Spider Hater

“Rescue seems increasingly unrealistic. Supplies diminishing. Lots of spiders in this place. I do not like spiders.”

―Dr. Roberts, the Spider Hater - Penumbra: Overture

Dr. Roberts, better known as the Spider Hater, is a minor, unseen character in Penumbra: Overture and gets mentioned in Penumbra: Black Plague. He's an Archaic scientist, either Temporary or of the Lower Caste, who was stationed at Shelter Research Station, Greenland.

Background

Philip can find notes of him in the mines. He tried to escape the mines after it was abandoned, but got injured (presumably by the dogs) and holed himself up in a storage room. He then explored the spider tunnels beneath the storage room, and one day he accidentally swallowed a spider. After that, spiders became his main food source, but after a while he finds a toxic substance forming on his tongue, so he amputates it. Eventually, the spiders grow more aggressive and start attacking him, so he locks himself in his room.

In Penumbra: Black Plague, Philip finds a note left by Eloff Carpenter in the Kennels, stating that he woke up to a body next to him with its tongue missing. This would hint that it was in fact Overseer Frisk, not the spiders, that killed Spider Hater — and that Frisk has been perhaps stalking throughout the mines during the entirety of the game before Philip becomes aware of his existence. This also reveals the Spider Hater's real name to be Dr. Roberts.

Notes

• Scientific findings 1
• Scientific findings 2
• Spider Hater's Note

Trivia

• If Philip approaches the locked door where Dr. Roberts is, it's possible to hear him whisper "Who is there?", "Someone?", and other strange noises. These were provided by Frictional Games co-founder Thomas Grip, as revealed on the Frictional Games Forum.
• Like for many others encounters in the Penumbra saga, the character is not a real entity, just some sounds playing, objects moving and video effects. This can be proved by obstructing the door, after coming back, the door will be open, but the obstruction is there like before.
• The tongue of Spider Hater that Phillip finds in the backroom of the section he was held up in is far larger than any tongue of any human being. It is roughly the length of a forearm in-game. The most likely reason for this is the toxin inside the spiders he ate, which made his tongue swell up.

Gallery

Dr. Roberts' tongue surgically removed, due to a toxin found in spiders irrevocably damaging it.