The Society has wandered into the creepy forest known as Dark Fantasy and come face to face with…The Demon Tree! In this story, a group of decadent English(-ish) travelers abandon the dull monotony of high-stakes gambling for a pulse-pounding walk in a forest! Does being a tree undermine the horror of a giant murderous monster? Is quicksand a problem in England? Do the English typically narrate their own cause of death as they die? Listen for yourself and find out! Then vote and let us know what you think:
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I always thought Dark Fantasy had the creepiest of the OTR intros.
I thought this was a good, creepy episode – until the branch turned up in the hotel room. Then it was more like “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.”
The revenge of Baby Groot!
Just having listened to this episode (found the podcast a few days ago, and I’ve been catching up chronologically), I don’t think you mentioned the tree from The Last Unicorn in your comments. *She* would scare an Ent into a jog. There is something inherently creepy about plants in general, though. They’re alive, but not in a way we can relate to. They can clone themselves on a regular basis. Their roots can spread far beyond their stems, or far below. One organism can be massive, disguised as many. One tree can be centuries old. And let’s not even start… Read more »
AHHH!KUDZU! We missed several attack trees including the living forest in The Wizard of Oz and that one in Poltergeist. It’s good to have these comments to fill in the gaps. Thanks for sharing with us!
No problem! Ahh, the Living Forest! Almost as scary as that field of poppies… What *is* it with plants? Kudzu just wants to take over everything in its path, like a living blanket, from what I can tell from photos of the stuff. Thankfully, it hasn’t made it here up north… Yet…
I truly love Dark Fantasy but the Demon Tree is one of the worst. I thoroughly enjoyed the commentary, though!
Glad to hear you enjoyed the commentary. I have a reluctant love of Dark Fantasy. The stories often miss the mark, but Scott Bishop’s ambitious weirdness is irresistible to me. What’s your favorite episode? Have you listened to Spawn of the Subhuman yet?
I love Spawn of the Subhuman, but haven’t reached the podcast episode yet. It’s hard to name a favorite, although Convoy For Atlantis definitely sticks out (minus the quality). I’m a sucker for ocean horror since Nebraska is pretty much water-less. There’s something special about the vast, tumultuous ocean that can hide all sorts of creepy things. Sea Phantom is a close second (Nightfall’s in the Name of the Father is a good non-DF ocean/lovecraftian tale) and the Sleeping Death is good too.
I really enjoyed this story- it’s got some great creepy parts. Wild nature is scary which is why it recurs in horror. I didn’t find the boredom of the characters at the start off-putting so entered with buy-in. You overlooked the successful creepy feeling-tone set for the wild, lethal nature of the living forest and horrible deaths by spending too much time being critical of the minutiae of the story presentation. Most listeners who like these stories don’t deconstruct them like writers and voice actors. I enjoy listening to your critiques but felt with this one you didn’t see the… Read more »
Oh, yes, let’s all touch the flesh-covered tree.