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White Spider
Once, it had been a man. Now the evil had taken a loathsome new form, with an overwhelming desire for sweet young flesh. Its pursuit was silent, its bite deadly, its embrace was forever.
- GenresHorror
400 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 1, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
December 13, 2025
Here's the cover of the 1987 Leisure mass-market. It's slightly different from the 1992 reprint (which is actually the one shown up top), in that it's textured, with foil-stamped lettering.
July 7, 2018
Something strange is happening in the town of Stony Cliffs after the gruesome murder of Ted Kellogg. He was part of some sort of cult of people that worshiped Victor Sears, who committed suicide a couple years prior. Victor was after something beyond the human experience, or something.
Anyway, this cult performs some sort of ritual, and all of a sudden, some of the townsfolk are killing others or themselves. Meanwhile, Nora Durant, about to start a job at the university, gets dragged into the mess. Her long-time friend, Kate Hall, was Ted's girlfriend, and now the cult's deadly focus seems to be on Kate's 12 year old daughter, Sam.
There was lots of fun horror stuff here. Creepy phone calls, dead bodies coming back to life, a battle with a giant spider. It's certainly never dull. But the book stubbornly refuses to give us a how and why behind all the mayhem. How is Victor Sears able to psychically control people? Why is he represented by a white spider? What exactly does he want to achieve by capturing Sam? How exactly did he live beyond death? I would have much preferred some sort of clear explanation, no matter how outlandish, to hang all the wild events on. There's just vague references to various mythologies and Satan etc.
The book also goes into too much description at times. I don't need to know the entire history of how a building came into existence, which happens often here! If I want that, I'll read a book about architecture or something! So basically, White Spider was a fun horror read for me, but the lack of a why behind everything happening meant that it never really hang together. Despite all the good horror bits, this was unfortunately never as good as the sum of its parts.
Anyway, this cult performs some sort of ritual, and all of a sudden, some of the townsfolk are killing others or themselves. Meanwhile, Nora Durant, about to start a job at the university, gets dragged into the mess. Her long-time friend, Kate Hall, was Ted's girlfriend, and now the cult's deadly focus seems to be on Kate's 12 year old daughter, Sam.
There was lots of fun horror stuff here. Creepy phone calls, dead bodies coming back to life, a battle with a giant spider. It's certainly never dull. But the book stubbornly refuses to give us a how and why behind all the mayhem. How is Victor Sears able to psychically control people? Why is he represented by a white spider? What exactly does he want to achieve by capturing Sam? How exactly did he live beyond death? I would have much preferred some sort of clear explanation, no matter how outlandish, to hang all the wild events on. There's just vague references to various mythologies and Satan etc.
The book also goes into too much description at times. I don't need to know the entire history of how a building came into existence, which happens often here! If I want that, I'll read a book about architecture or something! So basically, White Spider was a fun horror read for me, but the lack of a why behind everything happening meant that it never really hang together. Despite all the good horror bits, this was unfortunately never as good as the sum of its parts.
September 7, 2023
3.5. This is exactly what you’d expect it to be if you’re a fan of 80s horror books so in that regard it was ridiculous and great in the best way. If you’re looking for something impactful this is not it. It’s just a fun, quick read about supernatural and occult shit and if that’s what you’re coming in for, you won’t be disappointed.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews