5 Great Folk Horror Short Stories

Folk horror is a great sub-genre of literature and film which includes using the influence of folklore, mythology and fantasy in the realms of horror, terror and dark fiction. My favourite thing to do lately has been to spend my free time investigating, exploring and reading around all the great folk horror short fiction out there, and as you have probably seen from my account lately - that's pretty much what it's all been about. There are some really great folk horror short stories out there and I would spend forever explaining why each and every one is my favourite, but that would probably bore you. So, here are 5 great folk horror short stories that you probably want to read.

1. The Fetch by Robert Aickman

A story that I only actually read recently, this one is by an unusual folk horror author and one that I personally would not choose to read. However, I would recommend this to everyone looking to read more folk horror. Here's what happens (without spoilers, obviously)...

Our protagonist has isolated himself in hopes of staying alive and sane and, as we look back on his life we realise that many people in his family have mysteriously died. Knowing why this is, our protagonist begins to isolate himself further and further. Ultimately, it is a very sad story inspired by folk mythology and a strange creature waiting in the dark.

2. The Hound by H.P Lovecraft

HP Lovecraft's name is often synonymous with cosmic horror and so, folk horror is not too far off. With the Cthulhu Mythos, we can already assume that Lovecraft was more than proficient with folk horror in order to write Dagon and The Hound (Dagon is featured below). The Hound is a story about graverobbers who open a grave and rob an amulet (yes, Lovecraft fans, 'that' amulet). The amulet begins to travel and things, well things start to go bad quickly. Lovecraft writes with voracity about folkish nightmares of cursed objects and weird rituals in the night. Anyone looking for a good Lovecraftian time should search no further than here.

3. Who Maketh Fertile the Fields by David Barker

I've probably mentioned this before somewhere but it appears in a book called A Walk in a Darker Wood which is an anthology of folk horror stories. It is about two brothers of the church, one of which hears about a weird story of a nun who had a child and ran off into the forest. The child died and she blamed the church. Now, we have some weird ritualistic happening on the following Saturday that one of the brothers who heard the story wants to see. But what did he see? A great story about odd happenings, old legends passed around and the fertile grounds we walk on - this is shocking and horrifying as it is very satisfying to read.

4. Jerusalem's Lot by Stephen King

You should know by now that I always try to add a bit of Stephen King into whatever I am reading. Stephen King's Jerusalem's Lot is one of the finest folk horror stories you will ever read and that's not just because it is by the Lord of Horror himself. It is also because it serves as one of the few stories by Stephen King that actually counts as true and complete folk horror (sorry, Children of the Corn fans, you'll have to wait your turn). It is about a man named Charles Boone who writes letters to someone called 'Bones' about how he came to be in a fictional town in Maine, USA. From cursed objects to chasing people out of town in a mob fashion, Stephen King plays with all of our worst fears yet again. Once you get really into the story, you realise that the one thing that needed to happen, didn't happen and maybe the whole thing will just start again. For Charles and Calvin's sake, I certainly hope not.

5. Dagon by HP Lovecraft

Lovecraft is here yet again with one of my favourite tales of folk horror. Dagon is a story set by the sea. A man has sort of washed up there and from the looks of it, he has seen some strange sights. One of these sights is a block with carvings on it. These carvings show sea creatures walking taller than humans and looking far more terrifying than anything that's allowed to be drawn (yes, even scarier than Gregor Samsa). One of the things depicted on the drawings is Dagon. Dagon, the mysterious sea creature, the timeless terror, the chill that runs down the narrator's spine. In this classic tale which serves as a precursor to the Cthulhu Mythos, Lovecraftian horror takes a big bite out of the sea. Honestly, it's one of the scariest things you will read in a while. And if you're not scared, then you didn't understand it.

Conclusion

Hopefully, this can expand upon any reading of Shirley Jackson's The Lottery we have already read. Hopefully, we can delve deeper into the world of folk terror and prepare to reach out and touch the very things our ancestors were afraid of. Not so much just things going bump in the night, but the very figures of old that had lived on for centuries to scare us over generations. These are just five of those fantastic stories.