112:
87:, to a meeting. As of 1976, the club met roughly one Friday a month, eight or nine times a year, and maintained a membership of thirteen, among whom the privilege of hosting the meetings rotated. The host of a given meeting selected the restaurant, wine, and menu for the evening, and had the option of inviting one or two guests he believed might prove interesting to the other members.
351:
Asimov loosely modeled his fictional "Black
Widowers" on six of the real-life Trap Door Spiders. He gave his characters professions somewhat more varied than those of their models, while retaining aspects of their personalities and appearances. Asimov's characters and their real-life counterparts
147:
Membership of the club was by invitation, and varied as some Trap Door
Spiders died or moved away (or in at least one instance was dropped by the consensus of the other members) and as others were admitted on the nomination of existing members. Men known to have been members of the club include:
66:
served as Clark's best man). Pratt reasoned that the club would give them an excuse to spend time with Clark without
Baldwin. The presidency of the club rotated among the members, the president for a given evening being the member who had volunteered to host the meeting by giving the dinner and
70:
The get-togethers of the Trap Door
Spiders followed a set format, which remained consistent through the years: a dinner, given by the host for the evening, to which he would invite a guest who would be grilled by the others and form the focus of conversation for the evening. The grilling was
67:
supplying a guest. Over the course of its existence the Trap Door
Spiders has counted among its members numerous professional men, many of them writers and editors active in the science fiction genre, along with some prominent fans such as Dr. Clark.
420:(albeit deceased and offstage) as Widowers founder Ralph Ottur in the story "To the Barest," and (as guests) Asimov himself (in a humorously unflattering portrayal) as arrogant author Mortimer Stellar in "When No Man Pursueth",
102:
in New York City. The event commemorated Asimov's seventieth birthday and the fortieth anniversary of the publication of his first book. According to L. Sprague de Camp, the club was "still thriving" as of 1996.
308:, as well as Randi himself. All three appear to have attended as guests rather than members (Pohl in particular has written he was never a member), though Randi did consider himself an "honorary" member.
437:
The remaining member of the
Widowers, the group's waiter and unfailing sleuth Henry Jackson, was completely fictional, though Asimov did liken the character to that of
311:
Owing to the writings of Isaac Asimov (see below), those most closely associated with the group are Bensen, Cant, Carter, Clark, de Camp, del Rey, and Asimov himself.
907:
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resident who was often an invited guest of the Trap Door
Spiders when in New York, became a permanent member of the club when he moved to the area in 1970.
71:
traditionally begun by the host for the evening enquiring of the guest "How do you justify your existence?" or some variation, such as "Why do you exist?"
416:
Other non-fictional men, including members of the
Spiders and others, also occasionally appeared in the series in fictional guise. These included
333:. Such Spider elements as the rotating presidency and the question put to guests are faithfully represented in the practices of the Strangers.
942:
734:
Editorial: In
Memories Yet Green by Isaac Asimov, George Scithers, Kathleen Moloney, Shawna McCarthy, Gardner Dozois, and Sheila Williams
937:
54:
in 1944 to exclude operatic soprano
Mildred Baldwin, in response to the June 7, 1943 marriage between Baldwin and Pratt's friend Dr.
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542:
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81:
went home from a meeting in tears after a brutally personal grilling. Coggins once invited Worthen Paxton, art director of
932:
908:
Ian Summers' account of a Trap Door Spiders meeting at which he and the Amazing Randi were guests in the mid-1970s
58:. Baldwin was unpopular with her husband's friends, despite their participation in the ceremony (Pratt's own wife
891:
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90:
The group remained active through at least January 16, 1990, when its members attended a party given by
59:
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as writer Darius Just (a character who first appeared as protagonist of Asimov's 1976 mystery novel
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321:
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344:, protagonists of a long-running series of mystery short stories beginning in 1971. Asimov, a
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Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.
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572:"Mildred Baldwin Bride: Opera Singer Wed to Dr. John D. Clark in Ceremony Here," in
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The Trap Door Spiders are fictionalized in L. Sprague de Camp's historical novel
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Sullivan, Walter. "Willy Ley, Prolific Science Writer, Is Dead at 62," in
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fifteen eightyfour: Academic Perspectives from Cambridge University Press
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personalities. The name is a reference to the reclusive habits of the
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246:
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820:. "Although Knowledge appears to think I was a member, I never was."
787:"James Randi talking about the Trap Door Spiders (starting at 1:48)"
767:
647:. Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton University Press, 2013, page 147.
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as stage magician The Amazing Larri in "The Cross of Lorraine", and
831:"The Amazing Show: Isaac Asimov and the Trapdoor Spiders (at 3:13)"
768:"The Amazing Show: Isaac Asimov and the Trapdoor Spiders (at 3:40)"
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are a literary, male-only eating, drinking, and arguing society in
42:, which when it enters its burrow pulls the hatch shut behind it.
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Levy, Claudia. "Decorated Rear Adm. Caleb B. Laning Dies," in
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Undiluted Hocus-Pocus: The Autobiography of Martin Gardner
325:(1960) as "The Seven Strangers," a social club holding
588:
Miller, Ron. "Jack Coggins," interview and article in
537:, Hampton Falls, NH, Donald M. Grant, 1996, page 196.
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File 770: Mike Glyer's news of science fiction fandom
34:, with a membership historically composed of notable
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Asimov, Isaac. "The Woman in the Bar, Afterword" in
880:, New York, Doubleday, 1980, chapter 41, section 19.
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288:Donald Wilde (1926–2015), ad executive, playwright
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340:'s fictional group of puzzle solvers the
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485:, New York, Doubleday, 1994, page 377.
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719:"Fletcher Pratt, Historian, Dead," in
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336:The club was also the inspiration for
222:(1914–2010), math & science writer
156:(1917–1992), author, English professor
895:, New York, Doubleday, 1984, page 36.
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237:Charles H. King (1934–2017), novelist
943:1944 establishments in New York City
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661:The Martin Gardner Interview Part 4
329:in the ancient Greek city-state of
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296:According to magician and skeptic
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938:Organizations established in 1944
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789:. YouTube.com. 13 February 1999.
535:Time and Chance: an Autobiography
216:(1923–2007), astronomer, educator
793:from the original on 2021-12-21.
315:The Trap Door Spiders in fiction
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833:. iTricks.com. 11 October 2007.
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234:(1933–2018), journalist, author
892:Banquets of the Black Widowers
855:Casebook of the Black Widowers
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923:Science fiction organizations
867:Asimov (1994), pages 378-379.
634:Asimov (1994), pages 377–378.
601:Asimov (1994), pages 538–539.
563:Asimov (1994), pages 376-377.
452:
434:) in "The Woman in the Bar."
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75:remembers that an editor for
858:, New York, Doubleday, 1980.
243:(1906–1991), admiral, writer
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264:(1929–2010), author, editor
249:(1906–1969), science writer
210:(1915–1993), author, editor
198:(1911–2006), artist, author
10:
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186:(1914–2009), archaeologist
18:
723:, June 11, 1956, page 30.
710:De Camp (1996), page 265.
701:De Camp (1996), page 362.
676:Gardner (2013), page 148.
667:(blog), October 10, 2008.
592:No. 23, 2001 pages 42–49.
509:, June 25, 1969, page 47.
279:Harrison Smith, publisher
228:(1901–1994), cartographer
119:This article needs to be
62:was matron of honor, and
16:New York literary society
933:Culture of New York City
818:TheWayTheFutureBlogs.com
812:Pohl, Frederik (2009). "
738:Asimov's Science Fiction
689:, June 8, 1991, page B6.
625:Asimov (1994), page 378.
576:, June 8, 1943, page 24.
322:The Bronze God of Rhodes
740:, April/May 2007, p. 4.
291:Robert Zicklin, lawyer
843:Asimov (1994), p.373.
814:The Trap Door Spiders
803:Asimov (1994), p.468.
757:(blog), May 25, 2010.
533:De Camp, L. Sprague.
226:Richard Edes Harrison
46:History and practices
241:Caleb Barrett Laning
192:(1907–1988), chemist
19:For other uses, see
751:Martin Gardner Dies
687:The Washington Post
483:I. Asimov, a Memoir
285:(1918–1985), author
276:(1911–1981), author
258:(1897–1956), author
204:(1907–2000), author
180:(1930–1988), author
174:(1909–1982), editor
168:(1927–1997), editor
162:(1920–1992), author
100:Tavern on the Green
60:Inga Stephens Pratt
721:The New York Times
574:The New York Times
507:The New York Times
363:L. Sprague de Camp
202:L. Sprague de Camp
64:L. Sprague de Camp
878:In Joy Still Felt
643:Gardner, Martin.
543:978-1-880418-32-1
491:978-0-385-41701-3
431:Murder at the ABA
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143:Membership
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247:Willy Ley
131:July 2023
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