On one of those occasions when I actually had cable TV, I saw a Law & Order (has anyone on the planet not seen at least one episode of that show) in which it was stated we are never more than 6 feet away from a spider. Huh. I remember thinking, I bet that’s true. They come in all sizes and okay, sure, yes, that must be true. It was long before googling was an option, and – googling it now – I see this is a myth. Another hilarious bit of trivia I believed for eons blown up in an instant. Thank you google.
The thing is, I don’t have a problem with spiders. I don’t. They eat other insects, which is good. They create art in web-form, which – especially when sprinkled with dew – are gorgeous, admirable, amazing. I thought I didn’t have an issue with spiders, and really, I don’t. Right? I mean, as with snakes, they can startle me, suddenly moving here and there against white painted walls, or in my sink, as one did last night. But, it’s fine. It’s no big deal.
Except. Except that movie, Arachnophobia, from 1990 (so long ago!) did make me wonder if my tolerance of those crawlers was for real or not, did find me turned around in my seat, staring at the back wall of the movie theatre, screaming my head off. The power of film is all that is, right? And anyway, those weren’t spiders, those were galloping, multi-legged, oversized vampire insects and the film, a true dramedy – a deadly combination of hilarious and scary AF – made me lose my shit.
My friends, in the next two seats, must’ve thought I’d lost my marbles. I really did scream like there was no tomorrow. Kathy Kinney – a friend from my earliest days in the NYC theatre scene, best known for The Drew Carey Show – was featured in it, and as ever she was truly hilarious, altho (spoiler alert) she doesn’t last long. The way in which they indicated her demise still – all these years later – makes my skin crawl. And it makes me laugh because it was and is funny. And gross! Good lord.
Do you think we’re maybe always ten feet away? Ah, I’ve found several short articles tackling this knotty question and other spider related myths, read away, and if – as the dark hours grow toward winter, you want a fun screamer to watch, check out Arachnophobia: https://www.pestworld.org/news-hub/pest-articles/debunking-common-spider-myths/