Originating in British cinema during the 1960s and 1970s, classic works of folk horror such as The Wicker Man (1973), have created their own set of features usually used as shorthand by folk horror creators in many mediums. Featuring isolated, rural communities grappling with the modern age, these tales often feature folkloric creatures, Pagan iconography as well a prevalence of unsettling and uncanny occurrences.
What Is Folk Horror?
Folk horror is a subgenre of the popular horror genre in literature and popular culture. Like many genres, the definition is not easily defined and continues to evolve. Broadly speaking however, folk horror refers to horror stories that are rooted in rural settings and folklore. They usually concern the tension between ancient rituals and encroaching modernity. They often use themes of paganism, witchcraft and the uncanny as well as evoking a sense of fear of the past. The narratives very often center on communities, rituals and isolation.
The origin of the term has been variously attributed to an article about German folk stories (such as Grimm) by the scholar Oscar James Campbell in 1936. The term ‘folk horror’ was also, famously, used by the director Piers Haggard, during promotion of the film Blood on Satan’s Claw in 1971. However, the current uptake of the phrase has been attributed to the inclusion of folk horror in an episode of Mark Gatiss and Jonathan Rigby’s documentary series, The History of Horror, (2010).
What Are the Key Elements of Folk Horror Stories?
Folk horror stories are predominantly set in rural landscapes, often within isolated communities. They usually rely on the tension between ancient rituals and beliefs clashing with modernity. More specifically, many examples use icons from Pagan rituals or a puritanical religious theme to provide much of the horror. Natural symbols, religious artefacts, folklore and festivities all conjure a feeling of uncanny dread in folk horror stories. Perhaps, the wicker man is the most notable example of an ancient custom being used as a focal point for a folk horror director in the 1973 film of the same name.
What Are Some Notable Examples of Folk Horror?
An early literary example of folk horror, The Willows (1907), by Algernon Blackwood, established many of the tropes now familiar with the genre. In the novella, Blackwood describes ambiguous entities, drawn from nature itself as terrorizing the river. The story is notable as a favorite of H P Lovecraft’s.
Acclaimed horror author, Shirley Jackson, also contributed the disturbing We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1962), to the canon of folk horror literature. In her tale, the secluded family become the inspiration for local legend as their home is consumed by nature.
From the same era came the ‘unholy trinity’ (as described by Mark Gatiss) of folk horror cinema: Witchfinder General (1968), The Blood on Satan’s Claw (1971), and The Wicker Man (1973). These seminal films are characterized by their use of rural settings, ancient rituals and psychological terror. They lay the foundation for later works of the genre such as Robert Eggers’ The Witch (2015), and Ari Aster’s Midsommar (2019).
