S3:E14 Spiders… Yep, That’s Right, Big, Fat Juicy Spiders! | A Library of Shadows Story

A thrill-seeking traveler ventures deep into the giant spider caves of Costa Rica—but one step beyond the safety ropes turns his once-in-a-lifetime adventure into a nightmare.

Tonight, the Library of Shadows pulls down “Spiders… Yep, That’s Right, Big, Fat Juicy Spiders!” Written and narrated by Gary D up in Ontario, Canada, this gruesome horror story proves that some rules exist for a reason.

Follow Gary on Instagram: @gary_d_up_in_ontario_canada

Content advisory: Spiders, graphic body horror, and disturbing imagery.

Have an original horror story of your own? Visit lookscreepycool.com to learn how to submit it to the Library of Shadows.

Follow the Looks Creepy Cool Podcast for more original horror stories and conversations with the creators behind the fear.

👉 If it looks creepy, it must be cool. Follow Haunted House FearFest & the Looks Creepy Cool Podcast.

Transcript

Copy Transcript Copied

SPEAKER_00 0:07

The shelves are full of stories. Tonight, we're pulling one down. Some travelers collect souvenirs. Ryan collects strange experiences. The more unusual, the better. So when he discovers an opportunity to explore the giant spider caves of Costa Rica, it sounds like the perfect adventure. But deep inside those dark web covered tunnels, the safety ropes are there for a reason. And Ryan is about to learn what happens when you cross them. Tonight's chapter was written and narrated by Gary D up in Ontario, Canada. So, turn down the lights, and whatever you do, don't look above you. This is spiders. Yep, that's right. Big, fat, juicy spiders.

SPEAKER_01 1:01

I call this one spiders. Yep, that's right. Big, fat, juicy spiders. His meaty head violently exploded, as if a sharp pin had just suddenly been thrust into a tight, overinflated helium balloon, filled with pinky red glitter. But instead of glitter, a glistening, grisly display of both brain matter and skull fragments now adorned the nearby walls and mirror, and fully decorated everything within about an eight foot radius. No, Ryan's day was not going well, and unfortunately, it would never get any better. Let's rewind this puppy back to one week ago, shall we? During a happier time when Ryan's head and all of its juicy contents were still fully intact. What a difference a week makes. Twenty-four-year-old born and raised New Orleanian Ryan Cox, an avid lover of unique and bizarre adventures, and a seasoned world traveler to countless exotic destinations and locales all around the globe, had randomly spotted a curious online ad, promoting a once-in-a-lifetime all-inclusive package deal experience, which included round-trip airfare, five-star presidential suite accommodations in a ritzy jungle paradise hideaway, as well as a private guided tour through a spectacular network of meandering tunnels of the world-acclaimed Mammoth Giant Spider Caves of Costa Rica. A one-week escape from reality to observe and admire the planet's very largest known-to-exist arachnins, deep within the dark, humid cave network of a lush, temperate jungle region just southwest of San Jose, Costa Rica. The tour guide was an elderly gentleman, a respected local, who'd conducted well over 300 of these creepy crawly expeditions. But this one would be different. Oh yes, very, very different. Excited tourists, for the most part, would regularly and very happily pay a mere $30 converted into U.S. currency to partake in this guaranteed to be highly memorable two-hour guided spider-infused spelunking adventure, which they could then tell all of their friends and family about for many years to come. Pedro was 72, spoke broken English, and was a very animated and super friendly guy. You couldn't help but like him from the moment you met him, always smiling and laughing and having a quick wit. This was especially impressive for a fellow his age. This gem of a tour guide proudly led Ryan through the underground labyrinth of spider saturated and infested caves. At every turn, countless eight-legged beasties quickly scrambled to seek shelter within the shadows, once having sensed the light shining on them from the bright bulbs fastened to the human intruders' heads. Ryan was in awe, as he'd never seen so many, or better, or maybe worse yet, such gargantuoan creepy crawly specimens in his entire life. Many of them were the size of his hand, and a few others he saw must have been nearly twice that size. Over the span of those seven days, Ryan visited these caves three times. And it was during his last and final walk through those heavily spiderwebbed and spiraling subterranean caves and caverns that he made a grave and costly mistake. Pedro, having told him repeatedly, always stay on the marked path, signor, and never venture outside of the guide ropes. And of course, what did Ryan do? As soon as Pedro rounded a bend in the tunnel, he quickly ducked under the safety rope, took a few steps backwards, and then took a few selfies standing right in front of a gigantic ten foot tall spiderweb. And as he did this, he accidentally touched the web with the back of his heel, which immediately set off a vibration which traveled up and across the entire spiderweb. No big deal you'd think, but think again. Ryan wasn't even remotely aware of what he'd just done until it was far too late. Within mere seconds of causing this vibration, about a two foot in diameter chocolate brown, hair-covered spider quickly came scurrying down from its secret hiding spot, and in an instant thrust out its massive dripping mandibles and proceeded to crunch down and bite into the back of Ryan's exposed neck with its toxin-laden fangs. The searing pain was excruciating and immediate. Ryan's horrific screams of intense pain and agony filled and echoed through the meandering tunnels and caves, causing Pedro to fall to his knees before running back to see what had happened. Bright, crimson red blood oozed and pulsed out from the hemorrhaging geyser of his neck with each of Ryan's heartbeats. Without saying a word, Pedro applied a compress, being nothing more than a wad of bunched up napkins, which he always carried with him in this satchel and pressed down firmly with all of his might. Holding the clotted napkins tightly in place with one hand, he used his other hand to a radio for help. A crude, staticky walkie talkie type of device, yelling into it in Spanish for a medic to be dispatched immediately. At this point, Ryan's high pitched screams had subsided and had turned more into like muffled moans and whimpers. Pedro handed him a bottle of water and told him to drink as he gently rubbed Ryan's back and shoulders, calmly saying, It's going to be all right, Signor. Everything is gonna be alright. Man, I wish that was true. Five minutes after the vicious attack, the bleeding finally stopped. A gaping wound was Ryan's prize for his stupidity. I should have stayed inside the ropes, Rizali kept repeating over and over again. Two individuals with white armbands having red crosses on them suddenly appeared. One helped Pedro lay Ryan down, while the other administered an IV bag to feed him fluids. When one of them briefly removed the napkin band-aid in order to assess the situation and take a closer look, both of them cried out, Aishewa is not good, senor, is very bad, is very, very bad. Once brought to a small shack of a makeshift hospital nearby, the attending doctor said that the toxic venom in the spider's saliva had already taken its toll. He described how a two-inch wide discolored purple ring that surrounded the gaping injury was in fact now, as he called it, dead meat. Much like an out-of-control flesh-eating disease, this virulent spider venom had a voracious appetite for blood-rich living flesh, which is quickly devoured like a starved dog would on finding a random piece of discarded meat. The doctor prescribed very strong antibiotics, redressed Ryan's wound, and then sent him on his way. Before being discharged, the doctor stared deep into Ryan's eyes, almost with a sense of despair and pity. He took his hand and half whispered, I wish you the best of luck, my friend, because you are going to need it. With that, a taxi then brought him back to his hotel room in the jungle. He went straight to bed, feeling both dizzy and exhausted. And since leaving the hospital, the back of his neck had suddenly swollen up like a pregnant belly, or an overfilled and grotesquely bulging water balloon. With each passing minute, this intensely under pressure, ticking time bomb lump of his just kept growing larger and larger. The pain all at once became unbearable, so Ryan jumped up from his bed and quickly ran to the bathroom mirror in order to take a closer look. And now, dear listeners, we've come full circle to the precise moment when Ryan's bulbous neck and now matching, creepily malformed head, suddenly and violently exploded. It was as if they'd just been cooked inside of a defective pressure cooker, which had then all at once detonated. Immediately thereafter, there was a loud, frenzied knocking on his front door, while several bright red, bloody, gelatinous clumps of brain matter slid down at various speeds upon the slick and once shiny hotel bathroom mirror.

SPEAKER_00 10:52

That was spiders. Yep, that's right. Big fat juicy spiders, written and narrated by Gary D up in Ontario, Canada. You can find Gary on Instagram at Gary underscore D underscore up underscore in underscore Ontario underscore Canada. If you enjoyed tonight's story, follow the Looks Creepy Cool podcast and share this chapter with another horror fan. And if you have an original horror story waiting in the shadows, we want to hear it. Check the show notes to learn how to submit your story to the Library of Shadows or visit lookscreepycool.com. Until next time, another chapter awaits. Want more chills and chatter? We're streaming on all podcast platforms.