Chlorophobia: An Eco-Horror Anthology

by A.R. Ward

A group of explorers stumble upon a new species of plant in the depths of the rainforest. A novel virus drives humankind to flee the Earth. A killer fog rolls in off the sea, decimating everything in its path. Eco-horror is one of the hottest and most relevant subgenres around in 2021, and inside this anthology you'll find punchy, eye-catching flash fiction and poetry by no fewer than fifty talented authors. Plants, animals, weather phenomena… It’s time for Mother Nature to fight back.



Allison Floyd, Armand Rosamilia, Ashley Van Elswyk, Birgit K. Gaiser, Charlotte Reynolds, Chloe Spencer, Clay F. Johnson, Clint White, Corey Farrenkopf, Corey Niles, Cormack Baldwin, D.R. Roberts, Danielle Davis, Elecia Page, Freydís Moon, G.B. Lindsey, Hannah Hulbert, Hazel Ragaire, Ian A. Bain, Isaac Menuza, J.R. Handfield, Jameson Grey, Jasmine Arch, Jennifer Lee Rossman, Jennifer Shneiderman, Katherine Silva, Keely O'Shaughnessy, Lerah Mae Barcenilla, Lindsay King-Miller, Lucas Carroll-Garrett, Maggie D. Brace, Marisca Pichette, Micah Castle, Michael Bettendorf, Nico Bell, Nikki R. Leigh, Philine Schiller, Rose Taylor, Sally Hughes, Sam Lesek, Samuel Best, Sanaya Deas, Sara Crocoll Smith, SJ Townend, Sonora Taylor, Stephanie M. Wytovich, Steven Lombardi, Tonya Walter, Victoria Audley, Zé Burns

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Anthologies, Fiction, Horror Thriller, Science Fiction, Poetry

260 pages, Paperback

First published November 24, 2021

Reviews

[inciminci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whether the natural world was always sentient and held out hope for us eventually didn’t matter; what mattered was that nature rose up universally, in a single instant enacting a simple plan: do unto them as they have done to us.

With horror being a mirror to society’s fears and concerns, the emergence of the subgenre eco-horror is no surprise, really. If anything, I’m surprised it hasn’t yet gone beyond a rather paltry movement of cryptid-related nature horror, post-apocalyptic catastrophe or dystopic horror claimed mainly by science fiction and a few dedicated authors, like Brian Evenson or Jeff VanderMeer, who weave environmental anxieties in varying amounts into their work. So, it was a blast to discover Chlorophobia: An Eco-Horror Anthology, a collection of short stories and poems with artistic and/or politic ambitions focused on ecological problems, because well, it was about time.

In 37 short stories and 13 poems you can find the full range and every aspect of environmental horrors; vegetables and plants revolting, toxic air, overpopulation, alien creatures of the sea taking control over humanity, hunger, drought, bees dying, trees and mushrooms and kudzu bushes taking revenge… I’m not a great fan of poetry in English but I have a few favorites among the short stories:

“The Calcium Chimes Will Sway” by Hazel Ragaire, in which the end of the world from the hand of trees (the arbocalypse, he he) and plants is described in a really superb prose;

“Neon Fly” by S.J. Townend in which themes like food, contamination, pandemic, and the hope of life on a new planet are being tackled;

“The Red Sea” by G. B. Lindsey – this one is amazing! The very horrific and psychedelic descriptions of a day on a beach of different kind and finally

“The Uyturoi” by Zé Burns where we discover a new marine species and they’re not very nice, to say the least.

I hope that this book opens a new trend for more radical writing on ecological themes in horror, Chlorophobia" is very highly recommended for sure.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enjoyable and diverse collection of eco-horror themed flash fiction and poetry. Before reading this collection, my experience with flash fiction and, to an extent, poetry, was somewhat limited. I'm a big fan of longer short stories, but flash fiction generally always seemed too short to feel satisfying. Well, my opinion has changed.

This collection contains 37 stories and 13 poems. While not every story here worked perfectly with the form, in my opinion, I was surprised by just how many were a perfect match, offering a brief, yet frightening glimpse of climate-induced horrors. For some, if they had been any longer, it would have significantly lessened the effect. I'm not a huge poetry fan and don't know a whole lot about judging it, but all aside from one were enjoyable.

Standout stories would be:

- The Uytoroi by Zé Burns
- You Can't Have An Orchard Without Fruit by Corey Farrenkopf
- Hummingbird Whispers by Michael Bettendorf
- Glasswork Tornado by Katherine Silva

Plenty of other good ones as well, but these in particular were excellent.

Standout poems would be:

- Gifts by Charlotte Reynolds
- The Queen of the Night by Clay F. Johnson

Quite a good collection overall. I really enjoyed taking my time with this anthology and reading it alongside other books, just so the stories wouldn't quite bleed into each other as much, since so many of them are very short. 4 stars for the anthology as a whole.

[Renee Godding · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anthologies, but their very definition will always be a mixed bag. With a dozen or so contributors, there’s bound to be some works that click with you and others that don’t. Chlorophobia had the advantage of being in a genre that I tend to be intrigued by; that being eco-horror.
Overall, I felt it was a well edited collection with a strong central theme, and good variety of poems and short stories from authors of different backgrounds and styles. To my surprise, it was the poetry that spoke to me more so than the short stories, although there was plenty to love in both categories.
Some standouts for me included:

- On the Alter of the Anthropocene by Lindsay King-Miller
- Immortality Expired by Micah Castle
- The Interloper by Corey Niles
- Reap and Sow by Ashley van Elswyk
- Transplant by Tonya Walter

[Ewreck82 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection packs a punch! So much talent found within the pages, each painting a different picture of nature gone bad. From the whimsical, to the dark, to the downright disturbing, this collection hits on many different levels. Varied story length and structure kept everything fresh and moving at a fast pace.

I enjoyed aspects of each story but my standouts were :
Kudzu by Danielle Davis
Brittle is the Bark that Cries by Nikki R. Leigh
The Uytoroi by Zé Burns
The Hunger by Sanaya Deas
Care Instructions by Ian A. Bain
The Blue Moss Heart by Nico Bell

[Teresa Ardrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The stories and poems in this collection are excellent. I can’t think of one I didn’t like. Being short, punchy stories helped. I am a “read from the beginning to the end” type of anthology/collections reader. I appreciate the order that A.R. placed these stories. I think that they would work just as well being read out of order, but the order works (I have read a few anthologies where three or four very similar stories were in a row, made it hard to know the break). And even though the anthology is Eco-Horror, no two stories were alike, but still knew the assignment. Truly a delight to read.

[Leo · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars!

So there were some stories in this anthology that were really great to me — here they are in no particular order…
•Immortality Expired
•Incident in Kayapo
•Care Instructions
•Corner Lot
•Neon Fly
•Moonlight Over the Garden Doves
•Plants Can’t Scream

There were definitely more that I enjoyed but those were my personal favorites.

My problem with this anthology is that a lot of the stories felt super repetitive. It felt as though many of them began and ended the same way. A lot of them involved a farm, a lot of them involved the plants swallowing people up. While this book had some amazing unique stories ini it that I loved, a lot of them felt very very similar to the point that it took away from some of the stories because I knew exactly where they were headed. It took the suspense out of the stories when many of them were so similar.

I do love that the authors were all (from what I was told when sold this book at a convention) queer and that was definitely a bonus to be able to be introduced to more LGBT writers, but I think I also expected more LGBT stories? But that’s a minor gripe because they didn’t have to, it just would have been appreciated by me.

Anyways, I’m relatively neutral on this book but since I had a long list of stories I enjoyed in my notes, this gets a 3.5 because some stories were really innovative and not directions I would have thought with the topic.

[Shawna Mathieu · Rating 2 out of 5]

The same thing, over and over

I wanted to like this. The stories and poetry are well written, but most it it feels like the same story over and over, with the same image - the plants/trees/fungus take over and grow into/out of a person, as revenge for ruining the environment, and everyone dies, the end.

There were a few unique ones. My personal favorite was "Care Instructions." But the rest...the image was fresh, unique and horrifying once, and then it got used over and over again by nearly all the authors.

I liked the idea of eco-horror, but if it's always this repetitive and heavy-handed, no thanks.

[alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid eco-horror anthology. It was really cool to see every writer’s different take on the sub-genre.

[Valerie - Cats Luv Coffee Book Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eco-horror has quickly become one of my favorite subgenres of horror. There's something about the earth fighting back against what humanity has wrought that cheers my horror-loving heart. This anthology contains 37 short stories and 13 poems of all kinds of plant life, floral and fauna, insects, sea creatures and more. Some standouts from the collection:

In Sonora Taylor's "Farm-to-Table", a couple on a terrible first date experience a botanical takeover. There's some great body horror imagery to make you squirm.

"Chrysanthemum" by Victoria Audley tells us of the secret darkness the language of flowers can reveal.

"Imitation of Life" by J.R. Handfield teaches us the lesson the narrator had yet to comprehend—the invasiveness of the water hyacinth.

Sanaya Deas gives us an unyielding voraciousness in the form of seemingly innocuous red berries in "The Hunger".

In spite of an unfulfilled expectation of the protagonist to be a Snow White or a Briar Rose, "The Heartwood" by Sally Hughes ends up sounding like the darkest of fairytales. This one was a favorite with its Perrault-like feel.

Chlorophobia is more than a pretty cover. It's a scary good collection of stories ranging from surreal to dreadful. While there were some stories that didn't work so well for me, most were a lot of fun.


Website | Twitter | Pinterest

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This might be my new favorite genre. This is a collection of short stories describing gruesome ways of nature taking control of the earth back and killing humans. It is deeply satisfying for my dark soul that can't wait to see the downfall of humans. I highly recommend this collection to dip your toes in and see if you like eco-horror.

[Yunie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I finally got around to reading this anthology. While it was good, it was nothing extraordinary, nor was it quite what I was expecting. There were several stories that I did enjoy immensely. Outside of that everything else was just alright. I wasn't a big fan of most of the poems, but I am picky when it comes to poetry.
All the stories were well written even if not all of them I liked.
Not a bad read but probably not something I would read again anytime soon.

A final note: That cover is amazing! I'm in love with the artwork and the font used for the title.

[oh-deanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was pure bloody gold. What an engaging, thought-provoking and entertaining collection of short stories and poetry!! A. R. Ward has done it again. I feel like anytime I see her name on something, I just assume it's going to be good.

I LOVED this. I couldn't even pick a handful of stories to list as my favourites because I genuinely loved all of them. I thought they were creepy and unnerving without being over the top, and that they had an important message without being too preachy. A fine line to walk, but the authors did it so well in this collection.

Highly recommend!

[Val · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty interesting! I feel like any kind of horror linked to nature is particularly striking right now, and this collection of stories did a great job at tapping into this fear. I personally preferred the "weirder" stories that focused on smaller-scale body horror, rather than the big apocalyptic ones where nature suddenly came alive to get revenge. I also didn't particularly care for the poems, but I admit that's because I'm very picky when it comes to poetry. As a whole, this was a very original read that felt different from anything I've read before!

[Zachary Jenkins · Rating 1 out of 5]

Chlorophobia, an eco-horror anthology that I was frankly pretty disappointed with. It was what they called "flash fiction" stories which were 4-6 pages each, not nearly enough space to build the sense of dread needed. Most were just not imaginative enough with what felt like a quarter of the characters meeting their ironic fates by getting swallowed by the Earth as fertilizer or being impaled by vines. A couple gems here but maybe I've been spoiled by so many good comics and novels in this genre that my expectations are higher.

[H.V. · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic anthology! A must-read for anyone who loves ecohorror (or horror in general). I was blown away by the consistent excellent of every story and poem in this collection. Usually when I'm reading anthologies, a few pieces stand above the others, but that didn't happen this time. Consistently imaginative, original, and horrific. Another excellent collection from Ghost Orchid Press.

[Revy · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the concept of eco-horror is very interesting, I don't feel like most of these stories utilized it or told about it very well. Started to feel a little like this whole anthology was more quantity over quality.

Care instructions, Last breath of summer and immortality expired were the standouts for me.

Also let's stop accepting the racefaker Freydis into these already.

[Margin of Terror · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very strong collection- good mixture of stories and poetry- overall themes of beauty and death mixed with natural disaster- I’m left feeling heavy with dread and sufficiently and satisfyingly frightened.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this collection on a whole! I wish I'd saved my favorites, but multiple times I stopped after a story or poem to check out the authors' other works. I'm also excited to check out Ghost Orchid Press's other anthologies.

[Alice Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This generous selection of stories and poems twist all sorts of environmental anxieties to horror, from vengeful trees to microplastics. With the range of stories, I think there's something in here to scare everyone!

[leni · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5

A mixed bag of ecohorrofic stories and poetry. Overall enjoyable as the stories really captured the inherent narrative possibilities within the genre, but few of them actually stuck with me. Will definitely check out more work by the editors and some of the authors though.

[Joan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This anthology is filled with horrifying tales when the Eco- System, animals and Mother Nature fight back as the worlds population continues to pollute and destroy Earth. Most of these authors are new to me and I will be checking out more of their works.

[WafflesReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Got this book at a convention and this was honestly a great read. Each story was better than the last and I could never guess what the next story would be about. I seriously recommend it for those who just want to see nature fight back.

[Alex Burton · Rating 5 out of 5]

quick but chilling

Quick read with many short stories and poems, chilling and timely. A great read that was easy to pick upn

[Beth M · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were some pretty good stories in here, but most were just okay and a few were downright awful.

[Holly McKinney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt none of the stories were complex enough

[Scooby2]

stopping at 25%, just not holding my attention. May try again later, should be loving this. Do love the cover though!

[Juliette · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very mixed bag, which isn’t surprising for an anthology. I was excited to see a collection devoted to eco-horror, but unfortunately most of the authors don’t stray far from a surface level idea. “Person is eaten by plants” can be great, but so many of the stories were minor variations on this scenario.

Instead of an anthology of eco-horror, it became a competition over who did the simple flash fiction prompt best. And once I’d seen it done wonderfully, reading it another six times wasn’t enjoyable.

Not all of them fall into this though, and there were some stand-outs, particularly the story about humanity being made immortal. But real stand-outs were pretty sparse.

[G.B. Lindsey]

4.5 stars

My story is in here so I am biased. But the collection is a good read! Lots of variety!

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

a mixed bag of good and meh short stories