Comments on: The Danger of Escalators

By: marion

marion — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 01:21:28 +0000

wow. everyone always laughed at me, and they said i was the only one. I thought i was the only one afraid of those evil death machines. i didnt even know it was called escalatophobia. when i went to the empire state building it took an hour longer than it should have because they didnt have public steps, so i had to get an employeee to take me on the elevator. they should make a laww against escalators.

By: becca

becca — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 11:10:15 +0000

i also have a fear of escalators but unlike many people above i have a fear of one traveling up wards it all started when i had a dream a couple of nights ago and i got stuck at the top and i was shredded into peaces.

im telling you now escalators are dangerous!!!

also once when i was a little kid i got my shoe lace stuck into the side of one and luckily my mum pull my shoe off in time and i was NOT playing on it.

i hope some one else feels better about this crazy fear because i sure do.

By: Joe

Joe — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 08:31:24 +0000

Glad that I’m not alone in this.. personally I don’t fear them much but I recognize their possible danger.
My first time on an escalator(felt quite awkward) it just threw me off balance a bit because I had my hands on my pockets, the second time though I stepped in the wrong place and the scalator step just opens below my feet and I almost fell backward.. if it wasn’t for a friend that was behind me and helped me.. I would’ve fallen and OUCH!
I think most people’s first time on an escalator feels a bit awkward.. anyway, I think it’s not safe specially for children, I’d definitely take the stairs if I had kids.

By: Wendy

Wendy — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 06:31:59 +0000

Wow..I, too, thought I was the only one with this fear. I felt so stupid about it! I only fear “down” escalators..I have no problem going up. I avoid them totally if possible. Which can be a problem in Las Vegas!! MY favourite city to visit! It is very hard to avoid them there. I have never had a traumatic experience…I just feel very dizzy when I attempt to step onto a down escalator. It takes me a good many tries!! Does anyone know if this is a “real” phobia….or is it a balance problem?? It would be so much easier to explain if there was a real name for it!!

By: Tarquin

Tarquin — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 18:42:25 +0000

At last! someone else afraid of escalators! I hate them with a veagence. It’s the fact, that i am moving, but i cannot control myself, and i feel as if i can fall forwards or backwards at any time. You are DEFINATELY not alone. I am more scared of escaltors than anything else in the world, and alot scares me if i’m honest.

By: TexasSeniorGal

TexasSeniorGal — Thu, 04 Jan 2007 19:41:55 +0000

I was gratified to find that my fear of escalators is not confined to the elderly. I have never been fearful of them at all and enjoyed them profusely when a child, but when I was 70, my sister and I started to take a down escalator, and I froze. She related that my mother had a similar fear as she aged. I did witness my four year old grandson as he caught his tennis shoe laces at the top of one of these stairs as he exited. His mother managed to pull off his shoe. Perhaps this had some unconscious effect on me; however, this was on an up stairway. Thanks for the ineresting subject and comments. This has had me puzzled since I haven’t feared much in my life.

By: Jane

Jane — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 06:34:14 +0000

When i was little i almost fell down the escalator when it was going down. Luckily a lady behind me caught my shirt and saved me from falling to a terrible death.

Seriously, it would hurt so bad to fall down an escalator moving down. Those edges of the stairs are sharp, they’d be blood everywhere. and if you had ebola or aids you could create quite the epidemic.

Personally i think they should just take escalators out and make everyone take stairs. Or else escalators if you’re disabled. It would cut down on obesity and death-by-escalator accidents, basically just a good plan overall.

By: Kristin Lindsey

Kristin Lindsey — Wed, 06 Dec 2006 20:40:25 +0000

Hi Paul- I really enjoyed reading your story. When I was 10 years and living in Buffalo, New York at the time, I got my right foot up to my ankle stuck in an escalator. I wasn’t even messing around on the escalator! I was standing beside my mom and all of a sudden, my foot was sucked into the escalator. My foot was caught between the side and the step. This happened just after I got on. I had to ride all the way down to the bottom. It was very painful! At the bottom of the escalator the was a lady that heard my screaming and brought over a jar of cold cream to try and free my foot. It took a little bit but, my foot was freed. I never lost any of my toes and I still have my foot in one piece. I was taken to the emergency room & they took xrays. I was very lucky! I only sprained my foot. I had it put in a cast. I can remember it looked like someone took a cheese greater to my foot. It was all torn up. I wanted to share my miracle story with you. I hope to hear back from you. kjlindsey1@yahoo.com

By: Nicole

Nicole — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 17:18:27 +0000

I think that Escalators are not that dangerous as long as your not me3ssing around on them and bein stupid. Some people may still think that they are very dangerous but really there not and maybe some people need to care more about what there children are doing then what other people are doing…WATCH WHERE YOUR GOING AND NOTHING BAD WILL HAPPEN.

By: Kate

Kate — Sat, 28 Oct 2006 21:52:24 +0000

Even as a child I was always somewhat leery of escalators. However, I rode them anyway. As I grew older, I developed a number of anxieties, among them a fear of riding escalators. I must state here that I’ve not had a bad experience with them so far. My mother used to think I was just trying to call attention to myself for making such a fuss when I was near an escalator. Then after she had to wear trifocals, she said she understood my fear. My mother is now deceased, but I sometimes go shopping with my sister. She is most tolerant of my fear and we automatically head for the elevators. Now I’m wanting to face my fear of escalators. My case worker is willing to go with me to help me in the capacity of standing beside me and acting as a cheerleader. Here’s hoping it works! Until I read so much about fear of escalators online, I thought I was practically the only one who felt the same way. Sorry I’m so long winded.