5 Tips For Writing Folk-Horror

 

Daisy Pearce is the author of Something in the Walls, a critically acclaimed folk horror debut set in the remote Cornish village of Banathel, where superstition, witchcraft and dark traditions lurk beneath the surface. Here, she shares her top tips for writing folk horror that gets under the skin.

1. Get your hands dirty.

I mean it, get right into the earth. That’s where it’s darkest, in the dirt and filth. Folk horror relies so much on a connection to nature, whether thats the turning wheel of the seasons or harvests and rural traditions. You can put these natural elements front and centre of your story – creeping moss and fungi and dark, hooded woods – and let the tale spring up around them, like a fairy ring.

Books that are like this:

– The Loney by Andrew Michael Hurley
– The Hill In The Dark Grove by Liam Higginson
– Pine by Francine Toon

2. Read your fairytales.

It goes without saying that old tales and folklore are the mantel on which most folk horror hangs. Ancient customs and rituals carry with them their own sense of the uncanny, of something that just feels wrong in an otherwise prosaic scene. It’s been really fun getting to know some of the more arcane traditions of the British Isles while writing, and I strongly urge you to do the same.

Books that will help you do this

– The Readers Digest Book of Folklore Myths and Legends (a classic!)
– Weird Walks, A Treasury of British Folklore: Maypoles, Mandrakes and Mistletoe by Dee Dee Chainey

3. Kill your darlings.

Folk horror likes a sacrifice – and sometimes it will be the one you love. Be prepared to loose the characters you’ve so carefully and painstakingly created, whether it’s through a slow, insidious deterioration or a giant wicker effigy torched with the hero inside, folk horror is quietly, viciously destructive.

Books that are like this:

– The Ritual by Adam Nevill
– The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
– Harvest Home by Tom Tyro

4. Look backward.

The deep roots of history offer us horror in its truest sense, with experiences drawn from  darker, more violent ages. Based on real people or situations, these stories invite you to delve into a time when morals and customs might be utterly alien to our own and the occult was a stranger on every doorstep.

Books that are like this:

– The Gallows Pole by Ben Myers
– The First Witch of Boston by Andrea Catalano
– The Terror by Dan Simmons

5. Folk horror is everywhere.

Purists will tell you that folk horror is almost uniquely British, set in a pastoral landscape of morris dancers and burial mounds, but like all good horror it reaches across the globe, from the Florida swamps to the Artic tundra. Culturally, it is a many headed beast, ever evolving, so don’t be afraid to work outside the constraints of the literary. It can only add more magic!

Books that are like this:

– Nothing but Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw
– The Good House by Tananarive Due
– Playing Wolf by Zuzana Rihova

Ready to dive into the dark? Pick up Daisy Pearce’s Something in the Walls now and experience folk horror at its most chilling and atmospheric.

And look out for Daisy’s upcoming horror novel Dark Is When the Devil Comes, available for pre-order now.