It is said that people learn fears. I didn’t believe that it was possible to catch fears, although it appears you can!

Anyone who knows me well or has read this blog for any length of time, will know that I suffer from a phobia of spiders.

I don’t know when this fear began. It was certainly many years before I started blogging in 2004. Incidentally, for those interested, my spider-related blogs stretch back 16 years!

I believe that I may have passed on my phobia, or at least some of it, onto Claire. Don’t get me wrong, my wife has never been a fan of creepy crawlies. Before leaving home to live with me, she would always call her dad, should she spot a ghastly, eight-legged creature.

Since we have lived together, all spider catching duties have been carried out by her. There is more chance of me entering and winning a marathon, than putting a glass over a house spider and sliding an old magazine underneath.

At the weekend, Claire had a close encounter with a spider. A little too close. She was cleaning out Roman’s cage. It was during this weekly chore that she let out a blood curdling scream of terror.

If Wes Craven is ever in need of a screamer for his next scary film, he need look no further than my wife.

I should be fair to Claire. If I was to have the same meeting with a spider as she did, I would have screamed too. Except mine would be louder and higher pitched.

Anyway, where was I? Oh yes…

Claire let out a scream loud enough to awaken the dead. A horrible spider, with big, black, hairy legs was on her arm. As well as screeching, she flicked the creature off her body. Thankfully it missed me. It isn’t worth thinking about what would have happened had it landed on my lap!

I can fully sympathise with my wife’s reaction. During my early-teens, the same thing happened to me. I had just returned into the house from outside – coincidentally, after feeding my pet rabbit, Snowy. I felt something on my left hand, took a look, only to see one of those huge house spiders casually resting on me.

It showed absolutely no concern. Perfect proof, if it were needed, that we humans are more scared of spiders than they are of us.

LITTLE BASTARD.

Like Claire, I slapped the spider, sending it flying off my hand – not knowing or caring where it ended up. I am starting to wonder if this childhood experience is what triggered my arachnophobia.

As with my ordeal, Claire’s crawling tormentor also became lost and has not been seen since.

You may be interested to know that during my better hall’s moment of terror, our rabbit Roman was darting up and down his run in alarm. Once Claire’s screaming had ceased and the situation defused, Romy sat at the opposite side of his run, glaring at his human mummy, as if to say “how dare you make all that noise!”

This us rather cheeky by Roman. It is very likely that the spider that so viciously attacked my wife, had been residing in our bunny’s cage.

Roman clearly hadn’t read the lease agreement on his accommodation. If he did, he would have seen the section on keeping pets and livestock in his living quarters…

Section 15.2.1b
Not to keep any spider or other animal, arachnid or insect whatsoever in the premises that may cause a nuisance to your human parents or occupier of the other parts of the building.

Roman is a naughty boy. The nature of his punishment is yet to be confirmed.

HOW ABOUT A RELOCATION, ROMAN?