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MY FAVOURITE fungus has a nasty party trick. Ophiocordyceps unilateralis is a parasite that bends the minds of insects to its will. After taking over an ant鈥檚 central nervous system, it manipulates the insect into climbing up a plant to a spot with ideal conditions for the fungus to proliferate. While its muscles atrophy and its insides are consumed, the ant clamps its jaws in a 鈥渄eath grip鈥� that firmly secures it to the plant, ensuring the parasite can continue to grow even after the insect perishes.

During the opening scene of The Last of Us, an excellent adaptation of the bestselling video game, a scientist in 1968 explains just how dangerous a pandemic driven by such a fungus could be, should it adapt to survive in the warmth of human bodies. Thirty-five years later, a Cordyceps fungus does just that, turning people into hyper-aggressive cannibals. By the time the show鈥檚 protagonists Joel and Ellie start travelling across the US in 2023, Cordyceps is an ever-present threat, mottled over buildings and marbled through the decaying flesh of the infected.

The Last of Us may be the finest example of fungal horror to reach the small screen. This fascinating subgenre relies on a widespread mistrust of mushrooms and their kin. It is a fear, however misapplied, that is rooted in the powerful, often dangerous abilities of fungi, which some TV shows exploit to great effect.

Take The X-Files. In the episode 鈥淔ield Trip鈥�, agents Mulder and Scully stumble across a huge fungal growth. The hallucinogenic mushroom eventually renders its victims comatose, ready to be digested without a fight. There are many real-life fungi with similar hunting methods: for example, the oyster mushrooms you may eat for supper prey on nematode worms by paralysing them before turning them into slurry.

The mind-altering effects of mushrooms have historically been linked to fears of the supernatural. Several 17th-century witch trials may have their roots in ergotism, a form of poisoning caused by ergot fungi, which infect grains. Ingesting the infected crops leads to seizures, gangrene, paranoia, hallucinations and more.

This idea was explored in the fourth season of Whitechapel, a modern police procedural series inspired by historical murders, in which a serial killer who believes he is hunting down witches is actually experiencing ergotism.

It isn鈥檛 just the poisonous effects of fungi that terrify, but their apparent intelligence. Mycelia 鈥� underground fungal structures of branching, root-like filaments 鈥� provide nutrients for fungi and act as complex networks.

Mycelia feature in Hannibal, a prequel series to The Silence of the Lambs, which follows Hannibal Lecter before his imprisonment, working with the FBI to profile serial killers. Pharmacist Eldon Stammets is one such killer. He induces diabetic comas in his patients, using their living bodies to grow mushrooms. His rationale is based on a belief that mycelia are sentient, grasping for connections that his decaying victims can supply and even crave themselves.

By referencing these televisual gems, my point isn鈥檛 that all fungi deserve their killer rep, but that horror thrives where there is ignorance. We know little about fungi compared with animals and plants, and struggle to contain them within the same taxonomy. Cordyceps鈥� effects are horrific in The Last of Us, but the show is careful to show that there are far greater things to fear than fungi.

Bethan Ackerley is a subeditor at 91av. She loves sci-fi, sitcoms and anything spooky. She is still upset about the ending of Game of Thrones. Follow her on Twitter @inkerley

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