people turning into cacti

[rosearche]

I can remember watching a Dr Who when I was very young, when a character touched a plant, I think it was a cactus, and over a period of time he changed into a cactus.

Can anyone suggest any other examples, books, films or anything else where this has occurred and not necessarily with a plant.

Many thanks as always...

 

[Overread]

there was a case recently (in the real world) where a man got tubular growths to such an extent that he was labeled "tree man"

ITN link
ITN - Treeman disease growths

The Sun link *I fell dirty linking to this paper*
'Treeman' given hope | The Sun |HomePage|News

 

[the_faery_queen]

yeah. he was cool! ok i bet he didn't think so, but it was really impressive.

 

[rosearche]

that is amazing footage and if it wasn't on ITN I don't think I would have believed it. Thanks for that. Anyone with any knowledge of it appearing in literature?

 

[j d worthington]

Not a plant by any means, but one that strongly comes to mind is Clark Ashton Smith's "The Double Shadow". There's also William Hope Hodgson's "Voice in the Night", which is along those lines -- a fungus.

The Double Shadow by Clark Ashton Smith

http://www.horrormasters.com/Text/a0611.pdf

Question, though: in what way does this apply to "writing resources"? Or should it be moved to book discussions....?

 

[Dave]

You may be confusing two Doctor Who stories. In Meglos A creature called Meglos, the last inhabitant of Zolfa-Thuran (a cactus-like, Cactoid alien) impersonates Tom Baker's Doctor.

In The Seeds of Doom (also Tom Baker) several people begin turning into Krynoids (a kind of Galactic weed) after touching an alien pod found in the Antarctic.

China Mieville's novels, including Perdido Street Station and Iron Council, feature Cactus creatures and insect creatures, who inhabit New Crobuzon, the city-state on a world called Bas-Lag.

I'd move it to Book Search too.

 

[rosearche]

Thanks again for the sources. I would also like to know if anyone has anything on literature other than plant life, rocks, metal? I found a film from 1957, the man who turned to stone, that sort of thing.
Dave your last comment on moving this post suggests it is something I can do? Can you advice how I do that, please.

 

[Dave]

No only moderators can move posts, but this is not my forum and I didn't want to step on anyone's toes. I'll move it now.

I seem to remember 'rock men' from somewhere, possibly in Flash Gordon but not in literature.

Is it intelligent plants and rocks that you want? Triffids, Deathworld, Horta?

 

[j d worthington]

On the subject of people turning to rocks... well, aside from the tales of the Medusa and similar things (basilisks, etc.), there's the Lovecraft/Heald story "The Man of Stone"... not quite what you're looking for, I suspect, but...

The Man of Stone by H. P. Lovecraft and Hazel Heald

 

[Who's Wee Dug]

Quatermass 2 springs to mind with the mushroom type plant which exploded spores and infected anyone too close.