Yaelaphobia

Yaelaphobia, (from the Hârnic name yael, meaning "moon"), also known as lunaphobia (from the Latin word luna, meaning "moon") is the fear of the Ketherian moon Yael 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 Yael, because full moons are believed to cause people to commit more crimes, including murder, breaking into homes, and robbery.

There are additional reasons for the development of yaelaphobia, 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 werecreatures.

There are wide variety of physiological and psychological symptoms of yaelaphobia, 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 shutters 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.