In Bone of my Bone, when Sister Ursula, a young nun fleeing the ruins of her convent, and Elsebeth, a sharp-witted orphan, escape a band of marauding soldiers and disappear into the Bavarian forest, everything changes when they discover a dying man clutching a strange wooden box. Inside: the gilded skull of a saint. In She Waits Where Shadows Gather, when a devastating car crash leaves Carlos bedridden, he’s not only trapped in the house, he’s hostage in his own body. Avery, now caretaker and prisoner, watches helplessly as their once-solid marriage crumbles under the weight of secrets and an unspeakable evil.
Folk horror is my favorite horror subgenre. Well, to be exact, it’s in a two-way tie with gothic horror. These folklore inspired-stories where (often rural) isolation looms ever closer, where sinister rituals have become the norm, where mysterious creatures hover on the edges of woods or in the depths of the ocean, and where long-held superstitions drive the plot forward, satiate my penchance for tales where the impossible becomes possible, where folk stories take center stage, and when the curtain of rural life is peeled back to reveal an underlying darkness.
These books, on top of sharing those elements, have something else in common: queerness is at the center. All the main characters in these books stand outside of the heterosexual paradigm; this has a freeing effect on perspectives, relationships, and plot points. Because, as M.L. Rio once said, “When you don’t kind of adhere to the rules of hetero mono normativity, anything can happen. It just opens up the world of fiction in a whole different way.” From novels about beasts roaming the surroundings of a university campus to a girl who longs to be part of the sea, these books are living proof of that.
The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson
Immanuelle, whose life is considered blasphemous, works hard to live up to the standards of a deeply religious society. But when she winds up in the Darkwood, the forbidden place around her hometown of Bethel, she discovers long-held secrets about her mother… and about herself. For one thing: why did she never know that her mother had once sought interaction with witches?
Meet Me at the Surface by Jodie Matthews
Merry was never meant to stay in her decaying village, where folklore haunts the air. But when she returns from Manchester to attend her ex-girlfriend’s memorial service, the folk tales appear to be more real than she might have thought. At least, that’s what a notebook about old folklore, one mysteriously linked to the ex-girlfriend in question, seems to imply
Chlorine by Jade Song
Ren is a strong swimmer. As in, “might win a college scholarship for her skills” strong. However, she’s not a mermaid. And therein lies the problem. Ren wants to be a mermaid. She wants to be free. And she will stop at nothing to reclaim her freedom.
Moonflow by Bitter Karella
When mushroom farmer Sarah falls into bad straits, she decides to try the impossible: getting the King’s Breakfast, which is said to hold the answers to heaven and earth. But the King’s Breakfast grows deep into the Pamogo forest, and on her quest there (accompanied by the most annoying man alive, no less) she comes to realize…she’s not alone. And she may not be the one deciding her own path.
Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova
Drawing inspiration from an old folktale, Magos cuts out part of her dead son Santiago’s lung. Soon enough, the lung becomes sentient, growing into Monstrilio, a creature with a close resemblance to Santiago, but who isn’t quite the same.
The Lamb by Lily Rose
Margot and Mama live in a little cottage by the forest, where Mama takes in “strays”—and kills them. When Eden turns up, things begin to shift, both within the family dynamics and Margot herself.
I’ll Make a Spectacle of You by Beatrice Winifred Iker
Folk horror meets dark academia? Shut up and take my money. Zora, an ambitious grad student, begins to research local folklore about a beast that roams the campus surroundings. As she delves deeper, she discovers the Keepers, a secret society that might or might not have ties to the beast and to a missing student.
This Is My Body by Lindsay King-Miller
After leaving the Church behind, Brigid is relieved. Gay and a single mom, she didn’t exactly fit in with her extremist Catholic family. Not to mention, she wanted to protect her daughter Dylan from their influence. But when Dylan begins to show unsettling violence, Brigid becomes convinced that her daughter is possessed. She turns to her uncle, Father Angus, for help, only to find that they might be in greater danger than before.
If you’d like a deeper dive into folk horror, why not look into 28 must-read frightening folk horror books? Or perhaps you’d like to explore the subgenre’s darker underbelly. In that case, let’s talk folk horror and appropriation.
This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
English (US) · 