History Main / FolkHorror

[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Horror based on old folklore]]. These are the stories you can easily imagine starting with something along the lines of "this is a tale of something that once happened to an old friend of mine...", "I heard this story from a strange man I met in a bar...", or "in my family, there is this one story that has been passed down from grandparent to grandchild for generations..."

[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Horror based on old folklore]]. These are the stories you can easily imagine starting with something along the lines of "this is a tale of something that once happened to an old friend of mine," "I heard this story from a strange man I met in a bar," or "in my family, there is this one story that has been passed down from grandparent to grandchild for generations".

[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Horror based on old folklore]]. These are the stories you can easily imagine starting with something along the lines of "this is a tale of something that once happened to an old friend of mine," "I heard this story from a strange man I met in a bar," or "in my family, there is this one story that has passed down from grandparent to grandchild for generations".

[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Horror based on old folklore]]. These are stories you can easily imagine starting with something along the lines of "this is a tale of something that once happened to an old friend of mine," "I heard this story from a strange man I met in a bar," or "in my family, there is this one story that has passed down from grandparent to grandchild for generations".

[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Horror based on old folklore]]. These are stories you can easily imagine starting with something along the lines of "this is a tale of something that once happened to an old friend of mine," "I heard this story from this strange man I met in a bar," or "in my family, there is this one story that has passed down from grandparent to grandchild for generations".

[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Horror based on old folklore]].

* ''Podcast/OldGodsOfAppalachia'': The story depicts an alternate version of the real-life 19th century Appalachia, but where the work of the mining companies and the industrial business unleashed {{Eldritch Abomination}}s that had been trapped below the land. It follows the daily life of everyday Appalachians, and of folk-witches of the Appalachian countryside, who have to deal with the various monsters and supernatural threats this entails. The podcast relies heavily on the Appalachian folklore, taking inspiration from various urban legends, historical figures and ghosts stories.

* ''Podcast/OldGodsOfAppalachia'': The story depicts an alternate version of the real-life 19th century Appalachia, but where the work of the mining companies and the industrial business unleashed EldritchAbominations that had been trapped below the land. It follows the daily life of everyday Appalachians, and of folk-witches of the Appalachian countryside, who have to deal with the various monsters and supernatural threats this entails. The podcast relies heavily on the Appalachian folklore, taking inspiration from various urban legends, historical figures and ghosts stories.

* In Creator/JamesHerbert's ''Literature/{{Once}}'', some of the ''faerefolkis'', elemental beings race memories of whom inspired [[TheFairFolk human folklore]], enjoy tormenting humans. Its demon-worshipping villain manipulates nature to insidious end, and conjures [[IKnowWhatYouFear horrific phantasms]].

[[folder:Live-Action Television]]
* ''Series/ChildrenOfTheStones'' (1976) - a MiniSeries about a strange town surrounded by stones that move
* ''Series/DoctorWho'' - 'The Stones of Blood' and 'The Awakening', among others.
* ''Series/PlayForToday'' - the episodes "Robin Redbreast" and "Penda's Fen"
* ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' dabbles in this sometimes, especially in its first few seasons, which featured such [[MonsterOfTheWeek monsters]] as Bloody Mary, La Llorona, and the [[AtTheCrossroads crossroads demon]].
* ''Series/TheTerror'': A fictional retelling of the lost Franklin expedition as a horror story, with inspiration from Inuit mythology.
** ''Series/TheTerrorInfamy'': An in-direct sequel series, this time based around Japanese ghost folklore.
* ''Series/TheThirdDay'' (2020) - across two separate time periods, two different people are spirited to a very secluded English island
* ''Series/TheXFiles'' - some episodes are based around folktales and urban legends.
[[/folder]]

* TabletopGame/DontWalkInWinterWood is a tabletop RPG designed to evoke the gloomy and atmospheric presence of old ghost stories and tall tales told around the campfire in the days of old. Players take on the role of villagers haunted by a mysterious woods that is bringing supernatural phenomena into their isolated little town. Major themes include pagan traditions and rituals, witchcraft, folklore, isolation and a focus on escaping terrifying otherworldly threats without dying or going mad in the process.

Regardless of when it's made, Folk Horror is always deeply rooted in the concept of the past. Therefore, when it's not an outright PeriodPiece, a lot of Folk Horror will feature a modern CityMouse protagonist suddenly confronted with a forgotten and violent past -- usually by traveling to a more rural, tradition-bound locale like a TownWithADarkSecret. Sometimes it's the other way around, with cozy modernity itself being invaded by some ancient danger.

Compare with WitchWorks, which has a lot of overlap, and HorrorHippies and HillbillyHorrors, both of which have a similar rural horror feel. Watch out for TheFairFolk, take care with the {{Sleep Paralysis Creature}}s at night and DontGoInTheWoods. Often takes place in LovecraftCountry or CampbellCountry. May overlap with DarkFantasy. See also GothicHorror and SouthernGothic, which have a lot of overlap with this subgenre. In some ways, Folk Horror could even be seen as a modern take on gothic horror.

[[ExactlyWhatItSaysonTheTin Horror based on old folklore]].

The phrase was popularized in 2010 by the BBC documentary ''A History of Horror''; in an interview with Mark Gatiss, director Piers Haggard uses "folk horror" in describing the intent of his 1971 film ''Film/TheBloodOnSatansClaw''. Haggard's film is one of three (dubbed "the unholy trinity") widely regarded as the [[TropeCodifier Trope Codifier]]s of the genre, the other two being ''Film/WitchfinderGeneral'' and ''Film/TheWickerMan1973''.

* ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDooOnZombieIsland'' is a kid-friendly take on this genre, though still considerably DarkerAndEdgier than most entries in the franchise. The film is set in a Louisiana bayou haunted by ghosts and zombies [[spoiler:and werecats (oh my!)]]. It turns out the island was once home to a pagan cult [[spoiler:who worshipped a cat deity and granted the villains their powers]]; voodoo magic also plays a role. Mystery Inc show up intending to capture footage of ghosts (or more likely disprove them, as they expect) and get more than they bargained for.

This subtrope of ReligiousHorror is less concerned with organized faiths and divine beings as much as it's concerned with the old folkloric rituals in isolated rural areas. Thus, while it can still focus on a modern religion, it is more likely to focus on the pagan faiths of yore. Demons, {{cult}}s and goblins haunt the woods while regular people try to survive. Organized religion is most likely corrupt and/or useless, though [[SinisterMinister sadistic clergymen]] can be the [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters true danger]]. If you're lucky, you'll have one heroic BadassPreacher among the whole lot, but it might not do any good against beings much older than any god we know.

* Lovecraft's friend and contemporary Creator/AugustDerleth's short story "The Thing That Walked On The Wind" inadvertently shows the colonialist UnfortunateImplications that can underpin this trope, with the [[UsefulNotes/TheMounties Royal Canadian Mounted Police]] protagonist investigating disappearances and worship in a [[TownWithADarkSecret tight-lipped Native community]]. Eventually it turns out that [[TheSavageIndian all the Native people]] worship a monstrous {{wendigo}}-like god, and this is used to justify breaking up their community and putting all their children into residential schools.

->"It's the horror of rural England. It's certain kinds of churches, certain kinds of forest – the shadows within dark green."

The phrase was popularized in 2010 by the BBC documentary ''A History of Horror''; in an interview with Mark Gatiss, director Piers Haggard uses “folk horror” in describing the intent of his 1971 film ''Film/TheBloodOnSatansClaw''. Haggard’s film is one of three (dubbed “the unholy trinity”) widely regarded as the [[TropeCodifier Trope Codifier]]s of the genre, the other two being ''Film/WitchfinderGeneral'' and ''Film/TheWickerMan1973''.

Regardless of when it's made, Folk Horror is always deeply rooted in the concept of the past. Therefore, when it's not an outright PeriodPiece, a lot of Folk Horror will feature a modern CityMouse protagonist suddenly confronted with a forgotten and violent past - usually by traveling to a more rural, tradition-bound locale like a TownWithADarkSecret. Sometimes it's the other way around, with cozy modernity itself being invaded by some ancient danger.

Belief, fear, and culture are key themes, and often a greater threat than the thing people are scared of -- therefore, MaybeMagicMaybeMundane and HumansAreTheRealMonsters are common tropes here as well. Things are dangerous enough even ''without'' overtly supernatural happenings. In fact, [[https://www.revenantjournal.com/contents/introduction-defining-folk-horror-2/ some academic work]] points to the “monstrous tribe” (a social group bound by shared beliefs and values seen as monstrous to visitors/viewers) as an even greater identifying feature of folk horror than the rural setting.

While the genre was most common in Britain in TheSixties and TheSeventies (around the same time British folk ''music'' was having a moment of its own), folk horror can be from any region or any time, and there has been a "Folk Horror Revival" in the 2010s and '20s as these tropes come back into prominence.