Spider-Man is not often known for spooky or scary stories, but there have been several storylines for the Wall-Crawler that did border on horror in Marvel Comics. Spider-Man has mostly grown up in comics, along with most of the readers who have fallen in love with the character. He started as a high school student with no friends, mostly cast aside as a nerd, and has grown into a responsible superhero who still lives by the lessons his Uncle Ben taught him so many years before. He fights to save everyone, including his villains, and tries to remain the best hero he possibly can.
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However, over the years, Marvel Comics has presented some terrifying Spider-Man stories, some of which put him in horrifying situations and a few of which have him losing control and becoming a monstrous version of himself.
5) Absolute Carnage
Absolute Carnage is a main Earth-616 storyline that sees Spider-Man in one of his most terrifying battles to date. When Marvel brought in Venom, it introduced the idea of symbiotes bonding with individuals and often taking on their characteristics. Venom bonded with Spider-Man first, which is why he wants to be a hero above all else. However, after Carnage was born, he bonded with Cletus Kasady, a mass-murdering sociopath, creating one of Spider-Man and Venom’s deadliest villains.
What makes Absolute Carnage one of Spider-Man’s scariest storylines is that it took the already unhinged mass murdering symbiote and upped it to a cosmic-level threat. This helped introduce the Eldritch god Knull, the being who created the symbiotes, and followed Carnage, as he slaughtered and murdered countless people in the name of his god, hoping to free Knull to come to Earth, which would result in King in Black.
4) Shed – Amazing Spider-Man #630-633
The Lizard was always one of Spider-Man’s most tragic villains, a good man who became an uncontrollable monster. This was clearly a Marvel villain based on the classic horror monster, The Wolf Man, and in both cases, readers were meant to sympathize with the man who never asked for this curse. However, while it was easy to feel bad for Curt Connors, it was impossible to feel sympathy for the Lizard in the scary Spider-Man storyline, Shed.
To understand how horrific this storyline was, Curt Connors turned into the Lizard and then ate his own young son, Billy. This was one of the few storylines that showed the Lizard as a terrifying, monstrous creature. When it ended, it was impossible to really feel bad for Curt Connors anymore, even if he wasn’t responsible for his actions. It remains one of the Lizard’s best stories ever told, though it was later undone when Billy was returned in a cloned body, with his “soul” somewhat restored as well.
3) Spine-Tingling Spider-Man
Most of Spider-Man’s scariest stories were basic hero and villain stories, but in 2023’s Spine-Tingling Spider-Man, Peter Parker was thrown into a straight horror story. The miniseries sees Spider-Man lose his powers, and then his loved ones are all threatened. When everyone seems to have forgotten that he even existed, Spider-Man has to discover the truth before it’s too late. However, he has no idea who is behind the ruination of his life.
When the clone, Spidercide, arrives at the start of the story, it is a clue as to what was coming in the final issue’s twist. By the time Spider-Man learns who is trying to ruin his life, it all makes sense. However, the twist was just a way to pay off the story. The real selling point here was Spider-Man enduring horrific, psychologically terrifying situations along the way.
2) Spider-Man: Spider’s Shadow
One of the most nihilistic and terrifying Spider-Man stories ever told was in the pages of Spider-Man: Spider’s Shadow. The good news is that this was not a main Spider-Man story, but instead was on Earth-21619, an Earth that changed course from Earth-616 after Spider-Man bonded with the Venom symbiote. In this world, Spider-Man chooses not to have the symbiote taken from him, and he continues, with devastating results.
It all starts when Hobgoblin murders Aunt May, so Spider-Man turns into a monstrous version of Venom and kills Hobgoblin. After this, Spider-Man begins killing all his villains, becoming a wanted man and setting this world’s heroes after him. Seeing Spider-Man as a murderous madman was frightening enough, but when Peter asked for help, Venom escaped and became a terrifying enemy, infecting other heroes with symbiotes. This was a violent look at what could have been and remains a frightening Spider-Man story.
1) I Walked With a Spider – Edge of Spider-Verse #4
In Edge of Spider-Verse #4, an alternate version of Spider-Man was introduced, named Patton Parnel from Earth-51412. This version didn’t have a loving Uncle Ben to help him become a hero. Instead, he lived with an abusive man, his Uncle Ted, and Patton went on to “experiment” on animals. When he was bitten by a red spider at Alcorp Industries, he became Spider-Man after disturbingly eating certain animals (first a mouse, and then a cat).
This was a story about what would happen if Spider-Man chose not to become a superhero, because it was boring, and instead used his powers to lash out at people who hurt him, rejected him, or abused him. Unlike most of the stories on this list, this was a one-issue tale that offered a terrifying look at an evil Spider-Man, culminating in a horrifying finale when Morlun showed up. While this was only one issue and took place on a different Earth, it remains one of the scariest Spider-Man stories ever told.
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