twitter | Instagram | FranKrause.tumblr.com

To find out more about the weird and wonderful world of “Deep Dark Fears,” Bored Panda reached out to the artist behind it, Fran Krause. Fran’s captivating illustrations became an instant hit both online, and in the illustration industry. His first book, “Deep Dark Fears,” premiered as a New York Times bestseller six years ago and his fan base has been constantly growing ever since.

#6

Comics-Deep-Dark-Fears-Fran-Krause

deepdarkfears Report

Add photo comments
POST
ae_3 avatar
あんぱんまん
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

omg.... i told my dad to NEVER put a big mirror in my room even tho im kinda ok with the tiny ones.... thanks to my frnds i have a very good fear of mirrors now....

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

Part of its popularity probably has to do with the fact that “Deep Dark Fears” genuinely touches people in a way that not much art does these days. Fran said that while working on his comics, he noticed that everyone seems to have fears, which is what makes his work so relatable. “Even people who look totally normal are actually afraid that there are goblins in their attic, or that their food has been secretly poisoned by assassins!”

ADVERTISEMENT
#7

Comics-Deep-Dark-Fears-Fran-Krause

deepdarkfears Report

Add photo comments
POST
ilovebeansoo avatar
TIffany Jones
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They say you never can dream of a strange face. You might not have associated with the people in your dreams but you have SEEN them in the past.

shrutiprabhu14 avatar
SP
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In a way we're all extras in others' lives and the protagonists of ours, except a few that truly care about us and vav.

virgoal333 avatar
Purr·maid
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

𝙄'𝙢 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙨𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙣𝙤𝙬.

lunalovebug avatar
Luna Lovebug
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They say that we can only dream about people we've seen before in life or on tv. That we are unable to make up faces. Meaning everyone you see in your dreams, good or bad is someone you have seen or met before somewhere else. It's this thought that makes my nightmares so much scarier. I used to have this brutal recurring nightmare from which I would wake up violently ill. Would take me weeks to shake them off. But never saw the guys face until a few months ago when I suddenly started having the nightmare again. Turned out to be my first boyfriend. I really can remember much from our time together. I was mentally in a really bad state back then. I always thought I suppressed the memories to protect me from my own bad state back then. But now I can stop thinking if this is really what I'm trying to forget or if there is more reality to this dream than I like to admit. I've been thinking about trying a hypnosis session to dig deeper into this. Because something is definitely off.

powerhugful avatar
Mihail Dragolov
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What's wrong with that? You get to mess them up while they are dreaming!

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT

Fran also said that “it would be very strange to be alone in your fear. If you've had a strange fear, it's almost impossible to be alone in that fear.” So he guessed that “there are probably millions of people who are afraid that a snake has found its way into their toilet.”

#10

Comics-Deep-Dark-Fears-Fran-Krause

deepdarkfears Report

Add photo comments
POST
crabcrab avatar
Hans
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

...if you get belly rubs occasionally, this is still not the worst fate.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#12

Comics-Deep-Dark-Fears-Fran-Krause

deepdarkfears Report

Add photo comments
POST
crabcrab avatar
Hans
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

...only to realize that mentally you are only as old as you make yourself feel!

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

When asked how “Deep Dark Fears” evolved with time, Fran said that he still draws them the same way, “in my sketchbook with a little watercolor kit. I've tried not to repeat myself, so the subject matter wanders around as I look for new subjects.”

ADVERTISEMENT

He also noticed that the earlier illustrations “were gory, and then they were spooky,” and added: “I've been doing a bunch lately on childhood fears.”

#13

Comics-Deep-Dark-Fears-Fran-Krause

deepdarkfears Report

Add photo comments
POST
evacheong avatar
Eva the Egg
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Same... Im scared that if i suddenly open my eyes there will be something crouching on my chest of something

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#14

Comics-Deep-Dark-Fears-Fran-Krause

deepdarkfears Report

Add photo comments
POST
jaynekyra avatar
Jayne Kyra
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was so sick of (and from) meds for my migraines that I decided to get a Daith piercing. I don´t know if it really helped, or if it is a placebo effect, but 2 years later and my migraines are still less frequent than before. (Once every 2-3 weeks, to once every 2-3 months.)

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

People send their fear submissions to Fran and he receives quite a lot of them, anywhere from one hundred to five hundred, and if it gets onto a big website, he might get a thousand. In that sense, the artist goes through every single book on human fears on a weekly basis.

“I think, if I'm reading someone's fear, and an image pops into my head, I'm more likely to draw it as a comic. I'm looking for things that have a text and a drawn component,” he said. “I like how the text can support the image, or it can do something totally different. I like playing with how they both interact,” Fran concluded.

ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#17

Comics-Deep-Dark-Fears-Fran-Krause

deepdarkfears Report

Add photo comments
POST
ghuleca14 avatar
ChinmayGhule
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Or maybe you're just a Daoist clone and your main body is trying to contact you.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#21

Comics-Deep-Dark-Fears-Fran-Krause

deepdarkfears Report

Add photo comments
POST
thomasjohnson avatar
No.
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

your laces could get stuck, but it will make you fall over at worst

View more commentsArrow down menu
#22

Comics-Deep-Dark-Fears-Fran-Krause

deepdarkfears Report

Add photo comments
POST
crabcrab avatar
Hans
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When I trip when ice skating, I directly make fists with my hands. I guess I have succumbed to that fear.

View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#27

Comics-Deep-Dark-Fears-Fran-Krause

deepdarkfears Report

#28

Comics-Deep-Dark-Fears-Fran-Krause

deepdarkfears Report

#30

Comics-Deep-Dark-Fears-Fran-Krause

deepdarkfears Report

Note: this post originally had 49 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.