Monster Plants and the Humans who Invent Them | Monstrum

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For millennia humans have turned to plants to heal the sick and wounded, to ward against evil, and grant magical powers. But what happens when plants themselves become conscious, and turn killers?

The world is full of monsters, myths, and legends and Monstrum isn’t afraid to take a closer look. The show, hosted by Emily Zarka, Ph.D., takes us on a journey to discover a new monster in each new episode. Monstrum looks at humans' unique drive to create and shape monster mythology through oral storytelling, literature, and film and digs deep into the history of those mythologies.

For audio descriptions, go to Settings - Audio Track - English Descriptive.

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Written and Hosted by: Dr. Emily Zarka
Director: David Schulte
Executive Producer: Amanda Fox
Producer: Thomas Fernandes
Editor/Animator: P.W. Shelton
Illustrator: Samuel Allan
Executive in Charge (PBS): Maribel Lopez
Director of Programming (PBS): Gabrielle Ewing
Additional Footage: Shutterstock
Music: APM Music

Descriptive Audio & Captions provided by The Described and Captioned Media Program

Produced by Spotzen for PBS Digital Studios.

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Bibliography

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Darwin, Erasmus. The botanic garden, part II. containing the loves of the plants, a poem. With philosophical notes. Volume the second. J. Jackson, 1789.

Emboden, William A. Bizarre Plants: magical, monstrous, and mythical. Macmillan Publishing Co., 1974.

Foersch, N. P. "Natural History of the BOHON-UPAS, Or POISON-TREE of the Island of JAVA." The New Wonderful Magazine and Marvellous Chronicle, vol. 2, no. 13, 1794, pp. 79-86.

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. “Rappaccini’s Daughter.”

Howe, Andrew. “Monstrous Flora: Dangerous Cinematic Plants of the Cold War Era.” The Green Thread: Dialogues with the Vegetal World, edited by Patrícia Vieira, et al., Lexington Books, 2015, pp. 147-164.

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Miller, T. S. “Lives of the Monster Plants: The Revenge of the Vegetable in the Age of Animal Studies.” Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, vol. 23, no. 3 (86), 2012, pp. 460.

Miller, T.S. “Plants, Monstrous.” The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters, edited by Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock, Ashgate Publishing, 2014.

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Swift, Jonathan. The Wonderful magazine, and marvellous chronicle; or, New weekly entertainer. A work recording authentic accounts of the most extraordinary productions, events, and occurrences, in providence, nature, and art. ... Vol. 2, C. Johnson, no. 14, 1793.

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