Nothing in the history of the entire world is more feared and hated than the spider. Nothing deserves it more, either.
I HATE spiders. Spiders are like little pieces of death wrapped in scary. Even if a spider was like "Love me? :c" I'd be all "NO!"
— "Spiders are scary. It's okay to be afraid of them." (Hyperbole and a Half)
"God, I hate arachnids!"
— Bletch the Walrus (while besieged by a Giant Spider), Meet the Feebles
"What's wrong with you, Dictionary.com?! That's a pretty blanket statement to make, mate, that all phobias are "irrational". Have you not seen what spiders look like, for fuck's sake? They don't all look like this
, you know. Most of them look like THIS◊, man!"
, you know. Most of them look like THIS
◊, man!"—- GradeAUnderA about spiders.
Bring up the subject of spiders virtually anywhere, and a majority of reactions will be negative. Some people carry their aversion with humility or even embarrassment; they wish they weren't so terrified of something so frail and tiny, they know that spiders are a necessary part of the ecosystem and they might even find spiders fairly cool from a safe distance. On the other hand, you have the haters - the people whose fear fuels an engine of unrelenting resentment for all things Aranea. These are people who will argue to the death that their phobia is justified because everybody in their right mind knows that spiders are hell-spawned abominations, vile to the core, and deserve nothing more or less than complete and utter annihilation.
— Arachnophobia (Bogleech)
The big demon Erimond was trying to bring through? It's nearby? Well, shit.
— The arachnophobic Inquisitor, Dragon Age: Inquisition, has the appropriate response.
"One of the great mysteries to me is the fact that a woman can pour hot wax on her legs, rip the hair out by the roots... and still be afraid of a spider."
Minkowski: Eiffel, don't worry. Everything is going to be alright. This thing [Giant Spider] is probably more scared of you than you are of him!
Eiffel: (hushed, terrified whisper) While I normally could get on board with that train, I assure you that in this case I am definitely the more terrified party!
Eiffel: (hushed, terrified whisper) While I normally could get on board with that train, I assure you that in this case I am definitely the more terrified party!
— Wolf 359, Extreme Danger Bug
"Follow the spiders. Follow the spiders. If Hagrid ever gets out of Azkaban, I'll kill him."
— Ronald Weasley, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Slow poison working inside
Descending in shadow, cocoon me then bite
Caine spider give to me pain
Got a caterpillar body and a butterfly brain
— Jerry Cantrell "Spiderbite", from the album Degradation Trip
All the reasonable people hated the spiders with a reflex hatred. They flinched, they shrieked, they ran away, they said things like, "Eee! Ugh! Ugh! Ugh! Rachel! Rachel! Can you get in here and help me, there's an absolutely enormous spider in the front room—" People traded with them, of course, because people will trade with anybody and anything if the anybody or anything has something they want. But people thought them flesh-creepingly horrible. Which they were.
— The Soddit
You cannot begin to conceive of how terrifying that sight was.
Twice as tall as the roaches. With eight legs, each the size of the Saint Louis arch. Gnashing, wickedly sharp mouthparts that looked like the gates of hell. A swollen, stinking, bloated, hairy body. But none of that was what made Marco and Tobias and me shake with uncontrollable fear.
It was the eyes.
Eight of them. Some were glittering, multifaceted compound eyes. Others were blank, dead, black simple eyes. The smallest ones looked bigger than we were.
I could feel that image being laser-printed directly onto my brain. I would never forget it. If I lived a hundred years, I would be seeing that face.
— Ax's Wolf Spider Morph, Animorphs #24: The Suspicious
Lil' Miss: You know, I used to be afraid of spiders. Want to know what I did about it?
Cinder: ...learn to kill them?
Lil' Miss: Oh no, the world needs spiders! I just made the spiders work for me.
Cinder: ...learn to kill them?
Lil' Miss: Oh no, the world needs spiders! I just made the spiders work for me.
— RWBY
Developers usually put a lot of time and effort into designing creatively scary bosses. Other times, they just go, "The pub's open! Let's just throw in a giant f***ing spider!"
The phaser spider combines two worrying features: the ability to fire bullets, and being a spider.
— The Phaser Spider description, Enter the Gungeon
Holly: You've always had this thing against tarantulas, haven't you?
Lister: Tarantulas?!
Holly: I mean, you've never been overly fond of them as a species, have you?
Lister: Well, no.
Holly: And the prospect of waking up and finding one clambering over your clammy, naked, helpless body has always filled you with a sort of cold dread.
Lister: Well, yeah. What are you trying to say to me, Holly?
Holly: I'm saying... it might not be your night.
Lister: Tarantulas?!
Holly: I mean, you've never been overly fond of them as a species, have you?
Lister: Well, no.
Holly: And the prospect of waking up and finding one clambering over your clammy, naked, helpless body has always filled you with a sort of cold dread.
Lister: Well, yeah. What are you trying to say to me, Holly?
Holly: I'm saying... it might not be your night.
—Red Dwarf, "Terrorform"
Vera: Spiders in my cab!
Blakey: Spiders? I don't 'alf care if you've got ants in your pants!
