NOTE: This is a fictional phobia, and only on our database because it is well - known.
Anatidaephobia is the irrational fear of being watched/stalked by one or more duck(s).
It is not a recognized or documented phobia in the field of psychology or psychiatry. The term "anatidaephobia" was actually coined by the cartoonist Gary Larson in his comic strip "The Far Side." The phobia is described as a humorous and fictional fear that somewhere, somehow, a duck is watching you.
While Anatidaephobia does not exist as a legitimate phobia, it has gained some popularity and recognition through internet memes and urban legends. People sometimes use the term in a lighthearted manner to express a humorous or irrational fear of being observed by ducks or birds in general.
The comic the phobia originated in.
History[]
This was first a joke phobia in a one-panel comic called The Far Side by artist Gary Larson where a man in his office sees a duck out his window all the time, but it turned into an actual developable phobia. Early captions for this comic do not mention the phobia, (Raymond could feel it. The duck was watching him again.) and if it were not for the caption change, this phobia may not have come to be. "In coming up with names for the phobia, I played around with words like "Quackaphobia" and "Duckalookaphobia" but then I got the bright idea to look up the scientific name for ducks, and it turned out it was Anatidae. So I ended up using a name that 12 ornithologists probably understood and everyone else went 'what the hey?'" -Gary Larson, The Prehistory Of The Far Side Looking at early drafts for this comic, the man experiencing the phobia is named Raymond Vanhorn. This is one of the very few times you get to know the full name of a character in The Far Side, even if you need to look at early drafts. This also means that Raymond is one of very few characters in popular media to have a phobia before a real person.