Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror

Folk horror is a comparatively new concept even if the main films it’s anchored in − Witchfinder General (1968, Michael Reeves), The Blood on Satan’s Claw (1971, Piers Haggard) and The Wicker Man (1973, Robin Hardy) − have long been venerated as classics of the genre. Which begs the question: what has happened to the world that we started to be so interested in folklore’s darker dimensions in the last decade-plus?

What is this sense of belonging expressed by folklore that we now deem not only lost but dangerous? What does ‘rural’ mean in a world where urbanity has lost its modernist promise, what is left of ‘home’ in a globalised context, and how ready do we really feel for interactions with other cultures? What looks like a specialists-only treat is turned by Kier-La Janisse into an essay of general sociopolitical relevance and poignancy.