scared of santa?

on boing boing, yet again today, i was happy to find a whole collection of children with fears similar to my own. my personal fears extend way beyond santa; the list includes clowns, easter bunnies...really anything that includes a mask or someone dressed up as something else where the costume hides most of the person's face or body. the first time i was openly frightened by this was honky the clown at the 4th of july parade in ludington, mi. he irked me, he made my stomach turn & i felt that i should run for my own safety. now it's a never ending joke (with family & friends) that involves lots of pushing, prodding & yelling when near something dressed up. maybe it's less of a fear and more of a strong desire to avoid. i often wonder how many people feel this way, is it unreasonable? people have fears of many things, like chickens (alektorophobia) or bowel movements (defecalosesiophobia)...why not people dressed up as things, especially santas!