Phobiapedia

Boo! Did I scare you? That's unfortunate. Anyway, Welcome to Phobiapedia!

READ MORE

Phobiapedia
Register
Advertisement
Fires

Example image of campfire

Pyrophobia (from Greek pyro, "fire"), is the fear of fire. This phobia is ancient and primordial, perhaps since mankind's discovery of fire.

Causes[]

The most common cause of pyrophobia is the realization fire poses a potential danger, such as house fire, wildfire, and getting caught on fire. Some people who are intensely pyrophobic cannot even get close to or tolerate even a small controlled fire, such as fireplace, bonfire or lit candle. In many cases a bad childhood experience with fire may have triggered the condition.

If a pyrophobe sees fire, the person may sweat and suffer dizziness or upset stomach. A person with severe pyrophobia who sees fire may panic and experience fast breathing, irregular heartbeat, shortness of breath, nausea, dry mouth, dread, feeling trapped, and may tremble or faint.

Treatment[]

Exposure therapy is the most common way to treat pyrophobia. This method involves showing patient fire in order of increasing size, from a lit cigarette up to a stove or grill flame. Another method of treatment is talk therapy, in which a patient tells a therapist about the cause of this fear, and then calming down the patient by not be afraid of controlled fire. People can also relieve pyrophobia by interacting with other pyrophobes to share their experiences that caused fear. Alternatively, pyrophobia can be treated using hypnosis. Medication can also be used to treat pyrophobic people, although since it has side effects, the method is not highly recommended.

Examples of Pyrophobia[]

Real Life[]

  • Drug lord Pablo Escobar had Pyrophobia

Celebrities[]

Fictional Characters[]

  • Sandor Clegane (known as The Hound) in Game of Thrones has Pyrophobia, caused by his brother burning his face as a child.
  • In the 2006 horror movie Stay Alive, main character Hutch has Pyrophobia, caused by his parents dying in a house fire.
  • In BFDI 1b, Woody (who is scared of almost anything) has Pyrophobia, most likely caused by another character, Firey.

See also[]

Advertisement