Fiction 101: Folk Horror

A folk tale twist on scary stories

by Shelby D., Evening Supervisor

Hello and thank you for reading October’s Fiction 101! Fiction 101 is where we talk about all things Fiction (and sometimes non-fiction). Every month we discuss a different sub-genre or genre of fiction and give some book suggestions to go along with it.

This month we launched our new Beanstack Book Club! Every month earn badges and complete challenges related to a theme. In honor of October and spooky season, our first genre is folk horror. To go along with our new book club, this month’s Fiction 101 will focus on folk horror.

Defining Folk Horror

Folk horror is a specific subgenre of horror that uses folklore aspects to tell a scary story. It usually takes place in modern eras, but the horrors draw from older stories. A lot of them take place in rural settings. Folk horror tends to be the stories where average people find themselves in the middle of nowhere, being stalked by something out of local tales about old horrors haunting the area.

Recommended Books

Here are some folk horror titles to get you started:

Road of Bones by Christopher Golden
This book takes place along Siberia’s Kolyma Highway: a road with a chilling past in frigid Siberian woods. An American documentary producer, Felix “Teig” Teigland, travels the road in order to gather information for a new documentary. Get ready for a terrifying story Stephen King describes as “tightly wound, atmospheric, and creepy as hell.”

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
“Seamlessly blending classic horror and a dramatic narrative with sharp social commentary, The Only Good Indians follows four American Indian men after a disturbing event from their youth puts them in a desperate struggle for their lives. Tracked by an entity bent on revenge, these childhood friends are helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in a violent, vengeful way.”

Never Whistle at Night
“These wholly original and shiver-inducing tales introduce listeners to ghosts, curses, hauntings, monstrous creatures, complex family legacies, desperate deeds, and chilling acts of revenge. Introduced and contextualized by bestselling author Stephen Graham Jones, these stories are a celebration of Indigenous peoples’ survival and imagination, and a glorious reveling in all the things an ill-advised whistle might summon.”

Bad Cree by Jessica Johns
“In this gripping debut tinged with supernatural horror, a young Cree woman’s dreams lead her on a perilous journey of self-discovery that ultimately forces her to confront the toll of a legacy of violence on her family, her community and the land they call home.”

Slewfoot by Brom
“Set in Colonial New England, Slewfoot is a tale of magic and mystery, of triumph and terror as only dark fantasist Brom can tell it.”

The Hollow Places by T Kingfisher
“A young woman discovers a strange portal in her uncle’s house, leading to madness and terror in this gripping new novel.”

Let us know what haunting folk horror books you’ve been reading! And log them on Beanstack to win badges and complete challenges.