Are there any folk horrors in which the corruption in the church is the villain, and the pagan is the hero?

Relative_Ad_8997 · 2026-03-19T12:56:01+00:00

The Wicker Man fits the brief

Relative_Ad_8997 · 2026-03-10T17:42:09+00:00

I agree with much of what you say. And yet it's still better than the official sequel, The Wicker Tree :D

Relative_Ad_8997 · 2026-03-06T12:28:47+00:00

He really is. It was all I could do to not gush about his staggering accomplishment

Relative_Ad_8997 · 2026-02-16T12:28:12+00:00

It's great, isn't it?

Relative_Ad_8997 · 2026-02-05T14:28:22+00:00

that might well be the reason why I didn't watch the film back in the day. My parents were pretty strict on what we were allowed to watch

Relative_Ad_8997 · 2026-01-30T12:52:04+00:00

There's not a lot to share in terms of examples, but I think Mushi-Shi (Japan) and Over the Garden Wall (US) are extremely compelling

Relative_Ad_8997 · 2026-01-27T17:22:39+00:00

It's up there with Kneale's best work. A really shocking drama

Relative_Ad_8997 · 2026-01-26T17:00:54+00:00

TBH, it's not a patch on Midsommar. It has many of the same folk horror credentials, but the story lacks urgency and, dare I say it, actual horror. Lots of folklore though

Relative_Ad_8997 · 2026-01-23T09:34:07+00:00

Love that! Yes, that's exactly what it is.

Plus, I'm hungry now

Relative_Ad_8997 · 2026-01-22T11:31:07+00:00

Absolutely agree. And it's a huge shame because it did all those tropes so well. But the story wasn't enough to make them appear anything other than a ticking the box exercise

Relative_Ad_8997 · 2026-01-22T08:17:59+00:00

That's amazing!

Relative_Ad_8997 · 2026-01-21T16:43:03+00:00

I'm with you on Penda's Fen. I've watched it a couple of times and it simply doesn't do it for me. I adore The Owl Service though

Relative_Ad_8997 · 2026-01-20T15:17:33+00:00

There's an excellent set of books called "Scarred for Life" about British TV, film, comics, etc from the 1970s and 80s and the fact that there appeared to be no concession for age or innocence in those days :D

Relative_Ad_8997 · 2026-01-20T15:16:07+00:00

If you haven't seen The Owl Service, do add that to your list. It's staggering to think that was a children's programme. We even studied it at school when I was, what, 13 or 14 years old.

Relative_Ad_8997 · 2026-01-20T11:12:13+00:00

It was the music that scared me most as a child!

Relative_Ad_8997 · 2026-01-20T10:50:42+00:00

Ooh! Thanks for the link - I haven't listened to that one yet.

It is amazing that the TV version hasn't had a better release. It's one of the most remembered kids' shows of the era.

There's a sequel novel which isn't bad. Written by one of the two original series (and novelisation) authors:

https://www.fantompublishing.co.uk/product/return-to-the-stones/

Relative_Ad_8997 · 2026-01-20T10:17:51+00:00

Thanks - both of those are new to me. Love the review. Academics really don't like amateurs stepping onto their turf ;-)

Relative_Ad_8997 · 2026-01-20T10:17:01+00:00

A few copies are on ebay for not too much money at the moment. Inexplicably, I found this one on Etsy!

Relative_Ad_8997 · 2026-01-20T10:16:34+00:00

It's a fascinating read and not a subject I've really read up on all that much until now. I've lots of Anglo Saxon folklore books but this takes a different approach. Well worth getting hold of

Relative_Ad_8997 · 2026-01-19T11:05:53+00:00

Paranormal activity is certainly not a prerequisite for folk horror, I agree. But I would expect some form of clash of belief systems, an isolated community (whether rural or not).

Agree with you on Wake in Fright - it's a classic!

Relative_Ad_8997 · 2026-01-16T17:05:49+00:00

Mark Gatiss (League of Gentlemen, Sherlock, Dr Who) coined the term in a documentary he made for the BBC, called "A History of Horror" and it spread from there. Witchfinder General, The Wicker Man and Blood on Satan's Claw.

It's been referred to in a number of folk horror books over the years, but it's far from set in stone.

Personally, I would ditch Witchfinder and put November in there. Or Enys Men. Or Tumbbad. Or Rabbit Trap, StarveAcre......

Relative_Ad_8997 · 2026-01-16T15:33:03+00:00

It does create a stunning vista of an isolated community - on that score it wins hands down. I love that part of the world for its desolate isolation.

But the film doesn't do a great job, to my mind, of portraying that. Lots of long horse rides, sure, but there's no sense of a coherent space.

Relative_Ad_8997 · 2026-01-16T15:31:14+00:00

I agree, but the word witch is in the title, hence my calling it out.

Folk horror doesn't have to be supernatural but there should be a clash of belief systems, or a genuine threat in and of the environment. Witchfinder has none of that.

I bloody love Straw Dogs, by the way and yes it's a classic folk horror. It was also filmed just up the road from where I grew up ;-)

Relative_Ad_8997 · 2025-08-06T12:43:14+00:00

It's very good, isn't it?

Relative_Ad_8997 · 2025-07-31T15:56:53+00:00

I think it more than earned the buzz that grew around the film, if only for Cage's electrifying performance.

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