Spider Bite
This urban legend has been circulating since the late 1970s. It tells the story of a young woman (with her place of residence changing from story to story) who goes on a vacation to Africa (Portugal, Mexico, Spain, etc.) and is bitten on the cheek by a spider while at the beach. The bite swells up and she rushes to get medical attention. The doctor then lances the boil and hundreds of tiny spiders come running out. Another version of this legend is that the woman takes a bath and the boil bursts with scads of spiders being released into the water.
It is said that the message to be learned here is that southern locales are less clean and more dangerous than someones home state. This legend spreads around mostly Europe.
(Source: Brunvand, Jan H. Encyclopedia of Urban Legends. 2001.)
