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Down Came the Spiders
Arachnophobia meets Five Nights at Freddy's in this middle grade horror novel perfect for fans of K.R. Alexander and Mary Downing Hahn.
Can you outrun eight legs?
Twelve-year-old Andi loves everything about spiders -- they're endlessly fascinating creatures. So when she finds a species she's never seen before at a classmate's Halloween party, she's over the moon. Until the spiders start to behave in unusual and threatening ways, that is. They can camouflage themselves incredibly well, they can jump higher than she's ever seen, and their webs are strong. Maybe even strong enough to trap a person . . .
Andi and her friends Carly and Devon try to find an adult to help, but make a terrifying the parent chaperones have been immobilized by the spiders. As the only ones who know what’s going on, Andi, Carly, and Devon will have to take on the spiders themselves — before it’s too late!
Can you outrun eight legs?
Twelve-year-old Andi loves everything about spiders -- they're endlessly fascinating creatures. So when she finds a species she's never seen before at a classmate's Halloween party, she's over the moon. Until the spiders start to behave in unusual and threatening ways, that is. They can camouflage themselves incredibly well, they can jump higher than she's ever seen, and their webs are strong. Maybe even strong enough to trap a person . . .
Andi and her friends Carly and Devon try to find an adult to help, but make a terrifying the parent chaperones have been immobilized by the spiders. As the only ones who know what’s going on, Andi, Carly, and Devon will have to take on the spiders themselves — before it’s too late!
- GenresHorror
224 pages, Paperback
Published December 2, 2025
13 people are currently reading
122 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
January 13, 2026
Thanks to Scholastic for the physical ARC! The matte and gloss mixed together on the cover really makes it that much cooler.
This is kind of Arachnophobia (the movie) but in a middle grade style. There is a sort of Chamber of Secrets thread with its “follow the spiders” comments dropped in, but also, how could you not? Otherwise, it is a mashup of horror and scifi actually, and kind of had me thinking of Eight Legged Freaks too.
Best friends Andi, Carly, and Devon, have decided to ditch what very well may have been their last Halloween trick or treating in order to go to Clementine’s—an eighth grade girl—for a huge party. A cool one. Andi, who’s still clinging on to being a kid, is only tempted out of her stubbornness when Carly tells her that Clementine’s dad, the science teacher, has a serious spider collection. Living, breathing specimen for her entertainment. After that, she couldn’t agree fast enough. At the party though, right as her dad is about to bring Andi upstairs, a fight breaks out, pulling him away and leaving her without a chaperone. When Andi convinces Carly and Devon to bring her upstairs anyway, things get a bit weird… and maybe she let something out?
The farm setting with the partying kids going out to the barn and fields also brought to mind Clown in a Cornfield. Instead of clowns terrorizing young adults though, it’s thousands of spiders after middle schoolers. And for a book filled with so many creepy crawlies this really did a good job of not demonizing them. Andi reminds her friends multiple times that spiders are most often more afraid of us than we are of them. And while there is plenty of things that made my skin crawl (and the cast of characters sprint around checking their skin and hair) there’s not actual arachnophobia on display here.
I liked how this brought in some newer discoveries and theories as well, each of which caught my eye. The different species of spiders coexisting in a giant web. The theory that spiders outnumber humans to the point that if they teamed up together, they could devour us all…and it wouldn’t even take long. The stuff you see while doomscrolling, right?
What hurt it overall for me, was that the climax kind of fizzled. Not even in the middle grade sense of everyone being alright in the end, which would have been fine for me. This just kind of felt like setup with little payoff. Now if there’s a sequel, that would make sense, and I would be interested in reading it still, but I don’t want to finish a book and feel like it solely exists for there to be another one. Otherwise, strong characterization, creepy conflict, and a well done setup for some spooky horror.
https://fanfiaddict.com/review-down-c...
This is kind of Arachnophobia (the movie) but in a middle grade style. There is a sort of Chamber of Secrets thread with its “follow the spiders” comments dropped in, but also, how could you not? Otherwise, it is a mashup of horror and scifi actually, and kind of had me thinking of Eight Legged Freaks too.
Best friends Andi, Carly, and Devon, have decided to ditch what very well may have been their last Halloween trick or treating in order to go to Clementine’s—an eighth grade girl—for a huge party. A cool one. Andi, who’s still clinging on to being a kid, is only tempted out of her stubbornness when Carly tells her that Clementine’s dad, the science teacher, has a serious spider collection. Living, breathing specimen for her entertainment. After that, she couldn’t agree fast enough. At the party though, right as her dad is about to bring Andi upstairs, a fight breaks out, pulling him away and leaving her without a chaperone. When Andi convinces Carly and Devon to bring her upstairs anyway, things get a bit weird… and maybe she let something out?
The farm setting with the partying kids going out to the barn and fields also brought to mind Clown in a Cornfield. Instead of clowns terrorizing young adults though, it’s thousands of spiders after middle schoolers. And for a book filled with so many creepy crawlies this really did a good job of not demonizing them. Andi reminds her friends multiple times that spiders are most often more afraid of us than we are of them. And while there is plenty of things that made my skin crawl (and the cast of characters sprint around checking their skin and hair) there’s not actual arachnophobia on display here.
I liked how this brought in some newer discoveries and theories as well, each of which caught my eye. The different species of spiders coexisting in a giant web. The theory that spiders outnumber humans to the point that if they teamed up together, they could devour us all…and it wouldn’t even take long. The stuff you see while doomscrolling, right?
What hurt it overall for me, was that the climax kind of fizzled. Not even in the middle grade sense of everyone being alright in the end, which would have been fine for me. This just kind of felt like setup with little payoff. Now if there’s a sequel, that would make sense, and I would be interested in reading it still, but I don’t want to finish a book and feel like it solely exists for there to be another one. Otherwise, strong characterization, creepy conflict, and a well done setup for some spooky horror.
https://fanfiaddict.com/review-down-c...
August 27, 2025
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
Andi and her older sister Adrienne are decorating for Halloween, but there is some tension between the two girls. Adrienne is social, and likes to go out with her girlfriend, but 6th grader Andi is quieter, and prefers to spend her time studying spiders and watching horror movies with her best friends Carly and Devon. When Clementine, an 8th grader, has a Halloween party, the trio consider themselves invited because Devon is on the track team, which Clementine has invited. Andi's dad drops her off, and Andi is apprehensive about staying, but is glad to see her librarian, Ms. Kaye, serving refreshments. Mr. Mendez is a science teacher at the kids' school, and when Andi finds out that he collects spiders, she wants to have a tour of his office. Mr. Mendez gets sidetracked before he can show her the collection, but when the office is open, Andi and her friends sneak in. There are interesting specimins, like a Black Widow and Brown Recluse, but it is Specimin 17 that draws Andi's attention, especially since it seems to speak to her in a hypnotic fashion. Andi takes the lid off the cage to take a picture, but is startled when she hears Mr. Mendez approaching. Carly and Devon encourage Andi to be more social, and comment about her reclusive habits in a negative but somewhat supportive way. She also has the attention of Jason Arnold, who is rather cute and dressed like an owl. Eventually Andi notices an spider invasion that gets progressively worse. Not only that, but no one has cell phone service way out in the country, and all of the adults are missing! The group heads out to a Ferris wheel size spider web, and even more spiders. They call 911 on the landline, only to be laughed off as a prank; they wisely tell the dispatcher that there is a teen party out of control in a desperate attempt to get help. Oddly, they don't want their own parents to come. There are spiders everywhere, and Andi starts to suspect, after reading some of Mr. Mendez's paper, that Specimin 17 is behind the odd activity. After discovering a web with woodland animals trapped under it, Andi knows that she needs to figure out what's going on in order to save everyone. But will she be able to?
Strengths: Andi's interest in spiders is a great way to introduce this topic, and there's certainly a lot to be frightened of if there are cascades of the creepy critters everywhere. I'm all for saving spiders and putting them outside because they eat other more annoying bugs, but this many of them (including some parasite infested zombie spiders in the basement) would make me want to squish them. Andi is able to use her knowledge to make sure the infestation doesn't get worse. Both of her parents are alive, and she has some realistic interactions with her older sister. The idea that she is a 6th grader and gets invited to an 8th grade party was something that I'd like to see in more books. Even one grade is a huge difference in middle school. Mr. Mendez's position on the school staff (and his secret back history!) is used to good effect. Carly and Devon, as well as Jason, are good foils for Andi's quieter personality.
Weaknesses: Once again, Scholastic brings us a brilliant book available only in paperback. This was similar in fear level to Russell's It Came From the Trees and Mystery James Digs Her Own Grave. I didn't find it all that scary, which would make it great for upper elementary readers. My students want a lot more blood and gore than most publishers want eleven year olds to have, but I will buy this because the cover is so brilliant. Pacing is a bit uneven, and my horror readers won't care about Andi's social awkwardness, but inclusions like this will help sell this to adults.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who don't have arachnaphobia and enjoyed other creepy crawly books like Gillespie's Give Me Something Good to Eat, Killick's Dread Detention, Lawrence's Many Hauntings of the Manning Family, and Alexander's The Fear Zone.
Look at that cover. It's one of the best scary ones I've seen lately. Stephanie Yang is credited for book design, but I'm not sure that includes the cover. I wish publishers would make this information easier to find.
Andi and her older sister Adrienne are decorating for Halloween, but there is some tension between the two girls. Adrienne is social, and likes to go out with her girlfriend, but 6th grader Andi is quieter, and prefers to spend her time studying spiders and watching horror movies with her best friends Carly and Devon. When Clementine, an 8th grader, has a Halloween party, the trio consider themselves invited because Devon is on the track team, which Clementine has invited. Andi's dad drops her off, and Andi is apprehensive about staying, but is glad to see her librarian, Ms. Kaye, serving refreshments. Mr. Mendez is a science teacher at the kids' school, and when Andi finds out that he collects spiders, she wants to have a tour of his office. Mr. Mendez gets sidetracked before he can show her the collection, but when the office is open, Andi and her friends sneak in. There are interesting specimins, like a Black Widow and Brown Recluse, but it is Specimin 17 that draws Andi's attention, especially since it seems to speak to her in a hypnotic fashion. Andi takes the lid off the cage to take a picture, but is startled when she hears Mr. Mendez approaching. Carly and Devon encourage Andi to be more social, and comment about her reclusive habits in a negative but somewhat supportive way. She also has the attention of Jason Arnold, who is rather cute and dressed like an owl. Eventually Andi notices an spider invasion that gets progressively worse. Not only that, but no one has cell phone service way out in the country, and all of the adults are missing! The group heads out to a Ferris wheel size spider web, and even more spiders. They call 911 on the landline, only to be laughed off as a prank; they wisely tell the dispatcher that there is a teen party out of control in a desperate attempt to get help. Oddly, they don't want their own parents to come. There are spiders everywhere, and Andi starts to suspect, after reading some of Mr. Mendez's paper, that Specimin 17 is behind the odd activity. After discovering a web with woodland animals trapped under it, Andi knows that she needs to figure out what's going on in order to save everyone. But will she be able to?
Strengths: Andi's interest in spiders is a great way to introduce this topic, and there's certainly a lot to be frightened of if there are cascades of the creepy critters everywhere. I'm all for saving spiders and putting them outside because they eat other more annoying bugs, but this many of them (including some parasite infested zombie spiders in the basement) would make me want to squish them. Andi is able to use her knowledge to make sure the infestation doesn't get worse. Both of her parents are alive, and she has some realistic interactions with her older sister. The idea that she is a 6th grader and gets invited to an 8th grade party was something that I'd like to see in more books. Even one grade is a huge difference in middle school. Mr. Mendez's position on the school staff (and his secret back history!) is used to good effect. Carly and Devon, as well as Jason, are good foils for Andi's quieter personality.
Weaknesses: Once again, Scholastic brings us a brilliant book available only in paperback. This was similar in fear level to Russell's It Came From the Trees and Mystery James Digs Her Own Grave. I didn't find it all that scary, which would make it great for upper elementary readers. My students want a lot more blood and gore than most publishers want eleven year olds to have, but I will buy this because the cover is so brilliant. Pacing is a bit uneven, and my horror readers won't care about Andi's social awkwardness, but inclusions like this will help sell this to adults.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who don't have arachnaphobia and enjoyed other creepy crawly books like Gillespie's Give Me Something Good to Eat, Killick's Dread Detention, Lawrence's Many Hauntings of the Manning Family, and Alexander's The Fear Zone.
Look at that cover. It's one of the best scary ones I've seen lately. Stephanie Yang is credited for book design, but I'm not sure that includes the cover. I wish publishers would make this information easier to find.
October 22, 2025
If spiders creep you out or give you nightmares, then this is not a book for you…unless you enjoy having shivers run up and down your spine and want to fear dark barns, basements and cornfields for the foreseeable future!
Ally Russell (It Came From the Trees) quickly introduces Andi, a quiet 6th grader who just wants to go trick or treating and then watch scary movies with her best friends Devin and Carly like always but is pressed into going to a party of mostly 7th and 8th graders with news about a spider collection owned by the host’s father, Mr. Mendez. (Clue #1 about what may be coming.) Hoping the promised collection is worth putting herself into such an active social gathering, Andi meets up with her friends at a large home with two barns and no cell service. (Clue #2 that this isn’t going to go well.) Circumstances lead the trio of friends to Mr. Mendez’s office where he has a number of labeled terrariums filled with a variety of 8 legged arachnids, all of which Andi names and describes in great detail until she discovers a container marked only Specimen #17 and in it’s corner, an unknown spider species the size of a man’s head with hypnotic red eyes that seems to be able to send messages to her mind. From this point on, the arachnid horrors come in never-ending waves of spiders dropping onto people, woodland creatures being trapped in massive webs, all the adults missing, power outages, and so much more. All is described thoroughly and seems entirely plausible even when good sense knows it couldn’t possibly happen in real life. Being a middle grade novel, of course everything turns out OK in the end, but it is a race the whole way. Andi finds an ability to lead she never knew she had, her friendship with Devin and Carly strengthens and even the expected aloof and too good to talk to them 8th grader learns a lesson or two.
Highly recommended for readers of horror in grades 5-8. Text is free of profanity and sexual content and, surprisingly, the violence is fairly limited despite all the spider-scares and creepiness. Representation: Descriptions of skin color and hairstyles plus some naming conventions will lead readers to picture main characters to be Black or Hispanic. There is a comment about Andi’s older sister wanting to go to her girlfriend’s house, but with no other information, this phrase could imply a homosexual relationship or just as easily as Adrienne wanting to visit her friend who is a girl! Readers choice, but really an unimportant detail many won’t notice or remember.
Ally Russell (It Came From the Trees) quickly introduces Andi, a quiet 6th grader who just wants to go trick or treating and then watch scary movies with her best friends Devin and Carly like always but is pressed into going to a party of mostly 7th and 8th graders with news about a spider collection owned by the host’s father, Mr. Mendez. (Clue #1 about what may be coming.) Hoping the promised collection is worth putting herself into such an active social gathering, Andi meets up with her friends at a large home with two barns and no cell service. (Clue #2 that this isn’t going to go well.) Circumstances lead the trio of friends to Mr. Mendez’s office where he has a number of labeled terrariums filled with a variety of 8 legged arachnids, all of which Andi names and describes in great detail until she discovers a container marked only Specimen #17 and in it’s corner, an unknown spider species the size of a man’s head with hypnotic red eyes that seems to be able to send messages to her mind. From this point on, the arachnid horrors come in never-ending waves of spiders dropping onto people, woodland creatures being trapped in massive webs, all the adults missing, power outages, and so much more. All is described thoroughly and seems entirely plausible even when good sense knows it couldn’t possibly happen in real life. Being a middle grade novel, of course everything turns out OK in the end, but it is a race the whole way. Andi finds an ability to lead she never knew she had, her friendship with Devin and Carly strengthens and even the expected aloof and too good to talk to them 8th grader learns a lesson or two.
Highly recommended for readers of horror in grades 5-8. Text is free of profanity and sexual content and, surprisingly, the violence is fairly limited despite all the spider-scares and creepiness. Representation: Descriptions of skin color and hairstyles plus some naming conventions will lead readers to picture main characters to be Black or Hispanic. There is a comment about Andi’s older sister wanting to go to her girlfriend’s house, but with no other information, this phrase could imply a homosexual relationship or just as easily as Adrienne wanting to visit her friend who is a girl! Readers choice, but really an unimportant detail many won’t notice or remember.
December 28, 2025
'Something strange was going on with the spiders, and something had happened to the adults.'
Fun arachnahorror for middle-graders.
It's creepy. It's crawly. It's a spider-infested Halloween party at the science teachers house, where upstairs in his lab, Specimen 17 is waiting. It's time for quiet, arachnid-loving Andi to shine.
'“We should find Mr. Mendez and tell him that his Halloween party just turned into a horror movie,” Carly added.'
Fun arachnahorror for middle-graders.
It's creepy. It's crawly. It's a spider-infested Halloween party at the science teachers house, where upstairs in his lab, Specimen 17 is waiting. It's time for quiet, arachnid-loving Andi to shine.
'“We should find Mr. Mendez and tell him that his Halloween party just turned into a horror movie,” Carly added.'
November 9, 2025
As someone scared of anything with too many legs, I have no idea why I read this 🫣🤣 when I say this MG book scared me! But I couldn’t stop reading it. For the foreseeable future I’ll be swatting myself in the face every time I feel a piece of hair or something. Review to come soon to my blog. Until then I’ll send Ally Russell my therapy bill 🫣😭
September 13, 2025
Great read! This book has some classic YA tropes in it, alongside some interesting arachnid facts (and fiction, of course). Russell offers up a story with likeable characters, and even a likeable antagonist. I'd love to see more of this tale, but I definitely want more of her work.
November 9, 2025
Gave this book 5 stars because even though the first couple of chapters were a bit slow, the rest of the book kept me on the edge of my seat. I didn’t want to put it down. No spoilers here…you’re going to have to read it for yourself!
December 7, 2025
Pretty typical for the genre. Quite creepy if you are afraid of spiders.
If diversity is important to you, all of the characters are people of color.
I'm kind of pulling for Charlotte. I hope she's okay.
If diversity is important to you, all of the characters are people of color.
I'm kind of pulling for Charlotte. I hope she's okay.
January 19, 2026
It was a good book
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews