Trypophobia is an aversion to lots of tiny holes, such as a sponge or a beehive. While nobody really likes that sort of thing, some people can’t stand it. So here are lots of pictures of it!
The Tree of Horrors
Here we see a perfect example of something that would have a trypophobe hackle up. We see a tree studded with tiny holes, thanks, no doubt, to the woodpecker in the frame and all its friends. You see woodpeckers peck through trees to get at tasty, tasty bugs.
We can't fault them for such a thing, but they tend to make a mess in big trees like this one. They also really like to try and peck through the wooden siding. It turns out that slamming your face into a tree a million times makes it hard to think straight.
What Could Be Inside All Those Holes?
Woodpeckers are a trypophobe's least-favorite bird since the little feathered friends are responsible for millions and millions of tiny holes in the world's trees. At least the birds try to make up for it by packing those same holes with acorns.
We guess this is so the birds will be able to come back and have a snack once the weather turns cold, but we all know they won't remember where those acorns have gone. Still, we don't know if trypophobes are also afraid of filled holes, but this has to be a little better than empty ones, at least. Thanks, woodpeckers, for fixing that problem that you created.
Fear the Bees
Bees are great little guys to have around – they help flowers bloom, they help trees produce fruit, and they give a particular summer feeling that can't be beaten. Still, their hives can sometimes be less than a joy to look at, and oh, god, look at all those little holes.
It's obvious why such an intricate and detailed hive has so many little openings – those bees have to sleep somewhere. That doesn't mean anyone has to like it, though. Thankfully, this hive was deserted when the picture was taken. If it weren't, this would be a story of human bravery.
Don't Go Stealing Tiny Rocks
Looking for cool shells at the beach is fun and easy. The constant movement of water is a surefire way to get something with lots of little holes, like this shell. However, this shell is also packed full of tiny rocks, which seems a little more gross and unnatural.
So, of course, the most likely explanation is that a hermit crab very diligently filled all those little holes with rocks of a perfect shape and size. Hopefully, the person who took this pic put the shell back where she found it so that crab's hard work doesn't go to waste.
There Could Be Anything Inside
When seashells spend enough time in the water, the constant abrasion and salt in it tend to wear them down. Some shells have strange interior construction that will lead to pictures like this one. Tiny, tiny holes are great places for little sea creatures to hide.
You can bet your bottom dollar there are plenty of things in the water that could pack into those openings. They might be too small to see with the naked eye, but they're there. Even if we can't see them, we can at least enjoy the cool little apartments that nature has provided for them.
Blue Blistering Barnacles!
Barnacles are technically small funny animals. In fact, they're the same family as crustaceans, crabs, lobsters, and shrimp. It sure doesn't look like it, though, does it? It seems like there're lots of tiny little disease pockets on the hulls of ships, on rocks in the water, and on seashells that you find while combing the beach.
Did you know that some barnacles are not only edible, but they're also often seen as a delicacy? It might not make you feel any better while you have to look at all those tiny holes, but you can get your revenge eventually.
You Can't Be Scared of Noodles!
This person is heating up a little bit of lunch and notices that it could be terrifying if the wrong person lays eyes on it. Soon enough, this pile of cold noodles will heat up into something that is far more appetizing for everybody (unless you're afraid of noodles, we guess).
Still, you have to admit if someone could be scared of lots of little holes, this is the kind of thing that could for certain set off a phobic person. Afterward, with the addition of sauce, meatballs, and maybe a nice side salad, nobody could say this is frightening.
A Tree Made of Spaghetti
Trees love noodles and meatballs. We certainly couldn't tell you why, but this tree's interior is filled with loops and whorls in the wood that are jam-packed with lots of tiny holes and openings. So is this a tree disease that we need to worry about, or something to do with its climate?
Or is it just a random chance that this looks good enough to twirl on a fork and eat? We bet some people with trypophobia find this off-putting, even if it isn't exactly like the kind of mini holes that will get their alarm bells ringing most of the time.
Quickly, Dog, Fetch My Blindfold
Like in any disorder and every phobia, there is always something new to learn. Maybe cute dog treatment will make it easier for those who suffer, but we could still see it making some people uncomfortable.
Snow has clumped into the furred friend's coat, and the clumps have many gaps between them. The tiny little dots of snow on the dog's underbelly, while adorable, also look like they could do something to creep out trypophobia. However, as soon as that snow melts, you're left with an oh-so-cute dog and nothing to scare you off. So take that, you pesky trypophobia!
Thanks So Much for This
This picture isn't just going to set off people who have trypophobia. It's going to make everyone, everywhere, very disgusted. So, this is a picture of a tick (the kind of thing your dog might pick up in the woods) that has been kept in a jar by a vet in order to show people just how nasty the little bugs can be. Nasty indeed.
The tick was in the jar for an entire month, and then it started to lay a lot of eggs. This one is very gross, and you probably didn't reach the end of this paragraph.
Neat and Orderly
When you crack open a cold one, you'll probably get some fizz thanks to carbonation or the other chemical effects that go on inside your favorite drink. This example is a little more lined up than most, but it's just the exact same thing.
Still, even that sort of natural, sometimes delicious process is enough to make trypophobes quake in terror. I mean, who can blame them, right? So many bubbles! Despite all the fear, we are sure they are finding ways to overcome and enjoy a Zero here and there. If not a support group is urgent for all!
Time to Make Dinner
Pizza is regularly touted as the world's favorite food. As in the food that enough people like worldwide to be the best food, and who are we to argue that?
However, that good-good pizza dough uses yeast to rise while you bake it, and yeast creates tiny little bubbles that will if it develops in a certain way, look like a spider's nest. If you don't like lots of tiny little holes for any particular reason or even for no reason, this is the kind of thing you should avoid, even if it is essential in creating the perfect pie.
Stay Away From Sour Candies
What's the backstory of this tiny gross hole piece, and why is it here? The person who took the photo likes to indulge in sour candies. We can respect that. Too many sour candies, however, and your tongue might decide to slough off a layer of skin.
We cannot, in good faith, respect that, especially since it ends up with something like this happening. Trypophobes aren't a fan of it, thanks to all the little openings (where your taste buds might have once rested), and the rest of us don't like it since thinking of our bodies shedding like that is very not cool.
The Many Craters of a Mosque
This picture of the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque in Isfahan, Iran, lets us take a look at a beautiful facade that is more than four hundred years old. All those little dimples and holes must have taken years to get just right, but not everybody is going to appreciate them with trypophobia.
Mosques are brimming with style, and this sort of intricate detail is everywhere, both on the exterior and the interior. Sure, they aren't precisely holes, but they're just as likely to be a trigger as some of the other pictures on this list. The dark shadows aren't helping either!
Not Time to Fly
Chickens, famously, have feathers; however, they are fully exposed when they are just little baby chicks. Those feathers come out after they're fully developed and need to grow back simultaneously. Thus, we have images like this picture.
This chicken has to regrow an extensive collection of feathers, and it looks like the kind of thing that trypophobe's won't want to look at for too long. It's the opposite of lots of little holes, but it has the same kind of energy. Our guess is that if you have even a little bit of a hole phobia, you will be triggered!
A Bowl of Bees
As long as they aren't stinging you, bees are pretty great. Still, there's an extensive collection of people out there who won't be too happy to see a bunch of bees building a nest in a glass bowl that is right next to the house. Honey and pollination are one thing, but all that buzzing can make things difficult.
Plus, the nests are literally just lots and lots of holes. Just holes upon holes upon holes. For the cringed trypophobe, this is just about a worst-nightmare situation. So make sure your empty glass bowls are protected, everyone. You are very welcome!
Trypo-toad
Holes are a common thing in nature for many reasons – nests, dens, and mouths are just a couple of possible examples. Another possible explanation is giving birth, just like this Suriname toad is going through. This kind of toad lays eggs that meld onto its back.
In fact, even those who aren't scared of little holes probably won't like seeing this thing on the front step. The tadpoles grow until they're ready to hatch from their eggs, which is just about as cool as you think it is (whether that's a lot or a little). We dare you to scroll!
Triple Trypophobia Time
If you want to know where this little terror came from, it came from the ocean depths – where all the horror of the world comes from. Okay, it's a croc – not the reptile, the thing you wear on your foot. It was lost in the water and again covered in tiny little barnacles.
It also seems to have two layers, which gives oh-so-many miniature holes that are sure to get you covered in goosebumps as long as you don't like that sort of thing. So what's to do with such a thing? Prayer may help, or maybe closing your eyes.
A Fungus Made for Fear
Well, it's a good thing that fungus can't come and get you while you're sleeping. That would be pretty terrible, and we hope nobody has those kinds of nightmares! Unfortunately, this parasitic fungus (Cyttaria Gunnii) still makes lots of tiny little holes, and that whole parasitic thing isn't exactly what we want to hear, either.
They look like eggs, but you don't want to make any omelets out of these things. We're sure this fungus is essential for some ecological reason – they break down dead cells or something like that – but we still don't have to enjoy looking at it.
A Fresh Batch of Fear Bread
Many people will sit at their favorite Ethiopian restaurant with a rumbling stomach and a healthy appetite. People with trypophobia, however, will have a little more on their minds. The bread with many holes you see here is called "injera," Rumor is it tastes lovely, but there are still a lot of tiny little holes where something scary could be hiding.
Best-case scenario, it hides some delicious sauce. Worst case, we're going to have to go with bugs. Pretty much every worst-case has to do with bugs. Think of one – it can still be worse if it doesn't have bugs.
We heard You Didn't Like Little Holes
Lotus roots are a classic trigger for people that don't like little holes, and this one is taking things up a notch. Lotus roots are apparently quite good fried, but this thing looks like one of those infinite fractal designs that are trying to send a shiver down your spine.
How did a little lotus root get inside an enormous lotus root? We aren't root-ologists. Ask someone else. That said, we're going to have to go with "This plant wants to freak you out." Well, mission accomplished. It's time for you to go into some hot oil and be gross.
Ah, the Flamethrower's Next Target
We hear that these little things are eggs. Eggs for what? Our best guess is that they are from the vaporer moth. The females are wingless (which feels like something that makes it not a moth, but whatever) and lay eggs on webs full of irritating hairs.
The females then die shortly after. They look like little cheerios, but your spoon shouldn't get near these things. Soon, they'll burst open and disgorge lots of little worms, which will spread all over and cover everything. Oh, sorry. We forgot about the whole trypophobia thing for a little bit.
Full of Food for the Winter
Woodpeckers do something particular, and it's right there in the name. They slam their sharp beaks into the wood over and over, digging holes to fetch yummy bugs. However, they also drill those holes so they can hide acorns and other nuts away for the lean months.
This is great for woodpeckers, other birds, and any creature that needs a snack, but people with trypophobia must avoid specific trees during their evening walks. Woodpeckers sometimes will also peck at a wood siding because they're super dumb, but some people dislike these birds even more than everyone else. Work it peckers!
Warning: Do Not Eat
From a purely scientific angle, mold is incredibly useful and cool. Look at that stuff! It looks like the waves of a sandy beach, crashing back and forth in every direction. Of course, you don't want it near the food you're eating (some exceptions like cheese may apply), but it really does us some good work.
You also don't want to find it in your own bowl. It appears to be a bit like ramen, but even the hungriest college student will stay far away if they see that sort of thing. There are plenty of little openings. Work it!
Delicious and Disturbing
A lot of the stuff on this list is really, really gross. Mold, spider eggs, diseased wood. This is one of the few items where we bet even trypophobes would push past their fear and ask for a second slice. I'm not even the biggest pie fan – too dry.
Still, this yummy picture has little to dislike, even if you don't like tiny holes. Maybe it's because the holes are more significant, maybe it's because you can see what's inside, or perhaps it's the memory of the last time you had this dessert. Could you eat it? We dare you!
The Mystery is Solved
When this picture was posted to the internet, the OP asked people to guess what it could be. The hint was that it was from a restaurant. A few options came up, and then somebody guessed that it was burnt cheese. Ding ding ding!
Yes, somehow, a little bit of cheese got left on the pan and fried up into this trypophobic sight. It probably still tastes good if you're into burnt cheese (and be honest, you are), but all those weird little holes can still potentially creep you out. Just put it in your mouth, and everything will be better.
Headed to its Final Destination
Driving behind a truck that's loaded with construction equipment is never a great time. How secure are those straps? And yet, that kind of accident is incredibly rare for a lot of reasons. Still, all those pipes and tubes are a trypophobe's worst nightmare—layers upon layers of tubes that could contain anything.
Many sufferers aren't set off by something manufactured like these things – it has to be natural. Organic. Mold, eggs, and nests are one thing, but most people worldwide would find nothing creep-worthy about this picture, except for maybe the purple tubes. Purple is the evilest of colors.
I Don't Feel Very Snug, Personally
While you might get the heebie-jeebies looking at this pic, thinking it's tons and tons of maggots (and sorry if you weren't thinking that), this picture is just that of a rug where somebody was staying.
While there aren't that many holes in sight, we don't doubt that people with trypophobia would still find this rug no fun whatsoever. It could also be lots and lots of tiny eyeballs or even little fungi. Zoom in, and it gets worse. Zoom in closer, and it gets better since you can see the fabric and remember that "oh yeah, it's a rug."
Are We Supposed to Eat That?
This picture probably got you weirded out even if you don't have trypophobia, but what if we told you it was nothing worse than a raw octopus burger? So what? That's not any better? Yeah, we can understand that.
Take food that plenty of people are not willing to eat, make it look honestly not all that good, and add some little openings, and you have a dish that we bet isn't exactly in great demand. The bun looks great, the sauce is tasty, but there's just too much going on, and who wants to eat that much octopus, anyway?
What's Underneath?
Some people like mushrooms. Whether they're just fans of fungi or they like the taste, they're out there. Yes, they're weird, but we're all a little odd. But have you ever taken a look at the underside of a big mushroom, really gotten in there, and seen what was going on?
If not, here's your chance. Look at those cool waves, the colors, the growth, the many, many tiny openings. It turns out there's a reason that most people don't choose to look at the underside of big mushrooms. Maybe your bottom doesn't look any better. Ever thought about that?
Bad Lamp
When you're gussying up your place of business or home, you want something unique. Something memorable. Something that nobody else has. Decorating a wall lamp with a ton of seashells is, in theory, a great idea. In practice, however, it can turn out like this odd piece of decoration.
Don't go so hard on all the little shells next time. The big ones are mostly fine, but all those little guys will draw the eye. Well, the lamp is undoubtedly memorable. For the wrong reason, of course. Like "No, let's not stay there again. They have that weird shell lamp."
Please Don't
This thing looks like a piece of alien biology that got shot off after a laser rifle misfired. Its polypore fungus exudes excess moisture, a process called guttation. That's all fine and good, but we're really hoping that it never does anything else.
It can stay there, on that tree, and exude all the excess moisture it wants, but we never want to see it anywhere else. Is this the kind of thing that would creep out a trypophobe? Yeah, sure, since it looks like the kind of thing that could really creep out everybody. We're talking to everybody here.
The Mysteries of the Sea Are Abundant
A guy was walking the beach near Lake Erie and found this odd little thing in the sand, and the only possible explanation is that it's a body part of an undiscovered sea monster. No, we kid, we kid. It's a body part of a sea monster that is very well known.
This is the roof plate of a drum fish, also called a freshwater drum, a big colossal fish that often weighs more than fifty pounds – sometimes close to a hundred! It's all figured out, which means there's no reason to be creeped out by all the little holes.
Not What You Were Expecting
What kind of ferocious beast created this? What kind of strange fungus or evil bug has made this odd formation of bristles? Well, the first option is closest, but these aren't dragon scales or anything like that – this is, in fact, a zoomed-in picture of a dog's paw pads.
So yes, when your friendly fido is cuddly up next to you, and you can see his cute little toe beans, this is what you're seeing. That means while this picture might give you the creeps, the larger image is unlikely to do that unless you are also afraid of dogs.
Somebody Needs New Shampoo
Figuring out what this is isn't hard– this is a big, monster dandruff flake. Most of the time, these little flakes collect on your shoulders like tiny snowflakes, but sometimes, they can be big in certain situations. Going by the size of the hairs themselves, it looks like this could be actual centimeters in size.
Thankfully, this sort of thing is easy to forget, though the image might stick with you. We think this lady needs to take a long, hard look at her shampoo collection and figure out what she can do to greatly improve her scalp health regimen.
When You Want Chunky Water
What is this fresh, vibrant terror? It's nothing worse than somebody that puts basil seeds in a glass of water. Why the person enjoys doing this, we might never understand – maybe it's one of those new health fads – but you have to admit it doesn't look great.
The person behind this picture realized that "there may be a few too many basil seeds in the water," and yup, there are. They look like millions and millions of bug eggs. Sorry for that, but it's true. The person explains that the seeds soaked up a lot more water than was expected.
Mini Mushroom Mazes
These fungi really have something special compared to a lot of other options out there. They're called the wrinkled peach, but the scientific name is Rhodotus Palmatus. Unless you're someone that doesn't like small, consummate openings in things, that would be a shame, wouldn't it?
But, of course, to most people, this very very incredible mushroom is something that is worth taking a picture of. The openings aren't even that bad – being able to see deep into them makes it far less creepy. We're sure some people don't like to look at it, but we do think it's pretty cool.
Lizard Skin Makes Us All Shiver
Who doesn't love bearded dragons? We can't think of a single person. However, like all lizards, these big beasties occasionally shed skin. That means that we get to "enjoy" peeling off a layer of rough skin that has lots of bumps and ridges and little holes.
We don't think this is as bad as some of the other pics on this list, but it has a certain ick factor. Still, we also bet that plenty of people out there find peeling off a lizard's skin weirdly enjoyable, like popping bubble wrap. This dragon quality never comes up in fantasy books.
The Gathering
Most of the time, ladybugs are a part of the insect family. They have red and black patterns on their backs, and cute, round little bodies, and they also like eating smaller bugs that will often eat plants that humans enjoy. But what happens when a lot of them gather together in one place?
Lots of aphids get eaten, we bet. Does anything else get done? Probably not. It's not like they're in a union. People with trypophobia might get a little creeped out, as will those that aren't fond of bugs. Hopefully, there's nobody out there that is a twofer.
Yeah, We're About to Purge Too
This one looks like a gross extraterrestrial substance, but we know exactly where it came from. Somebody purged a chemical pump into a bucket and got this as a result.
Yay. The explanation is that this is two parts expanding foam with two parts epoxy, so, it has this goopy, glue texture with millions and millions of tiny bubbles and holes. Do you want to touch it? We want to touch it. It looks like gross gum, but at least there's a lot of it. Enough for the entire class, even. Nobody will ask you for gum again.
The Time of the Bugs
In the west, cicadas only appear every seventeen years, in a strange cycle of around one single season before they disappear again? Billions and billions of them come out of nowhere, make a ton of noise, and then retreat.
Most people find them to be little more than an interesting detail of their lives (as long as they don't have to do too much yard work), but people who have trypophobia will find things tougher for them every seventeen years. The patterns in this picture come from the cicadas working their way up out of the ground where they hibernate.
End My Delicious Misery!
Candy corn is a contentious topic once the weather starts to turn. Some people love it. Some people hate it. However, one way or another, nobody can deny it's an October staple, with plenty of kids collecting it on Halloween.
Another Halloween classic is the humble Jack-o-lantern, which is one of the few holiday decorations that require lots of sharp knives. These ladies have combined the two to make one of the most memorable October oddities we've ever seen. We really like it, actually, but someone that doesn't like lots of small holes probably won't be as fond of it.
This Kind of Thing Can Also Happen Inside You!
If you're interested in getting a cool glass of water, filling up a pot to boil some pasta, or washing, you have to get that water from a faucet. Faucets in certain places will get a buildup of calcium thanks to minerals in the water, and if those deposits are left long enough, things get very very gross.
It looks like there are teeth caught in the openings of the faucet. Those tiny little holes make it even worse for the hole-haters, and this sort of thing also happens inside you – this is, on a high level, what a kidney stone is.
Close Your Eyes While You Eat
What's not to like about some fresh-picked blackberries and a nice splash of cream? It's one of the classic treats, and our mouth is watering just thinking about it. As we can see from this picture, however, just because something tastes good doesn't mean everybody likes how it looks.
Zoomed in like this, we can figure that people with trypophobia might not want to look too closely while they're enjoying this snack. While these aren't holes per se, there are still lots of uniform or uniform-ish spaces between the berry pods. Or, maybe the berry pods themselves are triggering the trypophobia.
What is That Body Part?
You aren't alone if you're wondering what you're looking at. What you're seeing is a coconut that has been shaved and split. Yes, this looks like a knee that is having a strange procedure done, but it's actually a fruit (we think it's a fruit, anyway) that many enjoy for various reasons.
How many other fruits will show up in candy bars like Almond Joy? Imagine biting into a candy bar and finding a banana or something in it. It doesn't sound too bad, but it's still a strange choice. Also, those little holes are sure to give the creeps.
A Classic Example
There are a lot of examples of things that will send a chill down your back available on this list, but this one looks like a stand-out example. The dark coloring, the wide, misshapen openings, the small white bits at the bottom.
If you're someone suffering from trypophobia, we're sorry about this. So what's going on here, if that might help? Well, those little white things are beans. Yeah, like the beans that you eat. They're sitting inside a lotus pod – one of the things that a lot of trypophobes name as something they simply do not like to look at.
Is That Really Fruit?
When you think of strawberries, you think of red. Maybe you get some green in there if they're a bit unripe. Are these things really strawberries? Well, no. Sorry, we gotcha with that one. They're actually called pineberries, and they look similar to strawberries and are related to them, but they aren't exactly the same.
For instance, they're white with little red dots instead of the other way around. Want to guess what they taste like? Pineapple! Or maybe a slightly sour strawberry. People are a little divided. One way or another, they might make your skin cringe and crawl.
We're Starting to Understand
We can see why some people don't like to look at stuff like this. Imagine something creeping out of all those little holes, and you have the makings of true fear. The fact that this is a pleasant pastel pink, and the plants growing out will probably do little more than drink water and add some green to the house is pushed aside.
Many people couldn't even stand to have this thing in their homes. Is it worse that all of the holes are slightly different? Better? We'll never know, and we aren't about to start a study with trypophobes.
Art That Gives out the Creepy-Crawlies
You might be thinking that this one doesn't count since there aren't holes, but it seems this kind of image is enough to get some people shivering. This is little more than a vase that has been decorated with odd pill-like items.
Likely the vase does nothing more than sit on an end table and take up some space, but it can still freak some people out. What's worse, the shape of the vase is so off that you can even do something like store your keys in it while you're at home. Maybe a different color would work better.
Fire Just Makes it Worse!
Lighting a candle to relax is a classic move, but what if the wax melts in such a way that it triggers your trypophobia? Sure, if you see a wasp nest or a piece of fungus you could set a flamethrower to it to get rid of it, but that doesn't really work here, does it?
Of course, the simple answer is to just not look at the candle, but sometimes that isn't an option. The nice thing is that after a little while the wax will have continued melting and be reduced to a smooth puddle under the flame.