Plant Horror ─ Approaches to the Monstrous Vegetal in Fiction and Film

This collection explores artistic representations of vegetallife that imperil human life, voicing anxieties about our relationship to otherlife forms with which we share the earth. From medieval manuscriptillustrations to modern works of science fiction and horror, plants thatmanifest monstrous agency defy human control, challenge anthropocentricperception, and exact a violent vengeance for our blind and exploitativepractices. Plant Horror explores howdepictions of monster plants reveal concerns about the viability of ourprevailing belief systems and dominant ideologies— as well as a deep-seatedfear about human vulnerability in an era of deepening ecological crisis. Filmsdiscussed include The Day of the Triffids, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, TheWicker Man, Swamp Thing, and The Happening.