Category: Diving into Sub-Genres

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We each have our own preferred genres of choice. Kate loves horrors and thrillers, really anything that will keep her up at night! And Serena enjoys escaping through hidden doors into realms of magic and adventure. We also read mysteries, historical fiction, graphic novels, etc. etc. And that’s not even counting the multitude of sub-genres contained within each greater genre. In this series, one of us will present a list of our favorites from within a given sub-genre of one of our greater preferred genres.

This past year I read a few werewolf horror novels. As I was reading them it occurred to me that I really haven’t read THAT MANY werewolf books over the years, probably because I’ve always been more of a vampire girl (what can I say? I’m basic). But when it was my turn to take on another sub-genre deep dive, I decided that I should take a look at werewolf horror. Because it’s not really a sub-genre in horror that gets as much attention as other monster tales.

Werewolf and shapeshifter mythology has been around for hundreds and hundreds of years. Whether it’s the story of Romulus and Remus being raised by a she wolf, or medieval trials of supposed werewolves being prosecuted and executed, or pre-Christian belief systems speaking of people who could turn into wolves, the werewolf has been with various cultures since the dawn of modern time. I’m far more familiar with werewolf movies than books, with films like “The Wolfman”, “The Howling”, “An American Werewolf in Paris”, and “Ginger Snaps” all being well loved by the horror movie community. And now I shift my attention to books, to promote the sub-genre of a monster who needs a little bit more attention! Vampires can’t have all the fun.

“The Werewolf of Paris” by Guy Endore

As mentioned above, Guy Endore’s “The Werewolf of Paris” is considered to be the “Dracula” of werewolf novels. It centers on Bertrand Caillet, a soldier during the Franco-Prussian War whose journal is found by a researcher years later, detailing his existence as a werewolf. It details his early life as a werewolf born into a werewolf family, and follows him through his adolescence and into his time in the military, where his violent urges could be used in a more constructive manner… until he is discovered. Told in a similar epistolary style as “Dracula” through journal and confession entries, “The Werewolf of Paris” hasn’t had the same staying power in the mainstream as the Count. But it’s still considered the start of the modern werewolf tale.

“Cycle of the Werewolf” by Stephen King

You know my boy Stephen was going to make this list. His novella “Cycle of the Werewolf” was a short but effective werewolf story about a small town being terrorized over the course of nine months by a mysterious wild animal, and a kid who is trying to solve what is going on. King loves having kid protagonists who are trying to solve a mystery, and he’s quite good at it, and “Cycle of the Werewolf” has Marty at the center, a disabled boy in a wheelchair who is on the hunt for the werewolf over the nine months of murders and fear, trying to figure out who in town has to be the lycanthrope menace. It was adapted into a movie called “Silver Bullet”, starring Corey Haim as Marty (may his memory be a blessing), Megan Follows as his sister (the best Anne Shirley), and Gary Busey as the wild and crazy Uncle Al (uh…. life imitates art I guess?). It’s a quick werewolf read that’s pretty straightforward, and it has the King flavor behind it.

“Mongrels” by Stephen Graham Jones

I love Stephen Graham Jones, and while it wasn’t my first read of his, it was the first one I heard of due to a friend really enjoying it. And Jones has such a unique perspective and voice in his horror stories that it’s no shock that his werewolf tale “Mongrels” is on this list. It follows an Indigenous family of werewolves that have had to stay ahead of their pasts and had to stay incognito as best they can, but the youngest member of the family is about to hit the age where they will be able to tell if he has inherited the wolf aspect of the family line. It’s part werewolf tale, part family drama, part coming of age, and Jones combines the themes to make a heartfelt and eerie tale of family and identity. But he also has some really interesting and sometimes fun werewolf lore, creating a fun mythology in a way that only Jones can.

“Such Sharp Teeth” by Rachel Harrison

I love Rachel Harrison and basically every take on a supernatural foe that she has (look for my review of her latest novel “Play Nice” during Horrorpalooza!), and her werewolf book “Such Sharp Teeth” is so on brand for her feminist and somewhat cozy horror style. “Such Sharp Teeth” follows Rory, a somewhat aimless woman who has reluctantly returned to her hometown to support her pregnant twin sister Scarlett. While there she is attacked by an unknown creature, and then as she approaches the full moon her body goes through some changes. This werewolf story does have the body horror that we come to expect from the sub-genre, but Harrison brings her personal touch to it by also exploring feminine rage, the lack of control over a body going through strange and unhinged changes, and the way that trauma can make a festering monster in all of us that will eventually have to come out.

“The Last Werewolf” by Glen Duncan

This is probably one of the more literary books on this list, and I remember when it was a pretty hot commodity at my library, being checked out a lot. I know that it is also a bit of a polarizing read, as some people thought that it was TOO literary. But I think that while we shouldn’t turn our noses up at genre fiction, it’s also cool to see a more literary authors take on more genre associated themes, so I say good on you, “The Last Werewolf”! Jake has been wandering the Earth in solitude for centuries, a werewolf with no pack, no connections, and a terrible affliction that he wishes to be rid of. While he plans his suicide, he suddenly gets pulled into the orbit of a person that he could actually find himself connecting with… Oh, and also a murder. I actually haven’t read this one, but I have read other books by Duncan (using another name) and I’m sure he did a lot of interesting stuff with it!

“The Devourers” by Indra Das

I’m ending the list with what is, to me, the most unique werewolf story on the list, taking from Indian mythology and folklore and creating a historical and present day werewolf story. A modern day college professor named Alok is living in Kolkata, India, and one night he is approached by a strange person who has quite the story to tell, and who is desperate to tell it, cobbled together from ancient parchments, notebooks, and even skins. As Alok hears the tale of a woman who is raped and impregnated by a shapeshifter from another place, and as she searches for answers and for retribution, she finds a world of monsters, shapeshifters, different cultures and societies. Alok takes down the story for the stranger, and learns of things he never thought could be true. It takes from mythologies that many Western readers may not be familiar with, and it’s relentless, gory, and unapologetic with how it tackles werewolves and shifters.

What werewolf books have you enjoyed over the years? Let us know in the comments!

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

We each have our own preferred genres of choice. Kate loves horrors and thrillers, really anything that will keep her up at night! And Serena enjoys escaping through hidden doors into realms of magic and adventure. We also read mysteries, historical fiction, graphic novels, etc. etc. And that’s not even counting the multitude of sub-genres contained within each greater genre. In this series, one of us will present a list of our favorites from within a given sub-genre of one of our greater preferred genres.

There is a near constant debate going on right now about the definitions and delineations between what constitutes “romantasy” and what should be categorized as fantasy romance. Part of the problem, I think, comes down to simple word order and what it says about the type of book you’re picking up. As readers will have noticed following this series of posts about subgenres, or about these terms in general, is that the primary genre is always the last word, preceded by some sort of descriptor that gives additional detail into the specifics of the subgenre. So, for fantasy, you have things like urban fantasy or gothic fantasy. Further, for subgenres within romance you see things like dark romance or historical romance. Descriptor followed by primary genre.

Now, if you break apart the term “romantasy” you would get “romantic fantasy,” seeming to indicate that you are reading a fantasy book first and foremost with a dash of romance added in. It should meet all fantasy expectations with more free reign on how the romance is dealt with, as it is the “sub” of the greater “genre.” Unfortunately, this is NOT what “romantasy” means. Instead, it’s the opposite, a subgenre of the romance genre with all the requirements for the romance genre coming in first consideration, with fantasy used only as a support frame for the love story.

This all leaves it very confusing for the readers who are truly looking for the “romance” subgenre of fantasy, instead of the “fantasy” subgenre of romance that is so often being marketed to them. To make matters worse, more and more people are saying that this former option should be called “fantasy romance.” Which, as I just laid out, reads as completely opposite of the way that readers understand and approach genres and subgenres! To those not in the know, “fantasy romance” should be shelved right next to “historical romance” in the romance section; it only makes sense!

As you can see, I’ve labeled this post “romantic fantasy” and I truly think we should push this as the term used for this subgenre. “Romantasy” is so established as a term on its own at this point that I don’t think there would be any confusion regarding the fact that it was originally a combination of these two words. Instead, by using “romantic fantasy” instead of “fantasy romance” we’d be following the traditional rules of categorizing subgenres, thus making it easier for fantasy readers to find their preferred subgenre within this greater whole.

So, all of that said. Here are some “romantic fantasy” books that I think represent the subgenre well. I’ve intentionally tried to pick books that can be seen as the fantasy counterbalance to many of the popular “romantasy” tropes being put out today. Unlike those, these books follow fantasy genre conventions first and foremost, with the romance coming in second fiddle. Per the usual with fantasy, several of these are series, and as such, the romance plays out as slow-burn throughout, with love stories moving only incrementally (if at all!) in some books.

“Wildwood Dancing” by Julier Marillier

Fairie/Fae Romance – Faerie romances are by far one of the most popular sub-subgenres seen in “romantasy” currently. There’s no denying the power of Maas and her influence in this area. On the other side, Marillier is a go-to for any fantasy reader looking for the romance subgenre within. I’m pretty sure every single one of her books would fit within this category. But this one is the closest to the sort of faerie romance that we typically see in “romantasy.” Unlike those, the romantic interest isn’t actually Fae, but much of the story still revolves around faerie, their wonder and danger. A couple other great examples for this with actual Fae romantic interests would be “Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faerie” by Heather Fawcett and “Spinning Silver” by Naomi Novik. I highly recommend both of those as well, but I’m using another book by Novik below and I reviewed the latest “Emily Wilde” book just last week!

“Kushiel’s Legacy” trilogy by Jacqueline Carey

Dark Romance/Enemies-to-Lovers – While I don’t read much of it, I know that “dark romance” is another very popular version of “romantasy” currently making the rounds. And it goes without saying that “enemies to lovers” is the current GOAT of tropes. The romantic fantasy comparable option for this one is a no brainer! “Kushiel’s Dart” goes into undeniably dark directions, both in its exploration of lust and sexuality and in the violence of this world. But there is also one of my favorite love stories at the heart of this trilogy as well! Beyond that, it’s political fantasy novel first and foremost, with detailed world-building and a strong focus on the political manipulations and strategizing of the characters that make up the story. Phedre is probably one of my Top 10 favorite fantasy heroines of all time, and that’s saying something considering just how many great ones there are out there!

“The Books of the Raksura” by Martha Wells

Monster Romance – Ruby Dixon and her “Ice Planet Barbarians” is probably one of the most popular examples of this in “romantasy.” There are less human/monster love stories in fantasy (other than the typical urban fantasy fare with vampires and werewolves, but at this point, those barely count as monsters, as bizarre as that is!). But this was a perfect excuse to shine a light on one of Wells’ most over-looked trilogies! The story follows Moon, a shapeshifter who finds out he has a great destiny. As you can see from the cover art on this and the other books, Wells’ characters are wholly unique species with only small nods to humanistic traits. There is a ton of action and adventure to be found in this trilogy, but also a sweet romance at its heart. I’m hopeful that now that Wells’ other back catalog titles are getting re-prints that we’ll see new editions of these soon!

“Scholomance” trilogy by Naomi Novik

Dark Academia/Rivals-to-Lovers – I’ve already mentioned Naomi Novik on this list, as she has several others books that would easily fit within this subgenre (“Uprooted” is another great example that falls more on the fairytale re-telling side of things). But I wanted to highlight this trilogy as comparable titles to the dark academia trend seen a lot in “romantasy.” I love everything about this trilogy, but the stand-out feature is probably the narrator, El, who has one of the strongest voices as a narrator that I can think of. She’s also prickly and stand-off-ish, and her awkward stumble into the central romance is incredibly endearing.

“A Darker Shade of Magic” trilogy by V. E. Schwab

Multi-POVs/Multi-Romances – To be fair, multi-POV books are by far more common in the fantasy genre than in the romance genre. But as I couldn’t really think of any comparable options for why-choose/throuple romances, here we are. There are two lovely romances in this one, but true to the fact that they are fantasy novels first and foremost, neither love story really starts up until the second book. The central one follows Kel and Lila, the main characters of the story. And the second is a M/M romance that kind of came out of nowhere, but turned out to be heart-wrenching all on its own. Beyond that, the trilogy as a whole is so perfectly crafted that I think it’s one of those rare series where each book individually would warrant a “10” rating.

“The Rook and the Rose” trilogy by M. A. Carrik

Slow Burn – I have to say, it’s hard to think of a true slow burn in “romantasy.” But, as I’ve talked about extensively now, as a subgenre of the romance genre, it’s a bit hard to work a slow burn love story into a true HEA romance novel. But slow burns are a staple of romantic fantasy. As many of the above books highlight as well, the love stories often don’t even get truly started until the second book in. So too with this one. Instead, the focus is more on the intricate world-building, various hidden identities, and the careful balance who know s which of the numerous secrets floating around. The first book barely hints at the central romance, but it really blossoms in the second one!

What romantic fantasy books are your favorites? Let us know in the comments!

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

We each have our own preferred genres of choice. Kate loves horrors and thrillers, really anything that will keep her up at night! And Serena enjoys escaping through hidden doors into realms of magic and adventure. We also read mysteries, historical fiction, graphic novels, etc. etc. And that’s not even counting the multitude of sub-genres contained within each greater genre. In this series, one of us will present a list of our favorites from within a given sub-genre of one of our greater preferred genres.

Back at the height of the COVID pandemic I was having a hard time even THINKING about post-apocalyptic books because it kind of felt like we were teetering towards such a thing. Now I’m kind of whistling past the graveyard a bit, with the election behind us and all of my anxieties about what it all means in the coming months and years, as the sub-genre that REALLY stood out in my mind for this entry in our ongoing series was ‘end of the world’!!!!

I really enjoy a post-apocalyptic story, and as a sub-genre it can branch across multiple genres and still pack a punch. And it’s a theme that has been prevalent in literature for millennia, with stories like “The Epic of Gilgamesh”, “Dharmasastra”, “Völuspá”, and “The Book of Revelations” being of a more ancient time. The 1800s brought stories like “The War of the Worlds” by H.G. Wells, “Darkness” by Lord Byron, and “The Last Man” by Mary Shelley. The 20th Century really expanded on the sub-genre with lots of branches off within the sub-genre itself, be it due to disease, climate disaster, supernatural means, or manmade problems. It’s a dark sub-genre to be sure, but there is also an ever present theme of humanity finding pockets of banding together to find community and perseverance and connection during the darkest and most challenging of times. While my list is merely scratching the surface, these are the titles that sprung to mind when I was thinking about this sub-genre and how it still keeps going, even if it changes.

Book: “The Stand” by Stephen King

Probably considered one of the heaviest of hitters of the modern post-apocalyptic sub-genre, “The Stand” is one of my very favorite books, and there is a reason it has stuck around since it was published in the 1970s. This was my first Stephen King book and it set the stage for my entire reading journey from thirteen year old me up til now. “The Stand” is an apocalyptic tale about a manmade bioweapon called Captain Tripps, a superflu that has a 100% mortality rate, which is let loose in a lab accident and then set free by a fleeing soldier, ravaging the world population. Random survivors, who have immunity based on chance, soon find themselves being called to two different places. The first is in Colorado, with a kindly woman named Mother Abigail. The second is in Las Vegas, with the malevolent and mysterious Randall Flagg building an army to take control and wreak havoc. As the two bands of survivors rebuild their lives, and start to encroach on each other the groups will face off in a final stand of good versus evil. In true King fashion it’s not only the horror elements of this book, be they due to illness or terrible humans, but also the very well thought out characterizations of many characters, that make this story an absolute favorite of mine.

Book: “Moon of the Crusted Snow” by Waubgeshing Rice

Unlike “The Stand”, and many other apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic novels, “Moon of the Crusted Snow” is an end of the world tale that is a bit ambiguous about how society collapsed and the world as it was known ended. We approach it through the eyes of an isolated Anishinaabe community high up north, which has low communication with the outside world except in certain circumstances. So when they realize that something HAS happened, they aren’t wholly sure as to what ‘it’ was, and now have to figure out how to survive through the winter to rebuild their own community in the spring. But that’s less the point of this novel, as the focus is more on the fact that 1) Indigenous communities already experienced an apocalyptic event when white colonizers entered their lives, and 2) the end of something means the beginning of something else. We also see how cycles repeat as well, as the community lets a white survivor into their community as an act of good faith in hopes of helping him, and then he starts to throw his weight around and endangers everyone through his actions. This one is a slow burn thriller with a bit more of a quiet voice, but a strong and effective one as well. And a sequel came out last year!

Book: “Zone One” by Colson Whitehead

Zombie tales have kind of cycled out as of late, though for awhile they were VERY popular in the horror world. There are a whole plethora of zombie apocalypse stories to pick from, but I decided to highlight “Zone One” by Colson Whitehead, as it is a unique entry into the zombie apocalypse theme. We follow Mark Spitz, a man who is a survivor, or ‘sweeper’ in a post zombie apocalypse New York. He patrols and takes out zombies to try and make New York livable once more, and as we follow Mark over a few days of this job we learn about how the zombie apocalypse unfolded, how Mark survived it, and how people are trying to rebuild society and remove all of the straggling zombies who are still roaming about. Whitehead applies a very literary lens to the zombie sub-genre, and in it we see a slice of life character study as well as a post-apocalyptic tale of resilience and rebuilding.

Book: “Parable of the Sower” by Octavia Butler

This is, for me, perhaps the most disturbing book on this list, if only because it feels a little too real in how it approaches the end of the world through societal disparity and climate change. Doesn’t really help that it starts in 2024. OH WELL! Octavia Butler’s “Parable of the Sower” follows Lauren, a teenage girl living in an America that is at a boiling point, with the haves living in high gated communities and the have nots being locked out and subjected to a dying planet and violence, poverty, and death. When Lauren’s community is eventually overrun, she escapes into the wilds, and starts to not only band together with other survivors, but also starts to create and devise a belief system called Earthseed that will not only bring community back to its followers, but also will get them off a dying planet and to spread humanity across other planets. We read this in book club a couple years ago, and I remember loving it but also being absolutely terrified by how close it was to the reality we are living in at the moment. Butler is a force, and I highly recommend this book, even if it scares the living daylights out of me. Especially now.

Book: “The Fireman” by Joe Hill

And now for some lighter fare! And for Joe Hill, Stephen King’s son who also decided to dabble in an end of the world epic with “The Fireman”! A mysterious illness called Dragonscale has started manifesting in people, where a person develops weird skin lesions, then starts to smoke, burn up, and spontaneously combust. Harper is a nurse who is trying to remain positive throughout, though when she finds out she is pregnant AND develops Dragonscale, her husband Jakob rejects her, and she flees before he gets violent as society starts to crumble. Soon she meets a group of infected people who worship Dragonscale, and believe that they can use it as a blessing and have found a way to keep it under control. Within the group is referred to as The Fireman, as while he keeps his distance from the group for the most part, he has learned to control and manipulate his Dragonscale ‘powers’. But Harper soon realizes that this community may not be the safe haven for her and her baby. I really loved this book, finding it to be jarring as well as incredibly hopeful.

Book: “Station Eleven” by Emily St. John Mandel

I am ending this selection with a book that has really cemented itself not only as a modern end of the world classic, but also as one that focuses on the things that I am trying to focus on at the moment when things are so bleak and uncertain. “Station Eleven” by Emily St. John Mandel is, much like “The Stand”, and apocalypse story about an illness that sweeps the globe and kills millions of people, leading to the collapse of society. But while we do get flashbacks into how the world ended, and into the different characters who persevered, made a mark, or succumbed to it, the main crux of this story is humanity moving forward with community, hope, art, and love. We follow Kirsten and her troupe of fellow artists and performers as they travel the now ravaged U.S., performing for other survivors and keeping art and culture alive while providing hope and community for their audiences. But when they run afoul a maniacal self proclaimed prophet and his dangerous cult, they have to keep themselves and others safe from this group. What strikes me the most about this one, and why it’s my last pick for this list, is that while things are dark, and hard, and dangerous, Kirsten and her community are strong, supporting each other and finding joy even in the hardest times, while actively resisting against chaos, hate, and violence of those who wish to tear it all down. It’s truly a book for our times.

What post-apocalyptic books are your favorites? Let us know in the comments!

This post may contain affiliate links for books we recommend.  Read the full disclosure here.

We each have our own preferred genres of choice. Kate loves horrors and thrillers, really anything that will keep her up at night! And Serena enjoys escaping through hidden doors into realms of magic and adventure. We also read mysteries, historical fiction, graphic novels, etc. etc. And that’s not even counting the multitude of sub-genres contained within each greater genre. In this series, one of us will present a list of our favorites from within a given sub-genre of one of our greater preferred genres.

Interestingly enough, while I have decided to focus on the sub-genre of Folk Horror for this edition of ‘Diving Into Sub-Genres’, it’s a sub-genre that I tend to have complicated feelings about. That isn’t to say that I dislike folk horror; on the contrary, if I love a piece of folk horror, I REALLY love a piece of folk horror. The perfect example of this is the film “The Wicker Man”, one of the earlier examples in the sub-genre in which a Scottish policeman goes to the strange and pagan island of Summerisle in search of a missing girl, and finds a community of odd, quirky, and ultimately devious townsfolk who mess with the outsider before pulling one of the greatest twists in horror history. It’s one of my favorite horror films, and my Terror Tuesday friends and I have watched it about three times in our years of movies. There’s also “The Witch”, which brings a Puritan family to the unforgiving wilderness as a witch lurks in the woods tormenting them, though the bigger threat may be the way the family Others their daughter Thomasin. This is a favorite movie of mine, period. But for every “Wicker Man” and “The Witch” there are probably five or so “Midsommar”s, in which I find the final product lacking, underwhelming, or overly pretentious (sacrilege I know, but I really hated “Midsommar”). But it’s absolutely a sub-genre that has a lot of teeth and a lot of potential, so I wanted to highlight some of the stories within.

Folk Horror is generally a kind of horror tale that involves an outsider finding themselves caught up in an unfamiliar place that has ties to folklore or ‘old ways’, and finds themselves in danger at the hands of the people or things they encounter. Superstition, ritualistic practices, nature and the dangers that come with it, and people with hidden motives are usually involved. And while there are occasionally some supernatural elements to be had, usually involving creatures from folklore and Pagan religions, it’s more likely the the threat is going to just be people in one way or another. In terms of books, one of the earlier examples is the novel “Harvest Home”, where a family movies into an isolated rural/agricultural community that adheres to some old timey superstitions about how to make their crops grow. The list I put together has some newer titles, and are mostly books that I’ve enjoyed. Or at least appreciated.

Book: “The Twisted Ones” by T. Kingfisher

I’m starting with a T. Kingfisher book because I really like the easy breezy and sometimes ‘cozy’ horror tone she brings to her novels, and that same tone comes with “The Twisted Ones”. When a woman named Mouse has to clean out her deceased grandmother’s cabin in the wooded wilderness in North Carolina, she thinks it will be a time consuming, but generally easy task. But she soon hears strange noises at night, and sees glimpses of odd beings through the corners of her eyes in the clearing around the cabin. And she soon finds diary entries her stepgrandfather left, describing strange and terrifying beings that stalk the woods, and a mysterious man named Ambrose. As Mouse starts to dig deeper into the mysteries and the strange things she’s encountering, she finds things that are beyond imagination. Kingfisher is always a fun read, and this one has some weird folksy scares to go along with her affable main character.

Book: “The Ritual” by Adam Nevill

This one is a bit more of a straight up folk horror nightmare, and “The Ritual” had enough cinematic horror elements to it that it did get adapted into a film a few years ago, which I found to be fun and creepy as hell. It definitely solidified my fears of camping, I can tell you that much, and the book beforehand had a similar effect. Four old friends are hoping to reconnect their bond that time and shifting priorities has eroded away, and go for a camping trip in the north of Sweden, in a wooded area nestled in the Arctic Circle. When they start to get discombobulated and lost, tensions start to reach a new high. But it’s when they stumble upon an old seemingly abandoned house, which has odd altars, scattered bones, and Pagan symbols, they realize that they aren’t really alone in these woods. There’s a nice build of tension with this one, and some interesting modernization of outsiders meeting old world sensibilities.

Book: “The Loney” by Andrew Michael Hurley

Folk horror doesn’t always have to be in your face with its action and themes while still achieving an overarching sense of dread, and I think that “The Loney” is a good example of this BECAUSE of how quiet it is, until it has you in a stranglehold in the last few moments. This one was a bit of a slow read for awhile, but then when it sped up MAN did it speed up and create an atmopsheric Gothic oddity. In the 1970s a family consisting of a deeply Catholic mother and her two sons, one of whom is developmentally disabled, take a week long retreat to a remote seaside hamlet, with the mother hoping that fervent prayer and visitation to a local shrine can create a miracle to cure her son. During one of these trips, the younger brother Smith, our narrator, encounters a genial but odd group, consisting of some adults and a heavily pregnant teenage girl, as well as hostile locals who don’t adhere to the Catholic dogma that the visitors do. This one not only has the clash of new sensibilities vs old (though a bit subverted as Smith’s mother is VERY antagonistic in her faith), it also has a really twisted conclusion.

Book: “The Hunger” by Alma Katsu

Feel like combining some historical fiction in with your folk horror? Alma Katsu has you covered with her Donner Party horror story “The Hunger”. Because what could make an already true story about getting trapped in the wilderness in the dead of winter and resorting to cannibalism MORE horrifying? BRING IN SOME SUPERNATURAL TERRORS ALSO MAKING PROBLEMS. As the Donner Party moves west in hopes of finding a new life out west, they go on a bad route and get stuck in the Sierras right when winter is about to hit. As their survival becomes less and less likely and they have to start eating the dead to survive, something else and otherworldly is watching and waiting from the unforgiving wilderness. This folk horror trope is definitely along the lines of outsiders moving into an area unfamiliar to them and finding something terrible and unexpected, but it’s also an interesting meditation on the hubris of men, and the way that manifest destiny made settlers think that they were deserving of a new life, when in actuality they had NO idea what they were getting into.

Book: “Pet Sematary” by Stephen King

This is probably the least obvious of folk horror novels on this list, but thinking about it really made me think about the broad swath that folk horror can reach. And “Pet Sematary” TOTALLY has folk horror elements! It follows the Creed family as they move into a new small town and new house near a forest, leaving big city life behind. When the family cat is hit by a car on the busy road, Dr. Louis Creed is led to a backwoods ‘pet cemetery’ by his neighbor Judd, who says that you can bury an animal there and it comes back to life… Though admittedly a little wrong. It works for the cat, though yes, it’s not the same cat it once was. And when horrific tragedy strikes the family, Louis decides to use the burial spot one more time out of desperation and grief. I’m sure you can imagine how it goes. This one is very much in the realm of ‘unrelenting mysteries and horrors of nature’ trope that is found in the sub-genre, as we don’t know WHY the ground can bring things back to life, or why they always come back wrong. It’s a terrifying story not only because of the reanimation, but also the ambiguity.

Book: “Slewfoot” by Brom

This was a favorite read of mine from a couple years ago, and I still find myself going back and skimming through different parts of it. And MAN, does it really fit a folk horror mold, specifically if your kind of folk horror is very much “The Witch” (which, as we all know, is the case for me). After all, Puritans clashing with a supposedly malevolent force in the forest is always going to be up my alley, and in this book nature and forest spirts play a HUGE role in all of it. Abitha is a reluctant Puritan widow who is trying to keep her farm away from her vicious brother in law now that her husband has passed away. When she meets a strange demonic figure in the forest she calls Slewfoot, who has no memory of his past life but has guidance from forest spirits about his role as a vengeful being, they slowly grow a friendship as outsiders. And when the Puritans start to target Abitha, they don’t realize that messing with her is messing with him. I LOVE THIS BOOK, and it combines nature, zealousness, outsiders, and folklore to create a fantastic addition to this list.

What folk horror novels are your favorites? Let us know in the comments!