Agreed TC has it spot-on. I'm familiar with the
1984 concept. Most people on here have cited petty annoyances - which is presumably what the TV programme is on about (I haven't watched it).
For some of the genuine, primordial dread, I have to go back to early childhood. My father (who was a bit of a religious fanatic) used to instil in me, all sorts of dread of divine punishment, possibly involving some sort of demonic intervention. I recall having a fear that some devil-like bogey would come into my bedroom and spirit me off -
Erl-King-like.
Then there were loud noises. I've already mentioned in another thread, the trouble I had with fireworks at a tender age: bangers especially. And for some reason, as a toddler, I was mortally afraid of motorbikes. We were living in a flat and there were several lads in the same building who kept their motorbikes parked outside. I remember, if one of them started up his bike when I was nearby, I'd burst out screaming.
Dogs. I can still get scared stiff when under attack whilst out cycling - especially if there's more than one of them and they have me surrounded. Another story from my tender years - my mother accusing me of 'spoiling' her friendship with another family who lived nearby. This family had children about the same age as me, so I was sometimes sent to play with them. But I often had to be fetched home early because I was afraid of their dog. At least, this was the story as told to me later in life. Of course I got the blame....
Nowadays it's more the sort of 'annoyance' type R101 like in the TV programme. I suppose as we age we get more used to things....
But then again, there's Brex**it......
.
Could be contamination from tbe Eden Project. 
