Are some people afraid of fantasies? Do they think fantasies will become real?

It seems like people don’t know you can fantasize something, and you don’t have to act it out in real life. We get a lot of questions from people who fantasize about sexual acts out of the norm, and wonder if that means they are out of the norm. How many people have fantasized about killing someone? Even uttered the words? How about fantasies about sado-masochism or dominance, etc, etc. Does that mean you have to act it out, or even want to act it out?

This has bothered me for years. It seems like people believe that if you think it, you will act it out. Of course, sometimes we do act on our fantasies. Sometimes we have fantasies about things we really wish would happen to us. Yet, for most, fantasies are not prologue. They are just entertaining waking dreams.

To what degree do you think people are afraid of fantasies? Are there some groups that are more afraid than others (religious groups, perhaps)? Do some people really believe that if you fantasize it, it will happen? If so, where does this come from?