Halloween, a word contracted from “All Hallow’s Eve,” is a predominately American celebration whose traditions originated in the late nineteenth century via its Celtic origins – mainly through large amounts of Irish and Scottish immigrants to the New World.

While All Hallow’s Eve was originally – and in many countries still is – a time to celebrate saints and departed souls, the commercialized American version mutated into a festival of gruesome beauty thanks to the use and evolution of some of the original symbols like the Jack O’Lanterns (now carved pumpkins), which were formerly carried to frighten off evil spirits and light the way at the same time.

Halloween pumpkins (photo courtesy Lee-Fendall House)

Trick-or-treating, where children dress in costume and go from house to house begging for candy and treats, finds its origin in Celtic “guising.”

The horror themes now mainly associated with Halloween came from popular gothic literature and now Hollywood films.

While skulls have constituted a visual theme in the world of haute horlogerie in the last few years – mainly thanks to carryovers from the fashion industry – very little else resembling horror has found its way into or onto timepieces.

And then along came a mechanical, time-telling spider: the MB&F Arachnophobia – a realistic-looking arachnoid made of metal and other materials traditionally used in watchmaking. Look upon it if you dare!

MB&F Arachnophobia: look out, it’s scuttling to a dark corner near you!

Quick Facts MB&F Arachnophobia
Case: 405 mm with extended legs, hand-finished black lacquered injection-moulded aluminum
Movement: manual eight-day movement wound by key by L’Epée, 75.3 x 134.9 x 63.8 mm, 218 components, 18,000 vph (2.5 Hz)
Limitation: 99 pieces in each color
Variations: gold-plated brass spider body
Price: 15,300 Swiss francs (black version); 17,200 Swiss francs (gold-plated version)