CASE 01
MRI
Halfway through the scan, the technician told me over the speaker to stay perfectly still.
A second voice inside the machine whispered, “He cannot see me from there.”
FEAR FILE · 8 CASES
Claustrophobia
Fear of confined or enclosed spaces.
CASE 02
Spacewalk
During my spacewalk, mission control told me the tapping on my helmet was probably thermal expansion.
Then the tapping moved to the inside of the visor.
CASE 03
Observation Window
Something enormous passed the submarine window and blocked out the lights for six minutes.
When it moved on, a human handprint remained on the outside of the glass.
CASE 04
Airlock
Three knocks came from the outer airlock while all four crew members were strapped into their seats.
The pressure gauge began rising from the outside.
CASE 05
Lavatory
Someone kept knocking from inside the airplane lavatory even after the crew unlocked it and found it empty.
The knocking moved into the overhead bin above my seat.
CASE 06
Oxygen Mask
The oxygen masks dropped even though the cabin pressure warning never sounded.
The man beside me whispered that the masks were not for us.
CASE 07
Black Window
Every window on the left side of the plane went black at the same time.
Then something enormous began moving along the fuselage.
CASE 08
Between Floors
The elevator stopped between floors and the doors opened onto a concrete wall.
A human eye blinked through a crack in the wall.