Imagine that you’re swimming out into your local lake. You’re a capable swimmer, you know this body of water like the back of your hand, and you feel confident while athletically stroking through water enveloped by the early morning mist. You decide to dive underwater for a bit—you know, for fun—and that’s when you see it: the shadowy silhouette of something huge, rusted, and covered in seaweed. You panic, rise to the surface, and swim to the shore. Trembling. Terrified.
What even was that?! That, my dear Pandas, was but a taste of submechanophobia, the fear of fully or partially submerged man-made objects, from sunken ships and propellers to sculptures and buildings. The r/submechanophobia subreddit, a vast community of 375k people, is a place to explore that deep, lurking fear in photo format.
Let’s plunge in, shall we? Remember to upvote the pics that scared the bejesus outta ya as you’re swimming through this list. We’d also love to hear your thoughts about the photos, so if you’re brave enough, you can dive to the very bottom and drop us a line in the comment section.
One of the moderators of the ‘Submechanophobia’ subreddit, redditor Pubocyno, gave us a glimpse into the exciting underwater currents of the community, shared their take on tackling our fears, and revealed the very interesting origin of the phobia itself. Pubocyno told Bored Panda that they’re actually a very active wreck diver in their free time! What’s more, they create detailed shipwreck maps.
“I like to spend much time underwater. There is this sense of awe when you discover underwater wrecks for the first time, a little bit of excitement and a little bit of terror—not to forget the sense of history, especially in those wrecks you know have had casualties,” Pubocyno said that even though they don’t have submechanophobia themselves, they nonetheless have a “great respect” for all things underwater. You’ll find the moderator’s other insights deeper into the article, dear Readers.
Bored Panda also reached out to Alastair Bailey, a DSD Divemaster who has done a whopping 500 dives while working at the Byron Bay Dive Centre in Australia. Check out what he had to say below as well.
#1 Underwater Shark Statue At Lake Neuchâtel
Image source: 1091drawde
#2 Serpent D’océan In Saint-Brevin-Les-Pins, France
Image source: arbalm
#3 This Used To Be A Boat, Now It’s A Island
Image source: TedHardy_
#4 After 2300 Years Underwater, A Cache Of Ancient Relics Have Been Rediscovered Off The Coast Of Thonis-Heraclion In Egypt. They’ve Been Waiting, Watching
Image source: CenizaRey
#5 Venice Canal Giant Hands
Image source: YungxAkimbo
#6 This Statue Of Poseidon In Spain
Image source: yammsandasideofguac
#7 Hurricane Harvey. French Street In Lumberton, Tx. 9/3/2017
Image source: Axeljurgens
#8 Maryland National Harbor Statue ‘The Awakening’
Image source: Consistent_Bid_7501
#9 Retired NYC Subway Car Dumped Off The Coast As An Artificial Reef
Image source: R3dSh1ft_706
#10 A “Ghost Village” Resurfacing In Italy
Image source: carriethefairyyy
#11 Interior Of Shipwreck In Lake Superior
Image source: kikislidr
#12 Dragon Sculpture In The Lake Of Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Image source: Av3le
#13 The Front Of The Titanic
Image source: GrekkoPlef
#14 The Baltimore Harbor Tunnel Today. Ignore The Fact That You Are Already Driving Underwater. Drive Into The Underwater Water
Image source: DarkBlue222
#15 Silver Islet Mine Shafts Near Thunder Bay On
Image source: justjbweldit
#16 Diving In A Sunken Plane
Image source: Quinnpill19
#17 Many People Requested More Photos On My Original Post About The Last House Of Holland Island. So Here Are A Few More That I Find Unsettling…
Image source: Fun-Independence-282
#18 Jet Star, A Rollercoaster In New Jersey That Was Literally Blown Into The Ocean During Hurricane Sandy
Image source: reddit.com
#19 German U-Boat Spotted From The Air
Image source: KingNeptune767
#20 What A Submarine Escape Training Tower Looks Like
Image source: Dracula24
#21 Swimming Off The Side Of A Container Ship Seems Like A Big Nope. Found This On Instagram A Few Days Ago
Image source: durbn
#22 It Seems People Enjoyed My Last Post- Here Is Another One I Took Of The Coast Of O’ahu, Hawaii, Where A Tourist Submarine Came Upon As Out Of The Void While We Were Diving…
Image source: lindirofkells
#23 131 Ft Deep Swimming Pool In Padua, Italy. That “Landing Pad” At The Bottom Especially Freaks Me Out
Image source: jennasky
#24 In 2016 Riot Games Commissioned An Artificial Reef Of Their Character Nautilus And Placed It In The Ocean Of Brisbane, Australia. He Now Looks Like This
Image source: bluebreeze52
#25 Church Of Potosi, Drowned Then Reappeared
Image source: beachplank
#26 Carnival Cruise Ships Being Scrapped
Image source: ThatSexyLightskin
#27 A Sunken Ship Called “World Discoverer” Before And After It Sunk
Image source: TheDepressedOne1
#28 An Offshore Oil Rig Which Drifted To The Coast Of The Isle Of Lewis Due To Extreme Weather In 2016
Image source: bdemin
#29 Water Reservoir In Emmendingen, Bw, Germany
Image source: Trizocbs
#30 Swimming Pool Aboard A Decommissioned Soviet Typhoon Class Submarine
Image source: BigCheemus
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