The Totally Normal Breakfast Food That Spooked Alfred Hitchcock

Director Alfred Hitchcock once told a reporter, "I'm frightened of my own movies. I never go to see them. I don't know how people can bear to watch my movies." (via Scraps From The Loft).  This is quite a surprising statement from someone who is known as the "Master of Suspense." One might assume that he wasn't scared of much, given his bold movie themes, like thousands of birds randomly attacking residents of a small coastal town ("The Birds") or a terrifying motel owner with dissociative identity disorder ("Psycho"). But this Englishman, known for his signature silhouette, voracious appetite, and seriously complicated (and sometimes cruel) relationships with his female leads, was scared of a lot, including burglars, policemen, crowds, darkness, Sundays, violence, and eggs.

Ovaphobia, or the fear of eggs, is a legit phobia, and perhaps the only thing that Hitchcock shares with Guy Fieri. Hitchcock expanded on his feelings by saying, "I'm frightened of eggs, worse than frightened; they revolt me. That white round thing without any holes ... have you ever seen anything more revolting than an egg yolk breaking and spilling its yellow liquid? Blood is jolly, red. But egg yolk is yellow, revolting. I've never tasted it." 

Interestingly enough, the enigmatic director's favorite breakfast was known to be quiche Lorraine, something that just can't be made without plenty of eggs. But he addressed this contradiction during an interview with Peter Bogdanovich, saying he didn't mind eggs as long as they were disguised.

Hitchcock also presumably enjoyed eggs in disguise in the form of soufflés. He noted that his wife, Alma, made them at home, but as someone who admittedly (and ironically) hated suspense, he couldn't stand to be in the kitchen while the egg dish was in the oven. His reasoning? The suspense of not knowing whether the soufflé would properly rise drove him to flee from its presence. He probably didn't know that properly buttering a soufflé dish helps it to rise evenly. 

Hitchcock's complicated relationship with eggs played out, to a certain extent, in one of his films. His favored quiche Lorraine makes an appearance in his 1955 hit, "To Catch a Thief." The scene, which takes place on the sun-drenched French Riviera, has Cary Grant's cat burglar, John Robie, sitting down to a meal with insurance agent H.H. Hughson, played by John Williams. Robie's housekeeper serves the two quiche Lorraine and white wine on the terrace, symbolizing a picture perfect afternoon.

Now, contrast that scene with two others from "To Catch a Thief," which one might say symbolize Hitchcock's disdain for undisguised eggs. In one, an angry kitchen staff member throws a raw egg at Robie, while in the other, wealthy tourist Jessie Stevens (Jessie Royce Landis), whose jewels are targeted by Robie, puts out her lit cigarette in a sunny side up egg yolk. How's that for subtle hatred?