As a rule I seldom directly reblog, because I would end up filling this blog with other blogs on a daily basis and at some point that becomes a spiral of insanity, besides you an go find them yourself. But as I dabble in folk horror on occasion and to an extent it slips over into my unspecialised subject. I thought I would repost this intrigue look at the genre by Rowen Lee.

You should read it, probably before my own notes on the subject below…

So what is folk horror, Rowen starts with the definition below.

Folk horror is when a stranger stumbles into a “quaint” village and discovers horrors at a harvest festival! Folk horror is fundamentally British and pagan!

Its a good solid definition, and certainly that’s the definition at the roots of the genre. But strange wonders into a ‘quaint’ remote village and discovers something horrifying is a definition that can be applied to a great many stories. I would argue the vibe behind it is important, the ordinary everyday village folk proving not to be quite so ordinary, be it be cause of strange beliefs or the tampering of things beyond our ken.

Take ‘The Dunwich Horror’ and others stories Lovecraft set in his beloved version of New England. Lovecraft country as it is sometimes called has many isolated communities and strange things in the woods. ‘The Picture in the House’ I would say is very much folk horror though it holds none of the usual tropes of the genre. Indeed it doesn’t fit in with Rowen’s definition at all… But the tales of Lovecraft country are ‘Folk Horror’ in much the same way as southern gothic is in essence folk horror.
Isolated communities, strange beliefs, dark undercurrents.

Innsmouth, and isolated community populated by half bred ‘fishy’ all of whom are members of a strange cult, that meets to enact rituals summoning their non-human masters, is the quintessence of folk horror in many ways. Aside the the fundamentally British and pagan part.

The inspectors tale (part 1 of The Call of Cthulhu) can also slip into that broader definition. A strange cult of otherness meeting in a swamp. Though I admit I am stretching here and it is more the New England tales that fit the genre.

Perhaps it is New England Horror in general that does this. Stephen King almost exclusively sets everything he writes in New England, specifically Maine (aside the dark tower novels, though they go there too) and certainly some of kings stories have elements of folk horror behind them.

I have also read a lot of folk horror style stories from America that have bene submitted to the Harvey Duckman Anthologies I work with. One of our most prolific writers form across the pond has written a series of short stories that all loosely hang together with are a wonderfuil example of folk horror in the short form.

The write in question is Bruce Connelly, who aside been a writer and actor, is also a puppeteer who from 1993 to the present day has been Barkley, the dog on Sesame Street. yes Barkley the dog writes New England folk horror…

In any regard Rowen’s thoughts of the subject are far more interesting than my own. Though as far as I am aware she doesn’t work with any writers who also happen to be muppets, so there is that.

Also folk horror in the more narrow view is indeed British and pagan, so nothing I have suggested really fits that definition, beyond the general vibe of the genre. But they all give me the same itch that good British folk horror does.

Finally, if you want what I think of as real deep at the roots British folk horror I recommend you go read the Thistlebone graphic novels some time, but be warned they are dark and snarly.