History Main / FearOfThunder

%%* "Bohemian Rapsody" by Music/{{Queen}}, which includes the lyrics ''"Thunderbolts and lightning, very very frightening me."''

* The WesternAnimation/MegasXLR[=/=][[Franchise/TouhouProject]] crossover ''Fanfic/FantasyOfUtterRidiculousness'' depicts Flandre Scarlet as being afraid of thunderstorms... so much so, in fact, that the chaotic weather caused by the destruction of the Moon's Glorft base ''scares her sane.''

* In ''Fanfic/IrrationalFear'', both Lisa and Lily Loud from ''WesternAnimation/TheLoudHouse'' are afraid of storms, and for Lisa it's the main plot point because she's embarrassed about having, well, an irrational fear.

* Tails from the ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' series is afraid of lightning. Though the games seem to have removed this character trait, as his [[ElementalPowers element power]] in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' is Thunder Shoot. It reappears in ''VideoGame/SonicMania'' when transitioning from Metallic Madness to Titanic Monarch, as the lightning that surrounds the big robot causes Tails to jump if he's present.
* Rikku in ''Videogame/FinalFantasyX'' suffers this, due to a traumatic childhood experience of a mis-aimed attempt to protect her from a sea monster using lightning magic. [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration She even screams out in fear when she's hit with a Thunder spell in combat.]] At one point, the party must travel through the Thunder Plains, where lightning is always shooting down, and never stops. ''Ever.'' Most people in RealLife would find it perfectly rational to be afraid of walking through a place where one must constantly dodge lightning bolts by ''jumping out of the way every few seconds''. The other party members, meanwhile, consider Rikku's reaction to be well over-the-top. [[note]]But then again, lightning in the real world is often lethal, whereas getting struck by lightning in this game (outside of battle) doesn't even take off any HP.[[/note]] By the time of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyX2'', she has cured her phobia through the fairly simple method of camping for a week in the Thunder Plains. [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration In battle]], when casting Thunder spells, she'll occasionally quip "Astraphobic? Not me!".

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* In the novelette "The Long Remembered Thunder" by Creator/KeithLaumer, it's noted that a character "fears the thunder". That's because he's really [[spoiler: an agent from a world of [[AnotherDimension "a different harmonic series"]] who has been fighting for decades to protect Earth from an interdimensional invasion by an alien race called [[TheReptilians the Niss]], [[MultiversalConqueror "evil beings who loot the continua"]]. The noise of the enemy's portal being opened sounds like thunder.]]

* ''Literature/MrsSmithsSpySchoolForGirls'': [[TheProtagonist Abby]] finds out that Poppy Parsons is afraid of thunder [[spoiler:in Hawaii, while trekking through dense foliage to Owen Elliot's last known location]]. When thunder booms overhead, Poppy cries out "Thunder!" and jumps into Abby's arms.

* In Creator/HPLovecraft's "The Lurking Fear", the Martense clan [[spoiler: and their Morlock-like degenerate descendants]] share the hereditary trait of being driven to frenzied, violent panic by thunderstorms.
%%* In Creator/KateDiCamillo's ''Literature/BecauseOfWinnDixie'', the dog is horribly afraid of thunderstorms.

* In Creator/PoulAnderson's ''Literature/TimePatrol'' story "The Only Game In Town", the Mongols refuse to be afraid of their technological gadgets because the only thing a Mongol should fear is thunder.
* Alfie from ''Dear Hound'' is a puppy who hates thunder. He promised not to chase any animals in exchange for his cat friend snuggling with him during storms. When he gets lost in the woods, he convinces a pair of foxes to help him due to his fear of thunder.
* In the novelette "The Long Remembered Thunder" by Creator/KeithLaumer, it's noted that a character "fears the thunder". That's because he's really [[spoiler: an agent from a world of [[AnotherDimension "a different harmonic series"]] who has been fighting for decades to protect Earth from an interdimensional invasion by an alien race called [[TheReptilians the Niss]], [[MultiversalConqueror "evil beings who loot the continua"]]. The noise of the enemy's portal being opened sounds like thunder.]]
* ''Literature/SurvivorDogs'': The former pets are initially terrified of storms and thunder as they've never been outside their houses during a storm. It gets to the point where they ''run around in fear'' right in the middle of a thunder storm. They quickly learn to deal with their fears.

* Exploited in ''Literature/RomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms'', where [[MagnificentBastard Cao Cao]] assesses Liu Bei and says that the two of them are the only true heroes; Liu Bei is immediately mortified by the possibility that Cao Cao might see him as a rival and, thus, someone who the shrewd and powerful Cao Cao will eventually have to kill. Thankfully for him, a bolt of lightning happens to strike at this time, and Liu Bei pretends to cower in fear...thus causing Cao Cao to dismiss him as coward. Cao Cao would eventually regret this; Liu Bei walked off unscathed, and would later become the ruler of one of the rival kingdoms to oppose Cao Cao.
* In the ''Literature/SwallowsAndAmazons'' books by Arthur Ransome, Peggy is afraid of thunder, much to the scorn of her sister Captain Nancy (who isn't afraid of anything). This comes to a head in ''Missee Lee'', where the girls are in a ship under attack by Chinese pirates with cannon, and Nancy comforts Peggy: "That's guns, not thunder!"

* Fami, from M.A. Bell's ''Literature/{{Spyhunt}}'', is terrified of thunder, mostly due to the fact that his father died and he went blind during a thunderstorm. Despite this, Fami crosses a roof during a storm in the first book.

* LightNovel/DragonarAcademy'': [[UptownGirl Silvia Lautreamont]], First-year student at Ansarivan Dragon Riding Academy and Fourth Princess of Lautreamont.... [[CowardlyLion is shaken]] by the sound of thunder.

* ''VideoGame/FridayNightFunkin'': The Girlfriend will keep a straight face through pretty much anything... except when there's a storm; she'll jump a little whenever there's thunder.

* Thunderstorms may strike tall electric poles, knocking out power from nearby areas, which can easily create this fear if it causes the lights to go out at night, or the air conditioner to shut off while sleeping during a hot day/night, likely subjecting one to heat stroke.

* Thunderstorms may strike tall electric poles, knocking out power from nearby areas, which can easily create this fear if it causes the lights to go out at night, or the air conditioner to fail while sleeping during a hot day/night.

* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'': Phoenix Wright]] is revealed in the manga side stories to have a paralyzing fear of storms, [[{{Doujinshi}} though the side stories are generally considered non-canon.]]

* In the Detectives Koshien arc from ''Manga/DetectiveConan'', a storm starts when the four teenaged detectives are gathered in an old mansion [[spoiler: and one of them has actually ''been killed'']]. Once thunder breaks in, Natsuki "Detective of the South" Koshimizu [[http://www.mangareader.net/139-8612-8/detective-conan/chapter-565.html screams in utter horror and collapses to the floor.]] [[spoiler: She was actually ''faking'' it, to distract the others while she was searching for a piece of lost evidence that could potentially reveal her as the SympatheticMurderer of the arc - and the one who killed her fellow sleuth. Conan and Heiji weren't fooled by her act, though, and later use it to unmask her.]]

* ''Webcomic/AxisPowersHetalia'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11886910/1/Gankona-Unnachgiebig-Unità Gankona, Unnachgiebig, Unità]]'': Italy is ''terrified'' of lightning. Let's just say he gets over it later on thanks to the...activities...he does with Germany and Japan during storms.
* The WesternAnimation/MegasXLR[=/=][[{{VideoGame/Touhou}} Touhou Project]] crossover ''FanFic/FantasyOfUtterRidiculousness'' depicts Flandre Scarlet as being afraid of thunderstorms... so much so, in fact, that the chaotic weather caused by the destruction of the Moon's Glorft base ''scares her sane.''
* ''FanFic/KyoshiRising''; Kyoshi expresses an extreme dislike for storms, citing that she used to run crying to her parents when she was little whenever a storm rolled in. Some have speculated this is due to the previous Avatar, Kuruk, dying while trying to quell an unusually strong storm, and the memory carried over to Kyoshi.
* ''FanFic/MermaidMelodyPichiPichiDuo'': In chapter 18, Seira is revealed to be just as terrified of thunder as Lucia is.

Your otherwise capable or serious character has an inordinate fear, not of [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant giant sauropods,]] but of thunderstorms. This is a primal, almost childish fear that surprises other characters, although it's not always played for laughs. The actual name of this fear is "Brontophobia" or "Astraphobia". [[note]] The former suggests a fear of late-Jurassic Apatosaurine dinosaurs while the latter, a horror of affordable German family cars.[[/note]] It also happens to animals, especially dogs.

-->'''Ted and John:''' When you hear the sound of thunder, don't you get too scared/Just grab your thunder buddy, and sing these magic words:/Fuck you thunder, you can suck my dick;/You can't get me thunder 'cause you're just God's farts! ''*fart noise*''

Your otherwise capable or serious character has an inordinate fear, not of [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant giant sauropods,]] but of thunderstorms. This is a primal, almost childish fear that surprises other characters, although it's not always played for laughs. The actual name of this fear is "Brontophobia" or "Astraphobia"(which also covers lightning). [[note]] The former suggests a fear of late-Jurassic Apatosaurine dinosaurs while the latter, a horror of affordable German family cars.[[/note]] It also happens to animals, especially dogs.

Your otherwise capable or serious character has an inordinate fear, not of [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant giant sauropods,]] but of thunderstorms. This is a primal, almost childish fear that surprises other characters, although it's not always played for laughs. The actual name of this fear is "Brontophobia" or "Astraphobia"(it's actually fear of lightning but can still apply). [[note]] The former suggests a fear of late-Jurassic Apatosaurine dinosaurs while the latter, a horror of affordable German family cars.[[/note]] It also happens to animals, especially dogs.

Your otherwise capable or serious character has an inordinate fear, not of [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant giant sauropods,]] but of thunderstorms. This is a primal, almost childish fear that surprises other characters, although it's not always played for laughs. The actual name of this fear is "Brontophobia" or "Astrapophobia"(it's actually fear of lightning but can still apply). [[note]] The former suggests a fear of late-Jurassic Apatosaurine dinosaurs while the latter, a horror of affordable German family cars.[[/note]] It also happens to animals, especially dogs.

Your otherwise capable or serious character has an inordinate fear, not of [[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant giant sauropods,]] but of thunderstorms. This is a primal, almost childish fear that surprises other characters, although it's not always played for laughs. The actual name of this fear is "Brontophobia" or "Astraphobia." [[note]] The former suggests a fear of late-Jurassic Apatosaurine dinosaurs while the latter, a horror of affordable German family cars.[[/note]] It also happens to animals, especially dogs.

* In Creator/KateDiCamillo's ''Literature/BecauseOfWinnDixie'', the dog is horribly afraid of thunderstorms.

* "Bohemian Rapsody" by [=Queen=], which includes the lyrics ''"Thunderbolts and lightning, very very frightening me."''
* "Down under" by [=Men at Work=], featuring the lyrics "Can't you hear, can't you hear that thunder? You better run, you better take cover." - expressing clear sentiment of fearfulness.

* Chie from ''VideoGame/Persona4'' is scared of thunder. Yu can either tease her, or comfort her.

* Skilled {{Samurai}} Sakura Shinguji in ''VideoGame/SakuraWars'' is in fact deathly scared of lightning. [[Manga/LoveHina Motoko's]] phobia may be a reference to, or parody of, this.
* Lucy from ''Amour Sucré'' has thunderstorms listed as one of her dislikes.
* Kei Hinohara from ''Wagaya no Himegami-sama!'' has thunderstorms listed as her dislike.

* Martha and Skits from ''WesternAnimation/MarthaSpeaks'' are both afraid of thunderstorms. Martha deals with it better than Skits does.

* Lucy from ''Manga/ServantXService'', about as much as Haruhi (who is listed below).

** After having to endure a rather traumatic car ride with [[DrivesLikeCrazy Yukari-sensei]], Chiyo-chan is asked by [[TheGadfly Tomo]] if she thinks lightning or cars are worse during a particularly bad storm, and [[ThousandYardStare promptly suffers a BSOD]].

* [[Franchise/AceAttorney Phoenix Wright]] is revealed in the manga side stories to have a paralyzing fear of storms, [[{{Doujinshi}} though the side stories are generally considered non-canon.]]

* Kyou from ''Manga/BinbouShimaiMonogatari''.
* Lucia of ''Manga/MermaidMelodyPichiPichiPitch'' possessed this trait.

* ''Anime/FreshPrettyCure'': Daisuke is afraid of thunder.
* ''Manga/NewGame'': Ko, as revealed in the OVA.
* Fubuki from ''Anime/InazumaEleven'', thanks to the sound of thunder reminding him of that of avalanches (his family died in an avalanche).

* A ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' comic gave Aisha this.

* One of the many phobias/unreasoning terrors that the heroine experiences in Hitchock's ''Film/{{Marnie}}''.
* In ''Literature/ArashiNoYoruNi'', one of the things that brings Gabu and Mei together when the first meet in a barn on a stormy night is their shared fear of thunder.

* In ''Film/{{Ted}}'', Ted and John have this. Not only that, but they also have a "thunder song" about it:

** Which actually becomes a plot point by the end of the movie: [[spoiler: Ted claims he's the reason that John can't grow up, and uses this as an example ("He'll never be scared of thunder again!"). Sure enough, when Ted dies, there's a thunderstorm outside and John doesn't even flinch]].

* Josefina from ''Literature/AmericanGirls'' (although it's actually the lightning she's afraid of).
* Fami, from M.A. Bell's ''Spyhunt'', is terrified of thunder, mostly due to the fact that his father died and he went blind during a thunderstorm. [[spoiler:They get better. Both of them]].
** Despite this, Fami crosses a roof during a storm in the first book.

* In a somewhat ironic twist, BigBad Colonel Volgin of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3'' game is afraid of storms. Although this is directly passed on via radio communication from one character to another, there are other subtle hints, such as how Volgin retreats to his quarters during storms and chants a Japanese charm against lighting strikes when forced to be outside while it's raining. This is ironic because Volgin himself has control over electricity, [[PsychoElectro uses it as his primary weapon]], and one of his nicknames is "Thunderbolt."
** Considering he has giant scars all over his body where his electricity burned/ripped his skin, he obviously isn't immune to it.
** [[spoiler: Naturally, he is killed at the end of the game by a direct hit from a lightning bolt when he decides not to say his little anti-lightning mantra for once. Standing knee-deep in exposed electrical cables on top of a giant tank probably didn't help.]]
*** Hell, he doesn't just forget to say his little mantra, he even MOCKS the thunder itself by declaring "Who's afraid of a little thunder?!"
** Oh, and his subordinate/boyfriend's last name is either a clever way to reinforce said subordinate's resemblance to Raiden or a really jerk-ass bit of bilingual humor. Anyone who disagrees with the previous designation is [[HoYay clearly lying.]]

* In both an original storybook and an episode based on it, [[Literature/{{Franklin}} Franklin Turtle]] was afraid of thunderstorms. He was worried that his friends would make fun of him, since in most other matters he was normally pretty courageous, but they turned out to be quite understanding.
** Creator/{{Nelvana}} seems to like this trope, as besides ''Franklin'', Arnold of ''Literature/TheMagicSchoolBus'' was shown to have this in "Kicks Up a Storm," Nelvana's take on ''Literature/TheBerenstainBears'' adapted the book "Count Their Blessings" (dealing with Brother and Sister being afraid of a severe thunderstorm), ''WesternAnimation/{{Braceface}}'' had Sharon's best friend Maria admit she is afraid of thunderstorms in one episode, and ''Literature/LittleBear'' had the episode "Thunder Monster" (where Little Bear thinks that a noisy thunderstorm is being made by a "thunder monster" up in the sky.)
* Lola on ''Literature/CharlieAndLola''.

* In ''WesternAnimation/MuchaLucha'', Pulgita is afraid of thunderstorms; her brother The Flea helps her by telling a scary story, and at the end she no longer fears them.