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eBook Category: Horror
eBook Description: An alien spider arrives on earth to find a host to carry its eggs. When it crawls into a young girl's hair, she is manipulated into getting a beehive hairdo to provide a safe environment from which to begin its conquest of humanity.

eBook Publisher: Fictionwise.com, Published: Urban Nightmares, Baen Books, 1997
Fictionwise Release Date: January 2001

59 Reader Ratings:

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Available eBook Formats [MultiFormat - What's this?]: eReader (PDB) [28 KB] , ePub (EPUB) [25 KB] , Rocket/REB1100 (RB) [14 KB] , Portable Document Format (PDF) [67 KB] , Palm Doc (PDB) [14 KB] , Microsoft Reader (LIT) [36 KB] , Franklin eBookMan (FUB) [85 KB] , hiebook (KML) [66 KB] , Sony Reader (LRF) [45 KB] , iSilo (PDB) [12 KB] , Mobipocket (PRC) [15 KB] , Kindle Compatible (MOBI) [43 KB] , OEBFF Format (IMP) [25 KB]
Words: 4390
Reading time: 12-17 min.
Microsoft Reader (LIT) Format: Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud ENABLED
Portable Document Format (PDF) Format:  Printing DISABLED, Read-Aloud DISABLED
All Other formats: Printing DISABLED, Read-aloud DISABLED

How many of us were picked on, spit on, and just plain treated like dirt when we were kids? And how many of us always dreamed (or still dream) of someday meeting the adult versions of the kids who picked on us, only to find that they peaked in elementary school, or high school, or junior high, while we just kept getting better with age? Well, in "The Spider in the Hairdo", Michael A. Burstein has created a lovable, believable young character who gets the last laugh in what is possibly the most macabre feel-good tale on record. When an alien spider reaches earth, he happens upon Peggy, our chubby, dorky 9th grade heroine who wants nothing more than to be popular. It's a common tale of loser turned princess…or so you might think. In this finely tuned piece, Burstein has created a far from typical, unpredictable story that will make you want to laugh, cry, and cringe all within a compact narrative about 30 pages long. It's a fast and enjoyable read with such realistic characters that even the alien spider will feel like the arachnid next door. Guaranteed to give you the heebie-jeebies, "The Spider in the Hairdo" is a must read. -Amy Poppenga, Fictionwise Recommender

The spider burrowed deep within the hairdo, exploring the warmth of its new, very temporary, home. It crawled around for a few hours, enjoying the sensations of another being's hair tingling against its body, and ingesting nutrients from the chemicals with which the hair had been treated. When the host went to sleep, it got to work.

The spider crawled down to the bottom of the hairdo, and found the tiny open spot of skin on its host's scalp, the point from which hairs whorled outward. Very gently, the spider settled its legs around this spot, so as to maintain stability as the host moved around. Slowly, it extended its proboscis out of its underbelly. The point of the needle, covered with one drop of a green sticky liquid, pierced the skin of the host's scalp with ease.