The Spider at the Top of the Stairs (2015)
Photo by Stephen Alexander
Apparently, thanks to a wet, warm summer in which food has been plentiful, there's been a boom in numbers and an accelerated growth in size of giant house spiders.
The newspapers sensationally speak of UK homeowners facing an invasion which, of course, is overstating the case, but I can report having to confront four of these eight-legged nightmares, including the one pictured at the the top of the stairs, in the past couple of days.
Despite their name, giant house spiders usually prefer to live outside and it's most often sexually mature males who venture indoors, driven in search of a mate. Sadly, this erotic quest is ultimately a tragic one, as the lovesick spiders, having abandoned their webs, stop feeding and so are destined to starve to death - perhaps without ever locating the object of their desire.
I have to admit, I can't help admiring this mad devotion to Eros. But, on the other hand, I don't share the affection for monstrous house spiders that David Sedaris claims to feel and it certainly doesn't deter me from killing them if they creep too close.
Note: Those interested in reading the humourous essay in which Sedaris expresses his love for April, a giant house spider, can click here for a link to the March 24, 2008 issue of The New Yorker in which it first appeared.
