Jo Kaplan’s story hit so hard this year. With everything going on with our schools here in America, this story shone a harsh, truthful light on a dark, decaying problem. I loved that this contained so much emotion. It didn’t feel preachy, it felt balanced and truly added to the story in a way that jump ramped up the horror of what was happening. Let’s hear from author Jo Kaplan and see what her thoughts were while she was writing.
Sometimes darkness was a blessing.
An Unwanted Growth by Jo Kaplan, featured in Dark Spores by Crone Girls Press.
Q (Crone Girls Press): What inspired your story in this anthology? Tell us the “story behind the story.”
A (Jo Kaplan): I was thinking about misplaced priorities with regard to education, and how certain groups have been trying to legally compel schools to post religious material rather than fixing actual issues that harm students–so I imagined a school where conditions were bad enough for mold to be taking over while they try to simply cover it up with Bible quotes, as if that will do any good. From there, the first line came to me: “When my daughter came home from school, she told me there were people in the walls.” And the yarn just unraveled from there!
Q: Why do you write horror? What about the genre appeals to you as an author?
A: I’ve always been drawn to horror. I like the eeriness and the possibility in it, the exploration beyond what we find comfortable and safe, the opportunity to explore our deepest existential dilemmas and find catharsis. It probably all started with Goosebumps, though. I was a sucker for those creepy dummies.
Q: There are a number of different flavors of horror. Where does your story fit, and what drew you to this particular category?
A: I gravitate towards psychological and supernatural horror, the weird, and anything that could be considered haunting in some way. Oh, and feminist horror. I think this story fits into those flavors. My interest in this type of horror likely arose from my love of the Gothic, which oozes with uncanny, unsettling atmosphere.
Q: What do you love about mushrooms? What drew you to this anthology?
A: Fungus is so weird and amazing! I first became interested in mycelium and the idea of how this vast network passing information across the forest. One can’t help but think of a huge, alien brain. And how it can be molded into different shapes… this is all rather more related to a fungus horror novel I wrote that should, if all goes well, be published in 2026, but having written that, I absolutely jumped at the chance to submit to a fungus horror anthology! For this story I wanted to focus not on the mycelium or even on mushrooms themselves, but on mold as a creeping, insidious growth.
Q: When you’re not writing, what might we find you doing? (Free time or for a day job?)
A: I teach English and creative writing at Glendale Community College, and I also play cello in the Symphony of the Verdugos and the band Guerra/paz (you can find two of our songs on Spotify: “La muerte viene” and “Sombras”).
Q: What’s next in your writing journey?
A: I’m working on an academic horror novel right now, and hopefully I’ll keep getting ideas for short stories as I see more good anthology calls come out! And again, you should be seeing a heavy metal fungus horror novel from me in the near future.
About The Author
Jo Kaplan is the Shirley Jackson Award nominated author of It Will Just Be Us and When the Night Bells Ring. Her short stories have appeared in Fireside Quarterly, Black Static, Nightmare Magazine, Vastarien, Horror Library, Nightscript, and numerous anthologies. In addition to writing, she teaches English and creative writing at Glendale Community College and is the co-chair of the Horror Writers Association’s Los Angeles chapter.
Be sure to check out their story in Dark Spores
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