I always find them at my feet, running toward me or just past me as I step aside. This night, it seemed like all three took calculated moves, waiting for the right moment, hiding and then reappearing and bolting directly toward me, even changing the direction of its path to do so. I’m not sure if they are heat seeking, following the light of my flashlight or if they put out a scent when in danger to notify other spiders, (b/c I was catching multiple spiders at the same time) or if they’re aggression can go so far as to hunt down their human hunter; but in all my years living in the mountains and on farm land, it was a definitely the closest “Arachnophobia” movie moment I’ve ever experienced!

At the end of my adventure, I closed my bedroom door to go to bed, re-opened my door about 5 minutes later and found the one of the three that had gotten away. It was directly in my doorway, facing in and about to slip under my door. I panicked and closed the door and pushed a towel into the gap. Another 5 minutes later, I checked the door, and could see one segment of a leg coming in between the towel and the door. I was shocked! I guess it could have been coincidence, and maybe it was just trying to find what it could find, but can’t say that for the first time in my life I was genuinely scared that a spider was actually trying to get me.

I know there must be a logical explanation for this behavior, even if its that my own mind is what perceived the danger, but what I actually observed was unique to any spider experience I’ve ever had before.