Monstrous Green: the Delicious Dangers of Gothic Botany (in person)

Driven by "orchidelirium" and colonial plunder, the Victorian obsession with exotic botany devolved into fears of tropical madness and revengeful flora—immortalized in tales like H. G. Wells’s vampiric The Flowering of the Strange Orchid.

This lecture explores fictional femme-fatale flowers and fin-de-siècle scent decadence through the lenses of ecohorror and psychoanalysis, examining perfume’s power to trigger monstrous regressions.

During the talk, we will sample a selection of hothouse horrors—including damp jungle accords, orchidaceous bases, and niche jungly fragrances.

Instructor: J. W. Dotson

Cost: $45.00

Duration: 2 hours

Attendance cap: 12 people