# Arachnophobia



## Snaga (Aug 8, 2004)

Was Tolkien scared of spiders? He seems to like to use them as villains!

If someone immediately answers no, and posts definitive proof, keep this thread alive by posting whether you are also scared of spiders. Personally I am not, although I daresay anything particular large and hairy that took me by surprise might make me jump!


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## Maerbenn (Aug 9, 2004)

*Re: Arachniphobia*

Some people have 'accused' the Professor of developing arachnophobia after being stung by a tarantula as a child, and have said that the prevalance of evil spiders in _The Lord of the Rings_, _The Silmarillion_ and _The Hobbit_ certainly relates to this 'fact'. 

Regarding this, Tolkien says in _Letters_ no. 163 (7 June 1955):


> And if that has anything to do with my being stung by a tarantula when a small child, people are welcome to the notion (supposing the improbable, that any one is interested). I can only say that I remember nothing about it, should not know it if I had not been told; and I do not dislike spiders particularly, and have no urge to kill them. I usually rescue those whom I find in the bath!


Humphrey Carpenter says in _J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography_:


> ...when Ronald was beginning to walk, he stumbled on a tarantula. It bit him, and he ran in terror across the garden until the nurse snatched him up and sucked out the poison. When he grew up he could remember a hot day and running in fear through long, dead grass, but the memory of the tarantula itself faded, and he said that the incident left him with no especial dislike of spiders.


According to _The Annotated Hobbit_ by Douglas A. Anderson, Tolkien was interviewed on January 15, 1957 by Ruth Harshaw for an American radio show called ‘Carnival of Books’, and said (concerning _The Hobbit_):


> I put in the spiders largely because this was, you remember, primarily written for my children (at least I had them in mind), and one of my sons in particular dislikes spiders with a great intensity. I did it to thoroughly frighten him and it did!


Anderson continues:


> Throughout his life, Tolkien’s son Michael had what he called “a deep-rooted abhorrence of spiders.”


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## HLGStrider (Aug 24, 2004)

*Re: Arachniphobia*

How could you have anything but abhorrance for the AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL things?

I think he must've disliked them. I can't think of a reason why he would've liked them. If it hadn't been so extensively done already, I would've used them for my villians, I just think they are so terrible. 

I fear them more than anything! 

Anyway, he probably didn't like one and would probably squish them like any sensible man (any man who says they do not squish spiders is not sensible no matter what they claim!).


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## Ronaldinho (Aug 25, 2004)

*Re: Arachniphobia*

Early in Humprey Carpenter's biography of Tolkien its quoted that when Tolkien was a child in Blomfontien he was bitten by a Taranchula (proper spelling?) when playing in the garden. His nurse managed to suck the spider's poison from the wound and Tolkien survived. Although Tolkien's memory of the experience was faint he said it left him with no espeical dislike of Aracnids.


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## Inderjit S (Aug 27, 2004)

*Re: Arachniphobia*

Though it may be a matter of taste, tarantula's are, in my opinion, hideous things. It could be that his childhood encounter did instill some kind of fear of spiders, or tarantula's, although Tolkien clearly states that it did not-can we take his word for it? This may have inspired the characters of Ungoliant, Shelob and the evil giant spiders-though spiders are generally seen as being "evil" or "bad-natured", as Tolkien states.


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## Inderjit S (Aug 30, 2004)

*Re: Arachniphobia*

Here is a passage about how Shelob was first introduced, or conceived.



> How can Sam get hold of the ring? He keeps watch at night and hears Gollum muttering to himself, words of hatred for Frodo. He draws his sword and leaps on Gollum. He tries to utter horrible words over Frodo- incantation of sleep/ A spider charm, or does Gollum get spider’s help? There is a ravine a spider’s glen; they have to pass at the entrance to Gorgoroth. Gollum gets spiders to put a spell of sleep on Frodo. Sam drives them off. But he cannot wake him. He then gets idea of taking the ring.



'Home 7; Treason of Isengard'


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## Ithrynluin (Aug 30, 2004)

*Re: Arachniphobia*

Spiders are a horror! It is their very posture and manner of movement that frightens me the most.

Take a look at the following 'fine specimens'. Is it any wonder they give so many people the heebie-jeebies? Most of us can be glad that we're living in countries with moderate climates!


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## Walter (Aug 31, 2004)

*Re: Arachniphobia*



Ithrynluin said:


> So, Tolkien and spiders, huh? *blatant attempt to get back on topic*


It appears - to me, at least - that Maerbenn, in the second post of this thread, already provided pretty much all the information which is publicly available concerning this topic...

Now of course we could go on philosophizing whether or not Tolkien was speaking the truth when he claimed not to dislike spiders or if it was right of him to scare poor little Michael sh ... errm ... speechless with his account of the Mirkwood spiders....


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## Dark_Glamdring (Aug 31, 2004)

*Re: Arachniphobia*

Tolkien and spiders, eh
Considering the fact of an accident with a tarantula (UYY) in your childhood, for sure something will remain, but it doesn´t mean you will hate/ or have a phobia/ fear about it in the future, but the psyque is the psyche.
Yeap

Personallly
Spiders are awful but think scorpions are worst, and cockroachs are the worst thing of all.


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## e.Blackstar (Sep 1, 2004)

*Re: Arachniphobia*

I dislike spiders mildly, but I don't go out of my way to kill or otherwise incapacitate them. However, I do frequently mash the ones that I find in my house/bedroom, for two simple reasons; it is usually the easiest way to dispose of them, rather than get a Kleenex or sundry and pick it up and carry it outsides. Also, they are in my house, clearly invading my space in a blatant act of trespass (hehe, is that correct?  ) and therefore ought to be summarily dealt with according to their crimes; DEATH!!!! Muahahaha!


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## HLGStrider (Sep 2, 2004)

*Re: Arachniphobia*

Triuthfully, it is probably a waste of time to pyschoanalyze Tolkien based on this information. I think it suffices to say "Spiders are icky."


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## Celebthôl (Sep 2, 2004)

*Re: Arachniphobia*



Inderjit S said:


> though spiders are generally seen as being "evil" or "bad-natured", as Tolkien states.



Too bloody right! Spiders can have nothing but evil thoughts going on behind their many eyes...especially when they start to slowly edge their way towards me on the ceiling...wriggling and finally "loosing" their footing (which is soooo clearly always on purpose) right above my bed and they dangle there just to insult you further *shudder*. Best thing to do at this point it to grab a base-ball cap and swing for all that is holy in their general direction, that usually sorts the problem!


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## Confusticated (Sep 2, 2004)

*Re: Arachniphobia*

I don't like spiders, they creep me out big time. They didn't when I was a little kid though. (But one should know, to be fair, I used to eat worms and slugs.)

But I wouldn't say I am too afraid of them. At least not all spiders in general. I can often see a spider and think nothing of it, in other words. So long as it isn't coming at me and is a type i am real familiar with. The worst thing is seeing a spider so unlike any I have ever seen before ahh the thought of it! it is repulsive to me.

One time I was up in the mountains and i moved this log and under it sat two spiders of a kind I never seen before. They had meduim sized bodies but very long legs that stuck straight out around it. Ahhh!! 

One time I saw a spider with a big fat huge body and sort of long skinny legs and on its back was a zillion and one tiny baby spiders oh!!! no!!!!

Then one time ahh!!! I saw this beatle in our house. It was a big fat beatle with a white body and black stripes, I could see some legs on it and they were of a brownish type color. I just ignored it and left the room. It was disgusting and unllike anything I had seen before. A few days later ahhhhhhh!! ahh!! I saw it again.. sort of?  The abominablet thing... it defies all explaination! The body of it was more narrow I swear, and smaller all around.... but it didn't stay to scale as it had shrank down, I tell you it was more narrow if it had ever had width at all! And its brown legs... they were considerably longer! It was (I would say) become a spider!!


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## Ellothiel (Sep 4, 2004)

*Re: Arachniphobia*

I aswell hate these ugly creatures!!! And imagine, one morning as I wanted to drink my tee and had drunken almost the lot of it I looked inside my cup (by accident) and there was a drouned spider... jac!! The funny thing about it was, that it bothered my sister even more than me. C'mon, it was me who almost drunk that thing... Anyone with a similar experience?


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## Nimawae's hope (Sep 9, 2004)

*Re: Arachniphobia*

Hmm....no. Not quite like that. I did get bit be a brown recluse one time though (for those who don't live in my area, they're spiders whose poison can make your flesh rot...if it gets really bad limbs drop off, and you might keel over). It hurt quite a bit for I don't know how long. But the strange part of it is that I was actually less afraid of spiders after that. I don't know why. Maybe the poison numbed my brain cells.


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## spirit (Sep 13, 2004)

*Re: Arachniphobia*

(Personally, I love spiders - even the big ones  )

*HGStrider* 


> Spiders are icky.


 No they are not! They actually clean up the environmeny of other "icky" buggies such as flies e.t.c...

*Celebthol* , 


> Spiders can have nothing but evil thoughts going on behind their many eyes


You've never been inside a spider's head so you have no idea what's going on inside its mind!  

And now to answer the question:


> Was Tolkien scared of spiders? He seems to like to use them as villains!


Something had to be the villan, and so he maybe din't like spiders very much, but he wasn't scared of them that's why he decided to use them as the villans. If you was arachniphobia, he wouldn't even want to think about them, let alone write about them.


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## Astaldo (Sep 13, 2004)

*Re: Arachniphobia*

When he was a little boy back in Africa he tried to play with a spider that seemed to him harmless. Then the spider bited him. It was a tarantula. If there was not a very smart servant that their family had that draw the poison from the wound prof Tolkien would not had survived and written The Lord Of The Rings etc. That's way spieders are villain to him.


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## spirit (Sep 14, 2004)

*Re: Arachniphobia*



Astaldo said:


> When he was a little boy back in Africa he tried to play with a spider that seemed to him harmless. Then the spider bited him. It was a tarantula. If there was not a very smart servant that their family had that draw the poison from the wound prof Tolkien would not had survived and written The Lord Of The Rings etc. That's way spieders are villain to him.


Where did you find that information from?


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## Astaldo (Sep 14, 2004)

*Re: Arachniphobia*

A have a biography of Prof. Tolkien form Michael Coren that is called: "J.R.R. Tolkien The man who created The Lord Of The Rings

www.MichelCoren.com


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## spirit (Sep 16, 2004)

That link doesn't work!


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## Astaldo (Sep 16, 2004)

*Re: Arachniphobia*

Sorry I don knw what happened. The book says this link. You can go to Yahoo and search from there.


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## HLGStrider (Sep 21, 2004)

*Re: Arachniphobia*

Well, truthfully it would be hard to argue that Tolkien had any fondness for snakes either. I can't remember any snakes within his work. I can remember things being described as snakelike so we're left to assume they do exist, but no snakes.


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