Heights. Snakes. Spiders. Sharks. Burglary. These are just some of the most common fears around the world.

The Dictionary.com, definition of fear is a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid. According to livescience.com, 8.7 percent of people have a phobia or biggest fear.

“I’m afraid of snakes. We didn’t have any poisonous snakes where I lived before, but we do down here,” Carol Bell said.

According to fearof.net, nearly one-third of adult humans are believed to have an intense fear of snakes. Snakes are one of those things that people are either afraid of from the time they were born or they grow to be afraid as they get older. Most of the poisonous snakes in the United States are located in the south.

“I’m afraid of sharks. My parents were really stupid and they took me to go see Jaws when I was in second grade. They paid for it dearly, I think I slept in their room for almost two years after that,” Patty Bell said.

According to fearof.net, the extreme fear of sharks is probably made up of images of the great white shark as pictured in Jaws, the popular film known for its dramatic music and visual effects. Most people do not realize that shark attacks have a smaller chance of occurring than most other animal attacks. When Jaws came out, the film was rated G, for everyone, and today the film has a rating of PG 13, meaning children are allowed to see the film with a parent or guardian.

“I’m afraid of bad men getting in the house for two reasons. Number one, two years ago I had some bad men try and get in my house. We scared them away, but I’ve been worried about it ever since. Number two, I have watched too many Criminal Minds episodes. There are a lot of bad people on that show,” Catherine Bell said.

According to asecurelife.com, data from the FBI 2012 crime report shows that we can expect one in every thirty-six homes in the United States to be burglarized this year. There is a chance of burglary every single day of the year. Around the holiday season especially, there is a higher chance of burglary when more people order packages in the mail and they get delivered during the day.

“I’m afraid of Ferris wheels. They do not have seat belts and you might fall,” Robert Martin said.

Some people might just be afraid of Ferris wheels and still enjoy the thrills of roller coasters. Roller coasters have seat belts and other forms of protection on the ride while  Ferris wheels just have bars that prevent you from falling out. The fear of heights is the one common fear that is closest to the fear of Ferris wheels. According to wonderopolis.org, acrophobia, the name for being afraid of heights, is the most common phobia in the world.