When one thinks of horror comics, Spider-Man is probably one of the last names that comes to mind. Known as the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, Peter Parker’s quick wit and relatively sunny disposition don’t sound like they’d lend themselves to horror stories. Yet the fact is, he’s starred in some of Marvel’s best horror comics.
This shouldn’t actually be much of a surprise. It’s not exactly a secret that Marvel’s writers seem to delight in torturing everyone’s favorite wall-crawler. Sometimes it’s Spider-Man’s rogues who are behind the horror. Villains like Carnage are crying out for a horror treatment. Sometimes, it’s Spidey himself who’s responsible for the horror. Either way, the following stories are all excellent, so rather than ranking them on “quality,” we’ve ranked them on how well they work as horror stories/how scary they are. Of course, horror is subjective, but hopefully, we can all agree these Spider-Man stories are at least a little creepy.
7 Spider-Island Is A Nightmare For Arachnophobes
Amazing Spider-Man #666-673
How scary a reader finds Spider-Island will mostly hinge on how afraid of spiders they are. The kind of people who say that spiders are our friends because they eat pests won’t find too much fear here. Those who think Kill It With Fire counts as a horror game will find it terrifying. Either way, featuring one of Spider-Man’s best villains and some decent body horror, Spider-Island makes for a decent horror comic.
The event sees Spidey’s old foe, Jackal, rearing his ugly head once again. This time, he’s released a genetically engineered virus that initially gives thousands of New Yorkers spider powers. At the same time, he hires some spider-themed villains dressed as Spider-Man to attack New York. So far, not very scary. The horror comes into play when the virus starts turning people into giant spider-monsters. This is where the body horror kicks in, and some of the designs are deliciously creepy, even for readers who don’t normally find spiders very frightening. While it’s an excellent arc all around, Spider-Island gets the bottom ranking here because most of its horror relies on the audience’s fear of spiders (arachnophobes probably aren’t Spider-Man’s target demographic).
6 The First Appearance Of Morbius Was A Proper Vampiric Tale
Spider-Man #101-102
These days, Morbius is more of an anti-hero, but he definitely started out as a villain. When Morbius was first introduced in 1971, Marvel was pushing boundaries and experimenting with what they could get away with. The Comics Code Authority had just updated its policies, lifting bans on comics featuring horror-themed monsters like vampires and other supernatural threats. Morbius might have been portrayed as a sympathetic, unwilling monster, but his first appearance was clearly meant to evoke classic horror movies starring vampires like Dracula.
For a start, during Morbius’ introduction, Spider-Man was already sporting four extra arms, a mutation that evoked a certain degree of body horror. Morbius himself was a darker, slightly more complex villain than Spidey’s usual rogues. Not only did he sport a monstrous appearance, but his own transformation and suffering were pretty horrific. Gil Kane’s artwork also leaned into gothic horror territory, and the scenes portraying Morbius feeding were much more violent than was normal for a Spider-Man story. At the time, the two issues were boundary pushing, but things have changed. Today, it’s all a bit tame, and not very scary, hence the low ranking. Arguably the best thing about this arc is how it inspired some of the best stories from the iconic Spider-Man The Animated Series.
5 Kraven’s Last Hunt Is Psychological Horror Done Right
Web of Spider-Man #31-32, Amazing Spider-Man #293-294, Spectacular Spider-Man #131-132
Easily one of the best Spider-Man tales ever told, this event focuses on Kraven’s obsession with Spidey and his need to prove his superiority. Early on, we see Kraven shoot Spider-Man with a rifle and bury him in a grave. Kraven then dons a black Spider-Man costume and starts hunting down some of Spider-Man’s rogues, brutally beating and even killing some of them in the process. The horror starts when it’s revealed that Spider-Man was merely tranquilized, not killed. Seeing him buried alive and forced to claw his way out of his grave is sure to make anyone with claustrophobia, or a fear of being buried alive, sweat. It only gets worse from there.
After Spider-Man finally finds and confronts Kraven, the villain releases Vermin, a cannibalistic killer almost worthy of his own spot on this list. Spider-Man almost loses to Vermin, and only survives because Kraven steps in. Rather than realizing the error of his ways, Kraven decides he has proven once and for all that he’s better than Spidey, and kills himself. The whole arc is a deeply disturbing window into the broken mind of an obsessed villain. The psychological impact on Spider-Man was so great that another horror-flavored event, Soul of the Hunter, was written to delve into Peter’s PTSD. The horror of Kraven’s Last Hunt is arguably subtler than in other entries on this list, and may go over some readers’ heads, landing it a lower ranking.
4 Shed Taps Into Our Primordial Fear
Amazing Spider-Man #630-633
Some of the best horror stories tap into our most primordial fears. In particular, the sense of being hunted by something cold-blooded. That’s exactly what Shed does. This arc sees the perpetually troubled Curt Connors losing his battle against his Lizard alter ego. Elements of psychological horror are introduced in the way this change is depicted, by showing the Lizard eating through the comic’s narration boxes (and Connors’ psyche). As the Lizard takes control, it becomes much smarter and deadlier than ever; an intelligent killing machine with no morals whatsoever.
Make no mistake, some of the Lizard’s acts are horrific. This arc features some of the most disturbingly brutal violence ever seen in a Spider-Man comic, including the Lizard chowing down on Connors’ son, Billy. The Lizard also undergoes a physical transformation, growing in size and becoming even more terrifying to behold. Artist Chris Bachalo’s art emphasizes this change through the use of sharp angles and exaggerated features, which lend the Lizard a more nightmarish edge. For most of the arc, Spider-Man is almost helpless against the sheer might of the Lizard. His failure to save Billy is harrowing and one of the wall-crawlers’ greatest losses. Shed is easily one of the darkest Spider-Man comics and the only reason it doesn’t score higher is that the upcoming entries are just a little scarier.
3 Absolute Carnage Is Part Slasher, Part Eldritch, Part Body Horror
Absolute Carnage Event
Pretty much any arc featuring Carnage could have made it on to this list, but we’ve gone for the one that has him at his most monstrous. He’s always been one of Spidey’s most evil villains, but in Absolute Carnage, he outdoes himself. Repeatedly.
The arc begins with Cletus Cassidy being resurrected and empowered by the dark god of the Symbiotes, Knull. Carnage has always been powerful, but with Knull’s support, he’s an apocalyptic threat. Knull transforms Carnage into a symbiotic cult leader who can raise the dead and control them in scenes that resemble eldritch horror.
His mission is to harvest the codices of everyone who has ever bonded with a symbiote. These reside in people’s spines, and Carnage isn’t exactly careful when removing them. The violence is visceral, and there’s a certain degree of shock value in seeing long-time heroes and villains, as well as civilians, being eviscerated by Carnage and his drones. If this wasn’t enough, there are also heavy servings of body horror. Carnage himself is unnerving to behold, sporting elongated limbs and an almost corpse-like appearance. Characters overtaken by Carnage’s symbiotes also undergo some disgusting transformations. Miles Morales, in particular, is transformed into a disturbing spider/human symbiote hybrid. Once again, the artwork, this time by Ryan Stegman, does an awesome job of emphasizing the horror elements of the story. All this horror is topped off by a pervading sense of dread. As terrible as Carnage is, there’s the feeling that something even more dangerous, Knull the cosmic horror, is waiting in the wings.
2 Marvel Zombies Does Exactly What It Says On The Tin
Marvel Zombies: Dead Days Vol 1 #1
Some comic fans love Marvel Zombies, while others think it’s played out. However one feels about zombies in general, there’s no denying that the first issue of Marvel Zombies: Dead Days is a proper zombie horror story. Watching a character as likable and upbeat as Peter Parker being bitten and submitting to the zombie virus is bad enough, but what happens when he goes home is truly horrific.
Upon being bitten, Spidey swings home to warn MJ and Aunt May of what’s going on. Tragically, the virus takes over at the worst possible time, and he ends up devouring the two people closest to him. The worst part is that his healing factor means that the real Peter Parker is fully aware of what he’s doing as his zombified body lunches on MJ and May. It’s a deeply disturbing moment with elements of locked-in syndrome thrown in to add some more psychological horror. Unfortunately, Marvel didn’t know when to stop, and by the time Zombie Spider-Man had gained the Power Cosmic (making him one of the most powerful Spider-Men), any sense of horror had pretty much disappeared. Early on, though, Marvel Zombies was an awesome horror comic.
1 I Walked With A Spider Combines Spider-Man And Norman Bates
Edge Of The Spider-Verse #4
I Walked With A Spider is what happens when every aspect of Spider-Man’s traditional origins story is taken and turned it on its head. Part of the Spider-Verse event, it stars an alternate version of Peter Parker named Patton Parnel. Parnel is a far cry from the lovable Peter. He’s the kind of teenage boy who likes to burn ants with a magnifying glass and peep at the girl next door through the curtains when she’s getting changed. When he gets bitten by a radioactive spider, becoming a hero is the last thing on his mind.
Like Peter, Patton quickly discovers he’s developed spider-powers. Unlike Peter, he also developed a hunger for animals and people. Rather than fight this change, Patton embraces it, even shedding his skin to transform into a horrifying spider-like creature. He then goes about killing and eating those who have wronged him, including the school bully and his abusive Uncle Ted. Of course, being a spider, the feeding process isn’t quick. Being a total creep, he also kidnaps his crush, Sara, and bites her neck. Before he can eat her, he’s stopped and killed by Morlun, but that’s not the end of the horror. The issue ends with poor Sara looking in the mirror and checking her bite, only to find hundreds of baby spiders creeping from the wound. I Walked With A Spider is pure horror from beginning to end, and one of the best what-if-style Spider-Man stories. Its final panel is sure to make even those with the strongest stomachs squirm.
