The Maddening Tarantula
Reading edition
The tarantula of southern Europe—a large, hairy spider—long was credited with causing a weird, infectious madness by its bite.
The first reported effect of its poison—actually quite mild—is said to have been to put the victim into a deep lethargy from which he could be roused only by music which set into motion an overpowering impulse to get up and dance. Once the victim started to dance he could not stop until he fell to the ground from exhaustion. Then the condition supposedly was cured for a year. On the anniversary of the bite, however, the dance was involuntarily repeated. From the tarantula’s first victim the dancing mania allegedly spread like a contagious disease through the surrounding countryside. The name still is used both for an Italian dance and for the music which accompanies it.
The tarantula is a subterranean creature which hibernates in its burrow during the winter. Bees and wasps are said to be killed almost instantly by its bite. The spider always strikes at the junction of the head and thorax.