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Eight Legs, Endless Fear: Spiders and the Skin Crawling Truth
- Heather McSharry, PhD
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
Summary
Spiders provoke fear, fascination, and folklore in equal measure—but how much of what we believe about them is actually true?
This Outbreak After Dark episode explores the science behind spider myths, misdiagnosed bites, and why fear so often fills the gaps where evidence is missing.
The science is solid. The stories are unsettling. And yes—there are a lot of legs.
Listen here or scroll down to read the episode overview or download the full transcript.
Episode Overview
Editor's Note: While this episode leans into humor and fear, spiders play an important ecological role and are rarely a danger to humans. Most of what scares us turns out to be something else entirely.
Recipes and References are at the end of the post after the signature.
👉Download Transcript PDF:
Spiders occupy a strange place in our collective imagination. They’re everywhere in folklore, horror stories, and medical myths—yet rarely where we think the danger actually lies.
What we cover:
Why most “spider bites” aren’t spider bites at all
How MRSA masquerades as insect attacks
The science behind spider eyeshine
Which spiders pose real medical risks—and which don’t
Why spiders aren’t disease vectors, despite their reputation
In this episode of Outbreak After Dark, Heather is joined by Sam and Kate around the campfire to untangle why spiders inspire such outsized fear, and how that fear often leads us to the wrong conclusions. From emergency room visits blamed on “mystery spider bites” to viral legends about flesh-eating arachnids, the episode traces how misdiagnosis, misinformation, and imagination collide—sometimes with real medical consequences.
One of the most common culprits hiding behind supposed spider bites is MRSA, a fast-moving bacterial infection that can masquerade as an insect bite and worsen quickly if treated incorrectly. The episode walks through how these infections develop, why they’re so often blamed on spiders, and why evidence—not instinct—matters when it comes to skin lesions that don’t heal.
“If you didn’t actually see the spider, it probably wasn’t one. If your ‘bite’ is spreading, you’re not in a creature-feature movie—you’re in a microbiology problem.”
From there, the conversation moves beyond medicine into perception. Heather shares a field-work story that forever changed how she sees the dark—literally—after learning how spider eyes reflect light. The science behind eyeshine, powered by reflective guanine crystals, turns a moment of terror into a lesson in evolutionary efficiency, even if it doesn’t make the experience any less unsettling.
“Spiders aren’t biologically contagious—they’re emotionally contagious.”
The episode also separates myth from reality when it comes to spiders that do have medically significant venom. The brown recluse, the six-eyed sand spider, and the Brazilian wandering spider all make appearances—not as movie monsters, but as biological case studies. Their real risks are explored alongside the exaggerated stories that surround them, including why necrosis is often caused by secondary bacterial infections and how rare confirmed bites actually are.
Throughout, the episode keeps returning to a central theme: spiders aren’t disease vectors, they don’t lay eggs in people, and they’re not out to get us—but fear spreads faster than facts. Spiders have become cultural stand-ins for infection, invasion, and loss of control, even as they quietly reduce real disease risk by eating insects that actually transmit pathogens.
“Fear spreads faster than facts, but facts have a much better punchline.”
By the end of the night, fear hasn’t disappeared—but it has context. And sometimes, that’s the most science can offer: not comfort, but clarity.
Heather, Kate, and Sam recite the Outbreak After Dark closing in unison:
By the fire we meet
With food, drink, and infectious creep
This, is Outbreak After Dark.
Thanks for joining us for our campfire conversation about spiders. Next month Kate and Sam return for a Valentine tribute about how microbes can hijack affection. Until then, stay healthy, stay informed, and spread knowledge not diseases.
REFERENCES
1. Lopes, P. H., Bertani, R., Gonçalves-de-Andrade, R. M., Nagahama, R. H., van den Berg, C. W., & Tambourgi, D. V. (2013). Venom of the Brazilian spider Sicarius ornatus (Araneae, Sicariidae) contains active sphingomyelinase D: Potential for toxicity after envenomation. PLOS ONE, 8(8), e70142. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0070142
2. Binford, G. J., Wells, M. A., & Trejo, M. (2009). Variation in venom composition among different populations of the spider Sicarius (Sicariidae): Implications for understanding venom evolution. Toxicon, 53(7–8), 796–806. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2009.01.030
3. South African National Survey of Arachnida. (2021). The Sicariidae of South Africa: South African National Survey of Arachnida Photo Identification Guide (Version 1). Agricultural Research Council, Pretoria.
4. Vetter, R. S. (2008). Myths about spider envenomations and necrotic skin lesions. The Lancet, 8(2), 153–160. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(08)70034-5
5. Swanson, D. L., & Vetter, R. S. (2005). Bites of brown recluse spiders and suspected necrotic arachnidism. New England Journal of Medicine, 352(7), 700–707. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMra041184
6. Suchard, J. R. (2011). “Spider bite” lesions are usually diagnosed as skin and soft-tissue infections. Journal of Emergency Medicine, 41(2), 206–212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jemermed.2009.11.036
7. Isbister, G. K., & Gray, M. R. (2004). Latrodectism: Clinical effects of bites by species of the genus Latrodectus (widow spiders). In M. H. H. Adams & P. Gopalakrishnakone (Eds.), Venomous Animals and Their Venoms (pp. 287–302). Elsevier.
8. White, J. (2003). Debunking spider bite myths. Australian Family Physician, 32(5), 345–349. https://www.racgp.org.au/afp/2003/may/spider-bite-myths/
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