50 Frightening Pics That Make Us Want To Stay As Far Away From The Ocean As Possible (New Pics)
You probably know that humans have only explored about 5% of the world’s oceans. But did you know that the number of viruses in the ocean outnumbers the amount of stars in the Milky Way? Or how about the fact that the deepest part of the ocean stretches down about 36,200 feet? How much do you know about hydrothermal vents? As it turns out, these deep sea vents can reach temperatures of up to 700 degrees Fahrenheit. But don’t worry, if you ever made it that far down, you’d likely be crushed by the water pressure before you were melted.
Are these facts starting to make you sweat? If so, you just might have thalassophobia, or the intense fear of large bodies of water. While many of us love a trip to the beach or going swimming in a warm lake in the summer, these places serve as other people’s worst nightmares. And if you’re certain that you’re purely a land creature, you might want to avoid this list. But if you’re interested in exploring the depths of the ocean and the insane amounts of power that water has, you’re in for a real treat.
We’ve gathered some of our favorite posts from the Thalassophobia subreddit down below to captivate, and possibly terrify, you pandas. Be sure to upvote the pics that you find most fascinating (or unsettling), and let us know in the comments how you feel about vast bodies of water. Then, if you can handle even more of these scary photos, you can check out Bored Panda’s last article on thalassophobia right here! Now, cue the Jaws theme song!
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Deep Water Swell
A Huge Wave
Alex Dawson's Award-Winning Viciously Haunting Scuba Diving Photos
The Thalassophobia subreddit has been around since 2013, and it’s become an incredibly popular place since then. It currently has 1.2 million members, and it is home to countless posts featuring how frightening and amazing the world’s bodies of water can be. From photos of creatures that look like they’re from another planet to gigantic waves that could take out entire towns, this online community certainly makes it clear how one could be scared of vast bodies of water. Personally, I’ve always loved swimming in the ocean and taking a trip to a lake, but it only takes one close encounter with drowning to remind you just how powerful water is.
If you’ve never heard of thalassophobia, let’s break down exactly what it is and how it typically manifests itself. Similar to any other specific phobia, Healthline explains that thalassophobia can include symptoms such as restlessness, feeling on edge or worried, being unable to concentrate, irritability, muscle tension, sweating or looking flushed, increased heart rate, trembling, chest pain or discomfort, a feeling of impending doom, a sense of loss of control, upset stomach, chills or hot flashes, and trouble sleeping. In short, it can certainly negatively impact a person’s quality of life.
When You're Swimming And Feel Seaweed Touching Your Feet..... But Actually
Garden eels. Completely harmless. And as you approach them they retreat into their burrows. So they won't touch your feet.
Yep, and honestly they’re kinda cute looking in a funny way
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Yup! They are nothing more than harmless spotted garden eels. They are probably much more frightened of us than we are of them.
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No. No no no no no no no no no no no no. Nope ropes, danger noodles, whatever just nooo
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paging lawn mower to ocean floor someone missed the field of nope ropes we need lawn mower STAT to ocean floor. Im laughing my butt off you guys have no idea how much I needed to laugh like think
Load More Replies... They're extremely shy, you'd never manage to touch them even on accident
Yes! I was searching the comments to see if anyone else mentioned that.
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Am I the only one completely smitten with how these fellows are STANDING there looking around? I love them!
Aww... they're kind of cute, in a "OMG don't touch my bare feet!" kind of way.
Is this what Ursula turned all those poor unfortunate souls into?
I have gone scuba diving where there were these known as garden eels. They are very shy; when I approached where thy were they retreated to their burrows and I had to wait for them for a few minutes for them to come out. They are also too deep for a swimmer to even get near them.
Weren't some of these in a zoo in Japan, and they'd got used to visitors but early in lockdown the eels started to forget about humans and get scared again? Think the zoo - wherever it was - was experimenting with faces on paper plates or similar to try and keep the feeling of a crowd there. I am not convinced it would have worked!
Oh this! Its simple! Its actually a ritual. Done by underwater snakes. To Hades. Its just the yearly sacrifice to hades. They find a time when there is a human in the water that's vulnerable and then attack.
These critters are not found in shallow waters where they would tickle your feet.
They feed heads into the current so in a surge area they move their heads as if they are watching a tennis match, they are super cute.
Nooo absolutely not! F no! H no! All the nos!! Help! Someone hold me. I make good empanadas.
Made me think of HP & the Goblet of Fire, when he had to rescue a loved one from the sea
While swimming as a youngster in our locally I could feel their tongues tickling my feet. Scary.
It was a powerful sermon. The preacher commanded their rapt attention...
Just remember, everyone; those are eels, not snakes, which means they're just the stretch-limo versions of the fish in the li'l tank on your best bud's bookcase, & not sinister at all. :-)
me and my friends were talking about pokemon and magic earlier, a pokemon like this came up
Aaaaaaw, they are cute... I'd go closer to them. They lil cuties. I think that kind is harmless anyway
When you think of all the unsavory things you can end up as if Reincarnation is really a thing
Is unsettling to think about these things just.. staring into the same direction.. for like thousands of meters deep.
Few years ago at Buckroe Beach Virginia U.S.A. was swimming felt like swimming in jello. Lifeguard said it was some kind of tiny tiny jelly fish. Non venomous. Super weird feeling. Looked it up at the time but forget. Anyone?
Yikes! Nice enough in the photo, but No thank you, in real life. I would hate to swim up on them looking like that!!!!
As a youngster, sometimes while swimming in at the bay, seagrass would tickle our feet and our imaginations would take off. Still freak out.
That was uncalled for. RIP swimming forever. Insert rude hand gesture of choice.
This is why I stick to pools these days. Well, one of the many reasons.
oh my god i get anxiety whenever i go into the sea as to what my feet are touching. This terrifies me
I'd still have a heart attack seeing that, remembering that movie Squirm!😨
Sure, they won't touch my feet. I swear I had things touch my feet when I didn't want them touched.
Go play in a blender, Dexter. You have been reported for hate speech and harassment.
Load More Replies... Posted On R/Damnthatsinteresting But Thought It Fit Better Here
I've read that you only see 1/3 of an iceberg when looking at it... obviously the rest is very well hidden! What a pic!
The Finnish Nature Photograph Of The Year By Antti Strang
If you start to feel like you’re experiencing any of those symptoms just by viewing the pics on this list, feel free to swim away as fast as you can. These photos can be extremely triggering. But if you want to combat your thalassophobia head on, exposure therapy is one possible form of treatment. Betterhelp recommends finding a fitting method to expose yourself to what exactly is causing your fear of bodies of water. “If your fear stems from an inability to swim in deep water, you may take a swimming class,” they explain on their site.
“If you’re worried about sea creatures, you may try visiting them at an aquarium. If you’re able to look directly at your fears, you may be surprised by how quickly you’re able to move past them.” It is best to do this with the help of a professional, so today, viewing this list on your own might be a bit too overwhelming. But if you are experiencing discomfort, anxiety or fear around topics such as this, know that you’re not alone.
Standing At The Edge
No Land In Sight?
Freediving Near Iglesias, Italy
It’s actually quite common to have some sort of fear revolving around bodies of water. According to the Cleveland Clinic, about 3% of Americans have aquaphobia, and many people have other water-related phobias including ablutophobia (fear of bathing), cymophobia (fear of waves), megalohydrothalassophobia (fear of underwater creatures or objects), submechanophobia (fear of submerged objects), and thalassophobia. These phobias often stem from past traumatic events involving water, negative stories about water, their family history or being exposed to someone else with the same fears.
This Shot Was Taken Off Moalboal On The Island Of Cebu, Philippines. This Guy Was Free Diving With Just A Mask. I Was Lucky Enough To Catch Him Coming Up Through A Bait Ball. Shot With A 5dsr 8-15 Mm Lens Set At 10 Mm 200th Sec @ F8 2 Ysd1's
Worlds Smallest Inhabited Island
Thalassophobia And Submechanophobia Combined Into One Photo
But aside from people who have a phobia associated with water, plenty of other people are simply scared in deep water. According to Cision, 46% of American adults are afraid when in a pool where the water goes over their heads, and 64% of American adults are scared in deep, open water. This is a perfectly normal reaction; technically, there is possible danger present when we’re surrounded by water so we should be aware of it. It’s important to stay safe and avoid being alone in deep water because you never know what will happen. And if your fear comes from being unable to swim, don’t be afraid to do something about it! It’s never too late to learn how to swim and feel more confident in water. (Not to mention how much fun swimming is!)
The First Underwater Photograph. At A Depth Of 195 Feet In The Mediterranean
In France, "La Fosse Dionne" Is A Seemingly Bottomless Water Pit. Despite Several Attempts By Divers, Its Depth Has Been Impossible To Find. Exploring It Is Now Strictly Controlled As Multiple Deaths Have Occured
Saw This Picture On Facebook From The Page Wonders Of The Planet Earth. A Shipwreck Being Reclaimed By The Sea
M. Ellen Dash, founder and CEO of Miracle Swimming for Adults in Sarasota, Florida, told Cision, “People want to know how to swim. Those who learn to swim welcome summertime. But many fail swimming lessons. Unbeknownst to most instructors, the failure is often due to panic during lessons,” she explained. “Many people consider panic a normal step of learning. However, students will only endure this emotional pain to a point, after which they quit. If they return to traditional lessons years later determined to learn, they are often met with the same system that is blind to the harm done by panic. The cycle continues."
"It's okay to be afraid in water," Dash says. "No one is afraid for a silly reason. Yet everyone needs to know how to swim. Find a program that will work for you."
The Arch In The Blue Hole, Egypt Which Has Infamously Claimed Up To 200 Lives
Rebreather Diving, Eastern Slovakia
When You Fear Of Flying And Your Fear Of Water Meet Eachother
If the idea of getting in the ocean is just too much for you, perhaps we can assuage some of your fears. I consulted this list from Parade that explains why we have no need to hold some of the most common fears associated with the world’s oceans. For example, if you’re scared of sharks, it might be helpful to know that it’s extremely unlikely to be bitten by one. While hundreds of millions of people take a dip in the ocean every single year, only between 70-100 of them worldwide will have a bite taken out of them by a shark. “Sharks’ senses are legendary so this isn’t because sharks don’t know we’re there, it’s because we’re just not on the menu,” says marine biologist David Shiffman. Just so you know, more people are killed by vending machines than sharks.
This Photo Is Anxiety Inducing For Some Reason
Stairs Down To The Flooded Level Deep Inside A Mine
Point Nemo, You Are Closer To Astronauts Aboard The ISS Than Humanity
Are stingrays another sea creature that makes you uneasy? Rest assured, their stings are rarely fatal. Shiffman explained to Parade that stingrays are not even capable of stinging us unless we step on them, so if you’re in an area that’s known to house them, try walking using the “stingray shuffle”. Basically, this just means to drag your feet across the sea floor rather than picking up your feet with every step. This way, you’re much more likely to just scare them away than to accidentally end up with a sting.
I Figured You Would Appreciate This
The Idea Of This Tunnel Caving In While You're 60 Ft Below The Surface Of The Ocean
Abandoned Silver Mine Shafts. Lake Superior Thunder Bay Ontario
If fear of drowning is what triggers your thalassophobia the most, understand that it is a reasonable fear to have, but there are also plenty of precautions that can be taken to ensure your safety in water. First, it’s important to have protection. Wear a life jacket, and make sure you have friends or family members nearby in case anything goes wrong. Learn basic swimming skills, and don’t take risks by venturing out into deep or unpredictable water. And always be prepared for an emergency. Learn CPR, and swim somewhere that has a lifeguard on duty. By taking a few extra steps and safety precautions, you can have a great time enjoying the ocean. (And if you’re really too nervous, feel free to stay on the sand building castles and searching for seashells!)
Reminds Me Of Spirited Away And Not In A Good Way
We use these to slide boats into the water. If you turned 180 degrees you'd see them going into a boat house :) at least in Norway we do this
I Used Night Mode On My Phone And…
Am I an idiot? It just looks like a really pretty picture to me, if not a bit chilling.
I Could Never
I hope this article has not given you a new phobia to discuss with your therapist this week. The ocean is an incredible place, and while we may know little about it, we do know that plenty of people (myself included!) have made countless, wonderful memories by visiting it. It’s good to be cautious, but don’t let fear keep you from enjoying your life. Keep upvoting the photos that you find particularly haunting or captivating, and let us know in the comments whether or not you have thalassophobia. Then, if you’d like to dive even deeper into the world of being frightened by huge bodies of water, you can find our last article on the same topic right here!
Somehow This Is Also Thalassophobia And Claustrophobia. It's An Illustration
Dean’s Blue Hole In Long Island, The Bahamas (Via Willtrubridge)
The Drop Off
Posted This On R/Submechanophobia But Thought It Would Fit Here Too. And Odd Broken Pier Support That Looks Just Like A Hand
Would You Spend The Night?
Made My Spine Crawl Just A Little
Calm But Eerie
Imagine Being Stuck There
Dragon Hole In The South China Sea Is The World's Deepest Blue Hole, Plunging Down 300 M (987 Ft)
Supposed To Be Relaxing But It’s Actually Terrifying
Oceans Drop Of For You To Remember How Small You Are
I Made Some Art To Recreate The Feeling From A Beach Dream I Had Where The Waves Were So Big They Blocked Out The Sun
Lake Ponchartrain Causeway Bridge In Louisiana
The Wreck Of The Titanic. This Photo Gives Me Anxiety…
The Final Moments Of The SS Andrea Doria (1956)
This Creepy Dock I Was On Tonight
Floating In A Ship
Exploring The Mysteries Of The Ocean
Sweden's New Submarine
This Teaser For The New Netflix Show "1899" Gives Me Chills
Ah Yes, Underwater Active Volcanos And Mutant Sharks, That’s What The Ocean Needs, It Wasn’t Scary Enough As Is
Ocean taking extra measures to keep the humans and its garbage away
Into The Darkness
Less Than A Quarter!
Note: this post originally had 87 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
Idk this made me feel really calm. I personally love deep water but I showed my friend some of the pics and I freaked them out.
I found very little of this scary or disturbing. Much of it was beautiful and gorgeously photographed though.
Im someone who falls between fascination and complete terror. I think it comes from a place of respect. Nature is amazing, but if it's not treated with a level of respect, you'll find yourself meeting Davy Jones.
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I was twice deliberately held under water to drown as a child. And now I have even more panic. Yay. (If you ask "Who'd do that?" My sister reallllly wanted to be an only child.)
OMG! I’m so sorry. Was she of an age when she would actually realize what she was doing? Either way, I hope she got help. And you too. How terrifying.
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Thassalaphobia is fear of the ocean. A lot of these are not oceans. Also it is a fallacy that someone with thassalaphobia would be afraid or unable to swim. An awful lot of swimmable water is not oceans.
as a diver i would say i don't have a FEAR of the ocean per se. I have a deep and abiding respect for her. She is deep, powerful, and can kill in the blink of an eye. i DO take all precautions but even then things can go wrong, like in any sport. I saved my bestie (twice) on her first open-ocean dive, and she wasn't even aware of the danger in the moment. it was her ignorance and inattention that put her at risk, NOT the ocean herself. 💙
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOHGODAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
A lot of these have nothing to do with oceans... They are lakes, or indoors. Most aren't scary, but a few areskin crawling scary. Thank's for the post.
Sure, I can see where some of them are eerie, but I found a lot of them to be stunningly beautiful!
These are all either strangely beautiful and calm to me or fill me with panic, and on some I got both-
This list taught me that it's not deep water that terrifies me, it's holes in deep water. Natural or man-made. Don't like them one bit.
Let's face it, at that point the only grudge he'd have against humanity is that we didn't let him get his shut eye...
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Good Day Dear, My name is. Mrs.Lena Olin Oberdorf. I live in Canada and i am a happy woman today? and i told my self that any lender that rescue my family from our poor situation, i will refer any person or company that is looking for loan to him, he gave me happiness to me and my family, i was in need of a loan of $129,000.00 to start my life all over as i am a single mother with 3 kids I met this honest and GOD fearing man loan lender that help me with a loan of $129,000.00USD Dollar, he is a GOD fearing man, if you are in need of loan and you will pay back the loan please contact him tell him that is Mrs.Lena Oberdorf that refer you to him. Contact Dr. Mr. Benjamin Owen via email: reply to email (drbenjaminfinance@outlook.com) Legit Loan Lender Contact Managing Director: Dr. Benjamin Owen drbenjaminfinance@outlook.com
why am i here, i almost cried Several times reading this because I have thalassophobia and submechnophobia
Even sitting on the toilet was a bad place to read this article 🥴
Enjoy the different views from everyone, thank you for the "mind candy"
Why is everyone always like "Nope nope nope!" for the ones with people on the edges... I think we forget that water doesn't have the same gravity as air... You can just swim back up if you slip
I can't even play that marine biologist minecraft game, even with its purposely-awful graphics. As unrealistic as it is.. I start to panic when we swim deep down into darkness. And if a whale or shark shows up I'll scream.
The only photos that freak people out are usually huge waves & dark water
I love the ocean...even though these pictures terrify me when I'm actually there I love it
I have megalohydrothalassophobia, which is the fear of big underwater creatures or things, mixed with a bit of thalassophobia, so this was not fun for me and I have no clue why I did it
Don’t get me wrong, the ocean is amazing and I have a great admiration for it, but it’s a absolutely ducking terrifying
Idk this made me feel really calm. I personally love deep water but I showed my friend some of the pics and I freaked them out.
I found very little of this scary or disturbing. Much of it was beautiful and gorgeously photographed though.
Im someone who falls between fascination and complete terror. I think it comes from a place of respect. Nature is amazing, but if it's not treated with a level of respect, you'll find yourself meeting Davy Jones.
Load More Replies... I was twice deliberately held under water to drown as a child. And now I have even more panic. Yay. (If you ask "Who'd do that?" My sister reallllly wanted to be an only child.)
OMG! I’m so sorry. Was she of an age when she would actually realize what she was doing? Either way, I hope she got help. And you too. How terrifying.
Load More Replies... Thassalaphobia is fear of the ocean. A lot of these are not oceans. Also it is a fallacy that someone with thassalaphobia would be afraid or unable to swim. An awful lot of swimmable water is not oceans.
as a diver i would say i don't have a FEAR of the ocean per se. I have a deep and abiding respect for her. She is deep, powerful, and can kill in the blink of an eye. i DO take all precautions but even then things can go wrong, like in any sport. I saved my bestie (twice) on her first open-ocean dive, and she wasn't even aware of the danger in the moment. it was her ignorance and inattention that put her at risk, NOT the ocean herself. 💙
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOHGODAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
A lot of these have nothing to do with oceans... They are lakes, or indoors. Most aren't scary, but a few areskin crawling scary. Thank's for the post.
Sure, I can see where some of them are eerie, but I found a lot of them to be stunningly beautiful!
These are all either strangely beautiful and calm to me or fill me with panic, and on some I got both-
This list taught me that it's not deep water that terrifies me, it's holes in deep water. Natural or man-made. Don't like them one bit.
Let's face it, at that point the only grudge he'd have against humanity is that we didn't let him get his shut eye...
Load More Replies... Good Day Dear, My name is. Mrs.Lena Olin Oberdorf. I live in Canada and i am a happy woman today? and i told my self that any lender that rescue my family from our poor situation, i will refer any person or company that is looking for loan to him, he gave me happiness to me and my family, i was in need of a loan of $129,000.00 to start my life all over as i am a single mother with 3 kids I met this honest and GOD fearing man loan lender that help me with a loan of $129,000.00USD Dollar, he is a GOD fearing man, if you are in need of loan and you will pay back the loan please contact him tell him that is Mrs.Lena Oberdorf that refer you to him. Contact Dr. Mr. Benjamin Owen via email: reply to email (drbenjaminfinance@outlook.com) Legit Loan Lender Contact Managing Director: Dr. Benjamin Owen drbenjaminfinance@outlook.com
why am i here, i almost cried Several times reading this because I have thalassophobia and submechnophobia
Even sitting on the toilet was a bad place to read this article 🥴
Enjoy the different views from everyone, thank you for the "mind candy"
Why is everyone always like "Nope nope nope!" for the ones with people on the edges... I think we forget that water doesn't have the same gravity as air... You can just swim back up if you slip
I can't even play that marine biologist minecraft game, even with its purposely-awful graphics. As unrealistic as it is.. I start to panic when we swim deep down into darkness. And if a whale or shark shows up I'll scream.
The only photos that freak people out are usually huge waves & dark water
I love the ocean...even though these pictures terrify me when I'm actually there I love it
I have megalohydrothalassophobia, which is the fear of big underwater creatures or things, mixed with a bit of thalassophobia, so this was not fun for me and I have no clue why I did it
Don’t get me wrong, the ocean is amazing and I have a great admiration for it, but it’s a absolutely ducking terrifying
