Selenophobia

Selenophobia (from the Greek word seleno, meaning "moon"), also known as lunaphobia (from the Latin word luna, meaning "moon") is the fear of the moon or even darkness on a moonless night. Like many other phobias, selenophobia originates from painful experiences during childhood.

The full moon is the most feared phase of the moon, because full moons are believed to cause people to commit more crimes, including murder, breaking into homes, and robbery. Fear of the full moon is known specifically as remaphobia, coined after the book Remaphobia - The Fear of a Full Moon, or mestoselenophobia (from the Greek word mestos, meaning "full").

There are mythological reasons for the development of selenophobia, including believing that the moon is inhabited by evil creatures, as well as the belief that the full moon has the ability to transform people into werewolves.

There are wide variety of physiological and psychological symptoms of selenophobia, including muscle tensions, chills, breathlessness, dizziness, sweating, feeling trapped, and the inability to articulate words or sentences. Sufferers of this phobia feel more dreadful as the afternoon wears on and dusk approaches. Sufferers prepare for nightfall by closing window shades and not venturing outside at night.

This phobia can be treated using various methods, like exposure therapy which involves sufferer to venture outside on a dark, moonless night, and then have them look at the moon under controlled conditions, starting with sliver moon and then working the way up till the moon reaches full.