Mushrooms often bring to mind damp forests, fairy tales, or the occasional pasta sauce.
However, some fungi don’t just grow—they haunt. These are the species that look like they belong in a surreal nightmare, or that behave in ways that make you feel like nature’s quietly pulling strings behind the scenes. Whether it’s the way they smell, move, glow, or mimic the human form a little too well, these fungi prove just how strange and spine-tingling the natural world can get. Here are 10 of the most unsettling, unforgettable fungi that genuinely deserve their creepy reputations.
1. Dead Man’s Fingers (Xylaria polymorpha)
Jet black, swollen, and oddly human-shaped, these fungi look exactly like fingers reaching up through soil. They grow on decaying wood, usually at the base of stumps, and sometimes appear in clumps that look eerily like a full hand trying to claw out of the ground.
They’re not toxic or dangerous, but their appearance alone is enough to stop people mid-hike. If you weren’t already creeped out, consider that they often show up near dead tree roots, like they’re feeding on what’s buried below.
2. Bleeding Tooth Fungus (Hydnellum peckii)
This fungus looks like a marshmallow that’s started to ooze blood. The bright red droplets are actually a mix of excess moisture and pigment pushed through pores on the surface, giving it a bleeding appearance that’s hard to look away from. It might not be poisonous, but its appearance screams “do not touch.” Even more unsettling is that younger specimens bleed more heavily, like they’re freshly wounded. It’s safe, yes, but it really doesn’t look like it.
3. The Veiled Lady (Phallus indusiatus)
With a delicate net-like skirt flowing from its cap, this fungus almost looks like a ghost bride in the woods. It’s genuinely beautiful, with an almost artistic elegance that’s hard to reconcile with the foul smell it gives off. The veil is used to attract insects to help spread its spores, but up close the whole thing feels oddly theatrical. It emerges fast and disappears quickly, making it feel like a haunting you weren’t sure you really saw.
4. Devil’s Cigar (Chorioactis geaster)
This rare fungus is cigar-shaped when young, but opens with an audible hiss as it splits into a star-like formation. That sound alone would be weird enough—but it only grows in a few specific parts of Texas and Japan, making its sudden appearance feel all the more dramatic. With its dark colouring and smoke-like spore release, the whole thing looks and sounds like something from a gothic novel. Its unpredictability and rarity just add to the eerie aura surrounding it.
5. Octopus Stinkhorn (Clathrus archeri)
Few fungi look quite as disturbing as this. Red, tentacle-like arms burst from a pale egg-like base and stretch outwards in a way that resembles some kind of alien creature coming to life. If that wasn’t unsettling enough, it smells absolutely awful. The stench mimics rotting meat, which attracts flies to carry away its spores. It’s hard to describe this one without feeling like it came straight out of a sci-fi horror scene. It’s otherworldly in the most dramatic way.
6. The Brain Mushroom (Gyromitra esculenta)
Its convoluted, brain-like cap looks more like something you’d see in a lab than in the forest. Despite its disturbing shape and the fact that it’s toxic when raw, this mushroom is still foraged and eaten in some parts of Europe after careful preparation.
But just the idea of needing to boil a mushroom multiple times to make it non-lethal—and it still might be dangerous—should be enough to land it firmly in the “thanks, but no thanks” category for most people. Visually and chemically, it’s pure chaos.
7. Candlesnuff Fungus (Xylaria hypoxylon)
Delicate, slender, and dusted with white, these fungi really do look like snuffed-out candle wicks glowing faintly in the underbrush. They tend to grow on decaying wood in quiet corners of the forest, which only adds to their ghostly aesthetic.
They’re harmless, but their silent presence on rotting logs gives the sense that something has been left behind. They’re the sort of fungus you’d find in the background of a haunted fairytale, glowing just enough to catch your eye and make you uneasy.
8. The Dog Stinkhorn (Mutinus caninus)
With its phallic shape and sharp smell, this is one of the more awkward fungi to stumble across. It erupts rapidly from a gelatinous “egg” in the soil and grows quickly, looking more like a crude joke than a natural organism. The visual weirdness, combined with its habit of popping up in surprising places like lawns and parks, makes it a regular source of confused and uncomfortable reactions. The stink? That’s for the flies, not you.
9. Ghost Fungus (Omphalotus nidiformis)
Found in Australia, this bioluminescent mushroom emits a soft greenish glow from its gills in the dark. It’s not bright enough to light your path, but it’s enough to catch your eye—and spook you if you didn’t know it was there. The glow comes from a chemical reaction during spore production. While it’s toxic if eaten, most people are too busy being amazed (or creeped out) by its ghostly presence to even think about touching it.
10. Entomopathogenic Fungi (like Ophiocordyceps unilateralis)
This is the most disturbing fungus of all, not because of how it looks—but what it does. It infects ants and hijacks their nervous systems, forcing them to climb vegetation before killing them and growing a spore stalk out of their heads. This real-life zombification is the stuff of nightmares. It’s a haunting reminder that sometimes the most terrifying behaviours in nature don’t come from predators—they come from parasites with a plan.