Don’t Stop and Smell the Roses in These 8 Plant-Based Horror Novels

Sandra Molina is a producer at a TV station when she sends her crew into a spiraling investigation of an urban legend called The Root Witch, with ties to a forest in Utah. When the crew starts to see shadows and then go missing one by one, her decision-making is called into question. Through video footage and journal entries, the story of The Root Witch and what really happened in the trees is revealed. This novelette is a quick, scary read for those who love to think about what lurks in the heart of the forest.

Less killer-plants and more horror focused on the eating of plants; The Vegetarian follows a young woman as she starts to have nightmares about meat. As a result, she decides to become a vegetarian despite her husband and family’s protests. She starts to live more “plant-like,” spending more time in the sun, in the forest, and in the rain. Her spiral into this life and the reactions of those around her bring her further and further from the woman she was.

In a world where aliens have come to Earth and take residence in Nigeria where the technologically and economically prosper, the U.S. bans travel from Africa. When a pregnant Nigerian American doctor smuggles an alien plant through LaGuardia airport, she joins a community of other Nigerians and other shapeshifting aliens. Dealing with discrimination and travel bans, the birth of her child threatens to uproot everything.

On vacation in sunny Mexico, two couples enjoy their time in the sun. When they meet a German tourist who says his brother disappeared in search of Mayan ruins, they decide to set out on a journey to find him. But something lurks in the jungle they trek through, stranding them on a hilltop with limited resources and no way out.

After the death of her girlfriend, Sarah, a writer suffering from writer’s block moves to a rural old house. While exploring her new residence, she finds the manuscript of the house’s previous occupant all about a local folklore about the oak tree in her yard. The tree takes root, urging her to write about it and infiltrating her dreams. Her grip of reality retreats as the tree fills her every thought.

This short story collection is full of Tremblay’s signature scares. The titular short story, “Growing Things” is about two sisters living in a world of destruction. A plant is taking over the world, destroying cities and leaving ruins in its wake. Other stories in the collection play off the choose-your-own-adventure genre, depict disappearing getaway drivers, and have the sadness-tinged horror Tremblay is so good at.

After the women in society contract a strange illness and die, mushrooms sprout on their graves. The mushrooms develop into sentient beings who shake up the community’s gender roles and identity. Told by the resident storyteller Nate, the overtaking of the society is creeping and a beautiful tale.

This whole collection is full of killer plants of all kinds. Haunted forests, jungles full of man-eating plants, and botanists obsessed with researching flesh-eating flowers fill the pages of this short story collection. If you’re in the mood for a variety of quick, scary growing things, this is a great option.