How COOL is that???

https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/fungus-zombie-spiders-america-b2811839.html
Spiders infected with a fungus that turns them into “zombies” are now being found all over the world — including in the U.S. — and freaking out homeowners.

Fungus-infected spiders have been spotted by residents in Minnesota, Ontario, the U.K., Russia and New Zealand, The Wall Street Journal reports.

The fungus was first discovered four years ago inside an abandoned gunpowder store in Northern Ireland by the crew of the BBC’s Winterwatch TV series. Researchers named the fungus Gibellula attenboroughii, after the iconic British naturalist, David Attenborough.

The fungus infects orb-weaving, cave-dwelling spiders found in Europe called Metellina merianae, scientists discovered. The fungus works by changing the arachnids’ behavior to help promote the spread of spores, according to a study published earlier this year in the research journal Fungal Systematics and Evolution.

It causes spiders to behave in strange ways, such as going out into the open to die. Now, homeowners around the world are being haunted by the sight of these zombie arachnids.

Anna Baddams, who lives in the city of Southampton on England’s south coast, found hundreds of the zombie spiders in her shed, she told the Journal. She “couldn’t sleep for weeks” and keeps her windows closed to keep them from crawling in. Simon Butenko told the Journal he similarly found the spiders in his parents’ wine cellar in Anapa, Russia. He said the encrusted spiders were “hanging at head height” when he found them.