WOMAN WHO WAS TERRIFIED OF SPIDERS CONQUERS HER FEAR BY BUILDING MINIATURE WORLDS FOR THEM!
WITH PIX AND VID
BY SHUK YEE TSANG
A former arachnophobe has overcome her lifelong fear of spiders by adopting seven jumping spiders and treating them to custom-built miniature apartments, bakeries, bathrooms, living rooms and even a day out trip to the McDonald's setup!
Ashley Stone, 38, from Las Vegas, USA, is a passionate stay-at-home mom who first saw cute videos of jumping spiders online and was stunned by their big eyes and curious behaviour.
Since then, she’s adopted a whole crew of spiders: Charlotte, Eden, Mulan, Fievel, Icarus, Tilly, and Arcadia, and now dedicates her time to crafting elaborate setups for their enrichment.
Ashley uses dollhouse kits to create these tiny scenes and loves watching the spiders interact with their surroundings, perching on tiny couches or clambering over bakery counters.
She says it’s both adorable and enriching for the spiders, who enjoy exploring different textures and surfaces.
Her pet spiders, just like humans, have their own personalities: Icarus gets spooked by the phone camera lens, Tilly obsesses over a tripod, and Eden peeks out of her hammock every morning to “check the room” before emerging.
While the spiders enjoy their cosy miniature worlds, Ashley also live streams their adventures online, where thousands of viewers are captivated by the unique setups and spider antics.
Ashley said: "I used to smush spiders I saw in my house, and now I relocate them outside. I have respect for them now, where before I only had fear.
“My favourite is probably the bakery. I like to pretend they’re in there baking and serving customers, haha! Plus, you can put some French bakery music with a video of them in there and it’s adorable.
“Tilly really loves my light tripod on my desk. She is always staring at it and even crawled up inside one of the legs and hid for a while. I thought I had lost her that day!
“I thought Arcadia was dying, but she was actually moulting. I started crying, and people on TikTok were cheering her on as she climbed out of her old skin. I’ll never forget that.
“Jumping spiders are a great way to work through your fear of spiders. They can win even the most fearful people over.
“People online love to watch them in real time. The questions and comments flood in and 98% of it is positive.
“When Eden wakes up, she’ll hang out of her hammock with just her head and two front legs. I can’t help but smile.”
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