Ok, not really but sort of...

I'm arachnophobic. Not mildly, mind you, but cold sweats and primal fear instincts take over when I see one of the beasts. It's not a response I can control...I've tried. I remind myself that I'm much bigger and it's a bug, and in my mind that works, but then the damn thing comes into my line of vision and I lose it.

With that in mind, this story just sends chills up my spine.

A man in Northern England finds a large 5" spider in his industrial freezer. As any techogeek would, he takes pictures of it with his mobile and is bit twice on the hand. He then douses it with boiling water and then microwaves it. Not really understanding the need for the microwave, but whatever...guess he found it necessary. Then again a few years back, my friends in England had a conversation going about microwaving the oddest things and turning it into a TV show, but I digress.

The mutant arachnid survives the freezing, scalding and microwaving and once put in a jar, struggles to get out.

Dude goes to the hospital, suddenly feeling the affects of the venom. He's treated, but somehow the staff at the hospital release the spider thinking it's harmless. Again, not so quick thinking on their part.

The spider is later identified in the photographs as a Brazillian Wandering Spider, one of the most poisonous in the world.

Years and years ago, my eldest brother was bit by a black widow on a construction site. He reached up onto a shelf and the spider got him in the palm. He kept the beast for months in a jar, much to the delight of his sons and ended up with a pretty large and deep circular scar on his hand. Never did get the feeling back as I guess the nerves were destroyed.

Nasty. Just plain nasty.