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"Ah, the Spider demon. She cocoons her victims before feeding on them… the cocoon is for preservation."
Leo Wyatt talking about the Spider demon.[src]

The Spider Demon was a demonic being who would remain in her lair for a hundred years, after which she would emerge from her cave and feed on the magic of the most powerful living being she could detect. She would preserve her victims in a cocoon of webs until she was hungry enough to drain their powers, and their life, which is what she did to Rathmere in the 20th Century.

History

Early Life

At some point in time, the Spider Demon made a cave her hidden lair, and, after capturing a powerful magical being to feed off of, she would stay there for a hundred years before hunting again.[1]

It is possible she once had blue hair, as an unknown witch of the the Warren line drew an illustration of her with blue hair in the family's Book of Shadows. However, this could have been a different demon belonging to her species[2]. They also wrote a brief account of her, saying only about her feeding habits and the fact that she could be vanquished by a potion blessed by the Power of Three.

Feeding off of Rathmere

Rathmere2

The Spider demon feeding off of Rathmere's wizardly magic.

"Rathmere is credited with more than 500 original spells and potions and would be a force to rival any other if not his mysterious disappearance in 1904."
—Rathmere's kidnap mentioned in a Magic School textbook.[src]

In 1904, the Spider demon left her lair as she did every century to hunt for a new magical being to feed on, her previous source presumably having died. While sensing for a powerful individual for her to feed from, she detected the mysterious wizard Rathmere. She somehow secretly kidnapped him, and took him to her hidden lair, where she began to feed on his magic.

No one knew what had happened to Rathmere, as no trace of him was left other than his wand, which was somehow obtained by Magic School. An unknown author wrote a textbook entry owned by Magic School about Rathmere. It noted his disappearance, and mentioned that what happened to him was a complete mystery, just like his origins and past.

Preserved in a cocoon of webs, Rathmere was used as the Spider demon's power source for decades on end. However, he apparently had some form of contact with the outside world and had heard of the coming of the Charmed Ones by the early 21st Century[3].

Hunting Piper Halliwell

Rathmere: "You've come back empty handed. You will starve."
Spider demon: "Hardly. I've already found my next meal. A powerful witch, a Charmed One."
— The Spider demon mentioning Piper Halliwell, her next victim, to Rathmere.[src]

In 2004, the Spider demon knew Rathmere wouldn't last much longer, and left her lair to find a new being to prey on. She detected Piper Halliwell, a Charmed One who was pregnant, and, in spider form, followed her magic into a car-park. However, she did not count on Paige Matthews' and future Chris Halliwell's presence, and was unsuccessful in getting Piper, but did manage to infect Chris with her long talons before fleeing.

RathmereDead

The spider demon in her lair.

Arriving back at her lair, the Spider demon saw Rathmere dying, begging for mercy and wishing to die in peace. He pointed out that, although his misery was ending, hers was beginning as she had brought no one back with her and would starve. She then told him that she had set her sights on Piper Halliwell, and was even more surprised when Rathmere revealed he had heard of the Charmed Ones' coming, making her realize they were more powerful than she had thought. He said that she would never be able to trap one as she had done to him, but she told him that she had infected the sisters' whitelighter and that he would soon help her. The Spider demon then proceeded to drain the last of Rathmere's magic and life, and he finally died.

Using Chris and Death

Spider Demon attacking Piper

The Spider demon attacking Piper.

"You can't resist it. What's happening to you. Don't fight it. Embrace your new powers. Use them."
—The Spider demon telling Chris to give in to his transformation.[src]

With Rathmere dead, the Spider demon needed to get Piper as soon as possible. To do this, she left her lair and entered the Halliwell Manor in spider-form, relying on Chris to help her. While Phoebe Halliwell and Paige went to bless the vanquishing potion they were preparing for her, Chris took Piper to the conservatory, where the Spider demon used her Web Projection to wrap her in a cocoon, before Phoebe and Paige spotted her. With Chris' help, she managed to escape once again.

DemonSpiderTelepathy

The spider demon appearing to Chris.

With Chris succumbing to the infection, Phoebe locked him in the basement, where the Spider Demon communed with him telepathically to use his powers. He created a magical web which she used to project herself to him and asked him to bring her the cocoon. Firstly, Chris refused, but she proceeded to use her powers to cause him pain. The Spider demon told him that he couldn't resist his new dark powers, and would understand in good time.

Spider Demon feeds on Piper

The Spider demon feeding on Piper and Chris.

Following this, the Spider demon relied on Chris to bring her the cocoon, and waited patiently in her cave. When she arrived, she said that she knew he wouldn't disappoint her. She then proceeded to feed on Piper, as well as her baby's, and, by extension, future Chris'.

In the middle of her feeding time, the Spider demon was interrupted by an ogre banging loudly on her cave. Annoyed, she exited the cave, where she saw Phoebe and Paige with Leo, the ogre, a fairy and a wood nymph. The fairy distracted her by flying in her face, so she clawed at Paige. Phoebe retaliated by kicking her to the ground, where the nymph threw a potion. The Spider demon avoided it by transforming into a spider, but the ogre then stomped on her, crushing and killing her.

With her death, the webs encasing Piper were removed and the barrier blocking the entrance to her lair disappeared, allowing Leo to get inside and rescue Piper.

Physical Description

The Spider demon was tall, with chalky white skin, red eyes and dark, wavy black hair, though she may have had blue hair beforehand.[4] She wore a long and rough black dress, which displayed her cleavage, and black shoes. Another notable part of her appearance were her fangs, which were very vampiric. In her spider form, she was larger and more monstrous than most spiders.

Personality

The Spider Demon was a cunning creature, who would plan her steps well to get to her prey, including infecting others to turn them into Spider Demons and control them. Being somewhat of a sadist, she relished in the pain of others, as demonstrated when she joyfully watched Chris in pain. She was sarcastic and flippant, especially towards Rathmere and the ogre.

Powers and Abilities

Spider Demon Shapehifting

The Spider demon shapeshifting.

Active Powers
  • Enhanced Agility: The ability to possess heightened agility. The Spider Demon was easily able to do a backflip in order to avoid harm.
  • Life Draining: The ability to drain the life force of other magical beings. The Spider Demon survived by feeding on the life force of others.
    • Power Absorption: The ability to absorb the magical powers of other beings. By draining the life force of other beings, the Spider Demon also took their magical power, though she was unable to access these powers.
  • Sensing: The ability to sense the location of other magical beings. The Spider Demon used this ability to track down her next prey.
  • Shapeshifting: The ability to alter one's physical shape. The Spider Demon possessed the ability to transform into a spider.
  • Super Strength: The ability to possess magically enhanced strength.
  • Telepathy: The ability to read and manipulate the minds of others. The Spider Demon could communicate with those she turned.
  • Web Projection: The ability to project webbing from one's hands. The Spider demon used this power to preserve her victims in cocoons before feeding on them. While wrapped, her victims were preserved and protected from spells, physical and magical attacks.
    • Voice Echo: The ability to project one's voice elsewhere without being present. The Spider Demon could project her voice through webs.
Other Powers
  • High Resistance: The ability to be highly resistant to physical and magical harm.
  • Immortality: The ability to possess an infinite lifespan and an arrested aging process. By feeding on other magical beings, the Spider Demon was able to survive for centuries.
  • Power Granting: The ability to transfer magical powers to others. By scratching her victims, the Spider Demon was able to convert other beings into her minions and was able to control them to a certain extent.

Appendices

Book of Shadows

SpiderDemonPage1

The Book of Shadows entry on the Spider demon.

Spider Demon

An evil creature that emerges from its hidden lair every
hundred years to capture and feed off the most powerful
magical being it can detect. This demon can only be vanquished
by a potion blessed by the Power of Three.

Notes and Trivia

  • Despite being called "the Spider demon", she looks considerably more like a vampire, due to her fangs, dark clothing, pale skin and the fact that she feeds on others, can transform others into her kind and lives in a cave.
    • Ironically, her lair is extremely similar to, if not the same as, the vampires' cave in Bite Me that was seen two seasons before in season 4.
  • The Spider demon's eyes, as well as Chris's while he was a demon, were strikingly similar to those of the demon known as Inspector Rodriguez.
  • When feeding using her life draining power, the Spider demon only used eight of her fingers.
  • The drawing in the Book of Shadows shows a blue hair colored demon whilst the Spider demon the sisters faced had black hair.
  • The Spider Demon looks similar to the witch Arachne in the anime Soul Eater. Both of them are spider-themed as well.
  • She was one of few evil forces to be vanquished in a way other than by the Power of Three despite its necessity.

Appearances

The Spider Demon appeared in a total of 1 episode over the course of the series.

References

  1. Mentioned by Paige Matthews and the Book of Shadows.
  2. As there are presumably more of her kind, as she was able to turn future-Chris Haliwell.
  3. Rathmere: A Charmed One? I have heard of their coming.
  4. As seen in the illustration of her in the Book of Shadows.
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