- "Why did it have to be snakes?"
- ―Indiana Jones[src]
A young Indy falls into a snake pen on a circus train.
Ophidiophobia is the fear of snakes. Indiana Jones was one known victim of ophidiophobia.
Although he had disliked snakes since at least 1908,[1] it was a traumatic encounter on a circus train in 1912 that triggered Jones's ophidiophobia.[2] Unfortunately for him, his adult lifestyle took him into contact with snakes on a regular basis.[2][3][4][5]
Behind the scenes
Contrary to the character, Indiana Jones' actor Harrison Ford doesn't have fear to snakes in real-life. Instead, he actually likes them, thinking that they are fantastic creatures in addition to make him remember when he was tasked to collect snakes and create an environment back when he was a boy scout nature camp counselor.[6]
During the early development of the fourth Indiana Jones film, Frank Darabont's script Indiana Jones and the City of the Gods showed Indiana Jones as having seemingly recovered from his ophidiophobia. Jones casually throws into the foliage a snake that approaches both him and Marion Ravenwood, and even deals comfortably with being eaten by a giant variant of the serpent. However, when the archaeologist returns to his tent and spies a tiny snake slithering over his pillow his fears are retriggered.
Appearances
- Young Indiana Jones and the Lost Gold of Durango
- The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles – "Young Indiana Jones and the Hollywood Follies" → Hollywood Follies
- Indiana Jones Adventure World
- Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom novel
- Indiana Jones and the Secret of the Stone Tiger
- Raiders of the Lost Ark novel (First appearance)
- Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Further Adventures of Indiana Jones – "The Secret of the Deep"- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade novel
- Indiana Jones and the Army of the Dead
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
