On a quiet night in Martinsville came the soft music, mounting slowly to an eerie, penetrating pulse, compelling... calling. Heeding it, Frank Craven leaped to his death! Thus began the Suicide Plague, a ghastly epidemic set to the music of the Mad Piper of Death! Only Richard Wentworth, alias the Spider, could save the terrified city; yet he himself danced to the Piper's weird tune - with Death his partner and suicide the prize! During the Golden Age of Pulp Fiction, three publications ranked as the most popular: The Shadow, Doc Savage, and the Spider. The Spider, when not combating his insane arch foes, lived as millionaire Richard Wentworth. A complex man, Wentworth yearned for a normal life, retired from violent crime-fighting often, but the call to duty always drew him back. His exploits impressed a ten year old Stan Lee, who when he launched Marvel Comics in the early 1960s, drew on the idea of a hunted hero to create Spider-Man! At his side are Nita van Sloan, who sometimes dons the Spider's black cape and mask to become the Black Widow, Wentworth's loyal chauffeur, Ronald Jackson, and Sikh bodyguard, Ram Singh. All share in his dangerous life, and every one of them knows his fatal secret. If they are exposed, disgrace and the Death House will be their fate. Nick Santa Maria brings the action to vibrant life, narrating with a fever-pitch intensity. The Spider and the Death Piper originally published in The Spider magazine, May, 1942. Chapter 1: Hell's Music Chapter 2: Death's Prologue Chapter 3: Hell's Gates Chapter 4: Dance, Fool! Chapter 5: Ambush! Chapter 6: The Spider's Dance Chapter 7: Into the Trap Chapter 8: Death's Piper Chapter 9: Battle of Despair Chapter 10: Face to Face! Chapter 11: Death to the Spider! Chapter 12: An Intangible Thread Chapter 13: Black Angel Chapter 14: Time of Trial Chapter 15: Trap the Spider! Chapter 16: The Ghost's Advice Chapter 17: Death March Chapter 18: Hell's Baton Chapter 19: Play, Piper!