2009 Hallowe'en event



The 2009 Halloween event, also called Web of Shadows, was a holiday event that was released on Monday 26 October 2009 and was removed on Monday 9 November 2009. The event took place in the Grim Reaper's house and the Spider Realm. To access the event, the player could enter a black portal (similar to a Player-owned house portal) located South of Falador and east of Rimmington (where the Elemental Wizards are located), at the same location that the portal was two years ago during the 2007 Halloween event. See the holiday event icon on the world map and minimap.

The Grim Reaper's House


Players would talk to the Grim Reaper in his house in the black portal south-west of Falador. He would tell them he had a spider in his bath, and wanted it removed. If players refused, he would kill them and they would appear outside the portal with all of their items. Players headed to the northern room with the staircase and ascended the stairs. They found the spider in the bathtub where the yellow dot was located on the minimap and talked to her. She would tell you, in one or two word answers, that the Spider Queen had sent her and that she would only move if the Spider Queen told her to. Players reported back to the Grim Reaper, and he would create a goo-like portal for them to teleport to the Spider Realm. After entering it, players would find themselves on the first floor of a four floor area.



Spider Realm - First Floor
On the first floor, players would find themselves on a small unstable web. The player had to cross web strands to reach the ladder at centre of the web, however, only certain web strands could support the player -- If the player crossed a wrong strand, they would fall down and be taken back to the beginning of the web. The player had to use trial-and-error to find the correct strands and make their way to the centre of the web. Note that there is only one correct path that the player may take, and it was different for every player.(This puzzle was similar to the "Where am I?" puzzle of Lunar Diplomacy, or the "Pit and the Grid" puzzle of Underground Pass, albeit in a much more simple form). There were a few reports of players successfully completing the First Floor by taking the longest route possible (eg looping left, and coming in on the Northwest part of the ladder instead). Many players thought that it depended on their "agility" as to whether or not they would be able to cross a web strand.

Spider Realm - Second Floor
The second floor of the dungeon was an Agility course style level. Players were required to do various stunts such as swing across monkey bars, walk tightropes, hop from stone to stone and do Matrix-esque wall runs. The obstacles could not be failed. They did not give any Agility experience for Free-to-play or Pay-to-play, either. The player had to make their way to the ladder on the northern-most web at the centre.

Spider Realm - Third Floor
When the player reached the third level, they could find the Spider Herald. After the player mentions that they are helping the Grim Reaper, the Spider Herald would allow the player to climb the ladder to the level leading to the Queen Spider. You had to tell him that you needed to visit the queen or else there is no way there. There were many other spiders there such as the Royal Fly-Catcher, and Master Web-Spinner, Grand Chamberlain of the Web, Marshal of the Teeming Horde, Knight of the Eight-Fold Seal, Keeper of the Royal Eggs and various spider Courtiers. A way to get through without getting lost was to always go north.

Spider Realm - Fourth Floor
The Spider Queen would tell the player that the Grim Reaper offended her and the entire spider kingdom by sweeping all webs from his house, on Hallowe'en, upsetting the order set by Guthix. The Queen would refuse to let the giant spider leave from the Grim Reaper's bathroom until his house was again filled with spider webs.

The Queen would instruct the player to talk to the Spider Herald again, who will give the player a companion named Eek. The player was then instructed to return to the Grim Reaper's house and to fill the house with webs with the help of Eek. The ladder going down from the third to second level in the spider realm has the option to 'Return to the Grim Reaper's house,' meaning that the player did not have to backtrack through the dungeon.

Webbing The Grim Reaper's House
After a short conversation, the Grim Reaper would instruct the player and Eek to place webs all around the Grim Reaper's house. The player would need to hold Eek on their hand by simply clicking on Eek in their inventory, and then left-click any furniture in the house that has the Web option. A total of 64 items would need to be webbed, (34 items on bottom floor, and 30 items on the top floor) in order for the Queen Spider to be satisfied. Eek would also inform the player upon entering any room exactly how many items in that room need to be "webbed". The player could also Talk-to Eek at any time to determine how many items that need to be webbed are remaining in the current room.

The player would travel from room-to-room, looking for any object that Eek can web, and then move on to the next room when Eek informed them that the room has enough webs in it. The player webbed items such as candlesticks, chairs, tables, beds, footlockers, Death Clocks, wardrobes, cabinets, bookcases and fireplaces.

There was a room with Muncher, the Grim Reaper's dog, where the player would not be allowed to spin any webs until Muncher was satisfied - attempting to do so would result in Eek being scared by Muncher and unable to spin the web. You could right-click Muncher (or simply click Interact to open a dialogue box); and then Entertain him and then let him sniff Eek, so that Muncher could see that Eek is harmless. However, if the Raspberry option was selected, then muncher would kill the player in only one hit, no matter how high their combat level was. After Eek states that Muncher likes her, the items in Muncher's room could be webbed by Eek.

Once sixty-four webs have been spun in the house, the player would need to talk to the Grim Reaper to let him know the task is complete, and finally go to the Queen Spider (Select Go to spider court to bypass the maze) to remove the giant spider from the Reaper's bathroom and to claim their reward. Players could converse with the Herald, Death, and the "bathtub spider" for more dialogue after finishing the quest. The Herald will vow never to forget your deeds, Death will reveal plans to tidy up the place after Hallowe'en, and the bathtub spider will continue to be mostly mono-syllabic.

Rewards


The rewards for completing Web of Shadows were:
 * Eek the Spider
 * A Web cloak
 * The Trick, Scared and Zombie Hand emotes (if you did not have them prior to this event).

Music
Music tracks unlocked:
 * Trick or Treat?
 * Itsy Bitsy....
 * Poison Dreams

Trivia

 * There is a glitch that will occur when wielding most shields (and prayer books) while holding Eek. The shield will not be visible while standing, but will be visible while walking.
 * Occasionally, when walking on the webs, when attempting to walk to another web, it will say "You don't have a direct line to that node" is a reference to Network topologies, a "node" being an object connected to the network such as a computer, printer, scanner etc.
 * Eek the Spider may be a reference to the cartoon "Eek the cat".
 * Within the first couple of minutes on the log-in confirmation screen, Eek the spider could not be seen and the spider was invisible.
 * When you mention the "walk on two legs" option, she says she will "use the other six to FIGHT CRIME!", another possible reference to "Spider-Man."
 * The Death Clock has an examine info that reads: "Every swing of the pendulum brings you closer to the moment of your death." This may be a reference to Edgar Allan Poe's The Pit and the Pendulum.
 * The Death Clock may also be a reference to the show Metalocalypse, which follows the life of a band called Dethklok.
 * The character in the main page banner is wearing the Agile top and Agile legs.
 * When walking on the spider web, it is possible to walk through air. This happens when you click diagonally to the web.
 * On the second floor, it was possible to stand on air on the west side of the web north of the starting web. This was done by going northeast across a set of pillars then clicking on the west side of the run wall to the south when standing at the end of the pillars. The player would then move to the air after a few seconds.Walking_on_air.png
 * If you try to rest while on an obstacle on the second floor, it says "You can't rest in that form."
 * Players can drop logs but not make fires, on the first web maze spots. Players can light fires at the middle web, however.
 * Wielding a Toy Kite while navigating the maze causes it to glitch and appear as if it's floating.
 * Death (Grim Reaper) is rolling a Death rune around the fingers on his left hand.
 * When you get close to the Dark Portal, it gets darker. Even with a light source such as a bullseye lantern, it will still get darker.
 * There was a glitch that if you did the "Zombie walk" emote before teleporting, Eek would get her own "teleport cylinder"
 * Muncher was initially at the south point of the room, however moved in a Hidden Update by Jagex he can now move to wherever he likes within the room.
 * After you have completed the event, if you go upstairs, the yellow dot for the bathtub spider will still show on your minimap. The spider itself is gone; however, the bathtub is actually considered an NPC. This may be seen by right-clicking it: its name appears in yellow rather than cyan (the name colour of scenery objects). The rubber ducky can no longer be examined, after the event, as well.
 * The Spider Queen exacting revenge upon the Grim Reaper is a nod in the direction of the cartoon The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, specifically the one-hour TV special entitled The Wrath of the Spider Queen
 * If the player dies while in the Grim Reaper's house (by refusing to do the Grim Reaper's "chores" or being otherwise relucant to comply), they will respawn at the house's entrance. You will not receive full Hitpoints, Prayer points, or Run energy, and your stats will remain the same as they were before your "death". Furthermore, no protection Prayer is capable of negating or reducing the damage causing your character's death.
 * The Grim Reaper's house can be accessed on PvP worlds and players can be slain in there as normal. Basically, it is not considered a safe zone.
 * While playing with Eek then switching to the easter ring, Eek's web emote will continue.
 * When covering objects with webs, a new cursor exclusive to this event will appear: [[File:Web-cursor.png]]
 * Penguins from Penguin Hide and Seek can be found wearing Jack-o-Lanterns as disguises during the event. If you find one, it is known by the veterans as a Pumpkin Penguin.
 * Players were able to visit Diango in Draynor and claim holiday items multiple times. Players received multiple instances of Warlock Clothing and Santa Outfits. Although this glitch has been fixed, the items remained in players banks.
 * When speaking to the Spider Herald afterward, he mentions a hero named Anansi. Anansi the trickster was a spider/human hero from West African folklore. He also mentions a hero named Arachne. Arachne was a a skilled weaver that was turned into a spider by the Greek goddess Athena in Greek mythology. The Spider Herald also mentions a hero named Incey-Wincey, who scared Miss Muffet. This is a joke on two childrens' song, The Incey-Wincey Spider and Little Miss Muffet.
 * If the player webs one object in the room where Death sits, and leaves the room; upon returning, Eek says:"I can see eight things I want to web in this room! Maybe I'll do one with each leg!" This is the only room with 9 objects in it.
 * While the Spider Queen says the cloak is made entirely from webs. However, upon examination, players will see that it is actually made of "black silk and gossamer".
 * There was a glitch involving the table in the room with Muncher. When a player used an item on the table to drop it there, the item would float in the air. This also happened with a similar table on the second floor.
 * Turning off "Floor decoration" in the Spider Courtroom will remove the floor.