Man vs. Nature. It’s a conflict at the core of so much of Gothic and horror fiction and takes a myriad of forms. But the most literal iteration of this trope when the story’s protagonists find themselves up against deadly, monstrous plants. From poisonous perfumes to strangling vines to invasions of invasive species, who knows what untold horrors might be hidden in the greenery around you! Below are a few of my favorite examples of people-killing plants throughout horror literature.
“Rappaccini’s Daughter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1844)
This short story may not be as popular as Hawthorne’s Puritan-inspired tales like The Scarlet Letter and “Young Goodman Brown,” but it’s not one you should miss! The story takes place in Italy and centers on an ill-fated romance with the daughter of the misanthropic scientist Dr. Rappaccini. Beatrice has been raised to tend her father’s garden of poisonous plants and has become immune to their toxins. But she harbors a dark secret—Beatrice’s close relationship with a particular purple-flowered shrub has rendered her toxic herself! Flowers wither in her grasp and insects fall dead from her breath, but these ominous signs don’t deter the young Giovanni from courting her. Alas, nothing good can come of romancing such a literal femme fatale. If something about this story sounds familiar, you may not be surprised to hear that “Rappaccini’s Daughter” served as inspiration for the well-known DC Comics villain Poison Ivy.
“The Purple Terror” by Fred M. White (1898)
Deadly plants with purple blossoms seem to be a recurring theme in the nineteenth century. In “The Purple Terror,” British author Fred M. White explores colonial anxieties and the exoticized danger of foreign lands. Set against the backdrop of the Spanish–American War, the story follows a band of American sailors tasked with traveling on foot across a stretch of Cuban jungle to deliver a letter to another ship. The band’s leader, Lieutenant Scarlett, is an avid botanist and becomes distracted from his mission by the chance to study an unusual purple orchid that grows in the region. He enlists a local Cuban named Tito to lead them through the jungle to where the flowers grow. Tito does so eagerly, but fails to mention one little detail—at night these orchids send down jagged-toothed vines to prey upon any living creature that ventures under their radius. Scarlett and his men narrowly avoid the fate that has apparently already befallen a string of European explorers. The story is unsympathetic in its depiction of Tito and the other Cubans. But presented with the option of trading his Spanish oppressors for American ones, can you blame him for weaponizing the local flora against these intruding imperialists?
Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham (1951)
Of course, fears of foreign plants weren’t just limited to the Victorian era! Though the specific foreign locale tends to change to reflect the anxieties of the times. In John Wyndham’s 1951 post-apocalyptic novel, Day of the Triffids, the ambulatory carnivorous plants of the title appear to have been bioengineered by the U.S.S.R. Both this suggestion of bioweapons and the mention of militarized satellites are clearly inspired by Cold War fears. The novel’s protagonist, Bill Mason, is a biologist who works with triffids, harvesting their valuable oil. The story opens with Mason recovering in the hospital after his eyes had been splashed by triffid poison at work. The accident turns out to be fortuitous—Mason’s bandaged eyes mean that he misses out on the apocalyptic meteor shower that causes most of the population to lose their sight. Mason spends the rest of the novel teaming up with various other sighted survivors, trying to avoid both the desperate blind masses and the flesh-eating triffids. Day of the Triffids has been adapted many times for radio, film, and television.
Little Shop of Horrors (musical, 1982)
And, of course, I can’t talk about pernicious plants without giving a shout-out to the villainous Venus flytrap of Little Shop of Horrors. Originally a B-movie from 1960, the premise was adapted into a rock musical in 1982 and then a filmed version of the musical in 1986. In the musical, an awkward florist employee named Seymour finds himself caring for an unusually large Venus flytrap, whom he names Audrey II, after his crush. He quickly discovers that the plant feeds on blood. Seymour initially feeds Audrey II from his own cut finger, but this isn’t enough and the plant soon persuades Seymour to bring it more victims. By Act 2, Audrey II has racked up a significant body count with Seymour as its reluctant accomplice. At the end it is revealed that Audrey II is the ultimate foreign invasive species—an alien from outer space intent on world domination!
What are your favorite examples of pernicious plants in horror fiction? Are you familiar with the works I’ve listed here? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
I’m familiar with Rapaccini’s Daughter only in that I saw the movie that starred Vincent Price, lol. I never got around to reading it, but the movie inspired me to write my own poem based on it! I love the concept of a poisonous woman… Kind of tragic though.
I definitely recommend giving it a read! It’s available online and is a pretty quick read. I haven’t seen that adaptation, but you can’t go wrong with Vincent Price!
Of course there is even more threat from fungi, and I realize this every time I kick a puff ball mushroom. Thanks for your wonderful spores, I mean blog.
Yes! Have you read Mexican Gothic? Mushrooms are terrifying!
Hello. Yes, I read it and found her writing quite appealing.