A little something I discovered while I was wondering around my house at 3 in the morning pulling stuff of shelves. This is done in 6 easy steps.

  1. Procure 1x black shoelace. Any darkish color is acceptable but for best results black and long is good. Optional: giggle insanely
  2. Bunch shoelace up into a spidery mass of fear. The best method is to create a bunch of loops and then holding one end give it a thorough shake. If necessary use a twistie. Optional: giggle insanely
  3. Cup the shoelace in your hands as you would a real spider.
  4. Approach unfortunate victim, making sure he/she can see your hands, and ask them:
    "Hey you're afraid of spiders aren't you?"
    Optional: giggle insanely - highly recommended. By now they should have a wary look in their eyes and body language should indicate prepared flight. However it's too late!
  5. As they answer, use a quick underarm to gently lob the shoelace at them. Too fast and they won't see it, too slow and they'll recognise it.Optional: giggle insanely
  6. Giggle insanely
Warning: The effectiveness of this trick depends entirely on your delivery. I make no success claims, but it worked for me (and against me).

Also, despite being quite hilarious, this is a very, very evil thing to do. If you're friend truely suffers from arachnophobia you will utterly freak them out. Don't expect them to ever talk to you again. Ever If they're a jittery type they might actually hurt themselves reacting to it. Make sure there are no sharps or furniture around.