ObscUrban Legend Wikia
Singing Spiders of Paris

'
Background
Type Cryptid
Continent Europe
Country France
One-Time? Yes
Theories  · Tall tale, hoax
 · Cryptid

The Singing Spiders of Paris were giant arachnids blamed for mysterious disappearances around a tomb in Paris, said to draw out their prey with a siren song.[1]

Appearance[]

The creature was first described in the Ann Arbor Argus, of September 14, 1894. [2]

During late March (and invariably at night) each year for many years, men and women had inexplicably been disappearing in a region of Paris known as the Tomb of Issoire, now La Rue De La Tomb-Issoire, without any trace of them ever being discovered. One night, however, a policeman in this vicinity happened to hear a strange musical song issuing forth from a hole at the base of a huge rock there, dubbed the Giant's Cave due to the legend that a giant had been buried there long ago.[3][4]

As the policeman stood listening, he saw a young man approach the hole, seemingly hypnotized by the unearthly strains issuing forth from their hidden subterranean source, and then suddenly the man raced into the hole at full speed. The policeman chased after him, firing his revolver to alert some of his colleagues for back-up as he entered the hole. They soon arrived, by which time the strange music had ceased, its mysterious melody having been replaced by the sounds of a violent struggle. Arming themselves with ropes, ladders, and lamps, the policeman's colleagues swiftly penetrated the chasm into which the hole led, and beheld a terrifying sight.[5]

The young man, dead, was in the grip of a monstrous spider, which according to the newspaper report was:

"...as large as a full grown terrier, covered with wartlike protuberances and bristling with coarse brownish hair. Eight jointed legs, terminated by formidable claws, were buried in the body of the unfortunate victim. The face had already disappeared. Nothing could be seen but the top of the head, and the monster was now engaged in tearing and sucking the blood from his throat."[6][7]

Several blasts from the policemen's guns soon dispatched this horrific creature, after which they found their colleague lying in a corner, unconscious but unharmed. They then carried the two men and the carcass of the great spider back out through the hole into the Parisian street where this surreal incident had begun.[8]

Possible Explanations[]

There are several explanations as to what the creature could be. Theories include:

  • An newspaper tall tale; a hoax. The story wraps up with a note on the disposal of the giant arachnid corpse with the Museum of Natural History and its identity as Arachne Gigans – a Giant Spider. No such item was ever received by the museum nor is that name given to any known spider, living or extinct.
  • A real undiscovered cryptid spider (Highly unlikely).
v · e · d
Cryptids
North American Cryptids
Airborne Frogman · Alkali Lake Monster · Batsquatch · Beast of Bladenboro · Beast of Bray Road · Beast of Busco · Belled Buzzards · Bigfoot · Black Demon · Black Star Penguins · Blue Birdman · Boston Lemur · Buena Vista Giant Spider · Campfire Creature · Carmel Creature · Champ · Charles Mill Lake Monster · Chicago Mothman · Chupacabra · Coonigator · Crawfordsville Monster · Crocodingo · Deer Man · Demon Leaper · Deridder Roadkill · Dos Palmas Winged Snake · Dublin Lake Monsters · East River Monster · El Verde Creature · Enfield Horror · Farmer City Monster · Flannel Shirt Sasquatch · Flying Horse of Mexico · Flying Horse of Virginia · Flying Rays · Giant Penguin · Giant Shrimp in the Laundry Room · Glawackus · Gow-Row · Green Clawed Beast · Green Eyes · Grunch Road Monster · Herrington Lake Monster · Herring Cove Sea Serpent · Highway Beast · Honey Island Swamp Monster · Iliamna Lake Monster · Jackson Dragon · Jersey Devil · Killer Cactus · Kinderhook Blob · Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp · Manor Road Pig-Dog · Man in the Plastic Bag · Mantis Man · Melrose Creep · Metepec Creature · Michigan Dogman · Mill Race Monster · Mogollon Monster · Montauk Monster · Moss Man · Mothman · Mountain Boomers · Mud Mermaids · Mutant Canine · Nightcrawler · Octoman · Ogopogo · Oil Pit Squid · Oklahoma Octopus · Panama Creature · Pennsylvanian Albino Bigfoot · Red Devil-Bat of Chester · Ridge Road Monster · Riverside Monster · Rochester Rat-Dog · Sewer Blob · Sheepsquatch · Skunk Ape · Snallygaster · Sugar Bundle · Sun Birds · Swift Peter · Texas Big Bird · The Awful · Thetis Lake Monster · Tick Canyon Giant Rabbit · Tumor Seal · Tuttle Bottoms Monster · Werewolf of Defiance · Whatzit · Wood Devils · Yellow What-Is-It
South American Cryptids
Arica Monster · Atlantic Ocean Winged Abomination · Beast of Macachín Airport · Brazilian Werewolf · Calama Creature · De Loys' Ape · El Cuero · Gargantuan Globulous · Huallepen · Kap-Dwa · Manta Man · Mapinguari · Minhocão · Parana Creature · Sawtooth Dolphin · Telepathic Football · Tshenkutshen
Asian Cryptids
Ahool · Buru · Con Rit · Ebu Gogo · Gilled Antelope · Hibagon · Inflatable Hedgehog · Iranian Toothed Bird · Issie · Jodhpur Baby · Kting Voar · Kussie · Maltese Tiger · Man Dragon · Masbate Monster · Minho−Taro · Mussie of Kako River · Orang Bati · Orang Mawas · Orang Pendek · Rock Apes · Sakhalin Island Sea Wolf · Sukotyro · Tsuchinoko · Wuhnan Toads · Yeren · Yeti
European Cryptids
Awd Goggie · Beast of Bodmin Moor · Beast of Bosnia · Beast of Dean · Beast of Gévaudan · Beast Of Tenby · Black Bird of Chernobyl · Boneless · Canvey Island Monster · Catalonia Fallen Angel · Chudinov Organisms · Crimean War Monstrosities · Exmoor Beast · Freiburg Shrieker · Flying Worm of Prague · Gnome of Girona · Grampus · Grass Monster · Grecian Dolphin · Highway Humanoid · Hollingworth Lake Monster · Kovahsi Creature · Loch Ness Monster · Morag · Octosquatch · Owlman · Pennine Pterodactyl · River Thames Monster · Sea Monk · Sewer Humanoid · Shug Monkey · Singing Spiders of Paris · Sussex Serpent · Vampire Caterpillar · Werewolf of Camberwell · Wolfie · 1856 French Pterodactyl
African Cryptids
Agogwe · Ambize · Dingonek · Emela-ntouka · Ennedi Tiger · J'ba Fofi · Kongamato · Manatee of Helena · Mbielu-mbielu-mbielu · Mokele-Mbembe · Mutant Muppet · Ngoubou · Olitiau · Spiny-backed Chimpanzee · Trunko
Australian Cryptids
Bunyip · Burrunjor · Elephantman · Hairy Lizard · Hook Island Sea Monster · Landsborough Gangle · Moha Moha · Pukehina Predator · Queensland Tiger · Tusked Yowie
Miscellaneous Cryptids
Antarctic Godzilla · Bermuda Beast · Giglioli's Whale · Kabagon · Ningen · Qupqugiaq · Rhinoceros Dolphin · Sky Jellyfish · Sky Serpents
v · e · d
Europe
European Cryptids
Awd Goggie · Beast of Bodmin Moor · Beast of Bosnia · Beast of Dean · Beast of Gévaudan · Beast Of Tenby · Black Bird of Chernobyl · Boneless · Brosno Dragon · Canvey Island Monster · Catalonia Fallen Angel · Chudinov Organisms · Crimean War Monstrosities · Exmoor Beast · Freiburg Shrieker · Flying Worm of Prague · Gnome of Girona · Grampus · Grass Monster · Grecian Dolphin · Highway Humanoid · Hollingworth Lake Monster · Kovahsi Creature · Loch Ness Monster · Morag · Octosquatch · Owlman · Pennine Pterodactyl · River Thames Monster · Sea Monk · Sewer Humanoid · Shug Monkey · Singing Spiders of Paris · Sussex Serpent · Vampire Caterpillar · Werewolf of Camberwell · Wolfie · 1856 French Pterodactyl
European Alien Sightings
Alien Octopoids · Badajoz UFO Creature · Bat Beast of Kent · Bird Beasts of Var · Conil Aliens · Crimean Slug · Cumberland Spaceman · Cussac Aliens · Domsten Blobs · Felixstowe Fire Demon · Ilkley Moor Alien · Kinnula Humanoid · Pendeli Egg · The Sandown Clown · Scottish Mines · The Silver Man · Villa Santina Aliens · Voronezh Aliens · Zanfretta's Aliens
European UFO Sightings
Berkshire UFO · Crucifix UFO · Plague-Bearing UFO · Rendlesham Forest Incident
European Hauntings
Ancient Ram Inn · Berkeley Square Horror · Black Shuck · Borley Rectory · Brown Lady of Raynham Hall · Cock Lane Ghost · Deogen · Derbyshire Ghost Plane · Drummer of Tedworth · Elemental of Leap Castle · Enfield Poltergeist · Gef the Talking Mongoose · Ghost Roman Soldiers in York · Glamis Castle · Hairy Hands · Houska Castle · Pupa the Doll · Rosslynlee Hospital · Specter of Newby Church
European Phenomena
Angels of Mons · Bélmez Faces · Black Volga · Busby Stoop Chair · Devil's Footprints · Eyes in the Wall · Hessdalen Lights · Hungry Grass · Invisible Crowd · Kitty Jay's Grave · Martebo Light · Rosenheim Poltergeist · The Crying Boy · The Green Hand · Trevor Silverwood Postcards · Wall-Jumping Dog · Zanetti Ghost Train
European Beings
Green Children of Woolpit · Headless Angel of Portugal · Highgate Vampire · Invisible Smoker · Jophar Vorin · Le Loyon · Lucy Lightfoot · The Manchester Pusher · Pérák · Ratman · Spring-heeled Jack · Whipping Tom
European Events
Dancing Plague of 1518 · Disappearance of James Worson · Hollinwell Incident · Moberly–Jourdain Incident
European Locations
Cannock Chase · Flannan Isles Lighthouse · Hoia Forest · Poveglia