You’ve seen it. That flickering image of a blue engine with eight skittering, metallic legs. It’s hard to unsee. Most people call it Thomas the Train spider, but it’s actually a rabbit hole of internet memes, body horror, and a surprisingly successful indie game that basically broke the internet back in 2022.
Honestly, the whole thing is kinda weird when you think about it. Thomas the Tank Engine is supposed to be about lessons in being a "Really Useful Engine." It’s a staple of childhood. But the internet has a way of taking something wholesome and turning it into pure nightmare fuel. This isn't just one single thing; it's a whole subculture of "cursed" Thomas content that culminated in a giant, man-eating locomotive named Charles.
The Weird Origins of the Spider-Train
It didn't start with a video game.
Before we had high-def graphics of train monsters, we had the "Cursed Thomas" meme. For years, people have been modding Thomas into games where he definitely doesn't belong. You might remember the Skyrim mod where every dragon was replaced by a giant, screaming Thomas the Tank Engine. Or the Resident Evil 2 mod where Mr. X—the terrifying, unstoppable pursuer—became a giant blue train.
But the actual "spider" aspect? That’s more specific.
A lot of the credit goes to a digital artist and animator named Tom Coben. Back in 2020, he released a short, 3D animation titled Thomas Feeds. It was brief, grainy, and genuinely unsettling. In the video, Sir Topham Hatt is running through a dark tunnel, only to be chased down by a Thomas whose boiler splits open to reveal spider-like legs and a rows of needle-sharp teeth. It went viral. Fast.
People were fascinated by the "Son of Shelob" vibe. It tapped into a very specific kind of uncanny valley fear—the idea that Thomas’s frozen, plastic-looking face was actually a mask for something much more predatory.
Choo-Choo Charles: When the Meme Became Real
If you’re searching for Thomas the Train spider today, you’re almost certainly looking for Choo-Choo Charles.
In 2021, a solo developer named Gavin Eisenbeisz (under the studio name Two Star Games) released a trailer for a game that looked like a fever dream. You’re on an island. You have a yellow train with a mounted machine gun. And you’re being hunted by a massive, red, spider-legged train with a human-like face and a clownish grin.
It wasn't officially Thomas—copyright is a thing, obviously—but everyone knew exactly what it was referencing.
What makes it actually scary?
- The Unscripted Nature: Unlike a lot of horror games where the monster only appears during cutscenes, Charles just... wanders. You’ll be off your train, scavenging for scraps in the woods, and you’ll hear that distant, distorted whistle.
- The Mobility: Trains are supposed to be stuck on tracks. That’s the rule. But the Thomas the Train spider monster ignores the rules. It uses those spindly legs to climb over hills and through forests, which is deeply wrong to look at.
- The Cult: The game adds lore about a mining company that found "eggs" underground. There are literally people on the island wearing masks who worship this train.
Why We’re Obsessed With This
There is a legitimate psychological reason why this particular monster works. It's called the "corruption of the innocent."
We have these deep-seated memories of Thomas as a safe, predictable character. When you take that face—the one that taught you about sharing and hard work—and put it on a multi-legged carnivore, it creates a massive amount of cognitive dissonance.
It's the same reason Five Nights at Freddy's or Poppy Playtime blew up. We like being scared by the things that used to make us feel safe.
Technical Reality vs. Internet Fiction
Don't get it twisted: there is no "secret episode" of the original show where Thomas turns into a spider. I’ve seen those clickbait thumbnails on YouTube. They aren't real.
Most of what you see on TikTok or YouTube "Content Farms" is just people using assets from Choo-Choo Charles or fan-made 3D models. There’s a whole genre of "EXE" videos—like Thomas.exe—that use these spider forms to create "lost episodes" for kids to stumble upon.
How to Experience It Yourself
If you actually want to play the "official" version of this nightmare, you have a few options:
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- Choo-Choo Charles (The Game): This is the gold standard. It’s available on Steam, PlayStation, and Xbox. It’s short—maybe 3 to 5 hours—but it’s the most polished version of the concept.
- Garry's Mod: If you want the actual Thomas model with spider legs, the G-Mod community has hundreds of "Nextbot" versions that will chase you through maps.
- Roblox: There are countless "Spider Train" clones on Roblox. Some are actually pretty decent survival games, while others are just jumpscare simulators.
The fascination with the Thomas the Train spider isn't going away. It’s become its own trope in the horror genre. We’ve moved past the simple meme of a "creepy train" and into a full-blown era of train-core horror.
If you're looking to dive deeper into this, your next move should be checking out the original Two Star Games devlogs on YouTube. Gavin documented the entire process of building Charles from scratch, and it’s a fascinating look at how a simple "cursed" idea becomes a million-dollar gaming hit. Just don't go looking for those "lost episodes" late at night unless you're prepared for some seriously weird AI-generated fever dreams.