Clusters Of Holes That Would Send Anyone Running For The Hills
By Larissa C
As much as we try to look tough, everyone is scared of something. Some people are afraid of heights, others are scared of spiders, and some are scared of the dark. And then there are those people who are scared of holes — and that fear is called trypophobia. Well, it’s the fear of small holes or bumps, and they have to be in clusters. It’s not like a person with trypophobia gets triggered by the sight of a single hole, but instead of a group of holes or bumps. Even if you don’t have trypophobia, you’ll feel discomfort to some extent as you read this article. Some of these pictures are awful and make our skin crawl — so reader discretion is certainly advised. Here are 45 photos that will trigger your trypophobia!
Honey, I lost my appetite!
As “silly” as trypophobia may sound to some people, it’s interesting to think about how such inoffensive things like holes can make people feel extremely uncomfortable. Want an example? Imagine that you come home to find that your spouse made this cherry pie:
While you may not feel anything at first, the more you look at this picture, the more you’ll feel weirded out. We only have one question for the person who baked this, and it’s why they would make a pie covered in holes?
Scary indeed!
Halloween is that time of the year we can dress up and look as weird as we want, and nobody will care. It is also the perfect time to play some pranks on people and not feel guilty about it.
If you know someone who has trypophobia, you can play the perfect prank by making this triggering Jack-O-Lantern. While this one doesn’t look as scary in the picture, we’re confident that those tiny holes looked creepy in real life!
Even the bees are playing us!
If the topic at hand is clusters of small holes, then we obviously have to mention beehives. Bees are intelligent creatures, and the way they can build gigantic beehives is proof of that. However, people with trypophobia certainly don’t appreciate seeing pictures like this:
Look at how many holes there are in this thing! Even if you don’t have trypophobia, this picture probably makes you feel things you don’t want to feel – shaky, sweaty, panicked. And if it is not, this next beehive certainly will!
That is one huge beehive
If that one beehive did nothing to trigger your trypophobia, this next one will. While the previous one is a beehive that belongs to bees raised in a bee farm, this is a beehive built by bees in the wild, so it is a massive hive.
We are sure that the honey produced in that hive must taste amazing, but did they really have to make such a big, scary, and triggering beehive? Hopefully, no one with trypophobia will come across this hive in real life.
How did they build that in there?
The third installment of the hive saga features not a beehive, but a wasp nest. Wasps build nests that look kind of similar to beehives — however, they are much scarier than regular hives. With larger and smaller holes, this nest certainly will make you feel uncomfortable:
See what we mean? Look at that weird shape and countless holes. This picture will trigger the trypophobia of people who don’t even have this phobia in the first place. Another questionable thing here is how this nest was built inside a Pyrex bowl. We wonder why the owner would just leave this bowl outside.
Good Lord, get that thing away from me!
If you’re disgusted by amphibians, and you hate clusters of holes, you are going to hate this next picture. We advise that you take a deep breath before proceeding — you’re going to need it. Check out this toad that gives birth on its back:
Those weird-looking bubbles are actually baby toads that are being birthed on the toad’s back. As if this amphibian wasn’t disgusting enough, especially when pregnant, there are a bunch of awful holes all across its back. It’s just a horrifying sight!
Don’t forget things in the microwave.
If you have trypophobia and want to avoid looking at holes or bumps or other things that trigger your phobia, you shouldn’t forget something in the microwave. Once mold takes over the food, you’re not going to like the sight of it — especially if you forget beans in the microwave.
You are not looking at a thing that is found deep down in the ocean. You’re actually looking at a picture of beans that were forgotten in the microwave. Safe to say that this would 100% trigger your trypophobia, right?
Why would you deliberately do this?
When we see small holes in nature, we may feel uncomfortable and triggered. However, we can do nothing about it, considering that these holes are part of nature. With that in mind, we can only wonder why would someone purposefully do this to a coconut:
Who in their right mind opens a coconut and carves a bunch of holes in the white flesh? First of all, look at how much of that delicious coconut meat you’re wasting. Second, this looks quite scary and turns our stomachs!
The tree from my nightmares!
As we said before, we can’t help seeing holes and bumps in nature, no matter how much you may try to avoid it. Mother Nature does some pretty crazy things, and this next tree is undoubtedly one of them. Imagine you’re walking in a park and you see this:
This tree looks just like one of the trees we see in our nightmares. All those black bumps? It’s way too creepy! You’re looking at a Jabuticaba tree, a common tree in Brazil. While it looks bizarre, the fruits from this tree are actually quite tasty.
What’s up with these berries?
Blueberries, raspberries, cranberries – we all love berry fruits. These small, juicy, and bright fruits are incredibly popular in America and in other regions of the world. But the one berry that is the most popular of all is the strawberry.
People eat strawberries worldwide, and everyone will agree that they do not look like these berries in the picture. Why are these berries so pale? But most importantly, why do they have so many holes? We’re certain that trypophobia would not let us eat these berries.
That’s why I prefer to stay indoors.
If you have trypophobia, going out in the wild is probably one of your least favorite things. Especially when there are woodpeckers in the region you live. Want to know why? Because woodpeckers drill small holes in trees so they can store food.
Now, imagine going out to have fun with your family or friend in nature and coming across this tree. That is something we would certainly not like to see in person because it sure does look like it will trigger anyone’s trypophobia!
What type of sea monster is this?
If you stop to think about it, the ocean is just as scary as space. Humans have only explored about 10% of the deep seas, which means that we haven’t discovered thousands of living species yet, and we might never discover them.
It’s well-known that the ocean has some creepy creatures, like the blobfish and the anglerfish. That thing in the photo looks so scary that one would think that it’s a creature from the depths of the ocean. Well, it’s not a creature. Those are just barnacles that are so close together they make us shudder!
Take that thing away from my child!
Who knows what causes people to have phobias? Are we born with these aversions or are they caused by the environment that we grew up in? We guess the answer to those questions will vary depending on the person you’re asking them to.
However, as parents, we can always keep our children away from things that could potentially scar them for life. This weird-looking toy, for instance, should be kept away from all children. Why would someone make an elephant with so many eyes? These toys are certainly not trypophobia-proof!
Just don’t look up.
Let’s say that you are visiting one of the countries you most want to see. It’s always a great experience to get to know different cultures and meet new people from all over the planet. If you appreciate architecture and design, visiting other places is also great to see beautiful buildings.
However, all of that amazement of seeing new places will probably wear out once you take a look at this ceiling. Why would someone design a building that would trigger people’s trypophobia? If only you weren’t scared of clusters of holes, you’d be able to appreciate this beauty.
All of this thing looks weird.
To be honest, there is absolutely nothing cute about the following picture. In fact, one could even say that this picture is 100% awful and triggering. However, it is so ugly that you can’t help wanting to stare at it.
We know what you’re thinking. But no, this is nothing close to what is going through your mind right now. This is a certain mushroom species that has a bunch of tiny holes in it. However ugly as this mushroom may be, it tastes delicious — and that’s a lesson on not judging a book by its cover.
I’d rather not eat breakfast today, thank you.
In some countries, pancakes are part of a traditional breakfast. Considering how easy it is to make pancake mix and how quick it is to get pancakes done, that’s not surprising. Our question for you is: would you eat these pancakes?
We bet your trypophobia is off the charts right now. From a distance, this pancake looks bad enough with all those holes. But then, when you look closer, you get more disgusted as there are way more holes inside the pancake!
Dad, why would you do this to me?
Our parents are supposed to be the people who love us and care for us the most. As children, we think that both our dad and mom have superpowers, and they’ll never harm us. Now, imagine that you have trypophobia and your dad does this:
If you don’t know what that is, that’s a mushroom kit. This man started growing his mushrooms so he could use them in different recipes. However, much to his daughter’s horror, the mushrooms began looking like this. We bet she never thought her dad would betray her like this!
I’m never going back to this house.
Having trypophobia is no joke. Even if it’s a lighter degree of phobia, having an aversion to tiny holes or clusters of bumps is awful because we see those things everywhere. Now, imagine that you have trypophobia and arachnophobia — and then you come home to find this:
Can you imagine how it would feel to find out that a spider had done this to your front porch? One thing is for sure: we would never go back inside that house ever again! Hopefully, someone came over and destroyed this bizarre spider web.
Why are animals like this?
Bees, wasps, and hornets are similar because they all make these hives with a bunch of tiny holes. For some people, hives and nests are just regular things you find in nature. But if you have trypophobia, it’s a whole different story.
It’s safe to say that seeing all those holes is horrifying for the people who have trypophobia. To make things worse, hornets are also quite dangerous so, if you see a hornet’s nest, you’ll probably want to stay as far away from it as possible.
Who would eat this burger?
When people go to fast-food restaurants, they usually order burgers. Burgers are so popular that a seemingly simple recipe has been altered so many times that now we have multiple types of burgers. But did you know that you can eat an octopus burger?
Yes, octopus burgers are a real thing, as insane as that may sound. Apparently, it tastes terrific. The only problem with this type of burger is that, if you have trypophobia, you’ll probably be triggered by the way this sandwich looks!
No idea why someone would buy this.
House decor is something that shouldn’t be questioned. If the house belongs to you, then why should we be judging it? Even still, it’s kind of hard not to judge some people’s taste in decoration, especially when they buy things like this:
If you don’t have trypophobia, try to put yourself in someone else’s shoes for a second, someone with this phobia. Imagine how they would feel upon seeing this creepy lamp with all those bumps positioned so close to one another. We certainly would never visit this house again!
This shoe certainly hurts the feet.
One of the most significant environmental issues we have right now (and have had for a long time) is beach pollution. People leave all sorts of things on the beach, like clothing items, plastic bottles, flip-flops, and a lot more.
Thankfully, some kind souls take some of their time to gather with other people and try to clean the beach. The woman who took this photo was doing just that when she found this old shoe taken over by barnacles. We can only hope she didn’t have trypophobia because this sight is certainly triggering!
You better keep them apart!
Time for us to be brutally honest: most people love pigs in a blanket. This dish, which can be served as an appetizer, is culinary at its finest. There’s no other for pigs in a blanket than “perfection.” However, we see this photo when we think that nothing can ever go wrong with this dish.
This person prepared this fantastic dish but decided to do something horrible. Instead of keeping the snacks apart, they kept them so close together that this dish became a nightmare for anyone who has trypophobia. Thanks for nothing, we guess.
Berries, why must you do me like this!
Blackberries are the perfect snack for those who are on a diet. Not only are these fruits tasty, but they are also rich in essential vitamins and have few calories. However, their appearance may not please those who have an aversion to clusters of bumps.
If you cringed or felt uncomfortable because of this photo, then you understand exactly what we meant. These cream-covered berries are really triggering, and it only gets worse as you look at all those tiny bumps so close together! Ugh!
Feels like they’re on a mission.
Remember that picture of a woodpecker storing food in a tree? If you don’t remember the woodpecker, you certainly remember how disgusting the tree looked with all those tiny holes. Well, there are woodpeckers in lots of different places. Thus there are trees just like that one all over the world.
If seeing that first photo wasn’t enough to make you decide to never go out to a park or a forest again, this one certainly is. There are so many holes in this tree that you can see them even though the picture is low quality!
We probably won’t eat this anymore.
If you are a cooking enthusiast, you probably tried baking sourdough bread at some point in your amateur career. This type of bread is healthy because it helps feed the “good” type of bacteria that live inside us — but they can be quite scary.
While the bread is scary enough, the sourdough starter will freak you out the most. If you have trypophobia, you certainly won’t appreciate looking at all those tiny holes that appear in the starter and that are caused by the yeast.
I’m glad I don’t have plants anyway!
Living alone in a big city or anywhere can feel incredibly lonely sometimes. Raising a pet could help with that loneliness, but it demands time, which we don’t always have. An alternative that has become popular is taking care of plants.
Plants may not talk or interact with you, but they sure do a lot when making that feeling of loneliness go away. However, if we had to raise plants using this awful flower pot, it would only give us nightmares and make our trypophobia go through the roof. Seems like sometimes it’s better to be alone!
Now we really don’t want plants.
As we are talking about plants, you have to see the following picture. While the issue in the previous photo was the pot, the problem here is the plant. This is one of the weirdest-looking plants we have ever seen.
It is challenging for us to understand why someone would want to grow this type of plant. First of all, the designs on those plants are bizarre and make them look like eyeballs. If you have trypophobia and you’re not triggered by this, then something’s off.
Two phobias for the price of one!
If you have trypophobia and are reading this article, you’re probably on a mission to torture yourself. Some of these photos are so awful that even the people who don’t have trypophobia are triggered by them. But this next photo is on a whole different level:
This picture is the definition of killing two birds with one stone. If you have trypophobia, you’ll hate how these tiny red bumps are so close together. If you have a phobia of bugs, you’ll hate to know that these bumps are ladybugs!
Don’t look at this photo if you like bread!
If you like trying different cuisines, you should probably try eating injera bread. This type of bread is originally from Ethiopia, and it is known for being super healthy, not to mention that it is also delicious. The only problem with this bread is that it has a bunch of holes!
If someone invites you to an Ethiopian restaurant and you have trypophobia, make sure not to order this type of bread. Looking at all those tiny holes will trigger your phobia. Alternatively, you could just close your eyes before you eat it. People will think you’re weird, but that’s better than triggering your trypophobia, right?
That’s surprising, really.
When we defined what trypophobia means, we mentioned that it is the aversion of tiny holes and bumps. However, this phobia is not just the aversion of small holes — it’s the aversion of clusters of holes, regardless of their size.
For instance, if you have trypophobia and you visit this giant sculpture, you may be triggered. There are hundreds of holes all over this sculpture, and they’re certainly not tiny. Even still, they’re so close together that this would be enough to trigger anyone.
I hope I never visit this museum!
As we’re talking about art, here’s another piece of art that will raise the hairs on the back of your neck. Contrary to the previous sculpture, this one is much smaller —, and the holes are much scarier and way grosser!
If we ever visited this museum, we probably would be startled the minute we came across this particular sculpture. Look at all those holes — isn’t it just utterly disgusting? The only thing you can do if you see this sculpture is to look the other way immediately!
Creepy and disgusting!
If you have trypophobia, you must probably avoid going on adventures inside caves. While it’s undoubtedly a great experience, caves have tons of holes and you sure won’t appreciate it when your trypophobia is triggered while you’re inside a cave.
Things would certainly take a turn for the worse if you ever visited this cave in Italy. Not only does it have many clusters of holes, but it also has a lot of clusters of bumps. This cave is rich in limestones, and they form those bumps. We can’t even stand looking at that picture any longer — it is way too creepy and triggering!
What’s up with these mushrooms?
Just by reading this article, you have probably seen types of mushrooms that you’d never seen before. While that’s not necessarily a bad thing, the fact that all these mushrooms look triggering is terrible. If you haven’t got enough, here’s another one:
When you first look at this picture, it’s possible that you may not even realize at first glance that these are mushrooms. This type of mushroom is not only triggering (because of all those holes) but it is also quite dangerous — eat one of these, and you’ll end up in the hospital!
Straight out of a horror movie!
If you want to be a meanie and give someone the scare of their lives this next Halloween, we may have just found the perfect idea for you. Pumpkins are a symbol of this festivity, so why not use them to scare a friend or two?
If your friend has trypophobia and you want to get back at them for a prank they pulled on you or something, you can try doing that to a pumpkin. It’s going to take you some time, but it’s going to be the prank of a lifetime!
I’m happy to be childless!
Thankfully, we live in a time where families now can be constituted of just a pair of partners, and that’s okay. However, people kind of want babies but do not want to deal with everything that comes with a baby.
The solution that these people find is to buy dolls that look like real babies. Have you ever seen one of those dolls? Well, that’s what we’re talking about. The problem is that reborns can be expensive, so crochet babies are an alternative. We mean, they’re an alternative for the people who don’t have trypophobia because these dolls are certainly triggering.
What is that?
We mentioned how there are so many creatures in the ocean that scientists have discovered yet. Well, those unidentified creatures also exist on the land, and here is one of them. This thing was found in Sweden, and we can only describe it with one word: creepy!
We know this is called a polypore fungus, but we’d rather not research it, thanks. What we do know about this creature is that it looks disgusting and scary. And to make things worse, it is also really triggering for the people who have trypophobia with all those bumps!
That’s any homeowner’s nightmare.
So far, most of the triggering images we have shown you in this article were kind of distant from most people’s realities. That’s because these pictures are mostly of things located in the wild or in foreign countries. We’re about to change that.
This person was cleaning their bathroom when they found out that their faucet was looking like this. These disgusting bumps were caused due to hard water, and they certainly triggered this person’s trypophobia. Now, imagine coming face to face with that in your own home!
I prefer to look at them from a distance, thank you.
When we think of sunflowers, the first image that comes to mind is beautiful and bright flowers. But have you ever seen a sunflower up close? Many people haven’t and, when they do, they’ll probably wish they had stayed away.
That black part of the sunflowers is not just a black patch. It’s a bunch of seeds that grow on the flower. When you look at them from up close, you’ll not only be disgusted by how ugly it looks but you’ll also be triggered because of how close these seeds are to each other!
Are those safe to eat?
If you’re trying (or have tried) to follow healthy diets, you may have noticed how many of these diets recommend that you eat seeds, like chia seeds or basil seeds. These seeds are beneficial to our bodies, but there’s a big issue with them.
For those who have trypophobia, these seeds are an absolute nightmare. They’re super small, and when you put them in a glass cup or container, they stay so close together that they trigger our phobia. It looks like people with trypophobia can’t even try to stay healthy anymore!
Maybe this is too modern for me.
House decor has evolved a lot over the years, and nowadays it’s not unusual to see some crazy-looking furniture out there. We don’t mean crazy in a bad way, but rather that some designs are just too amazing to be true.
Well, certainly not this one. This table design is not amazing or anything like that — it is just plain scary! Imagine having trypophobia and having to look at this thing every day at work or at the hotel you’re staying in?
This hobby is not for everyone.
If you live in a coastal city, you certainly must visit the beach quite often, or at least every once in a while. You have probably seen some people collecting the small seashells that wash ashore in one of your visits.
While that’s not necessarily a harmful hobby, it is certainly not for the faint at heart. Well, at least not the ones who have trypophobia. We’re confident you’d be triggered if you were collecting seashells and came across one that looked just like the seashell in the picture!
Not the dog!
When we have a phobia, it feels like we are always coming across things that will trigger us and potentially ruin our day. And if that wasn’t bad enough, sometimes these triggering things are inside the sanctuaries that are our homes!
Who would have thought that a cute dog could be a trigger for some people? While it seems kind of unimaginable, this adorable dog is the nightmare of anyone who has trypophobia. All those lumps? It would be disgusting if only we didn’t know that that’s snow!
The definition of disgusting has been updated!
If we are here to talk about triggering things, we certainly could not leave this next image out of this list. This is easily one of the creepiest and most disgusting images we can show you, and it’s going to trigger you for different reasons.
Do you have any idea what that is? If you think that’s a creature that looks disgusting, you’re right. That creature is actually a tick and those disgusting tiny balls are its eggs! This picture is basically two phobias in one, right?
Never eating pizza again.
To end our article on a perfect note, we are about to trigger you with something you never thought possible. Pizza. Who doesn’t love eating pizza? This food is certainly one of the best creations of humankind, and we never thought it could harm us.
Turns out that, yes, pizza can hurt us. Not in a physical way, obviously. But it can trigger your trypophobia and make you scared for life. If you don’t know why we are saying this, just look at the photo. That horrible thing with all those scary holes is actually pizza dough!