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The Black Spider

168 statements
32 feature instances
10 referencing feature instances

The Black Spider	type	TVTItem
The Black Spider	label	The Black Spider
The Black Spider	page	TheBlackSpider
The Black Spider	comment	Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_1'); })The Black Spider (German: Die Schwarze Spinne) is a 1842 Fantasy/Horror German novel written by Swiss Jeremias Gotthelf (real name Albert Bitzius).A peasant's family is throwing a party, when one woman asks the grandfather about a strange black window post in his house, prompting the grandfather to tell the story.Six hundred years ago, the valley was ruled by a ruthless baron called Hans von Stoffeln, who worked the villagers nearly to death. When one of his ludicrous demands entailed the peasants' probably death by starvation, the village was visited by a wild huntsman, who offered his help... in exchange for a yet unborn unchristened child.The villagers quickly realized who they were dealing with and rejected his offer, but the devil tried to force the issue by sabotaging their work. Eventually, a farmer's wife called Christine convinced everybody to take the deal, arguing they could wiggle their way out of it by baptizing every newborn right away. The Devil sealed their deal by giving Christine a kiss on her cheek, and the replanting of trees was finished quickly and easily.Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_2'); })Things began going wrong, though, when the villagers tried to renege on their agreement. The first time they baptized a baby before the Devil could claim it, a spider-shape mark appeared on Christine's face; the second time, a swarm of black spiders sprouted from the mark, and started killing the villagers' cattle. the third and final time, the Devil was driven away, but Christine transformed into a black spider, and started terrorizing the region, killing both men and animals. Her rampage was stopped when one of her victims' mother managed to trap the black spider in a window post, at the cost of her own life.Several generations later, though, people had stopped believing in the tale and become decadent, and a bragging servant pulled out the peg on a drunken bet, releasing the devil spider again.Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_3'); })The Black Spider was obscure for many years, but it is now considered one of the masterworks of the German Biedermeier era (1815-1848), and it has been enthusiastically praised by writers like Thomas Mann, who admired the novella "like no other piece of world literature."
The Black Spider	fetched	2021-05-23T15:52:30Z
The Black Spider	parsed	2021-05-23T15:52:30Z
The Black Spider	isPartOf	DBTropes
The Black Spider / int_137ef87b	type	Yodel Land
The Black Spider / int_137ef87b	comment	Yodel Land: The setting is a remote Swiss valley. The village and the surrounding forests and prairies are picturesque but not even remotely peaceful, what with the local baron crushing the peasants, and the demonic giant spider terrorizing the valley.
The Black Spider / int_137ef87b	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Spider / int_137ef87b	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	The Black Spider / int_137ef87b
The Black Spider / int_1fc8335e	type	Deal with the Devil
The Black Spider / int_1fc8335e	comment	Deal with the Devil: The devil offers to help the farmers fulfill von Stoffeln's outrageous demands in exchange for an unbaptized child. When they refuse, everything starts going wrong with their work. Eventually, Christine convinces the villagers to accept the devil's bargain, arguing they could escape it by baptizing every child immediately at birth.
The Black Spider / int_1fc8335e	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Spider / int_1fc8335e	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	The Black Spider / int_1fc8335e
The Black Spider / int_2c98f475	type	Leonine Contract
The Black Spider / int_2c98f475	comment	Leonine Contract: If the villagers do not take up the Devil's offer to give him a newborn baby in exchange for helping them fulfill the baron's task, they will likely starve to death. When they initially turn his offer down, he forces the issue by sabotaging the replanting.
The Black Spider / int_2c98f475	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Spider / int_2c98f475	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	The Black Spider / int_2c98f475
The Black Spider / int_31d6fd00	type	Legend Fades to Myth
The Black Spider / int_31d6fd00	comment	Legend Fades to Myth: The black spider is imprisoned alive, but several generations later it is set free by a farmhand who believed the original story to be a myth. The monster is again locked away in a hollow beam, and six hundred years later, a man tells his clueless family the whole story so they know why they must not tinker with an strange, old window post.
The Black Spider / int_31d6fd00	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Spider / int_31d6fd00	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	The Black Spider / int_31d6fd00
The Black Spider / int_485eb589	type	Sealed Evil in a Can
The Black Spider / int_485eb589	comment	Sealed Evil in a Can: The black spider is sealed away when a mother, to protect her own newborn, grabs it and, dying, imprisons it in a hole in a wooden beam of her house, into which she hammers a peg to seal away the spider forever. Generations later, when people have stopped believing in the tale and become sinful, a bragging servant pulls out the peg on a drunken bet and releases the devil spider.
The Black Spider / int_485eb589	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Spider / int_485eb589	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	The Black Spider / int_485eb589
The Black Spider / int_5313c266	type	Bookends
The Black Spider / int_5313c266	comment	Book-Ends: The story starts and ends with the grandfather telling a story during his family's party.
The Black Spider / int_5313c266	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Spider / int_5313c266	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	The Black Spider / int_5313c266
The Black Spider / int_6439de78	type	Heroic Sacrifice
The Black Spider / int_6439de78	comment	Heroic Sacrifice: The black spider's first rampage was stopped when a woman imprisons the spider in a window post. Several generations later, a farmhand releases the spider, and his master Christen dies in the process of sealing the spider away again.
The Black Spider / int_6439de78	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Spider / int_6439de78	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	The Black Spider / int_6439de78
The Black Spider / int_818fa473	type	The Dark Side Will Make You Forget
The Black Spider / int_818fa473	comment	The Dark Side Will Make You Forget: After being turned into a monstrous spider, Christine loses her personality, memories and identity and completely forgets her well-meaning goals, becoming nothing but a merciless killing machine.
The Black Spider / int_818fa473	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Spider / int_818fa473	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	The Black Spider / int_818fa473
The Black Spider / int_851dda8f	type	Humanoid Abomination
The Black Spider / int_851dda8f	comment	Humanoid Abomination: The Devil presents himself as a human wild hunter.
The Black Spider / int_851dda8f	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Spider / int_851dda8f	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	The Black Spider / int_851dda8f
The Black Spider / int_8b38b6b9	type	Anywhere but Their Lips
The Black Spider / int_8b38b6b9	comment	Anywhere but Their Lips: The Devil seals their deal by kissing Christine on her cheek (stealthily putting a cursed mark on her in case she tries to scam him out of his prize later).
The Black Spider / int_8b38b6b9	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Spider / int_8b38b6b9	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	The Black Spider / int_8b38b6b9
The Black Spider / int_8c4bafff	type	Holy Burns Evil
The Black Spider / int_8c4bafff	comment	Holy Burns Evil: Played with. The priest drives the devil away with a prayer, but when he tries to burn away Christine's cursed spider-mark by sprinkling holy water on it, the woman transforms into a black spider and kills him off.
The Black Spider / int_8c4bafff	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Spider / int_8c4bafff	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	The Black Spider / int_8c4bafff
The Black Spider / int_8ed5c6e4	type	Asshole Victim
The Black Spider / int_8ed5c6e4	comment	Asshole Victim: One of the victims of the black spider was von Stoffeln. He was not mourned.
The Black Spider / int_8ed5c6e4	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Spider / int_8ed5c6e4	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	The Black Spider / int_8ed5c6e4
The Black Spider / int_90d44f44	type	Karmic Death
The Black Spider / int_90d44f44	comment	Karmic Death: Von Stoffeln is killed off by the black spider, a monster which was created because his outrageous demands pushed desperate farmers to bargain with the Devil.
The Black Spider / int_90d44f44	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Spider / int_90d44f44	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	The Black Spider / int_90d44f44
The Black Spider / int_96144372	type	Aristocrats Are Evil
The Black Spider / int_96144372	comment	Aristocrats Are Evil: Hans von Stoffeln, the knight baron who ruled over the valley six hundred years ago, was a nasty piece of work: he worked the farmers nearly to death, imposed high taxes, demanded ridiculous tasks from his serfs and punished dissent and criticism very harshly.
The Black Spider / int_96144372	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Spider / int_96144372	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	The Black Spider / int_96144372
The Black Spider / int_9be7c205	type	Giant Spider
The Black Spider / int_9be7c205	comment	Giant Spider: The black spider is as large as a human child, and its skin is poisonous.
The Black Spider / int_9be7c205	featureApplicability	1.0
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The Black Spider	hasFeature	The Black Spider / int_9be7c205
The Black Spider / int_a6cda066	type	Rule of Three
The Black Spider / int_a6cda066	comment	Rule of Three: The villagers cheat the Devil out of his payment three times before Christine is turned into a monster.
The Black Spider / int_a6cda066	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Spider / int_a6cda066	featureConfidence	1.0
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The Black Spider / int_a8a04f6f	type	And I Must Scream
The Black Spider / int_a8a04f6f	comment	And I Must Scream: Christine is permanently transformed into a mindless, immortal large black spider, and sealed away in a hollowed-out wood beam. By the time the story starts, she has remained imprisoned in her narrow hole for six hundred years.
The Black Spider / int_a8a04f6f	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Spider / int_a8a04f6f	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	The Black Spider / int_a8a04f6f
The Black Spider / int_b38b54ed	type	A Magic Contract Comes with a Kiss
The Black Spider / int_b38b54ed	comment	A Magic Contract Comes with a Kiss: The Devil seals his deal with the villagers by kissing Christine on the cheek; in reality, he is putting a curse on her to ensure the villagers will not renege on their agreement.
The Black Spider / int_b38b54ed	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Spider / int_b38b54ed	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	The Black Spider / int_b38b54ed
The Black Spider / int_b3fda903	type	Touch of Death
The Black Spider / int_b3fda903	comment	Touch of Death: People die when they touch the black spider.
The Black Spider / int_b3fda903	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Spider / int_b3fda903	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	The Black Spider / int_b3fda903
The Black Spider / int_bd6b86df	type	Impossible Task
The Black Spider / int_bd6b86df	comment	Impossible Task: The whole mess happened because von Stoffeln demanded the peasants replanted the trees of a distant mountain to form a shaded path on his state, and he demanded this job be done in such a short period that the peasants could never complete it without abandoning their own harvest and going hungry.
The Black Spider / int_bd6b86df	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Spider / int_bd6b86df	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	The Black Spider / int_bd6b86df
The Black Spider / int_c2e295cd	type	Curse
The Black Spider / int_c2e295cd	comment	Curse: The Devil puts a curse on Christine by kissing her cheek. First, a black spider-shaped mark appears on her face. Later, a swarm of tiny venomous spiders sprout from her face and slay the villagers' cattle. After the Devil is driven away, Christine transforms into a huge black spider.
The Black Spider / int_c2e295cd	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Spider / int_c2e295cd	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	The Black Spider / int_c2e295cd
The Black Spider / int_d03fc3f1	type	Good Shepherd
The Black Spider / int_d03fc3f1	comment	Good Shepherd: The priest tries to help the beleaguered villagers to the best of his ability, and he gets killed as trying save a baby's life and soul.
The Black Spider / int_d03fc3f1	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Spider / int_d03fc3f1	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	The Black Spider / int_d03fc3f1
The Black Spider / int_d2a5bed2	type	Redhead in Green
The Black Spider / int_d2a5bed2	comment	Redhead In Green: The Devil takes shape of a red-haired, green-clad human hunter.
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The Black Spider	hasFeature	The Black Spider / int_d2a5bed2
The Black Spider / int_e13156e1	type	Mama Bear
The Black Spider / int_e13156e1	comment	Mama Bear: The first time around, the black spider was not defeated by any soldier or hunter... but for mother whose son was being threatened.
The Black Spider / int_e13156e1	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Spider / int_e13156e1	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	The Black Spider / int_e13156e1
The Black Spider / int_e8b0f099	type	Dark Is Evil
The Black Spider / int_e8b0f099	comment	Dark Is Evil: The black spider is a demonic monster which rampages through the valley, killing both humans and animals.
The Black Spider / int_e8b0f099	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Spider / int_e8b0f099	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	The Black Spider / int_e8b0f099
The Black Spider / int_ef0a5ce	type	Did You Just Scam Cthulhu?
The Black Spider / int_ef0a5ce	comment	Did You Just Scam Cthulhu?: Deconstructed. The villagers think they can cheat the Devil out of his reward, but it turns out you cannot outscam someone who was already a liar and scammer long before humans ever existed.
The Black Spider / int_ef0a5ce	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Spider / int_ef0a5ce	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	The Black Spider / int_ef0a5ce
The Black Spider / int_f1d05e8e	type	Spider Swarm
The Black Spider / int_f1d05e8e	comment	Spider Swarm: When the villagers refuse to hold up your end of the bargain for the second time, a swarm of tiny, poisonous spiders sprout from Christine's face mark and start killing the village's cattle.
The Black Spider / int_f1d05e8e	featureApplicability	1.0
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The Black Spider	hasFeature	The Black Spider / int_f1d05e8e
The Black Spider / int_f654419c	type	Baleful Polymorph
The Black Spider / int_f654419c	comment	Baleful Polymorph: Christine is turned into a huge, demonic black spider when she tries to renege on her deal.
The Black Spider / int_f654419c	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Spider / int_f654419c	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	The Black Spider / int_f654419c
The Black Spider / int_f8f71b5f	type	Buried Alive
The Black Spider / int_f8f71b5f	comment	Buried Alive: A woman manages to lure the black spider into a hole in a wooden beam; then she hammers a peg into the hole to seal it away forever.
The Black Spider / int_f8f71b5f	featureApplicability	1.0
The Black Spider / int_f8f71b5f	featureConfidence	1.0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	The Black Spider / int_f8f71b5f
The Black Spider / int_fd4f8299	type	Well-Intentioned Extremist
The Black Spider / int_fd4f8299	comment	Well-Intentioned Extremist: The only reason Christine talked the farmers into making a deal with the Devil was because she was sick of the baron's abuse of power, and she thought they could scam the Devil out when their current predicament was over.
The Black Spider / int_fd4f8299	featureApplicability	1.0
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The Black Spider	hasFeature	The Black Spider / int_fd4f8299
The Black Spider / int_fdad625e	type	Was Once a Man
The Black Spider / int_fdad625e	comment	Was Once a Man: The giant black spider used to be a farmer's wife who tried to wiggle her way out of a deal with the devil.
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The Black Spider / int_name	type	ItemName
The Black Spider / int_name	comment
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The Black Spider / int_name	itemName	The Black Spider

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

The Black Spider	hasFeature	Anywhere but Their Lips / int_dd06b9e0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	Bug Works / int_dd06b9e0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	Buried Alive / int_dd06b9e0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	Dark Is Evil / int_dd06b9e0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	Holy Burns Evil / int_dd06b9e0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	Legend Fades to Myth / int_dd06b9e0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	Redhead in Green / int_dd06b9e0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	Spider Swarm / int_dd06b9e0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	The Dark Side Will Make You Forget / int_dd06b9e0
The Black Spider	hasFeature	Yodel Land / int_dd06b9e0

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