Japanese Spider Woman lived in a mountain hideaway with her rundown human servants. When the hero Raiko, was traveling at night, he saw a mysterious skull flying into a cave. Going to investigate it, he found himself caught in a huge sticky web. The weaver of the web seemed to be a human woman of great loveliness but it was really the evil Spider Woman. He struck out with his sword and the woman fled. Raiko's servant Tsuna rescued his master and together they discovered the white Spider lying with a sword sticking out of her body.
In Scandinavia, Elves have become associated with the Hulder, a small race with more kinship to dwarves or brownies. They have also a tradition of being mischievous and spiteful.