Was there a deeper meaning due to the Lodge Spirits BOB, etc.

or was he just scared of being outdoors?

 I have always wondered about this

Harold suffered from Agoraphobia (fear of the public).

Harold suffered from Agoraphobia (fear of the public).

 And not as well know was that (unlike Ed Wood), he was also an angoraphobic...

As is Lynch ("I have a hair of that").

Was there a deeper meaning due to the Lodge Spirits BOB, etc.

or was he just scared of being outdoors?

 I have always wondered about this

 We saw his hand shake when he went outside. It's always been my feeling that he's a very sensitive person, and that leaves him extremely vulnerable to the spirits in the woods.

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He knew about Bob from Laura and maybe even before that.  I think he was paranoid Bob would find him and kill him or possess him

Interesting to note Harold's shaking hand and the same motif in the third-last episode (where Bob emerges, left-hand first through the curtains by the end). Though Harold does outright dismiss Bob's existence to Laura in FWWM, perhaps there was a certain awareness, and definitely fear, of the dark forces in the woods - even if he did not truly understand what that was. Was he perhaps a potential host for Bob at one point? Does his desire to stay indoors reflect his want to keep Bob - or whatever he believes these evil forces to be - out of his head?

It's something the more atune townspeople have been always aware of, given Truman referring to "the evil in these woods" early in the 1st season and Hawk's tale of the Black Lodge. Mrs. Tremond and her grandson are certainly close to Harold in a sense (perhaps the real Mrs. Tremond is the old woman's host like Bob with Leland and appeared before Donna to help her?). They two have undoubtedly a connection to the Lodge given their prescence at the convenience store, only perhaps like Mike that they are driven to stop Bob, (by way of guiding Laura and Donna). A little off point, but there you go. ;)

Harold cannot keep the fear from his mind. Something or someone robbed him of trust. As a florist he must still long to reconnect with the outside world, but needs help to get there. In the end he is miss led again by Donna and the fear takes over. He reminds us that life can be false and bleek, and were alone in the end.

It is because he is annoying and would get beaten up if he left his house.

It is because he is annoying and would get beaten up if he left his house.

Oh, yes, that too goes without saying.  "That mystery man will be history man"

I always thought Harold Smith could have an interesting Lodge-related backstory, but you are right, he is  hands down the wussiest charact in Twin Peaks.

He was probably hooked on whatever game was the World of Warcraft of the late '80s. Like Zork.

He was an avid D&D player and hardcore Trekkie.

Yes, anyone with a serious mental or physical disabilty is fair game for ridicule or physical abuse by the citizenry of Twin Peaks.  In fact, it's the law!!  Notice that wheelchair-bound Eileen Hayward is never unattended, & even "slowpoke" Johnny  Horne is armed with deadly rubber-tipped arrows.  Nadine is constantly assaulted by pokey Petes trying to remove her "good" eye.  Leland could've easily gotten off on the murder of Jacques Renault by using the old "he's fat & French Canadian" defense.  Bobby, Leo & Hank aren't bullies, they're merely law -abiding  gentry...

Yes, anyone with a serious mental or physical disabilty is fair game for ridicule or physical abuse by the citizenry of Twin Peaks.

A good shaming is the best way to make someone get better. C'mon, get happy, stupid.

But perhaps he did have connections with lodge spirits. He left a suicide note which read "j'ai une ami solitaire", the same thing was also said by Mrs. Tremond's grandson. When Donna heard Deputy Andy repeating that phrase in the Double R Diner, she was told about the suicide note and went to explain the situation to Cooper. The two of them went to question Mrs. Tremond and her Grandson, because Donna told Cooper "...Harold's world was in his words. The suicide note has to be a message." They went to the door only to encounter "non-lodge" Mrs. Tremond, with no grandson. Upon finding out that this woman is Donna Hayward, Tremond gives the envelope to her containing a page from Laura's diary detailing how BOB is afriad of Mike. Harold must have had some knowledge of the lodge spirits, or at least Mike and BOB, and tried to help Donna with it. Remember, later in that same episode BOB attempts to kill Donna!

He was probably hooked on whatever game was the World of Warcraft of the late '80s. Like Zork.

D&D most likely...except he was anti-social so he probably just played solo.

Actually, Im pretty sure he would have played with alot of things solo. 

he did have connections with lodge spirits. He left a suicide note which read "j'ai une ami solitaire" Harold's world was in his words. The suicide note has to be a message. Harold must have had some knowledge of the lodge spirits, or at least Mike and BOB, and tried to help Donna with it. Remember, later in that same episode BOB attempts to kill Donna and rape her!

OK, but then Donna tried to steal from him and that made him hang himself.  Wow, Donna sucks.

Interesting to note Harold's shaking hand and the same motif in the third-last episode (where Bob emerges, left-hand first through the curtains by the end).

The hand coming through the curtains at the end of this ep was BOB's right.  I'm pretty sure that the shaking hands were all right hands too, though I don't recall Cooper's clearly.

Remember, later in that same episode BOB attempts to kill Donna and rape her!

 Rape?  Donna?  I don't think this was necessarily implied.  Maddy didn't get raped, after all.

The hand coming through the curtains at the end of this ep was BOB's right.  I'm pretty sure that the shaking hands were all right hands too, though I don't recall Cooper's clearly.

I apologise, I completely goofed on that detail. You think having included that distinctive motif in a filmed short of my own (http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=iuKSVR-o9qk), that I actually sent on to Angelo 'cause his music is in it, that'd I remember which hand it was?! Ack! Though note, in FWWM, it is said Theresa's left arm went completely numb. Let's just chalk up my confusion to recalling that. ;)
 

Remember, later in that same episode BOB attempts to kill Donna and rape her!

 Rape?  Donna?  I don't think this was necessarily implied.  Maddy didn't get raped, after all.

Someone added that to my quote!
 

Remember, later in that same episode BOB attempts to kill Donna and rape her!

Rape? Donna? I don't think this was necessarily implied. Maddy didn't get raped, after all.

Someone added that to my quote!

Yes, it was me. I added "rape her", sorry but I think rape is implied. We don't see many things that Bob does to his victims. Bob rapes, it is part of his repertory. It is said to be true by many throughout the show and film. When Bob goes for Donna, it seems so unplanned and sloppy. I don't think Donna gets out of there.

Yeah maybe... and maybe they just ate creamed corn together.  It's in his rape-atory, after all.  :)  Point is:  we have no evidence that says rape or anything else is involved; we can only go by what is actually said, any conclusions we draw otherwise are just guesswork (and approach fanfic!)

QUOTE Point is: we have no evidence that says rape or anything else is involved; we can only go by what is actually said