Arachnophobia actually has historical and cultural causes. In most of Europe during the Middle Ages spiders were considered a source of contamination that absorbed poisons in their environment (e.g. from plants). Any food which had come into contact with a spider was considered infected. Similarly, if a spider fell into water, that water was then held to be poisoned.



Spiders were believed to be messengers of the Black Plague and death. Europeans believed spiders were "poisonous", meaning their bites caused many diseases. Although their bites caused discomfort, in reality, they were not a deadly threat. Fear of the plague clouded their perception, and their fear and disgust of spiders made it easy to believe that spiders were the cause of the plague.

In fact, most of these diseases were caused by completely different sources than spiders. Spiders were found in great numbers in the same areas of the house where rats lived. The fleas on these rats were actually the carriers of the plague. Non-European cultures believe spiders were symbols of good luck or wisdom.

Recent studies of arachnophobia indicate that fear of spiders is closely associated with the disease-avoidance response of disgust. It is not immediately clear how spiders might have become associated with this response, although examination of the relevant historical literature does indicate a close association between spiders and illness in European cultures from tenth century onward.

The development of this association between spiders and illness appears to be closely linked to the many devastating and, at the time, inexplicable epidemics that crossed Europe from the Middle Ages onwards. In many areas of Europe, the spider appears to have been a suitable target for the displaced anxieties caused by these constant epidemics; in other cases, its proximity to the real causes of the epidemics may have fostered opportunistic associations between spiders and disease."

The tendency of Europeans and their descendants to be fearful of spiders does not seem to be shared by people in many non-European cultures, and this is not consistent with those evolutionary accounts of spider fear which suggest that spider fear should be a common feature of the human gene pool regardless of culture.

So why is this phobia so common? No one knows exactly why phobias develop, especially to spiders. There are, after all, plenty of small dark wriggly insects which don't bother most people. What is it about a spider that instills such terrible fear?

It used to be said that a pregnant woman would induce a fear of spiders in her unborn child if she reacted when she saw one. It certainly seems to begin in childhood, but it's far more likely that a fear of spiders is a cultural thing.

Throughout childhood we come across dozens of unexpected things which can shock or frighten us. We have to learn what we should or shouldn't be frightened of. Our society accepts it as 'normal' for a child to dislike spiders, whereas if a child cried at the sight of a cuddly teddy bear it would be told not to be so silly.

In a similar way a fear of beetles is all right, while if you paint it red with black spots you're then expected to see it as a sweet and harmless ladybird. Most children grow out of their fear because they learn to act rationally, but sometimes it persists into adulthood.

But there are plenty of other theories. Some people describe spiders as having particularly scary features - the way they silently creep, move about or simply look. And there does seem to be something odd about spiders - they seem to be aware of us, unlike other insects which seem oblivious to our presence.

Perhaps eons ago, while man was evolving in the heart of Africa, venomous spiders were a real threat. Those people who were inherently fearful of spiders had an evolutionary advantage because they were less likely to get bitten and more likely to survive.

However the fear of spiders evolved, just as with many phobias, will never be completely resolved. To those who hold this fear, however, know that it can grip them in a firm hold and not let them go. There are ways, however, to overcome this phobia.