Follow the Pull

Down the rabbit hole we go.

How many subgenres of horror are there? Here are some to name a few: psychological, thriller, slasher, splatter punk, body horror, gothic, hauntings and ghost stories, creature features, comedy, dark fantasy, folk horror, supernatural, existential, apocalyptic…the list goes on. I’m sure I’ve not listed some. And, there are the forms of writing as well: novel, novella, novelette, chap book, short story, flash, prose, poetry. There is this need to categorize, put things in boxes, to organize. I can get on board with that as I feel my greatest and weakest strength is organization. At the same time, I don’t want to be hemmed in, trapped. Like I said, something can be a strength and a weakness at the same time.

There was a brief period when I broke up with horror. I scared myself silly with movies like The Ring and Paranormal Activity (oh, there’s demonic possession) and I longed to sleep. Then, two things happened. One, I discovered American Horror Story. Back in the days when I had cable, I happened upon an episode of 'Freak Show' and that was it. I was in. Went back and watched them all and stayed along for the ride. May have watched the ‘Coven’ season three times. Two, I found an online group called Folk Horror Revival. That was another, “Ah ha.” The more I read, the more I watched, the more I discovered that there was a name for what I liked. I said to myself, “These are my people.”

I dove in, deep. Watched YouTube videos, found book recs, read the oldies, and then as luck would have it, Ari Aster came along and brought folk horror into the present day and up onto the big screen with Midsommar. But it probably goes back a little before that. I should also mention Robert Eggers’s The VVItch. There are more now, but I think since the original Unholy Trinity of folk horror, Witchfinder General, The Blood on Satan’s Claw, and The Wicker Man (my personal fav), there were few and far between. But I’m sure someone would correct me on that. The people. The categories. The boxes.

After diving in and coming up baptized, reborn, back into my relationship with horror, I’d changed. I discovered that yes, I didn’t want to lose sleep but I did want to be disturbed. And I wanted to laugh. Horror writers have a good sense of humor (as well as a love for musical theater—is it just me?). I discovered one of my favorite podcasts, Books in the Freezer, searching for folk horror book recommendations. And let me tell you, FOMO is real. My bookish wish list is insane. I will never read all of the books. Sigh. But you see. The humor. Books in the Freezer, The Shining, Friends, Joey? If you know, you know. You like what you like.

In Stephen King’s On Writing, he has this to say about creating stories:

“I remember an immense feeling of possibility at the idea (of writing stories), as if I had been ushered into a vast building filled with closed doors and had been given leave to open any I liked. There were more doors than one person could ever open in a lifetime, I thought.”

Although I absolutely love folk horror, as a writer, it does not come to me naturally. In fact, as much as I’ve written over the last few years, I don’t think you could call any of it folk horror. About me: I like to be up in my head, analyzing life. I like escapism, a little fantasy. If there’s a joke to be had, I’ll go for it every time. And, I do like to be grossed out a little. Naturally, when creating a story, these are the doors my mind opens. Sometimes I think I write horror for people who don’t read horror, those who just want to stick a toe in. Maybe they’ll find the water fine.

I think my lover, horror, is here to stay until death do us part. As I’ve aged, I know what I like. I absolutely hate it when people say, “That’s not horror.” The Karens of horror. There is so much out there. The genre as a whole has had a tremendous explosion as of late. Maybe it came out of the pandemic. I’m not sure. But I’m glad it has. Whether you like a revival of a classic like The Fall of the House of Usher, an Exorcist revival (no way in hell is that for me. It’s hard enough to sleep in menopause as it is), food horror like The Menu, a good old dark comedy like Violent Night, there is literally something for everyone. You’ll know what grabs you when you find it. You like what you like.

Book recommendation

On Writing by Stephen King

My guilty pleasure

I love to watch Annabel Margaret/The Green Witch videos on YouTube. They are comforting and beautiful. Sometimes you need to be quiet, seek softness. It’s still witchy. See! Something for everyone! I’d also like to take this opportunity to promote her book, The Green Witch's Guide to Herbal Magick: A Handbook of Green Hearthcraft and Plant-Based Spellcraft available October 24th. It’s on my list. My FOMO is creeping in…

Batty forever,

Greta