October 25: Arachnida the Human Headed Spider

 

There are a few images from silent films that always show up on various social media platforms around Halloween. One of the most famous is from a Tod Browning's film from the 1920's. Thing is...credit on the image is just as likely to be wrong as right. The image in question is Browning's human spider from his 1927 film The Show. I will leave off any analysis of the film and any connections to Browning's Freaks. Focusing instead on giving credit to French born actress Renée Adorée who is the head of the "human spider" Arachnida costume created for the film.

The concept was not original to Browning; and he was not intending to take credit for it. It was meant to be a quote of sorts. It had long been an actual sideshow attraction that was popular for years before the film's production; it even showed up later as a prop that a person could insert their head in to have a photo taken as a carnival memento. The film which has Adoreé as Salome opposite John Gilbert as Cock Robin, centers around a group of carnival performers in Budapest that perform a variety of dances and illusions in a side-show; the human spider is but just one. The film is based on the 1910 novel The Day of the Souls and is really more of a crime story than a horror. But, this is Tod Browning, and the images are always going to be striking!

Below is a still with John Gilbert in the foreground in character as Cock Robin.