Agoraphobe is hardly ever seen at all, as it takes extreme circumstances to make him leave his cardboard box.
Agoraphobe's movements are like those of a hedgehog: He does not move whilst anyone is looking directly at him. He seems to just ‘appear’ in different places.
When in the grip of a phobic attack, the box jumps in the air, the peep-hole closes, and the bottom flaps fold back in. Once the box lands, it is still until the attack subsides.
Agoraphobe carries his cardboard box around with him everywhere. Inside, the box is decorated in the style of a post war living room, with striped wallpaper and a photograph of Agoraphobe stood in front of the Eiffel Tower.
Hydrophobe is an extremely fidgety character. He is never seen without his lifebelt, which he keeps in case of freak flooding.
Hydrophobe is one of the smaller phobes, and as such, his movements are short and quick, with sudden changes of mood and expression.
When in the grip of a phobic attack, Hydrophobe's fur stands on end, he grips tightly to his lifebelt causing pinching, and shakes so quickly it looks like vibrations.
Hydrophobe's lifebelt is an old battered affair, reminiscent of the type used on the Titanic.
Nyctophobe is by nature a very cautious character. His fear of the dark means he is never seen without his trusty flashlight - the batteries for which he constantly worries will run out.
Nyctophobe is one of the stockier phobes. His movements are heavy and slightly bouncy, like a spacehopper.
When in the grip of a phobic attack, Nyctophobe’s movements are very quick as he points and ‘shoots’ his torch into the darkness.
Nyctophobe is never seen without his trusty torch. It’s a heavy old metal model, with a ribbed handle, and extremely bright spotlight. It is constantly on the blink though...
Arachnophobe is terrified, not just of spiders, but anything with more than four legs. She always keeps her insect net at the ready. Arachnophobe is a quadrapod naturally, and her movements are characterised by a wiggly bottomed walk and loping head movements.
This is unless she is in the grip of a phobic attack, at which point her fur stands on end and she rears up on her hind legs, casting around wildly with her net.
Arachnophobe carries around with her an old-fashioned butterfly net. The wicker handle is quite flexible, so when used, as well as a rushing sound, there is a ‘twang’ as the wood flexes and bends at the extreme of her swings.
The Tower Keeper is an extremely old phobe with thick glasses, bushy eyebrows and a beard that covers his whole body. His movements are usually slow and studied, although he does have a habit of simply appearing next to a troubled phobe from seemingly nowhere when needed.
When not seeing the phobes, he is usually either tending to his prize vegetables (each of which seems to have its own magical property), or hidden behind a tower of books at his overladen study desk. His pet bird sits on its perch in the corner of the room making annoying rude utterances and sounds at the most inopportune moments.
Gribblers are the cause of all the fear and worry in the world of the Phobes. They are about the same size as rats, and flap about looking for potential victims to shoot with their fear plungers.
They have fast skittery movements, whizzing around causing mischief like naughty monkeys. When they find a victim, they endeavour to shoot them with their fear plungers, causing instant phobias.
The fear plungers look like a sink plunger crossed with a medieval arrow.
The bow that is used to fire the plungers is black and looks to be covered in tar. When plucked it makes a siren-like sound.
The King is much larger than the other gribblers, and always in a thunderously bad mood. The only thing guaranteed to cheer him up is a plan that threatens the happiness of the phobes. Why he has such a hatred of Phobe World's more peaceful inhabitants is a mystery, although there are rumours of the King having rather a large phobia himself....
