horror

Folk Horror options for your Halloween Viewing

What is Folk Horror? Wikipedia offers a helpful explanation: Folk horror is a subgenre of horror film and horror fiction that uses elements of folklore to invoke fear and foreboding. Typical elements include a rural setting, isolation, and themes of superstition, folk...

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August Tea and a Book: Lanny, by Max Porter

August's "Tea and a Book" offers Lanny by Max Porter, published in 2020 and long listed for the Booker Prize. This is a strange book with an experimental narrative style, but it swept me up so completely that I finished it in a day. (See more professional accolades...

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July Tea and a Book: The Wild Hunt, by Emma Seckel

For July's "Tea and a Book" I'm recommending The Wild Hunt, published in August 2022 by Tin House. Author Emma Seckel is a Canadian photographer and writer who has studied at St. Andrews and Cambridge. (No slouch, this one! Check out her website.) Seckel's debut novel...

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June Tea and a Book: In the Night Wood, by Dale Bailey

June's offering is a novel I devoured a couple of years ago and lately was tempted to reread, particularly because of its folk horror elements. (I didn't know much about that genre when I first encountered the book.) I so enjoyed revisiting In the Night Wood and was...

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January Tea and a Book: Wakenhyrst, by Michelle Paver

It's a brand new year for Tea and a Book! This year I didn't choose a particular genre or time period. As it turned out, every book I read this month was wonderfully GOTHIC. My favorite of the bunch was Wakenhyrst (2019) by Michelle Paver. In Edwardian Suffolk, a...

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What to watch for Halloween — Updated for 2022

I just wrapped up my 2022 Spooky Film Recommendations, but there's more I wish to share. In case some of you are planning a bit of horror viewing over the weekend, I've listed my favorites from 13 years of blogging horror. I put the films in easy-peasy categories,...

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Spooky Film Recs 2022 — Gothic Horror, part II

Today I offer my second and final group of horror film recommendations for 2022. As before, these were chosen for their Gothic themes and content, and I am very pleased with the variety of characters and conflicts you will encounter . . . if you dare to watch them!...

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Spooky Film Recs 2022 — Gothic Horror, part I

This year I'm focusing my Spooky Film Recommendations on Gothic Horror. It's my favorite category, and I consider myself a writer of Gothic fiction. Gothic is so central to my imagination that I wrote a rambling blog post explaining what it is and why I love it, so...

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October Tea and a Book: The Uninvited by Dorothy Macardle

The Uninvited -- originally known in the UK as Uneasy Freehold -- was published in 1942 by Irish author Dorothy Macardle and was adapted to the screen by Dodie Smith in 1944. Go here for my post about the film starring Ray Milland and Ruth Hussey. I'm pleased to say...

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Spooky Film Recs 2021 — Survival Horror

This collection of films features protagonists with a strong will to live. The characters must dig deep and use their brains and brawn to negotiate the horror landscape. Ultimately, their stories are more about survival than transformation. A reminder: I prefer horror...

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Spooky Film Recs 2021 — Sci Fi Horror

'Tis the season for horror! Gather around, children -- today's offerings feature pandemics, ecological calamities, medical misdemeanors, and alien incursions. What fun! FULL DISCLOSURE: I crave horror about people and relationships, with stories that emphasize the...

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Spooky Reads for 2021

This year it's been far too easy to put a book down. Many of us have suffered from diminished attention span during the pandemic, of course, and accepting this has made it easier to let go of books that aren't working for me. Lately I've found it particularly...

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Green Man / Green Knight

I've seen The Green Knight. It's a dark film, often bizarre and at times inscrutable. You'll find little of the pageantry or romance we often associate with Arthurian films. You'll also find little in the way of schmaltz or Hollywood sparkle. This adaptation is gritty...

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