the fact that they are small and hide in corners and you see them when you least expect them...

For me, it's the fact that they're the unseen menace. Right now, as I type, there is probably at least one in my room. Probably at least two more hiding out in the kitchen. It's the thought that they can bite me while I sleep and I wouldn't even know it until a few days later when my arm swells up, turns black and falls off. Also, I don't think I've ever seen a spider in my life without the immediate thought that no matter how far away it was, it was right that moment about to jump twenty feet and land on my face. I've only seen a black widow twice in my life and if I were to ever see one in my apartment, I would seriously think about living under a bridge for a few days while I got the place fumigated. Oh, and I'm one of those people that lose control of my mental processes if I happen to walk into a spider web. It's as close as you can come to experiencing a seizure without actually having epilepsy.

I have what I call situational arachnophobia. I was bit by a Brown Recluse when I was 15, spent five days in the hospital. It bit me on the ankle, my leg swelled up about twice the size, my skin was black and peeling off in sheets, with extreme pain. They tried to stick a really long needle about nine inches, up through my heel, into my leg. That is why I find them little bastards creepy.

What makes them scary? "The 8 legs, the fangs, the webs", the shape, the possibilty that the ones you're looking at are poisenous... And, if you step on them, the SQUISH BIG, instead of just leaving a little dot like many insects. ;-)

What makes them scary is our negative indoctrination from childhood. How many parents say in front of their children that spiders are dangerous, creepy, etc. Bats and wolves also have had the same bad rap. Adults need to be more positive about what they say when they are around kids.lol

They are creepy. And scary. Their sticky web!

They don't scare me or look creepy to me. I don't know why because a cockroach will just about send me into convulsions. Spiders and lizards just never have bothered me.

Personally it's the fact that many of the ones around where I live could kill me far too easily ; ) I don't really mind them too much though, the dangerous ones live in places I don't go very often (if at all), and all the ones that I really come into contact with just sit still in their webs far out of reach, thus not bothering me. Actually, every year around the same time, a few sneak into the house and turn up in various corners every now and then... Still, they aren't bothering me so I don't bother them.

To me it's the erratic movements. Sudden accelerations to high speeds with unpredictable directions. But now that I think about it, that's probably true for mice and flies, too. Oh heck, who knows, they just are creepy!

I consider most of the spiders in my area to be beneficial little predators. We have 2 venomous species here: the black widow and the brown recluse. I've been living here for 53 years and have never been bitten by either one. If I saw a tarantula in my house I'd be startled. Then I'd hastily get my broom and dustpan, sweep it up, toss it over my fence, and then let one of the various idiots that live in the apartment complex across the street deal with it. If I saw a funnel web here I'd stomp it, clean up the mess, and throw it over my fence.

They're little balls with 8 skeleton finger lookin legs and they want to touch you with them, ick

I don't find them scary or creepy, as long as they aren't doing their creeping on me. I love to watch them make webs or encase their prey in silk. I love to see their colors and interesting habits. But there is something about the way they feel, if they are on your bare skin, maybe it's the tickling of your body hair, that feels creepy. So why did someone DR me -2 for this answer. Feel free to educate us all as to what is not applicable or helpful as relates the answer. Thanks.

i think it's...woah, i don't really know. I think it's how they move and how they tickle when the walk on you.

I think it's how they crawl on you, and how they move...that and the fact that they bite.

I think a lot of people are indoctrinated into being scared of them. Remember as a kid being told "Look out or the spider will get you". Also seeing our parents jump and shriek made a lot of us the same way!

I was NEVER afraid of spiders up until a week ago. I was ironing some clothes and I saw a spider, I was going to kill it but realized it wasn't an ordinary one. So I called my BF, because I didn't want to take and chances. So, he wacks it with a shoe and when he does a BUNCH of little baby spiders come running from out of her. I FREAKED OUT! It was just so gross and creepy.

The venom. Arachnophobia is probably a cultural phenomena: "In contrast, many non-European cultures generally do not fear spiders, and for some communities such as in Papua New Guinea and South America (except Chile), spiders are included in traditional foods." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arachnophobia Further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider#Spiders_and_people http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Fried_spiders_Skuon_Cambodia.jpg (Fried spiders for sale at the market in Skuon, Cambodia)

For me, it is the wide-spread legs and the fast, jerky movement. Still, I don't know why that makes them scary, but it does.

I live in an area where there's tons of poisonous spiders. I've been bitten by a hobo spider, and became sick for around a week. I used to keep track of the number of black widows I killed, but stopped after a while. I dislike them because there's a great likelihood than when one bites me, it will do a bit more damage than cause a small bumb and an itch. (;

i studied the black widow spider for awhile. it spends most of its time hanging upside down. it doesnt do well walking on its legs. I could say her, and he isnt around much. I never did see a male black widow. the male is able to impregnate the female with sperm and the female is able to hold the sperm in a special sack inside her body while she waits for the best time when the food is available to pump the sperm into the eggs to create little babies. she makes a pure white egg sack out of silk and places the eggs inside, maybe eight hundred eggs per sack onthe average. the male has sex through her mouth...so that is why the male is often eaten. he is tired and she has the munchies. the black widow can spin nine different kinds of silk, each one has a special function. The silk is an extension of her nervous system, so when it wiggles she is able to feel it with her nerves first, and even determine what it might be. Plus, the female has nine eyes, two of which work. the other seven are just there to scare. our local natural history museum has kept a female alive for twenty years, it doesnt mind living in a box with a breeze as long as it gets fed...live honey bees that are partially frozen to slow them down. she will wrap the bee with silk and pump in a paralyzing liquid then pump out the bees internal liquids. then untie it and drop it to the bottom of the box. this is just one spider. you can imagine what other spiders must have in their tool box.