Tag: subgenre

Folk Horror in Literature

Something ancient has been awakened in the woods…. This premise encapsulates the essence of many folk horror stories. I have briefly touched on folk horror before in my review of the YA folk horror anthology The Gathering Dark, but as this deeply rooted subgenre of horror experiences another wave of popularity, I figured it was time to dive into it more deeply and give you a few recommendations through which to explore the genre.

Scene from The Wicker Man (1973)

In my earlier post, I defined folk horror as “any horror tale that draws on regional folklore,” but this is a bit of a simplification. As with the Gothic, folk horror is difficult to nail down and define. Works in this category tend to deal not just with folklore but also with folk religion, customs, and rituals. In Western literature, this often involves elements of some pre-Christian pagan practice that has persisted in isolated communities despite the pressure to Christianize. Works of folk horror may draw on real life folklore, beliefs, and practices from a particular culture or region, or they may feature a fictional community with lore of the author’s own creation. Common themes and tropes in works of folk horror include a rural setting, a supernatural entity associated with the natural environment, and worship of or sacrifice to this entity. Continue reading Folk Horror in Literature

Dark Academia—A New Literary Aesthetic

“Dark academia.” You may have seen this phrase being used by bookish influencers on TikTok or tagged onto writers’ mood boards on Twitter and Instagram. The phrase is generally accompanied by images in muted earthy tones and dark burgundy, often featuring cardigans with elbow patches and pleated skirts, dark wood furniture, hallowed halls of learning, and libraries full of cloth-bound tomes. Though the term has only come into popular use in recent years, perusing an image search is enough to quickly give you a sense of the vibe—a cohesive aesthetic that encompasses fashion, architecture, and personal paraphernalia. But is there something more to dark academia than just visually appealing imagery with which to decorate one’s social media presence?

Photo by Thomas Kelley on Unsplash

Continue reading Dark Academia—A New Literary Aesthetic

Intro to New England Gothic

The Gothic initially developed as a European genre, drawing on that continent’s backdrop of medieval castles, crusading knights, and religious turmoil for its iconic imagery. But when this literary movement hopped the Atlantic, the American Gothic was created, which sought inspiration in the geography and local history of specific regions of the United States. The most recognizable strain of American Gothic literature is Southern Gothic, in which the corruption beneath the veneer of Southern respectability is exposed and examined. Apart the American South, another region known for producing seminal works of American Gothic literature is New England. With a history that includes some of the earliest pilgrims learning to survive in a new and unfamiliar wilderness, the infamous witch trials, and the birth of the Spiritualist movement, it’s no wonder that this region would produce tales of supernatural horror. Even the environment—full of foreboding mountains, unbroken forests, and harsh winters—lends itself particularly well to terror. Works of New England Gothic often address themes of religious fanaticism, the occult, and backwoods isolation, and many works deal specifically with the legacy of the Salem witch trials. Below are a few of the authors best known for writing New England Gothic: Continue reading Intro to New England Gothic