fear

If you've been on the internet at all over the past year, chances are you've seen a meme or tweet about how people "attract what you fear." It's a meme that started back in 2017, but only started to become popular in 2019, when memers started delving more into ironic shitposting. While a few of these memes and tweets appear to be in earnest, there are other (very specific) examples that are just obviously heading into memepilled territory. When stacked up against memes about predictable and sexual yearnings, it's really no contest. We've put together some of our favorite examples of the format for your easy perusal, but you can read more about the meme (and enjoy more macros) over at Know Your Meme. Happy scrolling.

As a kid, your underdeveloped brain can often cause you to not fully grasp things for what they are. For example, a creepy-looking character in a TV show will seem a lot scarier when you don't realize that it doesn't actually exist in real life. 

These people took to Twitter to show their selfies next to an image of the things that scared them the most as kids!

We already know that kids say the darndest things, but this Twitter thread proves that they fear the darndest things, too. Loads of users replied to @DanielleSchwartzzz's entertaining thread with their hilarious anecdotes - even author Neil Gaimangot in on the fun. It's not really a surprise that his fears would be unorthodox, but damn, we got a kick out of what gives munchkins anxiety. If you like what you see here, peep the rest of the confessions here.

We love how many memes are born from cursed images, and this one is no exception. The photo popped up on 4chan in April of this year, and has since been repurposed as an object labeling meme that deals with whatever we're afraid of or running from. Some of these memes get a little tired (Who knew dental memes were such a thing?) but here's a selection of our favorites.

Can you meme a meme? According to 'What Scares You The Most,' the answer is a resounding yes. Comedy site/meme hub Obvious Plant posted an image parody based on school interviews back in October. The image, which asks students what they fear most, quickly went viral on Reddit. It wasn't until this Month that people started making parodies of the parody, using it to mock everything from UK politics to Star Wars. 

Frank Krause's "Deep Dark Fears" comics series is beautiful, dark and often compelling. The artist beautifully depicts anonymously submitted fears, updating his blog semi-regularly. If you really like his work, we encourage you to buy his book.