The story is characterized by its complex narrative structure, its conservative Christian motifs and symbolism and its precise descriptions of the social dynamics of the village.

Von Stoffeln demanded ever more ludicrous tasks, the last of which was the replanting of trees from a distant mountain to form a shaded path on his estate.

However, Christine, a farmer's wife who had come to the valley from Lindau near Lake Constance, was against the mistreatment of the villagers and wanted an end to all the outrageous demands being enforced by von Stoffeln.

Finally, Christine convinced the farmers to accept the bargain, believing that they could escape it by baptizing every child immediately at birth.

After the second child was baptized, a storm blew in and a swarm of tiny venomous spiders emerged from the enchanted mark on Christine's face, spreading across the village and slaying the cattle in their stalls.

Sprinkled with holy water, Christine was transformed into a demonic spider and killed the priest before fleeing from her village.

She began to terrorize the valley, killing both villagers and animals, including von Stoffeln and his entire retinue.

The grandfather therefore feels obligated to finish the story: In the following years, the valley's citizens continued their lives with a newfound respect towards God.

Thomas Mann wrote of it in his The Genesis of Doctor Faustus that Gotthelf "often touched the Homeric" and that he admired The Black Spider "like no other piece of world literature.

"[2] The Black Spider is, in many ways, a precursor to the weird fiction of twentieth-century writers such as Lord Dunsany, Clark Ashton Smith, and H.P.

"[3] In a review for the New York Times, Terrence Rafferty wrote: "[Gotthelf] does something only the best horror writers, and the best preachers, can do: he puts the fear of God in you.

"[4] The novella's depictions of a town led astray in difficult times by a headstrong leader and the morality of collective guilt gave it renewed relevance in the post-World War II era.