Meet Heather & Garrett: They Both Have a Horrible Fear of Chickens [Photos]

Last week, I had a live broadcast at Millay's Tavern in Knottsville. My friend Heather Terry went with me for lunch.  As we were leaving, Janice Roberts, retired educator and longtime friend, invited us to her house to get some farm-fresh eggs.  So, we jumped in the WBKR Jeep and headed to the chicken house.  I did not realize, as we were headed to Janice's, that I was literally driving Heather directly into her Amityville.  Apparently, she is TERRIFIED of chickens.  Insert gales of laughter here.

Here are some fun pics from our visit:

I would like to add too that Janice and I went inside the chicken house.  Heather refused.  She stood outside and nervously watched through the window like some weirdo Peeping Tom.

Now, Heather isn't my only friend who's absolutely mortified by the thought of a chicken running loose through the landscape trying to peck their face off.  And, I'll be honest, Janice has a rooster named Jersey and he was no fan of my tennis shoes or Banana Republic travel pants.  He untied my shoes repeatedly (pretty sure he thought my shoe laces were big ole worms), he try to ram that beak of his into my feet a couple of times and he was trying to peck holes in my pants (or my thighs). But, even still, I kept my crap together.  Heather, meanwhile, was outside the coop trying not to pass out or obliterate her Poise Pad.

And why exactly?  Heather's papaw had some chickens when she was little.  One day, he took Heather into the pin with him and one of the chickens chased her.  Heather says, "So, now, I think they all want to peck my soul out of my body."

Heather doesn't like geese either.  In fact, when she was working on her Associate Degree at OCTC, every day was an exercise in terror since there were always geese on campus.  And, if you ever see her, ask her about the time she was nearly mowed down a 5-year-old to escape an emu at Kentucky Down Under.  LOL!

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By the way, there is a clinical name for this phobia.  It's Alektorophobia: The intense fear of chickens. "Alektor" is derived from the Greek word for "rooster."

My friend Garrett Leonard is also deathly afraid of chickens. His grandfather raises chickens and, like Janice, has a chicken house in his backyard.  According to Garrett, "They are always loud and aggressive sounding!"  That's when his fear of chickens began.  That fear was cemented when he found himself trapped in a pursuit thriller.  Yes! Garrett ultimately got chased by a chicken and that mother-clucking experience "sealed the deal."  LOL!

Speaking of getting chased by chickens, if you need a good laugh this morning at the expense of some Alektorophobes, check this out.  It's a fun YouTube video called "When Chickens Attack."

Is someone you know afraid of chickens?  Are YOU?