Spiders, skeletons and slasher movies get their moment to shine every October. But Ohio's Google searches suggest the typical spooky-season lineup doesn't include the scariest of the scary.
Think clusters of holes. Deep water. And situations where finding an exit might be difficult.
Agoraphobia topped Ohio’s most-searched fears in a new analysis released by THC drink brand BudPop, beating out ghosts, spiders and heights.
The company analyzed Google Keyword Planner data from September 2025 through August 2026, ranking searches related to 149 fears, including terms about symptoms, causes and treatment.
The results reflect search activity, rather than how many Ohioans actually experience those fears. Sometimes, a search is just a search − especially
when ghosts are involved.
What were Ohio's most-searched fears?
Agoraphobia, described in the BudPop release as fear of situations where escape might be difficult, led with 165,690 searches. Ohio was one of 29 states where it ranked first.
Trypophobia, an aversion to holes or patterns of holes, followed with 155,900 searches. It topped the national rankings.
Here's Ohio's full list, according to the analysis:
- Agoraphobia: Fear of situations where escape might be difficult − 165,690 searches
- Trypophobia: Fear of holes or patterns of holes − 155,900
- Phasmophobia: Fear of ghosts − 88,200. "Phasmophobia" is also the name of a video game. The analysis did not separate searches for the game from searches about the fear of ghosts.
- Emetophobia: Fear of vomiting − 84,990
- Hypochondria: Fear of illness − 69,590
- Thalassophobia: Fear of lakes, seas and oceans − 46,300
- Claustrophobia: Fear of confined spaces − 34,520
- Arachnophobia: Fear of spiders − 32,730
- Acrophobia: Fear of heights − 24,570
- Submechanophobia: Fear of submerged man-made objects − 17,350
Spiders landing eighth might come as a surprise to anyone who has ever surrendered an entire room to one.
How do Ohio's searches compare with the rest of the country?
Nationally, trypophobia took the top spot with nearly 5 million searches, followed by agoraphobia at about 4.9 million, according to the analysis. Ohio flipped that order.
Snakes also made the national list, while Ohio’s list featured submerged man-made objects instead.
Across all the fears analyzed, Ohio recorded about 1.04 million searches. Its search rate per resident was 3.2% below the national average, ranking 17th-lowest among states. Utah had the highest rate, Mississippi had the lowest.
That doesn’t prove Ohioans are harder to scare. But if you’re decorating for Halloween, apparently a few skeletons and a giant spider aren’t covering all the bases.
Trending reporter Amani Bayo can be reached at abayo@dispatch.com.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Spiders didn’t top Ohio’s most-searched fears. Here’s what did
