When my daughter was about 5, she found a small snake curled up on the bathroom stool just as she was about to climb on to it to brush her teeth. It scarred her for life. Her worse nightmares always feature snakes. My other daughter is simply terrified of spiders. They represent a significant proportion of the population who are terrified or disgusted by things that writhe, crawl, slither and creep – insects, reptiles and assorted non-mammals. Recently a couple was horrified to find a snake in their oven. In London, schools closed down due to a spider infestation!
Even those who do not have any particular reptilian aversion would object to finding this guy where they would least expect to find him – curled up in an oven! As for someone who actually fears snakes – this may be heart attack inducing! How does something this size even get in?
At least four East London schools were shut recently because of spider infestations. They found too many of something called the false widow spiders; a venomous creature that happens to be the most dangerous arachnid in the UK.
Well for one they are not pretty. Now even if one has no particular fear of spiders, that image above is an objectively ghastly sight! I am personally revolted by centipedes not just because of how hideous they are, but also because I know how a bite can cause painful, itchy swelling. The very idea of them makes my skin crawl...
Compared to us, they are tiny! Surely that should reassure us? But it doesn’t! Because their tiny size means that they can hide in crevices, corners and even clothes without us even knowing about them; only to reveal themselves when we least expect. For instance, at a rational level I like lizards, they rid my home of mosquitoes…. But I certainly don’t like them when they fall, quite announced on to my shoulder? Ugh! Just ugh!
We actually learn to be fearful of or disgusted by creepy crawlies. It is not a natural instinct to feel threatened by something that is largely innocuous. Either by imitation or because we had some unpleasant or painful experience our fear and disgust are learned emotions.
The first time a child sees a spider, their instinct would be to pick it up, examine it and probably try to eat it. Before the child can do any of those, a parent would be likely to scream at the child to stay away. The startled child learns fear in that instant. The experience of a vector borne disease would also make that child fearful. A mother making disgusted faces or a father instantly crushing any creepy crawlie; pest control treatments in the house simply cements that hostility and disgust.
Sure, Spiderman is cute, but there are numerous films featuring giant and dangerous creepy crawlies. This still from Eight Legged Freaks is the stuff of nightmares; an image the mind cannot un-see. Some like that sort of thing; me I wonder why anyone would willingly put themselves through an experience like this!
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