Paranormal abilities. United States

SPIDER WEAVES A STRANGE MESSAGE

Phenomenal Web on Door of Collinsville Homes Attracts Hundreds.

IS IT OCCULT MESSAGE?

“Army, “Navy” and “War” Are Some of the Words Plainly made Out.

By William Greshman

Collinsville, Okla., Oct. 6 Will wonder never cease? What is the solution of the phenomenon in the spider web woven over the south window of the home of G. Spyres at 1321 South street? Are a few of the thousand questions that are being asked by the hundreds of people who are flocking to see the greatest wonder of this century. Many treat the phenomenon as a curiosity, while others see a message from some higher power to the people of the city of some great calamity. Others think that it is a message of a great victory that the army and navy of the United States will soon win in the great world conflict.

Noticed Tuesday.

Tuesday morning as Richard Compton was dressing for school, he noticed a large spider weaving a web over the window on the south side of his room. Looking closer he discovered that the spider was sitting in the center of the web and the word “army” was woven in large letters and was plain even thru the screen wire. Richard is 12 years old and he and his little sister have lived with their grandparents since he was 4 years old. At that time his mother died shortly after their father deserted them. He went to his grandmother and said: “Mother there is a center of his back. His head is has a web over my window. The spider remained quiet all day, but this morning the word “army” had been removed and in its place was “L.M. W. navy.” The “L” is plain and distinct, but there is some discussion as to whether the next letter is an “M” or “W.” Some say that the reading is “L.W.M. Navy” and others contend that the reading is “L.M.W. Navy.” But there is no question as to the “L” and the word “navy.” Neither was there any question as to the “army” on the web Tuesday, October 2.

The house faces the north and the room is in a lean-to on the south side of the house. The eave of the roof is not more than six feet from the ground and projects about fifteen inches over the wall. There is a screen wire over the window and the web is hung from the eave of the roof to the bottom of the window and is about two feet square.

Ordinary Spider.

The spider is a very large one. The spider has a very large body which is yellow on the side with small stripes and a large black stripe down the center of his back. His head is a light brown. He has four legs on each side of his body and the two front legs on each side are very long, while the other legs are not more than half as long as the front legs. The legs are brown from the body to about half way to the head and from there they are black with a very small brown stripe at the joints. The web was first woven Monday night, October 1, with the word “army” written on it and which was removed Tuesday night and the “L.M.W. Navy” written in its place.

Tulsa [OK] World 7 October 1917: p. 15

Prophetic Spiders Spiders prophesy “Victory for Amerika”

TULANE SAVANTS SCOFF AT SPIDER’S WEAVE OF VICTORY

Insect Has had Great Name for Prophecy in mythology Nevertheless.

Prof. G.E. Beyer, Tulane University professor of biology, and Ed Forster, state entomology, Tuesday scoffed at reports that giant spiders here are weaving the words “Victory America,” “Wilson Wins,” “War Ends November, 1918” and other “superstitious” tales of the prophetic insect. Professor Beyer compared the report to the traditional about the seventeen-year locust that is said to spin a “W” and to indicate war whenever it arrives. Mr. Foster explained how the zigzag nature of the web might have led to the war surmises.

The alleged prophetic spider was first reported Sunday as operating at the home of Mrs. Peter Bouchon, 2230 Frenchmen street. A reporter for The Times-Picayune found the same kind of a spider Tuesday with its zigzag web at the home of Mrs. Ora Toragano, 1816 Columbus street, and at two places near Lapeyrouse and Miro streets.

Mrs. Bouchon’s daughter has set up a small business on the strength of the curiosity aroused by newspaper stories of the spider and is charging 5 cents admission. She leads the visitor to a half dozen different spiders’ webs in the back yard and points out the different letters which she says she sees. She uses a magnifying glass for exhibition.

Stories were current in the neighborhood Tuesday when a limousine stopped at the Bouchon home to the effect that the wealthy occupants had bought two of the spiders for five hundred dollars each. Miss Bouchon has a sign painted on the fence warning people not to touch the web. In the few minutes the reporter was at her home eight persons saw the sight.

As explained by Mr. Foster the impression that the words “victory American” were written by the web might be conveyed with the aid of a little imagination because the zigzag naturally forms the letters V and M and forms A in connection with a radial line, which runs out from the center of the web. The word “war” is the nearest approach of any of the words to reality, because the W and the A are zigzag letters, and the R in one instance was vaguely formed, probably by some obstruction which caused the spider to veer at a right angle form the top of the R. The two sides are formed in the regular zigzag and the center is a radial line.

After an examination Tuesday with a magnifying glass of thirteen of the spider webs a Times-Picayune reporter could find no straight letters such as the I and T in the words supposed “Victory America.” The only words resembling the alleged “War ends November, 1918,” the reporter could find any semblance in reality were “War” and the Ns in “ends” and “November” and the V in “November.”

Times-Picayune [New Orleans, LA] 30 September 1917: p. 48