HOME | DD

Description
Giant spiders are a fantasy archetype present in many fantasy settings. Middle Earth and Harry Potter being the most easily recognised but for example also Conan and M.R James horror stories.

Are any of such creatures in actual myths and legends? I am not familiar with them but if you know examples, let me know!

***
hThanks to the commenters we now have a couple of examples of legendary giant spiders :
cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/J%27b…
www.polskatradycja.pl/legendy/…
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsuchigu…

"It was as large as a pig, and its eight thick hairy legs drove its ogreish body over the floor at headlong pace; its four evilly gleaming eyes shone with a horrible intelligence, and its fangs dripped venom that Conan knew, from the burning of his shoulder where only a few drops had splashed as the thing struck and missed, was laden with swift death."

Robert E. Howard, The Tower of the Elephant

"The Bishop went as near as he dared to it, and saw — what but the remains of an enormous spider, veinous and seared! And, as the fire burned lower down, more terrible bodies like this began to break out from the trunk, and it was seen that these were covered with greyish hair"

All that day the ash burned, and until it fell to pieces the men stood about it, and from time to time killed the brutes as they darted out. At last there was a long interval when none appeared, and they cautiously closed in and examined the roots of the tree."

M.R. James, The Ash Tree

Description
Giant spiders are a fantasy archetype present in many fantasy settings. Middle Earth and Harry Potter being the most easily recognised but for example also Conan and M.R James horror stories.

Are any of such creatures in actual myths and legends? I am not familiar with them but if you know examples, let me know!

***
hThanks to the commenters we now have a couple of examples of legendary giant spiders :
cryptidz.fandom.com/wiki/J%27b…
www.polskatradycja.pl/legendy/…
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsuchigu…

"It was as large as a pig, and its eight thick hairy legs drove its ogreish body over the floor at headlong pace; its four evilly gleaming eyes shone with a horrible intelligence, and its fangs dripped venom that Conan knew, from the burning of his shoulder where only a few drops had splashed as the thing struck and missed, was laden with swift death."

Robert E. Howard, The Tower of the Elephant

"The Bishop went as near as he dared to it, and saw — what but the remains of an enormous spider, veinous and seared! And, as the fire burned lower down, more terrible bodies like this began to break out from the trunk, and it was seen that these were covered with greyish hair"

All that day the ash burned, and until it fell to pieces the men stood about it, and from time to time killed the brutes as they darted out. At last there was a long interval when none appeared, and they cautiously closed in and examined the roots of the tree."

M.R. James, The Ash Tree