I don’t think anybody would ever want to wake up to find a spider crawling up their leg, but it’s what happened to this dude that makes the whole situation even more terrifying.

Images VIA 

Soldier Matt Clarke woke up in the middle of the night in his own bed at his home in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire to find a false widow spider crawling up his leg and biting him. Initially it didn’t bother him too much and he was able to swat it off and go back to sleep.

A couple of days later though he noticed that the wound had burst open and was looking absolutely rank, as you can see below:

I just felt this dripping down my leg and it was a painful type of burning sensation.

I then checked it out and the bite area had burst open – it was a hole I could see my muscles through. It got so bad that I was barely able to walk.

I couldn’t understand why the bite wasn’t healing so I tried to find answers. I researched spiders and my symptoms, and I realised I had been bitten by a false black widow.

A doctor told me the bite was toxic and needed constant monitoring, and thankfully now it’s healed.

I’ve been in the Army for ten years, I’ve been all over the world and slept next to more dangerous spiders and never got bit. But I got bit in my own bed.

Yeah, that’s pretty unlucky pal, especially considering the false widow spiders don’t normally do that much damage with their bites. Sure, it can resemble the black widow bite, but it never usually leaves people unable to walk. Guess you drew the short straw there man.

For more false widow spiders, check out this other guy who had seriously horrific injuries from one of those guys. Watch out for them.