Since stores and shops are getting ready to haul out their Fall and Halloween collections, I figured it was about time to focus on something slightly reminiscent of these few months on the calendar: my fears.

Some of my fears are universal, while others tend to lean toward the obscure; however, I ask that you don't ask me to rationalize my fears for you. They are my own, and if I knew how to justify them, I wouldn't be afraid of these things.

Without further ado, here are my top 5 fears:

5. Getting My Hands Dirty

This localized misophobia is probably my most off-the-wall fear, and for the most part, I can ignore it if I don't look at my hands at any given moment (out of sight, out of mind).

If my hands appear to be clean, my fear is completely contained (I'm not talking about cleanliness at the microscopic level). However, visible dirt or other marks akin to these make me slightly uneasy. We absentmindedly touch our faces--our mouths, eyes, noses, etc.--and we touch our cell phones, which we then press against our faces to talk. Anything that's on our hands can, then, be transferred to our bodies.

This isn't some half-assed attempt to somehow weasel out of manual labor, as I've worked on a construction site this entire summer (shameless plug: 10 Things I Learned From Working With My Dad) and have gotten my hands dirty in other regards, but it doesn't mean I like getting my hands dirty.

4. Needles

Needle phobia, much unlike my last fear, is sightly more universal. Perhaps, it can be traced back to some traumatic event when I was little or to passing out after receiving a tuberculosis test years ago, but I just don't like needles. Even the sight of them makes my blood pressure rise and my palms sweaty.

3. Small Creatures of the 8+ Leg Variety

When I say 8+ legs, I'm not referring to cephalopodic animals but, instead, to creepy crawlies such as spiders, millipedes, centipedes, and other creatures of the like (when I was writing this article, I had to scroll up far enough to hide the picture of the centipede because it was sending chills down my spine).

If you like any of these satanic bastards, odds are I probably don't trust your judgment. Sorry, not sorry.

2. The Dark

No, I'm not Canadian (I'm sorry if you are Canadian and got upset by me expressing that stereotype), but in the words of Robin Scherbatsky, "No one likes the dark."

Now, my fear isn't of your standard darkness. It's of walking in an alleyway at night and not being able to see beyond the ominous glow of the amber streetlight, of that streak of darkness exposed by the slightly cracked bedroom closet door, and of inexplicably dark corners in the attic. My eyes not being able to adjust to see beyond those shrouds make me uncomfortable.

1. No One Coming to My Funeral

Another weird one: my fear of no one coming to my funeral. This fear requires a little more explanation...

I look at this from two different perspectives.

The first, that I am in my casket at the end of an expansively empty room due to all my friends and family dying before me. The idea of being the last person in my life and dying alone and, then, being carried off by complete strangers to my final resting place frightens me.

The second, that I didn't leave a legacy positive enough to warrant people coming to pay their respects when I finally kick the bucket. I know that not all of my friendships/relationships ended on a happy note, but I'm hoping when my time finally comes that I will have someone to see me away.