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Zoo program turns spider haters into spider lovers
January 31, 1997
Web posted at: 11:45 p.m. EST (0445 GMT)In this story:
From Correspondent Siobhan Darrow
LONDON (CNN) -- At Robert Farago's Friendly Spider Program at the London Zoo, people are encouraged to talk about what they do when the see a spider.
"I'm terrified of spiders," says a girl named Kate who can't enter a room if she suspects a spider might be there. "They just make me, you know, frightened. I can't breathe."
(1.2M/28 sec. QuickTime movie)
"I think it's very important I get over my fear of spiders," says a boy. "They're all around all the time."
For many people the mere mention of the word "spider" sends them into a panic. But in Farago's program, people are first encouraged to talk about what they do when the see a spider.
Therapy and hypnosis do the trick
Their responses range from stomping on them, to getting help, to vacuuming them up.
"I think the most extreme example would be the 'Schwarzenegger,' where they get a can of hairspray and light it and do a little flame-thrower routine," says Farago.
But through group therapy and talking over their fears with each other, and with education and, most importantly, with hypnosis, they learn to put those hostile feelings behind them.
The group is then marched off to the invertebrate house to meet their new, eight-legged, eight-eyed friends.
The encounters are tentative at first, and some even retire to the hall in tears. But by the end, everyone appears to be cured.
"I feel fabulous," says Kate. "Now, I know if I see a spider I'll remain calm. I won't cry."
Farago claims 84 percent success rate
Kate even had her photo taken with her new pal, Tracy, a Mexican Red-Kneed Tarantula.
"I think she's lovely," she says. "Lovely, yeah. I even talked to her whilst she was on my hand."
The cost of the program is $135, and Farago says his success rate is 84 percent. He even claims that one graduate from every group will become an arachnophile -- a spider lover -- and will come to love the furry creatures so much they will keep them as pets.
Farago's program has been so successful that this spring he's planning to take it to Los Angeles.
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