The name is creepy enough, but even the scientific name, Xylaria polymorpha, is somewhat less disturbing than what it happens to look like. I saw it for the first time on a damp and overcast autumn afternoon, with leaves everywhere, slick and half-rotting, and as I poked around a rotting stump I noticed a little tuft of finger-like structures, charcoal-colored, and disturbingly spread out in a human-like way. I froze for a second, took a few steps back, and then crouched down to inspect it more carefully — since curiosity always wins.

So… What Are These Creepy Things?

They’re fungi, of course, but not the kind that shows up in storybooks with red caps and white spots. This stuff does not scream “fairy tale” — it looks more like burnt sausages or dried roots which became