Traumafession:: Reader Lorraine on Mouse Hunt

So, Kindertrauma, we meet again. I get a feeling that I'll be submitting to your site quite a bit. Sure, there might have been little one time episodes like crying at Twister and Dante's Peak, scurrying back to bed like a bat out of Hell after witnessing a guy's back split open… But there's no scene in any movie that has affected me more than this. It is the scene that I blame for my emetophobia (fear of vomiting). Yeah, I'm talking about Mouse Hunt.

Let's describe the scene as quickly as possible. I don't want to ruin my dinner.That scene where the mayor accidentally eats a cockroach, finds out about it, vomits it up, and dies? UGH. I'm shuddering just typing this. That scene, that DAMN SCENE. Oh, how it scarred me for life! Ever since seeing that scene, just thinking about someone throwing up gives me so many unwanted conflicting feelings. It makes me feel like throwing up, but the idea of throwing up absolutely terrifies me. Someone throws up in the room? I have to leave as quickly as possible. I can't leave? I retreat to the farthest corner of the room and attempt to cover both my mouth and ears at the same time. Afterwards, I will not be satisfied until I've almost given myself prune fingers from washing my hands. I am also extremely paranoid about any sickness of this type. If I know that a person has been sick or has been in a house with sickness going around, I will avoid them like the plague until I am certain the coast is clear. It may sound awful, but I just can't help it. The idea of vomiting just affects me that much.

And you know why? It's because of Mouse Hunt. Thank you, Mouse Hunt! You scarred me for life, and I owe it completely to you!