Botanical Curses and Poisons: The Shadow Lives of Plants

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If you drink much from a bottle marked ‘poison’, it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later.’ This collection is a stellar roundup of tales that capture the birth of the botanical gothic genre. Published in the span of 1844 to 1932, the 14 short fiction works in the collection are written by some of the greatest gothic writers in history. Daisy Butcher gives a fascinating and insightful introduction that will make you want to dive deeper into the collected stories and the genre itself. 2. Chlorophobia: An Eco-Horror Anthology by A.R. Ward The A-Z layout of the plants makes for a really manageable structure, and gives the reader regular natural breaks to allow for them to reflect and absorb what they have read. But the facts and stories themselves are so interesting that you can easily read a large portion in one sitting.

Botanical Curses and Poisons: The Shadow Lives of Plants

The facts about the different plants, and the folklore and mythology that are included make it feel like such a rich tapestry of storytelling.If you drink much from a bottle marked ‘poison’, it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later.’ – Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland About the Author This book is filled with meticulous detail on plants, the history behind poisoning and how a plant used to heal can be lethal if the incorrect dose is given. The book is beautifully illustrated by simple mono line drawings which stir the imagination and which give, along with the text, a comprehensive guide to the A-Z of Plants which could potentially do great harm. There is a disclaimer at the start of the book to not try any of these as the book is for information and entertainment only and not a medicinal guide to try plant based medicine at home. My current WIP features a carnivorous plant that I invented. When I got to the carnivorous plant section, I learned that it would likely be a part of the sundew family and not entirely impractical in it's invention. This is what I mean by inspiration. There's a never-ending supply of fun ways to kill characters. Perfect for any mischievous writer. The reason tomatoes are included in this tome is worth the retail price. Edited by rising star A.R. Ward, this Ghost Orchid Press anthology contains 50 eco-horror tales from emerging authors. While eco-horror is more broadly defined than botanical gothic and can include animals and other ecological phenomena, you’ll find a number of stories to love in this book that are considered botanical gothic. I’m thrilled that my short story “The Devour of the Saddle Flower” is included within this spine-chilling anthology. 3. What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

Review: Botanical Curses and Poisons – A Cat, A Book, and A Review: Botanical Curses and Poisons – A Cat, A Book, and A

I’ll be honest, at first a book about just poisons didn’t seem as wide of a topic as a book about herbal medicine in general, and so I was surprised to see that Botanical Curses and Poisons is actually quite a bit longer than Folk Magic and Healing. But describing it as a book about poisons is selling it short. Lots of plants can be poisonous but only in specific ways—maybe only a certain part of the plant is toxic or it’s dangerous only if prepared in a certain way. (Inky cap mushrooms, for instance, are safe to eat unless consumed with alcohol, at which point they become poisonous.) Plus, in addition to poisonous plants, it covers all sorts of plants with sinister history, ranging from uses in dark magic to mythological associations with death. The latter is actually a huge category, as there are all sorts of fascinating reasons a plant would become associated with death—perhaps it’s the favored flower of a goddess of death, or it might grow in graveyards, or it smells like rotting flesh, or maybe it just has a pale and spectral look that made people think of ghosts. Beans were associated with death in the British Isles because people noticed that more accidents happened in the mines during the season when bean plants flower, which was definitely caused by the beans and not the fact that mines were more dangerous during the rainy season! Other plants have built-in abilities that can feel sinister or malevolent. Cogon grass is very flammable and burns hotter than regular flames, an ability it uses to burn down the other plants around it to make room for cogon shoots to sprout in the newly barren earth. Unexpected additions to this list were plants such as broad beans, hydrangea, willow and even basil. There are some truly deadly additions to this list including one that is highly restricted under the terrorism act in the UK. As well as the plants that will make your life much shorter and painful, Inkwright has included plants that have been used in folklore to curse others, such as elder, hellebore and willow. All this is discussed, and more, in Botanical Curses and Poisons, the latest book by author/illustrator Fez Inkwright and a pretty direct followup to her charming 2019 publication Folk Magic and Healing. Inkwright cites botany, nature, early religions and folklore as her greatest passions, and all of these topics are seen in equal measure in both her books. Botanical Curses and Poisons makes a great companion piece, not just because the two books would look great on a shelf together, but also because it’s structured very similarly to its predecessor. With the exception of a few interesting short articles at the beginning, most of the book is set up like an encyclopedia of botanicals. Each entry starts with an excerpt from poetry or literature that references the plant, and most also include a beautiful and delicate ink drawing of what it looks like. They certainly do look nice together, though!So, grab a cup of tea, a comfortable chair, and prepare to delve into the dark, twisted world of botanical gothic literature. 1. Evil Roots: Killer Tales of the Botanical Gothic by Daisy Butcher I already knew I had a few poisonous/toxic plants in my garden but I was amazed to discover the violet, which I always thought was such a happy little flower was so associated with death and the underworld. People have learnt the very hard way over time immemorial which plants are safe and which are deadly. People have used this plant knowledge too for all sorts of nefarious dealings too, planning a murder using the poisons from a plant requires careful and deliberate preparation. Yet some of these plants have a very grey line between medicine and toxin and knowing what plant is capable of what normally needs an expert. Reader, it was probably one of the best random decisions I’ve made in a while. This book was fantastic.

Botanical Curses and Poisons by Fez Inkwright | Open Library Botanical Curses and Poisons by Fez Inkwright | Open Library

I’m undoubtedly a botanical gothic fan, so I’m compelled to include my newly released novel The Haunting of Willow Creek. The novel evokes a modern botanical gothic feel. Brimming with whispering willows, ghoulish paintings, and slithering roots, I intertwine ghosts, nature, and daylight horror along with a heavy dose of weeping willow folklore. Poisonings are among the most memorable deaths in history, from the Roman Empire to the Medieval era and beyond. Concealed and deliberate, it’s a crime that must be planned in advance. And yet there is a fine line between healing and poisoning – Paracelsus argued that only the dosage matters! Discover the folklore and history of our most toxic plants through this beautifully produced, gorgeously illustrated compendium. I don’t know if you’re a plant person like I am, but if you are, I highly suggest giving this book a read. It ended up being one of the highlights of my reading year so far.Fez Inkwright is an illustrator, author, and folklorist. Her greatest passions are botany, nature, primitive religions, and folklore, which flavor most of her work. For the past eight years she has produced work for children’s books, hand-drawn maps, and tattoo design, and now spends her time indulging in conservation work and writing. She lives in Bristol, UK, with two cats and several hundred bees. Available As: Kingfisher takes these elements from the original story and ratchets it up to ten million, with the most eerie fungi (and rabbits!) that I’ve ever read. Yes, fungi may not technically be a plant, but as Daisy Butcher mentions in her Evil Roots introduction, they largely operate in a similar thematic manner. So What Moves the Dead is not to be missed for anyone looking to read more botanical gothic works. 4. The Evil Garden by Edward Gorey Thank you so much to @turnaround_books and @liminal11 for sending me a copy of this stunning book in exchange for an honest review.

Botanical Gothic Books Plants with a Dark Side: 6 Must-Read Botanical Gothic Books

I’m a big gardener, and I’m also a fantasy author. When I started writing one of my current works in progress, I realized that after the pandemic and health issues and all the emotional upheaval and stress from that, I wanted to write a book that was maybe a bit softer, with a magic system that paid homage to the plant world that I love so much. But I didn’t really want a “kitchen witch” feel to the magic. I wanted something else entirely. I settled on a “flower magic” system. First off I have to start by saying that this book about botanical curses and poisons is really quite stunning. It has a tactile cover which makes you want to stroke it before you open to reveal end papers which are filled with dramatic images of skulls, bones, berries and pretty cup shaped flowers, all of which I am sure have deadly portents. If you drink much from a bottle marked ‘poison,’ it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later.” – Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland Botanical Curses and Poisons: The Shadow-Lives of Plants was a wonderful blend of folklore, facts and coziness. I grew up surrounded by the stories that plants tell us. Almost every single person in my immediate family is a keen gardener and instilled that love within me at a very young age. I finally got my own garden for the first time this year so my obsession only continues to grow and this book was such a wonderful way to finish of my first full year of tending my garden throughout all seasons. That is not to say that I'm intending to grow poisonous plants, but it's always good to know what to avoid.The problem is, I don’t really grow flowers. I have an absolutely huge garden, but “flowers” is not really part of it. I grow vegetables and fruits, and a lot of them come from all around the world, but I don’t really grow flowers. So I knew when I set out to write this book that I needed to get books about flowers, and about the specific parts of them I need for this magic system. I think I have found a new favourite Non-Fiction recommendation folks! I don't read a lot of Non-Fiction, and there is always an unknown around how accessible the writing is going to be... and there are no such worries here. This is a glorious book; beautifully and lovingly written, completely engaging and utterly compelling. I was surprised by most of this book. Some of these things I already knew, but even in the plants I read about that I thought I knew about, I learned unexpected things, whether it was mythology or historical usage or maybe a bit of both. It ended up being, quite frankly, one of the most illuminating plant books I’ve ever read. The accessible prose and the subject matter combined to create a book I both couldn’t put down and couldn’t stop thinking about.