Three in five Brits have a secret they dread friends or family finding out about.
Researchers say millions of us have a skeleton in our closet, ranging from affairs or relationships through to secret children or even marriages.
Other secrets include shoplifting as a child or getting caught drink-driving at some point in their past.
A study also found that the average person has at least one secret they've been carrying for 15 years or more.
People typically have two skeletons hidden away including an internet history they aren't proud of, debt, sexual turn-ons and phobias they've never shared.
Respondents to a survey said the person they dread most unearthing one of their skeletons is their partner, while keeping a big secret from mum was also common.
The research was commissioned for the film The Woman in Black: Angel of Death, which stars Jeremy Irvine and Phoebe Fox as people hiding burning secrets.
When asked what they thought would happen if their secrets were revealed to their other halves, most respondents feared a reaction of disappointment or even anger.
However, a quarter of those polled believed their partner would support them still if they did discover the secret.
Skeletons recorded anonymously by respondents included wetting a friend's bed multiple times, swindling someone out of money, getting a colleague fired, and having a bump in the car.
Brits' most common skeletons
- Having an affair
- An embarrassing incident
- Internet history
- Debt
- Sexual turn-ons
- Family history
- Phobia
- Purchases
- You smoke/used to smoke
- Real-life crushes
- Addiction
- You take drugs/used to take drugs
- Bank/credit card statements
- Age
- A criminal past
- Illness or condition
- Previous marriage(s)
- Pretending to like something/someone you loath
- Sexual orientation
- Tattoo
- Secret children
- Sexually transmitted disease
- Sexting/Snapchat
- Education/exam grades
- Pretending to be good at something
The Woman in Black: Angel of Death, is available on Blu-ray and DVD, courtesy of Entertainment One.
