People aren’t exaggerating when they say that water is life. More than half of our bodies are made up of it, and it covers some 71% of our planet’s surface. It’s constantly moving, flowing, freezing, and evaporating, shifting between liquid, solid, and gas. It’s essential to our survival, yet it can also threaten our very existence. Water is as formidable as it is indispensable.
But its most unnerving quality might be what it hides. Underwater, even ordinary man-made objects can become eerie, their creepiness magnified by the murky stillness around them. The fear they inspire even has a name, one shared by a Reddit community dedicated to these sights: r/submechanophobia. Let’s dive into some of its most unsettling posts.
#1
A 50-50 (above/below water line) view of an aircraft carrier.
Image source: justlukedotjs
#2
Bahrain bought a 747 jet for just $100,000 from the UAE, then for 7 long months carefully removed every single fuel line, wire and plastic component from it, then tugged it into the Arabian Sea and sunk it, creating the centerpiece of the world’s largest underwater theme park.
Image source: AlbinoAkon
#3
A shipwreck beneath my boat.
Image source: Chris_Roxburgh
Submechanophobia is the fear of fully or partially submerged man-made objects, and it might just finally explain my childhood terror of that creepy-crawly thing. You know, the thing that keeps the bottom of the pool clean? It’s a little more oddly specific than thalassophobia, the fear of the sea or vast bodies of water, but it’s no less unnerving.
#4
A view from the bow of the sunken Titanic.
Image source: TuringGoneWild
#5
Ms Estonia Shipwreck.
Image source: TheHallsIWalked
#6
The sunken B-29.
Image source: AlbinoAkon
Because, really, with all that humankind has built, explored, discarded, or lost to the tides, who knows how much of our handiwork now lies underwater? The ocean alone supports an enormous amount of human activity. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), it provides food security for over three billion people, carries more than 80% of global goods, and hosts cables carrying 98% of international internet traffic.
#7
The damaged and half sunk oil tanker Caroline Bezengi, at sea off the coast of Oman, on a date given as August 6.
Image source: Ksa151
#8
Oil Rig Platform Eureka – 700′ Of Open Water Beneath Us.
Image source: SoupCatDiver_JJ
#9
USS Saratoga under 200ft of Bikini Atoll Water.
Image source: jinglesGOAT
Add climate change and rising sea levels, which threaten to swallow up more of the places we’ve built on dry land, and… well, if you have submechanophobia and the photos haven’t made you nope out just yet, you’re probably quietly freaking out right about now.
#10
Intentional sinking for fire protection, northern Minnesota.
Image source: Tricky_Jellyfish9116
#11
Various US Navy aircraft found with the wreck of the aircraft carrier USS Lexington, sunk during the Battle of Coral Sea in WWII.
Image source: Western_Homework_228
#12
Mar Sem Fim.
Image source: TheHallsIWalked
Writing for Verywell Mind, Lisa Fritscher explains that submechanophobia can stem from several different fears, including fear of the unknown. As she points out, that instinct to be wary of what we can’t fully see or know has probably served us pretty well as a species. After all, bodies of water can conceal all sorts of hazards that are difficult to spot, from submerged rocks and logs to dangerous currents that can sweep us into much deeper trouble than we ever intended. Being cautious about what might be lurking beneath the surface isn’t exactly irrational.
#13
NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Lab.
Image source: thelaststarfighter2
#14
Entire County Submerged As A Result Of The Three Gorges Dam.
Image source: SupEtendard
#15
Exploded bridge from WW2 in the Danube river, Budapest.
Image source: RevolutionaryBook869
But Fritscher also notes that familiarity with a particular body of water can reduce the perceived risks. So perhaps that explains why I eventually made peace with the pool’s aptly named creepy-crawly.
#16
Abandoned, half-sunken lifeboat from a vehicle carrier that sank in 2025.
Image source: internerd91
#17
This is what beneath a swim up bar looks like.
Image source: Alarming-Highway228
#18
Inside of cooling tower.
Image source: the_inland_diver
Moving from creepy-crawlies to actual creatures, next on Fritscher’s list is fear of animals. We’ve all seen Jaws. We know what might be swimming below, from eels and rays to the occasional larger predator, and sunken objects often make perfect hiding spots. Fritscher points out that even non-predatory animals may attack if they feel threatened, although attacks on humans are rare. Still, for some of us, even a brush with a fish (or a slimy piece of seaweed) is enough to elicit a shriek.
#19
Toilets inside the wreck of the HMHS Britannic.
Image source: SomethingKindaSmart
#20
Nuclear reactor pool.
Image source: guy_does_something
#21
Two wrecks and it’s getting dark.
Image source: RotarySam27
Then there’s the fear of ships. Fritscher explains that this can range from discomfort around boats to an intense fear of enormous vessels, with submarines being a particular trigger for some people. And it’s not hard to see why. Just imagine being sealed inside a craft, miles below the surface, with nothing but darkness and water pressing in from all sides. And we’ve seen how tragically that can end.
#22
Inside of a cooling tower.
Image source: the_inland_diver
#23
Somebody drove a truck into Lake Washington.
Image source: IntelligentEyeball
#24
They’re Building A Glamping Platform & I Had To Swim Under It!
Image source: Relevant-Ear4677
While all this makes bodies of water sound downright terrifying, there’s an undercurrent to these fears: water can be as calming as it is unsettling. As Tamara Davison writes for The Guardian, “The ocean has long framed restorative practices for better health around the world, from Victorian-era doctors prescribing ‘sea cures’ for patients to the modern-day trend of cold-water swimming.”
#25
Scale Model of the Titanic.
Image source: awkjen
#26
Engine of the SS Oregon, sunk in 1886 18nmi off Long Island, New York.
Image source: SomethingKindaSmart
#27
Glen Haven Beach, Sleeping Bear Dunes.
Image source: Firm-Awareness-7180
Marine biologist Wallace J. Nichols helped bring renewed attention to water’s restorative power with his 2014 book Blue Mind, which explores the psychological benefits of being in, on, or near water. Since then, the idea that “blue spaces” (oceans, lakes, rivers, and even fountains) can benefit our well-being has increasingly found its way into therapeutic practices.
#28
A flooded, rusted interior area, specifically identified as a section within the Gros Ouvrage Mont des Welches.
Image source: Nice_Session2372
#29
Stuck in a Boat House…
Image source: mhv_yt
#30
Just me or are buoys at night absolutely terrifying.
Image source: RemarkablePoetry9815
As Kate Campbell, a health psychology researcher, told the BBC, “Blue spaces provide us with distractions that take our mind away from the day-to-day hassles of life.” But experts from Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) say it goes deeper than that. According to their findings, spending time in blue spaces is linked to better mental and general health, including lower stress and anxiety, and a reduced risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, and lower mortality.
#31
Chained whale sculpture in a deep diving pool, Shijiazhuang, China.
Image source: yippee-kay-yay
#32
Stairs to a lower lever in Cleveland’s abandoned subway station.
Image source: oakbarrelbear
#33
Commercial diving inside the Queen Mary Propeller room.
Image source: Nurse-Jigglypuff
Still, while some might find peace by the water, others would rather not think about what might be lurking in the depths. Continue scrolling through (if you dare) and upvote the posts you found most terrifying, but remember, these are just a drop in the ocean. Yikes.
#34
Costa Concordia Wreck.
Image source: GeneralReputation112
#35
A sunken ship has emerged from the Danube after 89 years.
Image source: MontePhess
#36
so Alexander L. Kielland was raised from the sea, then deliberately sunk again.
Image source: Mundane-Advisor2076
#37
Base of small glory hole.
Image source: Affectionate-Fan9250
#38
Binnacle of the Andrea Doria, photo taken just 28 hours after it sank.
Image source: SomethingKindaSmart
#39
Pilgrimage to see this at Lake Tahoe.
Image source: JohnHoot
#40
The Wires Of A Can-Buoy.
Image source: Relevant-Ear4677
#41
Sunken boat in the port, Croatia.
Image source: sanicbroom
#42
One of the creepier swimming holes I’ve been to in a while.
Image source: water_refill_station
#43
Boat no Float.
Image source: BlueCoconutnut
#44
The McBarge capsized and slowly sinking in British Columbia.
Image source: Lukington17
#45
Basement of a former pharmaceutical site.
Image source: Tartabirdgames_YT
#46
Chains and Rails into “nowhere”.
Image source: mhv_yt
#47
Dredger heads for sand dredging.
Image source: innuendo-inyourendo
#48
Spillway.
Image source: No-Selection-4424
#49
Hands in the water, Marble Mountain Vietnam.
Image source: RevolutionaryAgent6
#50
Sunk Ferry in South Korea.
Image source: Redback_
#51
The Bermuda.
Image source: Apprehensive_Box_665
#52
Chain of floating island.
Image source: mhv_yt
#53
Space X Starship’s recovery.
Image source: davidkwast
#54
Biodome Montreal.
Image source: UnicornKitt3n
#55
Does It Make It Better Or Worse That Its Crystal Clear Water?
Image source: SoupCatDiver_JJ
#56
Slipway by the boathouse.
Image source: GremlinAbuser
#57
Eccleston Delph Dive Centre.
Image source: TheHallsIWalked
#58
Capernwray Dive Centre.
Image source: TheHallsIWalked
#59
Some clever clogs took a scenic dive to visit and intake pipe.
Image source: Affectionate-Fan9250
#60
Nuclear power station spent fuel pools.
Image source: Paul_S_Moran
#61
The stairs that make my skin crawl….
Image source: cocktail_wiitch
#62
The MV Jernas, abandoned along the rocky coast of Aftalqut west of Salalah.
Image source: Reporex
#63
Underground water storage tank.
Image source: TheGreatPear7
#64
Sunken boat in shallow waters.
Image source: pseudo-mathematician
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