Why I am becoming Arachnophobic

[Belle Pullman]

Spiders. Eurgh. Nasty little scuttly leggy things that get EVERYWHERE! (please excuse this post, I'm hoping it will be cathartic to post about it...)
Top 3 Shudder-worthy Spider experiences this autumn:

3) taking jumper off wardrobe shelf, giving it a shake before pulling it on, out scuttles spider. Had been asleep IN my clothes.

2) Taking a shower, just getting hair wet, and a big spider - about 2 inches including legs, but big body and with what looked like eyes on stalks- coming down towards me. Never been more glad of movable shower head- it went DOWN the water spout! And NOT coming up again!

But top of the creeps...
1) Sitting up in bed, first thing in the morning, to see another big spider scuttling away across the sheet from where I'd been lying. That one was hunted down, I'm afraid. The thing had been on me while I slept! ARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!


Anyone got any worse spider stories? Make me feel less bad?

[Saffi]

the start of my arachnophobia is similar... been terrified of the buggers since...

was 15 years old.. (prior to this i was fine with spiders... would pick them up by the legs and chase my brother round the house with them *hee*)

decided to watch the movie Arachnophobia.. (it's a comedy... but bedtime happened before the end of it, so I didn't get closure)

lay down in bed and relax...... and feel something itch across my face...

immediately get up and turn the light on, go to the bathroom and get a drink.... convince myself it was just my hair and i've got nothing to be frightened of, I'm just being silly because of the movie...

go back to my room and shake out my covers, pillow, etc and find nothing.. shrug and turn to shut off the light.

stop just before doing so and look at my bed again...

spider the size of my thumbnail on the pillow..

I nearly scream.. smash my 5 pound science text on it, and it still lives and runs behind my bed...

I run downstairs for reinforcements...

mom doesn't believe me... I bring her upstairs and the spider jumps out of the back of the bed at her... scares the sh!t out of her and she kills it...

i don't sleep the rest of the night, and am terrified of spiders since..

so I emphasize..

-saff

[Jouley]

my worst spider experience of late happened IN YOUR HOUSE belle.. the day after you guys went to florida

I'm sure i've already said, but i come home from work, slump down in the red chair .. look out the back door.. and see this THING suspended in the air.. obviously it's a F*CKING HUGE SPIDER

So i scream and stand up and am sizing this thing up, figuring ill go grab a huge role of kitchen towel and keel it.. i walk around towards the door and then the light hits it.. and it's created this F*CKING HUGE WEB!

the web itself about two feet circlular.. from the ceiling to the lamp to the door frame to the table.. im assuming were the leads.

So i scream again and run out of the room and up the stairs.. where lo and behold, theres ANOTHER ONE on the wall near the bathroom door.. Thrice i scream and run into the bathroom, all jerky and dodgy as if theres a possible web in the doorway.. grab some Toilet role and squash that mother!!

Then i go back downstairs after a few minutes of going through my mobile trying to find someone who'd come and save me.. but Giles was at work and i knew Pasi was afraid of spiders too.. so Grrrr..

I grabbed two of my voyager video boxes.. went up to it... screamed and squashed it between, dropping the boxes onto the table as the web began to fall..

didn't go back into that room for two days.. didn't touch the boxes until after you guys got back home..

aracnaphobia was the worst movie possibly made.. i was forced to watch it (and i mean forced.. babysitters eldest son holding my hysterical body infront of the TV while the other kids kept telling me there were spiders on me) and haven't been right about spiders ever since......

of course, i love five year old spiders with top hats and canes.. they are nice.

Jouley