History Literature / TheSpider1908

* TheCallsAreComingFromInsideTheHouse: A version without telephone, but still within the trope's spirit. For all the time Bracquemont understood Clarimonde to be dangerous, he still thought there was a street between them. It'll have been in his final moments that he understood she had always been in the same room as he.

* {{Diary}}: The story starts out in a normal format, but once Richard Bracquemont takes up the case and keeps a journal as a tool of his investigation, the story changes to a diary format and switches narrators from Ewers to Bracquemont. The pages run from February 28th (Monday) to March 25th (Friday). The original format is restored for one paragraph following Bracquemont's death.

* MindManipulation: Might be due to TheHypnotoad or PuppeteerParasite, depending on interpretation. It comes to a head on Tuesday of the third week when Bracquemont describes a peculiar game he and Clarimonde have come up with and play all day long. It involves him coming up with all kinds of movements and combinations thereof and rhythms to perform them in and Clarimonde copying them faithfully. She does so flawlessly and instantly... almost as if she knows ahead of time what gesture is to come. It takes Bracquemont until the Thursday of the fourth week to realize he never directed Clarimonde's movements but that she directed his. And for that matter, that he can't refuse her anymore.

* AmbiguousSituation: Due to Clarimonde [[OurMonstersAreDifferent being written as a classic monster despite not being one]], a lot of uncertainty remains regarding her identity, motives, and if she met her end or not. There's a vampiric element to her, firstly for sharing a name with the vampire from "Literature/TheDeadLeman" and secondly because Bracquemont observes a female spider draining a male spider. But there's no hint what Clarimonde would feed on. There's no mention of the corpse's blood (or lack thereof) nor is any flesh missing. Given the curious fact a spider is twice found in a victim's mouth, she might as well be a final breathe-eater. And that makes for the second big question: is Clarimonde dead with the death of the spider between Bracquemont's teeth, or is there more of her? The story seems to want to wrap up with the dead spider, but earlier the one paragraph spent on Clarimonde's spider form declines to confirm each spider sighting as the same spider. Thirdly, it is not explained why Clarimonde only kills on Fridays between five and six o'clock. The hour is given as being the time it gets dark, but while that is true for winter, the story lasts until the end of March, at which point it's no longer true yet six o'clock remains the deadline.

** Mary Garden was a real-life operatic soprano. In "The Spider", she buys the curtain cord Chaumié killed himself with as a good luck charm.

"The Spider" ("Die Spinne") is a ShortStory belonging to the genre of GothicHorror with a sprinkling of BlackComedy. It was written by Creator/HannsHeinzEwers in 1908 and published that same year in ''Die Besessenen''. At the time, Ewers was staying in Ault, Somme in France, hence why the story takes place in France and stars French characters. It's generally assumed that "La Morte amoureuse" by Théophile Gautier and "L'oeil invisible" by Erckmann-Chatrian played a role in Ewers' creative process, to the point that similarities between "L'oeil invisible" and "The Spider" led to plagiarism allegations.

* AmbiguousSituation: Due to Clarimonde [[OurMonstersAreDifferent being written as a classic monster despite not being one]], a lot of uncertainty remains regarding her identity, motives, and if she met her end or not. There's a vampiric element to her, firstly for sharing a name with the vampire from "La Morte amoureuse" and secondly because Bracquemont observes a female spider draining a male spider. But there's no hint what Clarimonde would feed on. There's no mention of the corpse's blood (or lack thereof) nor is any flesh missing. Given the curious fact a spider is twice found in a victim's mouth, she might as well be a final breathe-eater. And that makes for the second big question: is Clarimonde dead with the death of the spider between Bracquemont's teeth, or is there more of her? The story seems to want to wrap up with the dead spider, but earlier the one paragraph spent on Clarimonde's spider form declines to confirm each spider sighting as the same spider. Thirdly, it is not explained why Clarimonde only kills on Fridays between five and six o'clock. The hour is given as being the time it gets dark, but while that is true for winter, the story lasts until the end of March, at which point it's no longer true yet six o'clock remains the deadline.

** Clarimonde is likely named after the vampire of "La Morte amoureuse", which makes hers a MeaningfulName.

"The Spider" ("Die Spinne") is a ShortStory belonging to the genre ofGothicHorror with a sprinkling of BlackComedy. It was written by Creator/HannsHeinzEwers in 1908 and published that same year in ''Die Besessenen''. At the time, Ewers was staying in Ault, Somme in France, hence why the story takes place in France and stars French characters. It's generally assumed that "La Morte amoureuse" by Théophile Gautier and "L'oeil invisible" by Erckmann-Chatrian played a role in Ewers' creative process, to the point that similarities between "L'oeil invisible" and "The Spider" led to plagiarism allegations.

* AmbiguousSituation: Due to Clarimonde [[OurMonstersAreDifferent being written as a classic monster despite not being one]], a lot of uncertainty remains regarding her identity, motives, and if she met her end or not. There's a vampiric element to her, firstly for sharing a name with the vampire from "La Morte amoureuse" and secondly because Bracquemont observes a female spider draining a male spider. But there's no hint what Clarimonde would feed on. There's no mention of the corpse's blood (or lack thereof) nor is any flesh missing. Given the curious fact a spider is twice found in a victim's mouth, she might as well be a breathe-eater. And that makes for the second big question: is Clarimonde dead with the death of the spider between Bracquemont's teeth, or is there more of her? The story seems to want to wrap up with the dead spider, but earlier the one paragraph spent on Clarimonde's spider form declines to confirm each spider sighting as the same spider.

* TheCallsAreComingFromInsideTheHouse: There

* AmbiguousSituation: Due to Clarimonde [[OurMonstersAreDifferent being written as a classic monster despite not being one]], a lot of uncertainty remains regarding her identity, motives, and if she met her end or not. There's a vampiric element to her, firstly for sharing a name with the vampire from "La Morte amoureuse" and secondly because Bracquemont observes a female spider draining a male spider. But there's no hint what Clarimonde feeds on. There's no mention of blood regarding any of the corpses, nor goes any meat missing in regards to Clarimonde's possible preference that her victims well-fed. Given the fact either she or a spider related to her is found in each victim's mouth, she might as well be a breathe-eater. And that makes for the second big question: is Clarimonde dead with the death of the spider between Bracquemont's teeth, or is there more of her?

* NumerologicalMotif: The numbers 3, 5, 6, and 7 are a recurring element in the story. Between five and six o'clock is when the suicides take place, and Bracquemont is found dead at five past six. As well, the events occur within the sixth arrondissement of Paris. RuleOfThree goes because there's three victims when the story commences and Clarimonde's flat is said to have three windows. RuleOfSeven goes because there's seven days between each suicide, the suicides happen in room #7, and it's the seventh week of the suicides that Bracquemont dies.

* DaChief: The inspector of police.

* FemmeFatale: Clarimonde

* TheHeroDies: Richard Bracquemont ultimately can't save himself from Clarimonde, but he can make sure no one else falls prey to her by mauling her between his teeth.
* HopeSpot: At 6 o'clock on the Friday of the third week, Bracquemont is far gone and realizes there is a chance he might hang himself that night despite that he has no desire to do so. Then the inspector calls, as he had been doing every Friday to make sure Bracquemont is okay. In a moment of clarity, the student screams at him to come at once, which the inspector does. And then Bracquemont lies about there having been trouble, prompting a fourth week of surveillance. OhCrap enters the scene when on the fourth Friday, Clarimonde demonstrates cutting the phone line and Bracquemont has no choice but to do the same.

* ItsAllAboutMe: Madame Dubonnet shows signs of this. She's only concerned about the deaths insofar that they keep the guests and their money away from Hotel Stevens. And that she doesn't care about the dead men becomes clear when she shares her theories on why each one killed himself: the first she doesn't know (but he was a traveling salesman, so anything could be the cause), and the second she's seen with a young woman and so an unhappy love affair must be the cause. The third, the police officer who was to solve the case, must've done it just to annoy her. When the first Friday of his stay arrives and Dubonnet asks him to leave room #7, Bracquemont's wryly notes that she probably doesn't want him to annoy her for the heck of it too.
* MindManipulation: Might be due to TheHypnotoad or PuppeteerParasite, depending on interpretation. It comes to a head on Tuesday of the third week when Bracquemont describes a peculiar game he and Clarimonde have come up with and play all day long. It involves him coming up with all kinds of movements and combinations thereof and rhythms to perform them in and Clarimonde copying them faithfully. She does so flawlessly and instantly... almost as if she knows ahead of time what gesture is to come. It takes Bracquemont until the Thursday of the fourth week to realize he never directed Clarimonde's movements but that she directed his. And for that matter, that he can't refuse her anymore.

* RuleOfThree: Subverted. The story opens with three deaths each following Friday. By the end of the story, there is a final fourth death.
* RuleOfScary: Clarimonde waves so many red flags before she truly has control over her victims that only the fact she's unnatural and therefore unbelievable ensures her success. She makes her victims know her name without ever communicating it. Yet for as sure as her victims are of her name, her appearance is something they can't keep a clear mental picture of or fantasize any alterations to. Of the three windows of her flat, she only ever sits behind the one right across of the window of room #7. She spins all day on a spindle that hasn't been common since three generations ago and then she abruptly stops at 5 o'clock when the sun goes down. No light is ever seen in her flat and even after two weeks of observing her, she's never seen leaving her room.
* RuleOfSeven:

* TextileWorkIsFeminine:

"The Spider" ("Die Spinne") is a ShortStory belonging to the genre GothicHorror with a generous sprinkling of BlackComedy. It was written by Creator/HannsHeinzEwers in 1908 and published that same year in ''Die Besessenen''. At the time, Ewers was staying in Ault, Somme in France, hence why the story takes place in France and stars French characters. It's generally assumed that "La Morte amoureuse" by Théophile Gautier and "L'oeil invisible" by Erckmann-Chatrian played a role in Ewers' creative process, to the point that similarities between "L'oeil invisible" and "The Spider" led to plagiarism allegations.

* TheCallsAreComingFromInsideTheHouse:

* HopeSpot: At 6 o'clock on the Friday of the third week, Bracquemont is far gone and realizes there is a chance he might hang himself that night despite that he has no desire to do so. Then the inspector calls, as he had been doing every Friday, to make sure Bracquemont is okay. In a moment of clarity, the student screams at him to come at once, which the inspector does. And then Bracquemont lies about there having been trouble and the fourth week starts...

* MindManipulation: Might be due to TheHypnotoad, depending on interpretation. It comes to a head on Tuesday of the third week when Bracquemont describes a peculiar game he and Clarimonde have come up with and play all day long. It involves him coming up with all kinds of movements and combinations thereof and rhythms to perform them in and Clarimonde copying them faithfully. She does so flawlessly and instantly... almost as if she knows ahead of time what gesture is to come. It takes Bracquemont until the Thursday of the fourth week to realize he never directed Clarimonde's movements but that she directed his. And for that matter, that he can't refuse her anymore.
* OnlyInItForTheMoney: There's an element of excitement too, but Richard Bracquemont is foremost a StarvingStudent, who by being assigned to the case has a free roof over his head, free food in his stomach, and all the time to devote to his studies of medicine. He believes that the others who tried to insert themselves in the investigation also are "poor devils like [him]".
* OurMonstersAreDifferent: It is never explained what kind of monster Clarimonde is and why she coaxes men (if even only men) into hanging themselves. What at least seems to be the case is that the human form of Clarimonde isn't real, as any physical evidence denies its existence and the inability to memorize her appearance, fantasize her differently, or imagine her home or her life outside of her flat all point towards the human form being a facade put in the victims' mind. Between the three, "La Morte amoureuse" has a vampire, "L'oeil Invisible" a witch, and the monster identity of the antagonist in "The Spider" remains ambiguous.

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Madame Dubonnet believes that spiders bring luck and therefore won't have any removed from Hotel Stevens. This certainly is convenient to Clarimonde.

* ArachnidAppearanceAndAttire: Clarimonde is an EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette whose hair is black and wavy and whose eyes, framed by long and dark eyelashes, are big and dark with an intense glow. She also follows EvilWearsBlack with a black dress embroidered with a lilac motif, as well as black gloves.

"The Spider" ("Die Spinne") is a ShortStory belonging to the genre GothicHorror with a generous sprinkling of BlackComedy. It was written by Creator/HannsHeinzEwers in 1908 and published that same year in ''Die Besessenen''. At the time, Ewers was staying in Ault, Somme in France, hence why the story takes place in France and stars French characters. It's generally assumed that "La Morte amoureuse" by Théophile Gautier and "L'oeil invisible" by Erckmann-Chatrian played a role in Ewers' creative process, to the point that similarities between "L'oeil invisible" and "The Spider" led to plagiarism allegations. Between the three, "La Morte amoureuse" has a vampire, "L'oeil Invisible" a witch, and the monster identity of the antagonist in "The Spider" remains ambiguous.

In room #7 of Hotel Stevens in Paris, three men have hanged themselves on three successive Fridays, each time between five and six o'clock. And that's not even the biggest mystery, for each man was found hanging from a curtain cord attached to a hook that was part of the low-placed window's cross-bar. Like this, their knees were as good as touching the floor, meaning those were some dedicated suicides, especially from people who were leading fulfilling lives. Hearing of the mystery, the student of medicine Richard Bracquemont manipulates the inspector of police into letting him be the field agent. Once established in room #7, he begins a journal so that whatever may come will be recorded. Against all expectations, he survives the first week and with his new sense of ease he seeks contact with the spinstress behind the window across the street from his. Her name is Clarimonde, or so he is convinced. And despite not thinking himself the type for love, he's attracted to her. During this second week, he spends his hours observing her and communicating with her through the window, though never by talking. He survives the second week too, and from then on makes work of his relationship with Clarimonde by spending his days playing copycat games with her from behind their windows. Then, once more, comes Friday, and this time Bracquemont is afraid that maybe tonight he'll hang himself. Perhaps the one thing that made it not so was a timely call by the inspector, who comes over and invites Bracquemont out for the evening as a distraction from his work. Bracquemont accepts and enjoys himself, but finds himself working even harder for Clarimonde's favor during the fourth week of his vigil. By Thursday, he realizes he is completely under her control and only delaying his ultimate fate on Friday six o'clock. Yet when he goes to hang himself, what remains of his will allows him to bite down on the spider crawling in his mouth. At five past six, he Bracquemont is found dead by the inspector, who storms out to the flat across the street upon reading Bracquemont's journal. As it turns out, no one has lived there for many months.

* ActionGirl: Bracquemont notes that among the twenty-seven people that tried to be picked to solve the case were three women.

* OurMonstersAreDifferent: It is never explained what kind of monster Clarimonde is and why she coaxes men (if even only men) into hanging themselves. What at least seems to be the case is that the human form of Clarimonde isn't real, as any physical evidence denies its existence and the inability to memorize her appearance, fantasize her differently, or imagine her home or her life outside of her flat all point towards the human form being a facade put in the victims' mind.

In room #7 of Hotel Stevens in Paris, three men have hanged themselves on three successive Fridays, each time between five and six o'clock. And that's not even the biggest mystery, for each man was found hanging from a curtain cord attached to a hook that was part of the low-placed window's cross-bar. So, their knees were as good as touching the floor, meaning those were some dedicated suicides, especially from people who were leading fulfilling lives. Hearing of the mystery, the student of medicine Richard Bracquemont manipulates the police into letting him be their field agent. Once established in room #7, he begins a journals so that whatever may come will be recorded. Against all expectations, he survives the first week and with his new sense of ease he seeks contact with the woman behind the window across the street from his. Despite never speaking to her, he just knows her name is Clarimonde. And despite not thinking himself the type for it, he's attracted t o her. During the second week, his defenses lowered, he spends his hours observing her and communicating with her through the window, though never by talking. He survives the second week too, and from then on makes work of his relationship with Clarimonde by spending his days playing copycat games with her from behind their windows. Then, again, comes Friday, and this time Bracquemont is afraid, sensing that maybe tonight he'll hang himself.

* OurMonstersAreDifferent: It is never revealed what kind of monster Clarimonde is and why she coaxes men (if even only men) into hanging themselves.
* RuleOfThree: Subverted. The story opens with three deaths each following Friday. By the end of the story, there is a a final fourth death.
* RuleOfScary: Clarimonde waves so many red flags before she truly has control over her victims that only the fact she's unnatural, immediately followed by the presumption that conclusion is illogical, ensures her success. For one, she makes her victims know her name without ever communicating it. Yet for as sure as her victims are of her name, her appearance is something they can't keep a clear mental picture of or fantasize any alterations to. Of the three windows of her flat, she only ever sits behind the one right across of the window of room #7. She spins all day on a spindle that hasn't been common since three generations ago and then she abruptly stops at 5 o'clock when the sun goes down. No light is ever seen in her flat. Even after two weeks of observing her, she's never seen leaving her room.

* ShoutOut: Mary Garden was a real-life operatic soprano. In "The Spider", she buys the curtain cord Chaumié killed himself with as a good luck charm.
* SneakySpider:

In room #7 of Hotel Stevens in Paris, three men have hanged themselves on three successive Fridays, each time between five and six o'clock. And that's not even the biggest mystery, for each man was found hanging from a curtain cord attached to a hook that was part of the low-placed window's cross-bar. So, their knees were as good as touching the floor, meaning those were some dedicated suicides, especially from people who were leading fulfilling lives. Hearing of the mystery, the student of medicine Richard Bracquemont manipulates the police into letting him be their field agent. Once established in room #7, he begins a journals so that whatever may come will be recorded. Against all expectations, he survives the first week and with his new sense of ease he seeks contact with the woman behind the window across the street from his. Despite never speaking to her, he just knows her name is Clarimonde. And despite not thinking himself the type for it, he's in love.

* {{Diary}}: The story starts out in a normal format, but once Richard Bracquemont takes up the case and keeps a journal as a tool of his investigation, the story changes to a diary format and switches narrators from Ewers to Bracquemont. The original format is restored for one paragraph following Bracquemont's death.

* MindManipulation:

* RuleOfScary: Clarimonde waves so many red flags before she truly has control over her victims that only the fact she's unnatural, and the presumption that conclusion is illogical, ensures her success. For one, she makes her victims know her name without ever communicating it. Yet for as sure as her victims are of her name, her appearance is something they can't keep a clear mental picture of. Of the three windows of her flat, she only ever sits behind the one right across of the window of room #7. She spins all day on a spindle that hasn't been common since three generations ago and then she abruptly stops at 5 o'clock when the sun goes down. No light is ever seen in her flat.

* ArachnidAppearanceAndAttire: Clarimonde is EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette whose hair is black and wavy and whose eyes, framed by long and dark eyelashes, are big and dark with an intense glow. She also follows EvilWearsBlack with a black dress embroidered with a lilac motif, as well as black gloves.

* TheHeroDies: