What is "pupaphobia"

n. Fear of puppets.

Pupaphobia is the fear of puppets and marionettes. This phobia is slightly common, but not as common as coulrophobia (fear of clowns) and pediophobia (fear of dolls). Pupaphobia falls under the broader category of automatonophobia, the fear of anything that falsely represents a sentient being—this includes ventriloquist dummies, animatronic creatures, mannequin, and wax statues.

The term pupaphobia derives from the Latin word pupa, meaning "doll", and the Greek phobos, meaning "fear".

Almost all cases of pupaphobia originate from childhood, because puppets are mainly directed to children. Sufferers would believe that puppets are real animated objects just like living things, even though they're not real. One of the causes include terrible nightmares about killer puppets. Sufferers would panic and hide when seeing a puppet and would avoid watching shows where puppets are used. Sufferers may also feel the sense of "doom" or their body heat suddenly drops. Physically, sufferers may feel dizzy and/or faint.