Trap Door Spiders

Trap Door Spiders

New York men’s literary dining club the Trap Door Spiders was founded by science fiction, fantasy, and military author Fletcher Pratt in 1944. The group started as a way for a few writer pals to escape the day—and, apparently, escape the new wife of influential writer and chemist John Drury Clark. It seems the friends weren’t fond of opera singer Mildred Baldwin. The invitation-only group was a debating society. The men opened the evening’s festivities with a meal and conversation, in which members had to “provide the others with a good reason for his continued existence.” Isaac Asimov was the group’s most famous member, with L. Sprague de Camp following closely behind. Notable guests included L. Ron Hubbard and Frederik Pohl. Asimov created a fictional group in a book series based on the club called “The Black Widowers.”