The Top Five Scariest Spiders in Gaming

Written by: Adam "ManKorn" Korenman, CC2K Video Games Editor

1) Frost Spider: Skyrim

The frozen land of Skyrim teems with wildlife, and not all of it is friendly. In fact, I’m hard pressed to picture one creature in that godforsaken land that isn’t trying to kill you. From trolls and giants to Dragons and angry crabs, the life of a Dovakin is short and dangerous. And one particular creature still haunts me. 

The Frost Spiders of the mountains stand big as a man, and they grow them big in these parts. With fangs as big as spears and a mean-looking mug, these arachnids attack relentlessly until either you or they are dead. 

This is a game where, at one point, I fought off two dragons and a bear while summoning an inferno from the depths of Oblivion. Yet nothing could prepare me for a scene at the very beginning of the game.

After already having killed dozens of smaller spiders, I entered a cave and heard the cry of an elf emanating from deep inside. I turned a corner and saw a pale young thief hanging suspended between a door. Only too late did I notice his bindings were not rope, but silk. The giant Frost Spider dropped from the ceiling, touching down gracefully and rearing up on its hind legs. Fangs dripping ichor, the monster charged. At that moment, only one thought went through my head: Thank god for the Pause button. 

Three days later, I stopped screaming. 

Video games use spiders as bad guys because they are scary, at least to the sane portions of the human race. While some folk like to claim they find them “beautiful,” or “majestic,” I know the truth. Spiders are the demon-spawn of an octopus and a box of deadly knives, and twice as ugly. They have been used across every console generation, and chances are very good that we will see them again very soon. 

*I don’t speak for Bill. He may love magic. He may in fact be magic.