Spider Baby: or, the Maddest Story Ever Told is a 1967 American comedy horror film, written and directed by Jack Hill.

[3] It stars Lon Chaney Jr. as Bruno, the chauffeur and caretaker of three orphaned siblings who suffer from "Merrye Syndrome", a genetic condition starting in early puberty that causes them to regress mentally, socially and physically.

Jill Banner, Carol Ohmart, Quinn Redeker, Beverly Washburn, Sid Haig, Mary Mitchel, Karl Schanzer and Mantan Moreland also star.

All three have advanced Merrye Syndrome, a genetic affliction unique to members of the family which causes them, starting in late childhood, to regress down the evolutionary ladder mentally and physically.

Virginia's latest victim is a delivery man serving notice that Peter Howe and his sister Emily, distant relatives of the Merrye family, are coming with their lawyer Schlocker and his secretary Ann, seeking to claim the property as rightful heirs.

Bruno realizes it will be impossible to keep this latest murder covered up, and leaves to fetch dynamite from a nearby construction site, planning to blow up the entire Merrye family rather than allow them to be confined.

Elizabeth, fearing the consequences if their crimes are discovered, escorts Ann to her room, leading her into the clutches of Ralph, while Virginia starts a game of "spider" with Peter, tying him to a chair and preparing to "sting" him with her knives.

While working as a private investigator, Karl Schanzer mentioned to two of his clients, Gil Lasky and Paul Monka, that he was an out-of-work actor.

Struck by the coincidence, they in turn told him that they were interested in producing a movie, and Schanzer pointed them towards director/screenwriter Jack Hill, who he had met while working on Blood Bath.

[7] At the time Hill had not even the beginnings of a script for the film he wanted to make, but Lasky and Monka were impressed enough with his rough outline to green light the project.

Although these alternate titles have little or no relation to the plot, the latter two appear in the opening narration by Chaney: "This cannibal orgy is strange to behold in the maddest story ever told."

There was no power available in the Smith Estate when the opening scene was filmed, so Taylor arranged a series of reflectors to guide sunlight into the house and thereby provide lighting for the interior shots.

"[14] Bruce G. Hallenbeck commented in his book Comedy-Horror Films: A Chronological History, 1914-2008 that "Spider Baby has a diseased, sickly atmosphere that anticipates that of David Lynch's Eraserhead (1976), with Alfred Taylor's black and white cinematography contributing images of death and decay that are still disturbing today."

[15] In 1999, a DVD of the film's original laserdisc transfer was released, including a cast and crew reunion and a commentary track by Hill.

[22] Broadstreet stated in an interview, "We're going to stick very closely to the basic story of the original film, and at the same time dig deeper into the backstory of the inbred Merrye family."

The new script by Robert Valding "expands on the themes of unconditional love, and also the story elements of cannibalism and the mutant relatives in the basement".