Giant Spider Lurking in Clothes Rack Horrifies Internet: 'Help'
A giant huntsman spider lurking among the garments in a clothes rack in an Australian home has left the internet stunned.
In a viral post uploaded to the r/oddlyterrifying Reddit group, which can be seen here, user tackxooo—from the Victoria region—shared a photo of the huntsman hiding under the collar of an article of clothing.
The spider's legs could be seen poking out from the fold and almost appeared to be camouflaged in with the brown clothes.
Tackxooo captioned the image, "the spider that has invaded my clothes rack, help." It has been upvoted more than 20,300 times since it was shared on Tuesday, January 24.
The Reddit user told Newsweek: "[I] pretty much, left my door open at night and a huntsman decided to walk on in and make its home inside my clothes rack where I noticed it.
"[I] proceeded to try and remove it from my room peacefully but now it's hidden somewhere else and I live in constant fear of our spider overlords."
Tackxooo continued: "I'm generally pretty chill/calm around spiders but seeing this big huntsman on my clothes triggered something primal.
"The people I showed in real life were pretty shocked as well, with a few responses like 'burn it' but some had mentioned that this particular species of spider hunts other spiders and creepy crawlers so they're good to keep around."
According to the Australian Museum, huntsman spiders have flattened bodies "adapted for living in narrow spaces under loose bark or rock crevices."
"Huntsman spiders of many species sometimes enter houses. They are also notorious for entering cars, and being found hiding behind sun visors or running across the dashboard," said the website.
The Australian huntsman has a complete body span of roughly 5.9 inches and lives all across the country. They are not deadly to humans, although their bites can be very painful and can result in swelling.
Huntsman spiders also exist in subtropical areas of Florida, Texas, and California as well as in the coastal regions of Georgia and South Carolina.
Many of those who commented on the post shared their fear of spiders, while some saw the benefit of sharing their living space with them.
Reddit user AdministrationDue153 said: "Not joking when I say the only thing that holds me from moving to Australia is the spiders/insects/animals."
Take-to-the-highways added: "We have huntsmen in America, at least I had one in my house in the high desert social region. Scared the **** out of me but they eat roaches so I just put them outside. The enemy of my enemy is my friend."
Corn-Shonery commented: "You guys just feel that slight tickle on the back of your neck. It's probably nothing, right?"
