--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Fear is contagious. You can catch it…" description: "\"“Fear is contagious. You can catch it. Sometimes all it takes is for someone to say they're scared for the fear to become real”\" — Neil Gaiman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/680/neil-gaiman-29_contagious_fear-is-contagious-you-can-catch-it-some_674121.jpg" --- # Fear is contagious. You can catch it. Sometimes all it… ![“Fear is contagious. You can catch it. Sometimes all it takes is for someone to say they're scared for the fear to become real” quote by Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/680/neil-gaiman-29_contagious_fear-is-contagious-you-can-catch-it-some_674121.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/680/neil-gaiman-29_contagious_fear-is-contagious-you-can-catch-it-some_674121.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/680/neil-gaiman-29_contagious_fear-is-contagious-you-can-catch-it-some_674121.jpg) > ““Fear is contagious. You can catch it. Sometimes all it takes is for someone to say they're scared for the fear to become real”” [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Fear spreads through social cues; expressing fear can validate it for others. **In simple terms:** Fear spreads when shared. Key Takeaway Watch your words, avoid amplifying fear. Themes fear communication social influence Mood cautious empathetic Type advice psychological When to use this quote - team meetings - public speaking - social media - family discussions - crisis management Key Concepts psychology contagion Questions to Reflect On - How does your language affect others' anxiety? - Can you model calm in tense moments? A Different Perspective People may feel empowered by confronting fear openly. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contagious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contagious/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Fear Contagious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear-contagious-1664146/) [Fear Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear-real-497659/) [Scared Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scared-fear-2481318/) ## Related quotes > [Fear is contagious. You can catch it. Sometimes all it takes is for someone to say that they're scared for the fear to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/fear-is-contagious-you-can-catch-it-sometimes-all-it-takes-is-for-2/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Fear is contagious. You can catch it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/fear-is-contagious-you-can-catch-it/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Fear breeds upon itself because it is a hermaphrodite capable of endless reproduction. Fear is a contagious disease, spreading from its first victim to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-k-gann/fear-breeds-upon-itself-because-it-is-a-hermaphrodite-capable-of/) [Ernest K. Gann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-k-gann/) > [I really believed that fear is contagious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/i-really-believed-that-fear-is-contagious/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [Fear's contagious, but so is courage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-williams/fear-s-contagious-but-so-is-courage/) [Betty Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-williams/) > [“Fear is contagious. Fortunately, so is courage. Learning to become fearless will touch everyone around you, and best of all, you'll find it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-aguilar/fear-is-contagious-fortunately-so-is-courage-learning-to-become/) [Michelle Aguilar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-aguilar/) > [“Fear has always been a very important whistleblower. Our emotion and our history can provoke fear that may arrest us at any time or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-pevernagie/fear-has-always-been-a-very-important-whistleblower-our-emotion-and/) [Erik Pevernagie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-pevernagie/) > [Even if humans feel lots of fear, remember God will take care of you. This is a collective message because fear is contagious... This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/even-if-humans-feel-lots-of-fear-remember-god-will-take-care-of-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Never worry alone. When anxiety grabs my mind, it is self-perpetuating. Worrisome thoughts reproduce faster than rabbits, so one of the most powerful ways…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg/never-worry-alone-when-anxiety-grabs-my-mind-it-is-self-perpetuating/) [John Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg/) > [“He had spent his first day in Hue as scared as he had ever been. The fear had started when they were shot at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bowden/he-had-spent-his-first-day-in-hue-as-scared-as-he-had-ever-been-the/) [Mark Bowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bowden/) > [I've always felt that if you back down from a fear, the ghost of that fear never goes away. It diminishes people. So I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-jackman/i-ve-always-felt-that-if-you-back-down-from-a-fear-the-ghost-of-that/) [Hugh Jackman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-jackman/) > [At first, I was scared to show fear because you can never be sure how people will perceive you. But I dared myself to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kendrick-lamar/at-first-i-was-scared-to-show-fear-because-you-can-never-be-sure-how/) [Kendrick Lamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kendrick-lamar/) > [When you wake up in the middle of the night and you hear a scary sound, you're not picturing yourself getting the girl, you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-bertino/when-you-wake-up-in-the-middle-of-the-night-and-you-hear-a-scary/) [Bryan Bertino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-bertino/) > [It's okay to be scared, but fear is different. Fear is when we let being scared prevent us from doing what love requires of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mairead-corrigan/it-s-okay-to-be-scared-but-fear-is-different-fear-is-when-we-let/) [Mairead Corrigan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mairead-corrigan/) > [I've always been scared of becoming something. I fear the fact of jailing myself in any circle or group of people or specific work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gaspar-claus/i-ve-always-been-scared-of-becoming-something-i-fear-the-fact-of/) [Gaspar Claus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gaspar-claus/) ## More by Neil Gaiman > [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Like all sentient beings, Fat Charlie had a weirdness quotient. For some days the needle had been over in the red, occasionally banging jerkily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/like-all-sentient-beings-fat-charlie-had-a-weirdness-quotient-for/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Shadow crawled across the floor to the yellow foam-rubber pad and climbed onto it, pulling the thin blanket over himself, and closed his eyes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/shadow-crawled-across-the-floor-to-the-yellow-foam-rubber-pad-and/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [ “\[T\]hey could not help being amused every time another little human believed itself the center of its world, as each of us does.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/t-hey-could-not-help-being-amused-every-time-another-little-human/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [So many things to see, people to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/so-many-things-to-see-people-to-do/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.’ – Ben Franklin,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/three-may-keep-a-secret-if-two-of-them-are-dead-ben-franklin/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You need more than a beginning if you're going to start a book. If all you have is a beginning, then once you've written…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-need-more-than-a-beginning-if-you-re-going-to-start-a-book-if-all/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You can tell the date of an old science fiction novel by every word on the page. Nothing dates harder and faster and more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-can-tell-the-date-of-an-old-science-fiction-novel-by-every-word/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“The quickest way is sometimes the longest.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-quickest-way-is-sometimes-the-longest/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“They were spells, spelled with words to make worlds, waiting for me, in the pages of books.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/they-were-spells-spelled-with-words-to-make-worlds-waiting-for-me-in/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Finish what you're writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/finish-what-you-re-writing-whatever-you-have-to-do-to-finish-it/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [What do stars do? They shine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-do-stars-do-they-shine/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“What," asked Mr Croup, "do you want?" "What," asked the Marquis de Carabas, a little more rhetorically, "does anyone want?" "Dead things," suggested Mr…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/what-asked-mr-croup-do-you-want-what-asked-the-marquis-de-carabas-a/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [You get on with your own life. Lettie gave it to you. You just have to grow up and try and be worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/you-get-on-with-your-own-life-lettie-gave-it-to-you-you-just-have-to/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“Eyes will not see you. Minds will not hold you. Where you are is nothing and nobody”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/eyes-will-not-see-you-minds-will-not-hold-you-where-you-are-is/) [neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) [Explore all 2,526 Neil Gaiman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) ## More Contagious quotes > [The only activity a cynic will find contagious is yawning, that is, with other people, at other people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/the-only-activity-a-cynic-will-find-contagious-is-yawning-that-is/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [Enthusiasm is by far the highest paid quality on earth, probably because it is one of the rarest; yet it is one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-bettger/enthusiasm-is-by-far-the-highest-paid-quality-on-earth-probably/) [Frank Bettger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-bettger/) > [It's a great historical joke that when the Spanish met the Aztecs, it was a blind date made in serve-you-right heaven. At the time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-gill/it-s-a-great-historical-joke-that-when-the-spanish-met-the-aztecs-it/) [A. A. Gill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-gill/) > [They say hitting is contagious, but I think defense is, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-crawford/they-say-hitting-is-contagious-but-i-think-defense-is-too/) [Brandon Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-crawford/) > [“It was nice to meet you,” I say loudly in a more formal tone than I used when we were alone. And then I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-christine-parker/it-was-nice-to-meet-you-i-say-loudly-in-a-more-formal-tone-than-i/) [Amy Christine Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-christine-parker/) > [“And being at school was awful in the beginning. Every new class I had was like a new chance for kids to “not stare”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-j-palacio/and-being-at-school-was-awful-in-the-beginning-every-new-class-i-had/) [R.J. Palacio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-j-palacio/) > [“Remember: Research shows that emotions are contagious. How will you infect others at work today?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-kjerulf/remember-research-shows-that-emotions-are-contagious-how-will-you/) [Alexander Kjerulf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-kjerulf/) > [“Move aside Ebola, smallpox, and AIDS; make room for narcolepsy. I would become shunned and avoided. Perhaps the people at the casino thought that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-talmage-mathis/move-aside-ebola-smallpox-and-aids-make-room-for-narcolepsy-i-would/) [John-Talmage Mathis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-talmage-mathis/) > [Humor of all types is notoriously subjective. That's true not only between different people but even within an individual at different times. This subjectivity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-mankoff/humor-of-all-types-is-notoriously-subjective-that-s-true-not-only/) [Robert Mankoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-mankoff/) > [Courage, like cowardice, is undoubtedly contagious, but some persons are not liable to catch it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-d-prentice/courage-like-cowardice-is-undoubtedly-contagious-but-some-persons-are/) [George D. Prentice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-d-prentice/) > [Attitudes truly are contagious, and from time to time we need to ask ourselves, 'Is mine worth catching?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-anderson/attitudes-truly-are-contagious-and-from-time-to-time-we-need-to-ask/) [Mac Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-anderson/) > [“Putting this all together, Moore and Reiber predicted that the germ would prod people to seek out the company of others early in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-mcauliffe/putting-this-all-together-moore-and-reiber-predicted-that-the-germ/) [Kathleen McAuliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-mcauliffe/) > [You really watch basketball and study basketball, the more you realize, the pass really is beautiful. I'm not just talking about the pass where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-gasol/you-really-watch-basketball-and-study-basketball-the-more-you-realize/) [Marc Gasol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-gasol/) > [How to Piss Off A Woman : After sex tell her the doctor assured you it isn't contagious. Then faint.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/how-to-piss-off-a-woman-after-sex-tell-her-the-doctor-assured-you-it/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [Nothing is so contagious as enthusiasm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/nothing-is-so-contagious-as-enthusiasm/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 451 Contagious quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contagious/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Fear is contagious. You can catch it. 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