The Green Spider (Cryptofiction Classics - Weird Tales of Strange Creatures)

Book excerpt: This early work by Robert W. Chambers was originally published in 1904 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography as part of our Cryptofiction Classics series. 'The Green Spider' is a short story about a strange creature, a professor, and a secret that could transform science. Sax Rohmer was born in Ladywood, Birmingham, England in 1883. In 1903, his first published work, 'The Mysterious Mummy', appeared in 'Pearson's Weekly'. Rohmer continued to write weird fiction, and his major breakthrough came in 1912, when the first Fu-Manchu novel, 'The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu', was serialized over a period of eight months. The Cryptofiction Classics series contains a collection of wonderful stories from some of the greatest authors in the genre, including Ambrose Bierce, Arthur Conan Doyle, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Jack London. From its roots in cryptozoology, this genre features bizarre, fantastical, and often terrifying tales of mythical and legendary creatures. Whether it be giant spiders, werewolves, lake monsters, or dinosaurs, the Cryptofiction Classics series offers a fantastic introduction to the world of weird creatures in fiction.