Australian Town Besieged by Giant Spiders

Arachnophobes probably want to avoid the small town of Bowen in Queensland, Australia, for the foreseeable future, as the coastal community has reportedly been invaded by freakin' giant spiders.

The eight-legged influx has been prompted by recent heavy rain driving the creatures from their usual habitats. The spiders are Eastern tarantulas which, while not deadly to humans, can leave victims vomiting for six hours. Even more terrifyingly, the beasties have 2-inch-long fangs and their leg span can reach almost 6-and-a-half inches.

While a pest-control company spokesperson reassuringly informs us that the invasion has not yet reached "plague proportions," he says he has already caught one spider that was bigger than his hand and has received calls about dozens more sightings.

Let's just hope the people of Bowen have some really large glasses and sturdy magazines.