I don’t know if it’s *exactly* a pine cone, but it is some kind of seed pod, yes. It can’t speak, not really.

is it a real animal??? Or is it just a pine cone?

Another long-time trypohphobe here. All three of my wishes are to have never ever seen this ghastly horror. It’s like barnacles or a lotus seed pod. GAH! It makes me want to crawl right out of my skin.

Dear Shaz I hope you are feeling better. I know how incapacitating that can be- have faith and know that your CO peeps are sending fuzzy, snorgley things that make you happy.

Noelegy, yea… actually, I came across the toad, and after that other image that I shall not name, even the toad and the pod by itself were not that awful, though they did bother me. Yes, it’s irregular holes with things in them that are the worst, but putting them in the WRONG place, that’s just sick. A lot of things people find awful I find just a bit off… but another one that does bother me is cells, clusters of cells. Though again, nothing as bad as these…

Anyway, I was sick to my stomach all evening, skin crawling, itchy, and yes, couldn’t sleep till 3, and the image is impossible to “unsee” as you said, and even today, I am a little itchy and nauseated, but better. Yesterday was bad. Sigh. But at least I am not crazy — or at least, not alone in my craziness. ANd I tried to desensitize myself to it, but oh well… I think it’ll just take some time to get over it completely. Never looking at it again. Ever.

Oof. Well, at least there are hamsters and such to distract oneself with… and cats in boxes.

Shaz, I AM sorry! I know exactly what you mean about your reaction to the photo. Definitely do NOT look up the Surinam toad. It will have the same effect.

After I read the replies on this thread, I looked up “trypophobia” and some of the images that trypophobics find disturbing, and I found that the only ones that bug me are the lotus pod and the Surinam toad. So I think my particular bugaboo isn’t groups of irregular holes; it’s holes with things IN them.

“Girls like kung fu and comic strips too. (Some, anyway…)”

Two words.
Makoto Nagano.

That is all.

this is so disgusting looking. I hate it!

Sorry, that was so long. I got a bit worked up. Apologies.

Gillie, thank you! Noelegy, I WISH I had seen your message before I looked for trypophobia…

Ugh. I googled for it, and indeed, came upon a lotus seed pod, along with some very disgusting photos of that urban legend thing that I cannot now even talk about here, but I am nauseated and itchy now, and furious, and if I ever meet the person who made that photoshop photo, I will leap up beyond my 5′ height and kick him (or her) in the teeth. URGH. Want to join the club of people who will beat that person up?

I am about to toss my cookies.

The worst thing is these images are so grotesquely queasy making that if one has the misfortune to come upon one, one can’t stop staring even as one wants to itch and run… So the seed pod was strangely fascinating. I kept thinking I would get over it, but I didn’t.

But I can handle some things, like beehives, etc. But I had better stop thinking about this, or I will be able to handle less.

Time for a bourbon…

But, yes, Sami, Guillermo del Toro is fantastic. I just saw Hellboy 2. And yes, I am a girl. Girls like kung fu and comic strips too. (Some, anyway…)