Four Parasite Stories
by H.J. Dutton
…with commentary by Michael Wehunt!
The parasite’s invasion of the human body threatens our possession of what might be the only thing we can truly call our own. Parasites are thieves. Tapeworms rob us of the resources we gather. Screwworms and acanthamoebas feed on our tissue, eating us alive. Botfly larvae and guinea worms use our insides as incubators before erupting from our flesh. So of course the parasite is prevalent in horror fiction. Reality has established solid groundwork.
The Xenomorph in Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979) is an example of a fictional parasite that violates the human body in a way that evokes fears of how real-world parasites, such as parasitoid wasps, use their hosts’ bodies as nests for their young. In Valve’s Half-Life game franchise (1998 – 2007), the headcrab latches onto a host’s skull and hijacks their brain, violating their humanity in both body and mind. During play, you can easily rationalize the headcrab zombies as reanimated corpses, distancing the horror they present… until you learn that those corpses are in fact still alive – and in pain. Arguably more horrific than the Xenomorph, the headcrab and parasites like them surpass real-life parasites with violations of humanity much worse than anything in reality.
Those are just two examples out of hundreds. Below I’ve listed one classic example of a parasite in horror literature, as well as three more recent examples I think deserve more attention.
“The Autopsy” – Michael Shea (1980)
Carl Winters, forensic pathologist, arrives at the scene of a small town’s mining disaster. When he autopsies the corpse of suspected culprit Joe Allen, he discovers the otherwise lifeless body contains a hitchhiker. Alongside his collection Nifft the Lean (1982), this story is considered by many to be Shea’s magnum opus.
“Yellow Teeth” – Adam L.G. Nevill (2009)
This story’s good samaritan narrator makes the worst mistake of his life when he takes in an old acquaintance who claims they’ve fallen on hard times. In no time at all, the narrator’s new roommate turns his once ordered life into a nightmare of violated boundaries.
“One Last Bloom” – Simon Strantzas (2014)
Desperate to one-up his rival colleague, grad student Markowitz pores through his deceased professor’s notes in search of answers about the biological sample the man retrieved during a doomed expedition. The more he learns, the more he understands that his colleagues awakened something that should have stayed dormant.
“It Takes Slow Sips” – Michael Wehunt (2021)
Colin hires online strangers to stalk and harass his long-distance crush in the hopes that he can one day swoop in and play the role of savior. Eventually Colin’s plans go awry when said online strangers turn their sights on him instead. The barrier between the internet and reality thins when Colin’s physical health deteriorates, as if drained out of him.
The Horrific Scribes archive has a treasure trove of parasites and their ilk:
And more…
Read Marisa McAdams‘s short story “To You It Shall Be for Meat” in Horrific Scribes March 2026.
Description: A serial cheater and his family are haunted not by ghosts, but by the house itself.
Read Amanda M. Blake‘s short story “Nest/Infest” in Horrific Scribes May 2026.
Description: A one-night stand gone horribly wrong just a little after COVID lockdown ends.
Read Prince Kumar‘s short story “The Soft Interior” in Horrific Scribes July 2026.
Description: After her sister’s sudden death, Mara travels to a remote house left behind—only to discover something deeply unsettling within its walls. As she uncovers her sister’s journals, she begins to understand a strange and intimate connection that blurs the boundary between comfort and consumption, presence and absence.
Read Eric Nash‘s short story “The Imposter Syndrome” in Horrific Scribes March 2025.
Description: It’s tough being an artist, pushing through the mountain of anxieties just to put pen to paper, brush to canvas, or to lift the lens. We crave validation to sustain us in our creative endeavours. The doppelganger making themselves comfortable in Tom and Rachel’s living room offered an endorsement greater than what the couple ever imagined.
Read Richard Dansky‘s short story “Scheduling Issues” in Horrific Scribes June 2025.
Description: Meetings were always hell for Harry, a time when he was gripped by fear and retreated into silence. Harry’s fear liked it that way and would do anything to make sure he stayed afraid.
Anything.
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