@jointhecovn better question is how to kill a spider 🕸️ #halloween #halloweenspiderwebs #spiderhistory #todayilearned #jointhecovn ♬ Witch Familiar (Classical) [Classic](143628) - dice
Ever wondered why spiders are so closely associated to Halloween? Are they truly spooky or do they simply come out of hiding in Autumn?
Autumn is one of the biggest seasons for spider activity. Spiders tend to propagate more as temperatures fall. Their main source of food, insects, will seek out people's homes and other buildings as shelter from the cold. Because of this, spiders will also end up in houses. Given that Halloween is an autumn holiday, there are probably more spiders present in homes and other buildings around that time of year.
Spiders also love to hide in dark places, such as basements or other nooks and crannies. Given that the habitats of spiders are typically those that humans would find scary or dangeroud, this association is made much more naturally. This all makes perfect sense, but we would like to focus on the more magical associations.
Spiders’ association to Halloween may just all come back to witches. Much like black cats, spiders were one of the creatures believed to be evil companions of witches during the Middle Ages.
This connection is reinforced with iconic Halloween landmarks such has haunted houses and graveyards all coming with their own array of spiders and webs.
As well as the scary connotations, in many countries around the world spiders were regarded as mystical creatures due to tgheir web-making abilities. In folklore they are described as storytellers and oracles of fate, wealth, and sometimes death.
Sometimes seeing a spider can be a sign of good luck and prosperity - there are some superstitions that describe the spider as a kind of panacea, capable of healing many diseases.
The color of a spider is also important. In European superstitions, finding a white spider signifies good luck, while black spiders signify bad luck if it's hanging above the bed. According to another bit of folklore, finding a spider on Halloween night not only means good luck, but also that a deceased close relative or friend is looking out for you. It might be high time to end the stigma around spiders and finally embrace our eight-legged neighbours.
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