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I think that it's right that the tendency to view spiders as evil is pretty much universal in human cultures. But I'm surprised no one has yet mentioned what is most likely the root of that predisposition - research strongly suggests that we have a genetic tendency to fear spiders. The evolutionary reason is presumably the same as in the case of fear of snakes - the poisonous varieties (which are particularly common in Africa, where humans evolved) posed a great threat to our distant ancestors' survival.
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