an ecogothic reading of tim lebbon’s eden

The escalating numbers of natural catastrophes in recent decades not only led to an increase in horrific depictions of nature in literary and cinematic production but also paved the way for the emergence of a new literary theoretical framework as the ecogothic. the ecogothic tends to explore the gothic in the environmental with the hope of bringing awareness toward environmental damages by focusing on our fears. the dark fantasy writer tim lebbon is among the writers who closely engages with the horrific in the environmental. however, his works have not received an ecogothic reading. thus, this paper presents an ecogothic reading of one of his latest novels, eden (2020), drawing on the concept of ecophobia discussed by simon estok, elizabeth parker and dawn keetley as well as donna j. haraway’s concept of the tentacular. after categorizing various forms of ecophobia in the novel, we argue that the tentacular blurs the anthropocentric boundaries set between human and nonhuman, creating a hybrid form of consciousness. the findings of the study reveal that anthropocentric framing of nature is the actual source of our ecophobia. it also highlights the tentacularity, manifested in the ghost orchid, as a powerful source of non-human agency which shatters anthropocentric boundaries and entangles the human in its tentacles which results in a human non-human hybrid pictured in the character of kat.