Review: The Spider

The Spider by Hanns Heinz Ewers
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In the form of a diary, this short tale takes place in a boarding room, where recent residents have repeatedly hung themselves on the curtain cords, a black spider is repeatedly seen exiting the mouths of the victims. A young student decides to debunk this nonsense and persuades the local constabulary to occupy the room, whereby he becomes transfixed by the vision of the nocturnal beauty in the window opposite. She has a strange otherworldly insect-like manner, and is dressed entirely in black, her mesmeric presence completely hypnotises him and he becomes like a puppet, subject to move and gesticulate through the window at her whim. Eventually she manipulates him into hanging himself. Upon discovery a gigantic black spider with livid purple spots is found crushed between his jaws.

Has a decadent vibe to it, and elements of ETA Hoffmann at times. Recommended reading for fans of horror and weird lit.

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"In the medieval German legend called the Wulfdietrich Saga, an Alder woman appears seductively to foolish travellers and teaches them a lesson by turning herself into a hairy bark-like creature if they embrace her.  Called Rough Else, she is a wild looking woman of the woods, covered in hair, who in part of the story, puts a spell on a hero which eventually causes him to go mad.  He runs through the wood living off herbs for six months, after which Rough Else takes by sea to another land where she is queen.  Here she bathes in a magical well that washes away her rough skin and she becomes transformed into the beautiful Sigeminne"

the alder in german folklore

curiosities

Cabinets of curiosities (also known as Kunstkabinett, Kunstkammer, Wunderkammer, Cabinets of Wonder, and wonder-rooms) were encyclopedic collections of objects whose categorical boundaries were, in Renaissance Europe, yet to be defined.

Cabinet of Curiosities, 1690s, by Domenico Remps

I recently found a copy of Taschen's 'Cabinet of Natural Curiosities' which I would definitely recommend purchasing if you like this kind of thing. It contains a huge number of Albertus Seba's beautifully drawn images, many still strange and bizarre today. I particularly like the coral and sea creatures. It's a lovely book to sit and look through, so many little details to focus on, really inspiring if you like drawing yourself, or are just a fan of the freakish and fantastic. Some of his drawings of creatures are unintentionally strange and grotesque - many with quite hilarious expressions!

.:.

I was browsing through photos of curiosity collections recently on pinterest, and stumbled across these incredible photos of Malpaquet House, stuffed to the rafters with curiosities. I absolutely love this cluttered and eclectic approach to home decor. It is the kind of thing I would attempt if I had my own house, although with a hugely limited budget.

.;.

Finally, a selection of Charivari - these are german hunting amulets - effectively tiny curiosity collections which are worn, typcially around the waist. I absolutely love these, obviously in some respects they symbolise two things I'm not keen on - hunting and male exhibitionism - however they are beautiful objects in their own right. Some of the more elaborate creations almost resemble armour, from a costume graduate's view (and someone who is obsessive regarding amulets) they are an absolute dream!