It's weird that consuming fear content makes you afraid?
this post was submitted on 25 Sep 2025
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I still won't go to the hotel from The Shining.
What I love about Lemmy after all these years.. zero downvotes. Upvoted disagreement below. But no downvotes.
I, in fact disagree, and acknowledge OP is being cautious, but I see what you mean obviously, bc you're a coherent intelligent human being, and so I don't downvote.
Lemmy really is an "and" not "but" community. That's really telling. Yay Lemmy.
Afraid or cautious? Isn't that how we learn to stay safe? We mostly learned with our own mistakes, but with the advent of the TV and internet, we got to learn from thousand of other people's misfortune.
(e.g.) I learned not to use slippery shoes in the rain on the stairs from fail videos on YouTube. Am I afraid of the rain or the stairs?
Afraid. This isn't other people's misfortune, it's fear fantasies and ghost stories that are shaping how someone behaves. It isn't healthy to terrify yourself into restrictive behaviors.
Totally depends on the behavior. Choosing not to drive behind a logging truck won't negatively impact you in any way. Not using a tanning bed is actually a positive. Not swimming near a pool drain also is unlikely to have a negative impact.
If you aren't doing those things because a fantasy horror movie made you terrified of those situations, that isn't healthy. It doesn't matter if you don't 'perceive' a negative impact. That you're controlled by a ghost story is the negative impact.
I'm of the opinion that hedging your bets about something due to a superstition or the like is fine if it doesn't negatively impact your life or those of others. It's a bit overblown to say that avoiding the situations mentioned in the post means the person is "terrified."
Having your behavior influenced by a fairy tale fear is the negative impact. Carrying phobias because you can't see the negative impact isn't healthy or wise. The perception of negative impact will be biased by the fear itself through the coping systems it produces, leaving you blinded to the negatives and blinded to the opportunities the phobia takes from you. Both of which take from the potential of your life. I would expect a person with these fears to have a difficult time seeing the negative impact if they're afraid because seeing the negatives would undermine the coping system and bring the fear out.
I mean, some of that is just good ideas to avoid anyway.
I avoid driving near any kind of truck. The semis can't see you, and a tire blowout can send you flying. The pickup trucks can have unsecured stuff in the bed just waiting to fly out on the next bump.
A few weeks ago we were driving behind some guy with a fridge in the back of his pickup who didn't tie the door shut. Apparently the wind resistance from going at highway speeds can rip a fridge door right off. We had some early warning because a few of the shelves came flying out first before we had to dodge the door...
An acquaintance of mine was driving behind a pickup truck on the highway. It hit a bump, and a truck hitch ball flew out. It went straight through his windshield and lodged itself in the passenger seat, which thankfully was unoccupied. I don't think he drove behind a pickup truck ever again either.
Bonus story from his talk with insurance! He tells them what happened, and they had followup questions:
- Did it bounce?
- Why does that matter?
- It's only covered if it didn't bounce.
- It didn't bounce.
Apparently, if it hits the road before it hits you, it's just road debris at that point.
Insurance company just being insurance company, a vampire of utter assholeness
Nice of the rep to explain the difference before collecting the answer, though. They have no way to verify whether it bounced.
I assume any pick-up is driven by a redneck. Veer wide.
I've certainly seen my fair share of dash cam videos that keeps me up at night.
I remember my parents replacing multiple windshields just because they drove behind a big truck that kicked a pebble at them.
It's a public service announcement disguised as entertainment.
There was a pool drain in a final destination? Palahniuk messed up pool drains for me.
Please don't I've tried to blank that story from my mind
I mean, I can’t imagine it’s too much of a threat, so long as you don’t directly interface your asshole with said pool drain.
don’t directly interface your asshole with said pool drain
Why you gotta be such a buzzkill?
If you think you’ve got the… guts for it, then be my guest
The same could be said for the logging truck
I've worked in workplace security for some years, and oh my god, did it make me afraid of bullshit happening on construction sites...
Wooden beam under bending stress? That's a broken neck for you.
Conveyer belt, transporting coal? Nope, that's a 6 meter per second arm ripping off death machine.
...
And don't get me started on forklifts. We all know what Staplerfahrer Klaus has done.
I'm constantly behind log trucks when I pass through Alabama. Those logs are NOT coming off. Between their roughness and weight, friction has them locked solid. You couldn't pull one straight off the back if your life depended on it.
I only keep my eye on them as they represent an insane amount of mass that can't stop quickly.
Even if it did fall off it would be going roighly the same speed as you are so you just need to brake and be fine. It will not shoot back at you that literally breaks the laws of physics.
Also, don't forget that the one in the movie isn't a log truck at all. The bed is flat, designed for rolling machinery on and off, not one designed for logging, which has walls because it's nigh impossible to stack logs without them because they'd roll off to the side before you could secure them.
Death finds a way
Actually according to other sources, life, huh... finds a way.
That's a big pile o' shit
The sexier the source, the more I trust it. I mean just look at this man:
I'll believe anything he tells me!
If I go to a hotel or something and they have one of those corded laundry lines in the shower, I'll just be stinky the rest of the trip.
NGL, I purposely waited for one more car to pass me before I got in the left lane yesterday on my way home from work. There was a pickup loaded full of wood and Final Destination was actually in my head.