Folk Horror: New Global Pathways

The first collection of scholarly essays exploring the history and resurgence of folk horror.
 
While the undisputed heyday of folk horror was 1960-70s Britain, the genre has both a rich literary prehistory and a vibrant contemporary presence. This book rethinks the assumptions that have guided critical writing on the genre in the face of these expansions. Chapters explore a range of subjects including E. F. Benson’s fiction, Scooby-Doo, Lancashire witches, and video games. Beyond Britain, the collection examines folk horror’s wide geographic appeal in Italy, Ukraine, Thailand, Mexico, and Appalachia, mapping new conceptualizations of the genre that emerge from these places.

Dawn Keetley is NEH Distinguished Chair and professor of English and Film at Lehigh University. She is managing editor of Horror Studies and has written extensively on horror.

Ruth Heholt is associate professor of dark economies and gothic literature at Falmouth University. She is the author of Catherine Crowe: Gender, Genre and Radical Politics.