I first thought this was nothing more than a tall tale, but I've now found numerous reports to corroborate a claim by a fisherman that he encountered a giant spider in Missouri. Ew.

When I saw "big spider", I'm not talking about a few inches in size. If this fisherman's tale is to be believed, this was the size of his head. This is his story. (Spoiler Alert: his is not the only report of giant arachnids in Missouri)

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Think this is just someone's imagination running wild? Check out this story from Joplin, Missouri in the YouTube comments:

Adam - "I'm from joplin MO. When I was a child (7-8) I was running around in the back woods of our 150 acres, I happened upon a tree with a large hole and a huge single web. Not many little ones together, but one giant web connecting the tree to the ground to the hole. I thought maybe an armadillo? Well I poked the web with a thin tree branch, the damn spider came out it was the size of my head, I fell on my a** trying to run the hell away. My mother didn't believe me but I showed my cousins. These spiders are out there guys. They really are."

The stories in the comments just kept coming.

Dick Diamonds - "I've lived in rural Missouri my whole life. I believe it. We have tarantulas. We have mountain lions that people say aren't here. There's no telling whats out in the ozarks"

Wolf spiders are supposed to be one of the largest spiders commonly seen in Missouri, but they're only an inch long normally. The largest by far are Texas Brown Tarantulas. They're a couple inches and fortunately relatively harmless. The creatures mentioned in these stories are something else entirely.

Is it an urban legend or a real fearful creature waiting in the woods and rivers of Missouri? I hope to never find out in person.

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