{"id":10533,"date":"2025-05-22T07:00:02","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T11:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/?p=10533"},"modified":"2025-05-16T19:40:40","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T23:40:40","slug":"tales-of-the-sinister-liminal-mushroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/tales-of-the-sinister-liminal-mushroom\/","title":{"rendered":"Tales of the Sinister, Liminal Mushroom"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><div id=\"tdi_1\" class=\"tdc-row\"><div class=\"vc_row tdi_2  wpb_row td-pb-row\" >\n<style scoped>\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n.tdi_2,\r\n                .tdi_2 .tdc-columns{\r\n                    min-height: 0;\r\n                }.tdi_2,\r\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_2 .tdc-columns{\r\n\t\t\t\t    display: block;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_2 .tdc-columns{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: 100%;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_2:before,\r\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_2:after{\r\n\t\t\t\t    display: table;\r\n\t\t\t\t}\n<\/style><div class=\"vc_column tdi_4  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<style scoped>\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n.tdi_4{\r\n                    vertical-align: baseline;\r\n                }.tdi_4 > .wpb_wrapper,\r\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_4 > .wpb_wrapper > .tdc-elements{\r\n\t\t\t\t    display: block;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_4 > .wpb_wrapper > .tdc-elements{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: 100%;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_4 > .wpb_wrapper > .vc_row_inner{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_4 > .wpb_wrapper{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t    height: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t}\n<\/style><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\" ><div class=\"wpb_wrapper td_block_empty_space td_block_wrap vc_empty_space tdi_6 \"  style=\"height: 32px\"><\/div>[vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>by Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\u201cThe dead don\u2019t walk. Except, sometimes, when they do.\u201d<br \/>\n\u2014T. Kingfisher, What Moves the Dead<\/p>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text]<div class=\"wpb_wrapper td_block_empty_space td_block_wrap vc_empty_space tdi_8 \"  style=\"height: 32px\"><\/div>[vc_column_text css=&#8221;&#8221;]<span class=\"dropcap dropcap2\">In<\/span> recent years, mushrooms have appeared in some very particular realms of speculative literature\u2014 horror and the Gothic. It turns out that mushrooms are the perfect vehicle for scary stories. Part of it is their sheer liminality. Despite all of our scientific advancements, we still don\u2019t really understand them. They\u2019re not exactly flora, not exactly fauna, but something entirely different\u2014something that resists categorization.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">What cannot be put into tidy boxes quickly becomes fodder for tales of horror. In high-theoretical terms, monsters frighten us because of their \u201chybridity\u201d\u2014they aren\u2019t quite one thing or another, and the ambiguity is deeply unsettling. This is easy to see with classical monsters like Medusa or Scylla, whose beautiful human bodies are transformed by the addition of snakes or extra heads. Now hybrid composites, they are no longer entirely human, but they\u2019re not animals either. They\u2019ve become monstrous.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Mushrooms, which never fit into a neat category to begin with, are very ready to be made monstrous.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">One of our favorite books that explore the sinister potential of the mushroom is T. Kingfisher\u2019s <i>What<\/i><i> <\/i><i>Moves<\/i><i> <\/i><i>the<\/i><i> <\/i><i>Dead<\/i>, a 2022 retelling of Edgar Allan Poe\u2019s short story \u201cThe Fall of the House of Usher.\u201d As in Poe\u2019s story, the narrator (here named Alex Easton) arrives at the home of their friend Roderick Usher and his sister, Madeline, only to see that the house is falling into ruin. Something is very wrong: While the reason for Madeline\u2019s illness and the house\u2019s decline is never made explicit in Poe\u2019s story, Kingfisher places the blame squarely on the parasitic mushrooms that thrive in the unwholesome landscape. These are mushrooms that can literally move the dead, and when Madeline dies, she\u2019s also reanimated by their power. Remember what we said about hybridity and monstrosity? Madeline becomes part woman, part corpse, mostly mushroom. Eat your heart out, Medusa.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">Sylvia Moreno-Garcia\u2019s superb 2020 novel, <i>Mexican<\/i><i> <\/i><i>Gothic,<\/i><i> <\/i>takes the idea of mushroom-based life extension even further. Like <i>What<\/i><i> <\/i><i>Moves<\/i><i> <\/i><i>the<\/i><i> <\/i><i>Dead<\/i>, the story begins with our protagonist visiting an old Gothic home and finding it overrun with problematic mushrooms. Noem\u00ed, the book\u2019s heroine, goes to check on her cousin Catalina, who has married into the English Doyle family. Noem\u00ed quickly realizes that their mansion is overtaken with mold, fungus, and rot, which disgusts her but seems to be weirdly acceptable to the Doyles.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">It turns out that the house\u2019s mushrooms have developed a symbiotic but decidedly sinister relationship with the Doyle family. They offer healing properties, but they also seem to sap something vital from the people who dwell in the house.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\">Eventually, Noem\u00ed discovers that the family patriarch, Howard, uses the fungus to grant him an incredibly long life. But what\u2019s much worse is that the mushrooms also grant him dominance and power over all his family members. He has learned to literally take over the consciousnesses and bodies of younger family members through the mushrooms\u2019 power.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p4\">So once more, a human fused with mushrooms proves to be bad news. Like the oppressive colonial powers in Mexico to which the Doyle mushrooms are deliberately alluding, it seems like an impossible situation, but Noem\u00ed\u2019s solution is both satisfyingly dramatic and extremely warranted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">If you want to explore more sinister mushroom tales, other books that feature them include Stephen King\u2019s <i>Dreamcatcher<\/i><i> <\/i>(2001), <i>Creatures<\/i><i> <\/i><i>of Want<\/i><i> <\/i><i>and<\/i><i> <\/i><i>Ruin<\/i><i> <\/i>by Maggie Tanzer (2018), <i>Agents<\/i><i> <\/i><i>of Dreamland <\/i>by Caitl\u00edn R. Kiernan (2017), and a collection of short stories entitled <i>Fungi<\/i><i> <\/i>(2012), edited by Orrin Grey and Moreno-Garcia.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p2\">But be warned: After reading any of the books mentioned in this article, we doubt you\u2019ll be able to look at a seemingly innocent portobello the same way again.<\/p>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text]<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"tdi_9\" class=\"tdc-row\"><div class=\"vc_row tdi_10  wpb_row td-pb-row\" >\n<style scoped>\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n.tdi_10,\r\n                .tdi_10 .tdc-columns{\r\n                    min-height: 0;\r\n                }.tdi_10,\r\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_10 .tdc-columns{\r\n\t\t\t\t    display: block;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_10 .tdc-columns{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: 100%;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_10:before,\r\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_10:after{\r\n\t\t\t\t    display: table;\r\n\t\t\t\t}\n<\/style><div class=\"vc_column tdi_12  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span6\">\n<style scoped>\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n.tdi_12{\r\n                    vertical-align: baseline;\r\n                }.tdi_12 > .wpb_wrapper,\r\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_12 > .wpb_wrapper > .tdc-elements{\r\n\t\t\t\t    display: block;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_12 > .wpb_wrapper > .tdc-elements{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: 100%;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_12 > .wpb_wrapper > .vc_row_inner{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_12 > .wpb_wrapper{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t    height: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t}\n<\/style><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\" >[vc_single_image image=&#8221;10535&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; css=&#8221;&#8221;]<\/div><\/div><div class=\"vc_column tdi_14  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span6\">\n<style scoped>\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n.tdi_14{\r\n                    vertical-align: baseline;\r\n                }.tdi_14 > .wpb_wrapper,\r\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_14 > .wpb_wrapper > .tdc-elements{\r\n\t\t\t\t    display: block;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_14 > .wpb_wrapper > .tdc-elements{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: 100%;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_14 > .wpb_wrapper > .vc_row_inner{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_14 > .wpb_wrapper{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t    height: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t}\n<\/style><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\" >[vc_single_image image=&#8221;10534&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; css=&#8221;&#8221;]<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"tdi_15\" class=\"tdc-row\"><div class=\"vc_row tdi_16  wpb_row td-pb-row\" >\n<style scoped>\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n.tdi_16,\r\n                .tdi_16 .tdc-columns{\r\n                    min-height: 0;\r\n                }.tdi_16,\r\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_16 .tdc-columns{\r\n\t\t\t\t    display: block;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_16 .tdc-columns{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: 100%;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_16:before,\r\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_16:after{\r\n\t\t\t\t    display: table;\r\n\t\t\t\t}\n<\/style><div class=\"vc_column tdi_18  wpb_column vc_column_container tdc-column td-pb-span12\">\n<style scoped>\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n\n\/* custom css - generated by TagDiv Composer *\/\n.tdi_18{\r\n                    vertical-align: baseline;\r\n                }.tdi_18 > .wpb_wrapper,\r\n\t\t\t\t.tdi_18 > .wpb_wrapper > .tdc-elements{\r\n\t\t\t\t    display: block;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_18 > .wpb_wrapper > .tdc-elements{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: 100%;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_18 > .wpb_wrapper > .vc_row_inner{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t}.tdi_18 > .wpb_wrapper{\r\n\t\t\t\t    width: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t    height: auto;\r\n\t\t\t\t}\n<\/style><div class=\"wpb_wrapper\" >[vc_cta h2=&#8221;Subscribe!&#8221; txt_align=&#8221;center&#8221; style=&#8221;flat&#8221; color=&#8221;grey&#8221; add_button=&#8221;bottom&#8221; btn_title=&#8221;Subscribe Today!&#8221; btn_style=&#8221;flat&#8221; btn_color=&#8221;mulled-wine&#8221; btn_align=&#8221;center&#8221; css=&#8221;&#8221; btn_button_block=&#8221;true&#8221; btn_link=&#8221;url:https%3A%2F%2Fenchantedlivingmag.com%2Fcollections%2Fsubscribe|target:_blank|rel:nofollow&#8221;]<\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\">\n<p><img data-dominant-color=\"5d7459\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #5d7459;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-10436 size-medium aligncenter not-transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/EL70_FinalCover-231x300.avif\" alt=\"\" width=\"231\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/EL70_FinalCover-231x300.avif 231w, https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/EL70_FinalCover-789x1024.avif 789w, https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/EL70_FinalCover-768x997.avif 768w, https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/EL70_FinalCover-1183x1536.avif 1183w, https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/EL70_FinalCover-1577x2048.avif 1577w, https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/EL70_FinalCover-323x420.avif 323w, https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/EL70_FinalCover-696x904.avif 696w, https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/EL70_FinalCover-1068x1387.avif 1068w, https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/EL70_FinalCover-1920x2493.avif 1920w, https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/EL70_FinalCover-scaled.avif 1972w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 231px) 100vw, 231px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><i>Enchanted Living<\/i><\/em> is a quarterly print magazine that celebrates all things enchanted.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><em><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Subscribe now and begin with our Mushroom<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/em><b style=\"font-family: Verdana, BlinkMacSystemFont, -apple-system, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Open Sans', 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;\">\u00a0<\/b><em><strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">issue!<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n<p>[\/vc_cta]<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[vc_column_text css=\"\"] by Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman \u201cThe dead don\u2019t walk. Except, sometimes, when they do.\u201d \u2014T. Kingfisher, What Moves the Dead [\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=\"\"]In recent years, mushrooms have appeared in some very particular realms of speculative literature\u2014 horror and the Gothic. It turns out that mushrooms are the perfect vehicle for scary stories. 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Enchanted Living Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Discover how mushrooms become eerie symbols of hybridity, decay, and horror in Gothic and speculative fiction\u2014from Mexican Gothic to What Moves the Dead.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/tales-of-the-sinister-liminal-mushroom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tales of the Sinister, Liminal Mushroom &#8211; Enchanted Living Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Discover how mushrooms become eerie symbols of hybridity, decay, and horror in Gothic and speculative fiction\u2014from Mexican Gothic to What Moves the Dead.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/tales-of-the-sinister-liminal-mushroom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Enchanted Living Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Faerie-Magazine-65239508296\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-22T11:00:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ekamelev-aJCiOy846G8-unsplash-scaled.avif\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1689\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sara Cleto\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Faeriemagazine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Faeriemagazine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sara Cleto\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/tales-of-the-sinister-liminal-mushroom\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/tales-of-the-sinister-liminal-mushroom\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Sara Cleto\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/#\/schema\/person\/84df50fbb7844c66e0070e609486cfbe\"},\"headline\":\"Tales of the Sinister, Liminal Mushroom\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-22T11:00:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/tales-of-the-sinister-liminal-mushroom\/\"},\"wordCount\":785,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/tales-of-the-sinister-liminal-mushroom\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/enchantedlivingmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/ekamelev-aJCiOy846G8-unsplash-scaled.avif\",\"keywords\":[\"fungal body horror\",\"fungal Gothic\",\"fungal horror\",\"fungal monsters\",\"Gothic literature\",\"horror fungi\",\"horror literature\",\"horror tropes\",\"hybrid monsters\",\"liminal fungi\",\"Mexican Gothic\",\"mushroom horror\",\"mushroom mythology\",\"mushroom reanimation\",\"mushroom symbolism\",\"mushroom-based horror\",\"sinister mushrooms\",\"speculative fiction\",\"supernatural mushrooms\",\"Sylvia Moreno-Garcia\",\"T. 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