This morning, I saw something strange coming out of the ceiling.
At first, I thought it was a drop of black glue or a cable. But as I got closer, I froze.
Was it… alive? No, it didn’t move.
But it was strange, scary, and completely out of place.
All possible explanations came to my mind:
— Maybe the upstairs neighbors spilled something?
— Or… something organic started growing in the ceiling?
Then I understood with horror: it was a mushroom.
A real one, with a thin, curved stem and a dark cap. Not just any mushroom: Coprinopsis atramentaria, also called the “inky cap” or “common ink cap.”
Yes, you read that right: a mushroom grew in my ceiling. This one usually appears in manure, decomposing plants, or very damp soil.
What makes this mushroom worrying?
The inky cap mushroom is not toxic… unless combined with alcohol. Even up to three days after eating it, if you drink alcohol, you can suffer severe poisoning: nausea, vomiting, rapid heartbeat, hot flashes, anxiety.
It contains a substance called coprine, which blocks the normal breakdown of alcohol in the body.
But I didn’t eat it. It just grew in the ceiling. Which indicates something else: high humidity, possibly mold. And that represents a real danger for health and the house structure.
So I immediately made appointments with maintenance services, plumbing, and also a psychologist, because honestly… seeing a mushroom grow in your ceiling is a terrifying experience.
