Steve Hatherley
MYSTERY DISEASE KILLS GARDENER
Gardener Martin Smale, 57, died last night in Kew Gardens of a tropical disease. He was found by senior gardener Harry Dean, 64, when he opened the gardens this morning to the public.
Smale was found in the tropical ferns greenhouse which has since been closed by the police. It will remain closed until they are sure how Smale contracted the disease.
The gardens have suffered several cases of vandalism over the last few nights - plants have been kicked over and disturbed but there have been no signs of a break in. Smale was keeping watch all night to see if he could catch the vandal in the act.
Similar signs of vandalism were found in the greenhouse along with Smale's corpse. Harry Dean had to be taken to hospital in shock after finding the body of his colleague.
Once recovered he described the body: "It was terrible, all covered with sores and dripping with black pus. It was horrible. His face was worse - he was screaming when he died."
Professor Ron White of the Hospital of Tropical Diseases, was unable to identify the disease immediately but hopes to do so soon.
1 One of the plants in the greenhouse is a form of nocturnal triffid and has just reached maturity. Until now it has been crawling around the greenhouse looking for prey before returning to its place.
2 One of the plants in the greenhouse is a four feet tall Very Young Dark Young of Shub-Niggurath. Like the triffid above, it has only just reached the mobile stage and has been looking for prey. It was given to Kew after explorer Horatio Barnett returned from an expedition to darkest Africa. He died shortly afterwards and the strange plant was donated by a member of the family.
3 Smale died from contracting an exotic tropical disease. The source of the fast acting disease is the pollen of a particularly beautiful orchid which has just come into bloom. The disease requires a large quantity of pollen to be inhaled before it can overcome the body's defences. Smale had been breathing it for several hours before the swift acting disease took hold. Smale's corpse is a wonderful supply of nutrients and soon it will sprout small green tendrils - new orchids.
Copyright (c) 1990 Steve Hatherley
Steve Hatherley is the creator of Tales of Terror, and has written for both Chaosium and Pagan Publishing. He also has a number of other websites, including www.great-murder-mystery-games.com and www.mylowerbackpain.com.
Steve lives in Yorkshire, England.
Click here to see Steve's other Tales of Terror.