Monster Monday
The Bedraggled Clutcher
The bedraggled clutcher is a small spider the size of a coaster (legs included) with prominent forclaws that extend outward. The clutcher is considered to be the arachnid equivalent to the magpie, hoarding and storing the items it gathers with its foreclaws. After gathering, the clutcher will nestle the objects in the sticky hairs on its back until it can return to its nest. The purpose of this behavior is not explicitly clear, and is the subject of much debate among cryptozoologists. The leading theory in the field is that clutchers require an elaborate and diverse nesting site for attracting potential mates. This theory is backed by the amount of time and care the clutcher takes in designing and weaving its webby den and how the females tend to be very choosy about which den they prefer.
There is a small following of researchers who subscribe to the theory that clutchers are actually pathovores (creatures that feed off of emotions) and that they feed specifically off the feeling of bewilderment and doubt that arises when a human discovers that an item the clutcher has taken is missing. The evidence they present is the soft purring sound made by the spiders while their victim, the human, is desperately searching. The purring is thought to be a crude retrieval method, where the vibrating hairs that line the clutcher's body snag the psychic waves emanating from the human host.
Not many people have seen a bedraggled clutcher in the wild, as their hideous appearance strikes one with a slight amnesia upon observation. The effects of this can be countered however, if you just imagine the clutcher with the face of a rabbit. This technique takes training and there are instances of many different cultures employing this method in order to track the creatures, (the "rabbit imagining" is more of a western development, there have been cases of imagining as a mouse, a kitten, a meercat or a capybara.)
Once trained, you learn to see the horrid little beasts everywhere, twarting people of their keys, pens and other less precious possessions. At first the display is terrifying, especially when you realize they are also targeting you, but over time there comes to be a mutual respect for the monsters. There have been no instances of bedraggled clutchers attacking anyone and some find the effects of their purring enlivening, as it "sucks out the confusion and doubt."
Today's Drawing (inspired by the word "Homage" from MW's word of the day. It's a tribute or gesture of respect.)
Today's "365" Project (Make an animal that never existed. I'm going with my monster for Monster Monday and going one step further and drawing a picture.)
The Bedraggled Clutcher
The bedraggled clutcher is a small spider the size of a coaster (legs included) with prominent forclaws that extend outward. The clutcher is considered to be the arachnid equivalent to the magpie, hoarding and storing the items it gathers with its foreclaws. After gathering, the clutcher will nestle the objects in the sticky hairs on its back until it can return to its nest. The purpose of this behavior is not explicitly clear, and is the subject of much debate among cryptozoologists. The leading theory in the field is that clutchers require an elaborate and diverse nesting site for attracting potential mates. This theory is backed by the amount of time and care the clutcher takes in designing and weaving its webby den and how the females tend to be very choosy about which den they prefer.
There is a small following of researchers who subscribe to the theory that clutchers are actually pathovores (creatures that feed off of emotions) and that they feed specifically off the feeling of bewilderment and doubt that arises when a human discovers that an item the clutcher has taken is missing. The evidence they present is the soft purring sound made by the spiders while their victim, the human, is desperately searching. The purring is thought to be a crude retrieval method, where the vibrating hairs that line the clutcher's body snag the psychic waves emanating from the human host.
Not many people have seen a bedraggled clutcher in the wild, as their hideous appearance strikes one with a slight amnesia upon observation. The effects of this can be countered however, if you just imagine the clutcher with the face of a rabbit. This technique takes training and there are instances of many different cultures employing this method in order to track the creatures, (the "rabbit imagining" is more of a western development, there have been cases of imagining as a mouse, a kitten, a meercat or a capybara.)
Once trained, you learn to see the horrid little beasts everywhere, twarting people of their keys, pens and other less precious possessions. At first the display is terrifying, especially when you realize they are also targeting you, but over time there comes to be a mutual respect for the monsters. There have been no instances of bedraggled clutchers attacking anyone and some find the effects of their purring enlivening, as it "sucks out the confusion and doubt."
Haiku of the Day:
The bowed phone gazers
sway like doleful reeds perched on
the edge of a pond.
Today's Drawing (inspired by the word "Homage" from MW's word of the day. It's a tribute or gesture of respect.)
Today's "365" Project (Make an animal that never existed. I'm going with my monster for Monster Monday and going one step further and drawing a picture.)
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