Ophidiophobia

Mary suffers from ophidiophobia.

Tom suffers from ophidiophobia.

His father had a severe case of ophidiophobia, but to his credit he allowed his non-ophidiophobic 12-year-old son to keep a small colony of the Common Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) in a large box pen in a far corner of their Wisconsin backyard.

The second-most-common phobia is ophidiophobia, the fear of snakes. Ophidiophobia is one of the most debilitating fears in humans; even the picture of a snake in a magazine or image of one on TV can invoke intense fear in some people.