If the prospect of Donald Trump becoming US President wasn’t enough to give you nightmares forever, mother nature has served us up with this treat.
Yes friends, that is a very large and very real huntsman spider, calmly sitting on a broom.
There is some saving grace to this story however… namely that this extraordinary specimen was photographed in as far away as possible in the land Down Under (with apologies to our Australian readers. You have our sincere sympathies.)
The pictures were posted to Barnyard Betty’s Rescue Facebook page, an animal sanctuary in Brisband, Queensland, which christened the giant spider Charlotte.
The accompanying post reads: “Yes she is very real and very large and not Photoshopped!
“I released her here on the farm after rescuing her so I can’t get anymore photos or video of her, I’m sorry.
“She was a beautiful, calm spider, not aggressive in any way and like most spiders she just wanted to go about her business eating bugs and living in peace.
“She didn’t or doesn’t need to be killed. Poor spiders are so misunderstood!”
Despite their terrifying size, a bite from a huntsman spider can be painful, but will not cause anything more serious than mild nausea or headaches. The Australian Reptile Park adds localised swelling and pain tend to be the only symptoms.
The average huntsman is about 1 inch long, with a leg span of up to 5 inches. The giant huntsman however, has a leg span of up to 12 inches and is often described as being the size of a dinner plate.