By: Sammy Wang
Man-eating plants, a common monster depicted in the horror genre, these monsters are plants that eat humans. Despite friendly greenery, it can be outright terrifying, giving the audience a shock when the plant suddenly lunges to devour its prey.
But how did the existence of Man-eating plants begin?
The earliest mention of the Man-eating plant dates back to April 26, 1874. In the daily and weekly edition of the “New York World,” a fictional letter written by a German explorer, Karl Leiche, claimed he saw a sacrifice by the “Mkodo tribe” of Madagascar that involved a Man-Eating Plant.
“The slender delicate palpi, with the fury of starved serpents, quivered a moment over her head, then as if instinct with demoniac intelligence fastened upon her in sudden coils round and round her neck and arms; then while her awful screams and yet more awful laughter rose wildly to be instantly strangled down again into a gurgling moan, the tendrils one after another, like great green serpents, with brutal energy and infernal rapidity, rose, retracted themselves, and wrapped her about in fold after fold, ever-tightening with cruel swiftness and savage tenacity of anacondas fastening upon their prey.”
Unfortunately, this caused chaos among the people, making them believe that Madagascar had a Man-Eating Plant. Luckily it was debunked when science author, Willy Ley, published his book Salamanders and Other Wonders in 1955 and wrote that there was nothing like a Man-Eating Plant in Madagascar.
Although the origin of the Man-Eating Plant was fake, it sparked many creative minds creating many classic films, books, and games.
Some famous uses of the Man-Eating Plant include the classic musical Little Shop of Horrors, The Addams Family’s pet, the African Strangles, the book Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, and the Piranha Plants in the game Mario Bros.
These fascinating monsters can be a sight to look at, but why have they shaped the way they are, taking the forms of gigantic traps or strange-looking tentacles? Well, most Man-Eating Plants are based on actual plants we see in real life! For example, in the Little Shop of Horrors, the monster takes the form of a Venus Flytrap
But plants aren’t scary..right? Well, carnivorous plants like the Venus Flytrap, Pincher Plants, and Sundew are normal to the human eye; they may seem like another pretty thing to look at, but they are predators of insects such as flies and ants. Carnivorous plants have unique hunting skills. For example, the Venus Flytrap waits for its prey to land on its mouth, then it snaps shut when the prey triggers a hair on its mouth.
Even though there is no such thing as a Man-eating plant, there might be in the future. If animals and humans can evolve, so can plants. Or maybe it is just waiting to be discovered, deep in the forest, under the sea, or beneath an unsuspecting civilian’s house.
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man-eating_plant https://eb18600f7bb2916037f5ee8e636ce199.cdn.bubble.io/f1687116080387x349353687835276520/Could%20a%20plant%20ever%20eat%20a%20person_.pdf