A young woman made the most terrifying discovery while unpacking her suitcase after vacationing on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus.
Unbeknownst to the holidaymaker, an unwanted guest had decided to pack her luggage back to Britain before she had the chilling surprise of getting her laundry out of her luggage.
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In a video uploaded to TikTok, user Georgia Sinclair films her colleague, who is seen on the phone calling the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA).
“Hi RSPCA, I think I may have brought a tarantula back from Cyprus in my suitcase,” the young woman says in the video, which has already amassed 820,000 views.
The chilling video then shows a pile of clothes, from which emerges a huge black tarantula – the largest spider in Europe.
The spider is then seen crawling on clothing before disappearing behind what appears to be a household appliance.
The viral footage, along with a “trigger warning” for spiders, sparked a flurry of comments online.
User Charlotte Emily told a similar story: “In Cyprus my mum found one sitting on her shoulder and screamed so loudly the hotel staff thought she was being attacked.”
Another user, nilfgaardianlemon, also had a nightmare after returning from vacation.
“We had this! I bought one in Fuerteventura! My grandfather killed it with a stiletto!!!” he said.
Larissa Rossiter, meanwhile, said she would burn every item in case the tarantula lays eggs.
Other users have wondered if Cyprus is known to be home to hairy spiders – which are harmless to humans except for their painful bites.
“Wait, they have tarantulas in Cyprus?! That’s off the list,” said Leanne S.
“Maybe we shouldn’t book this holiday in Cyprus,” said one user, while user Dicko said: “It’s not me who’s in Cyprus suddenly learning that he there are tarantulas here”.
“Um but no, I would really have a heart attack and I would die,” added Elli Lloyd.
However, there have been helpful comments from spider lovers, with many suggesting Miss Sinclair and her friend have contacted a spider group in the UK.
Stephanie said: ‘If it was any closer I would add it to my collection’ as a tarantula keeper called Abz said she wanted to adopt the creeper.
There are two native species of tarantulas in Cyprus – Chaetopelma olivaceum and Chaetopelma karlamani (the Cyprus tarantula).
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the-sun