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Trap Door Spiders
The Trap Door Spiders are a literary male-only eating, drinking, and arguing society in New York City, with a membership historically composed of notable science fiction personalities. The name is a reference to the reclusive habits of the trapdoor spider, which when it enters its burrow pulls the hatch shut behind it.〔Asimov, Isaac. ''I. Asimov, a Memoir'', New York, Doubleday, 1994, page 377. ISBN 978-0-385-41701-3.〕〔Sullivan, Walter. "Willy Ley, Prolific Science Writer, Is Dead at 62," in ''The New York Times'', June 25, 1969, page 47.〕〔De Camp, L. Sprague. ''Time and Chance: an Autobiography'', Hampton Falls, NH, Donald M. Grant, 1996, page 196. ISBN 978-1-880418-32-1.〕
==History and practices==
The Trap Door Spiders were established by author Fletcher Pratt in 1944, in response to the June 7, 1943 marriage of his friend Dr. John D. Clark to operatic soprano Mildred Baldwin. The new Mrs. Clark was unpopular with her husband's friends, despite their participation in the ceremony (Pratt's own wife Inga Stephens Pratt was matron of honor, and L. Sprague de Camp served as Clark's best man).〔〔Asimov (1994), pages 376-377.〕〔"Mildred Baldwin Bride: Opera Singer Wed to Dr. John D. Clark in Ceremony Here," in ''The New York Times'', June 8, 1943, page 24.〕 Pratt reasoned that the club would give them an excuse to spend time with him without her.〔〔 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 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.
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 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?" Jack Coggins remembers that an editor for ''Reader's Digest'' went home from a meeting in tears after a brutally personal grilling.〔Miller, Ron. "Jack Coggins," interview and article in ''Outre Magazine'' No. 23, 2001 pages 42–49.〕 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.
The group remained active through at least January 16, 1990, when its members attended a party given by Doubleday for Isaac Asimov at Tavern on the Green in New York City. The event commemorated Asimov's seventieth birthday and the fortieth anniversary of the publication of his first book.〔Asimov (1994), pages 538–539.〕 According to L. Sprague de Camp, the club was "still thriving" as of 1996.〔
抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』
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