Where did cosmic horror originate? What is gothic horror? What are the best horror books, comics and graphic novels to read? We hope to help answer some of these questions with our articles and best of lists.
Many of Richard Matheson’s works went from page to screen pretty successfully–perhaps that’s part of the reason why so many people are familiar with work that he originally penned, but are unaware of the source of the story. After such a long career, one might hope that people would come to recognize your name, but it didn’t seem to bother Matheson, who seemed to only write for the love of writing.
The Films Based on Matheson’s Novels
I Am Legend (1954) is Richard Matheson’s most talked-about novel–it was such a success and inspiration to creatives everywhere that it was even adapted to film three separate times. The Last Man On Earth (1964), The Omega Man (1971), and I Am Legend (2007) all wonderful movies in their own right, just never seemed to capture the concept behind the original novel.
The Last Man On Earth (1964)
The dark tale of The Last Man On Earth takes place in a post-epidemic nightmare world, where a scientist by the name of Robert Morgan–played by Vincent Price–is the only man immune to a vampire plague which has transformed the entire population on Earth. This vampire society comes to fear Morgan, as he turns into a monster slayer. As a scientist, he studies the plague and ends up being able to cure one of them, by transfusing his blood into her. This upsets the vampire race and they end up killing him for what he has done to Ruth.
Considered the second adaptation of I Am Legend to film, Charlton Heston plays Robert Neville, a man who is the only recipient of a serum that made him immune to the germ warfare between Russia and China. This caused him to be the only known normal human left alive and he lives in a gaudy, antique-decorated penthouse in Los Angeles where he roams the vacant city by day and fends off bloodthirsty (read: vampire) mutant scavengers. Eventually, Neville comes across a young group of healthy non-vampires, which destroys the idea of him being the last remaining normal human being.
The third adaptation of Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend, this attempt at the film follows Robert Neville–played by Will Smith–as the last man on Earth struggling to survive and fend off the infected victims of the vampiric plague. He’s a brilliant scientist who is meant to find the cure to a highly contagious superbug–something he is inexplicably immune to, as we find out later in the film. By day, Neville searches high and low for supplies, sends out desperate radio messages with the hope to find other survivors, and by night he hunkers down in his fortress of a home while attempting to find the cure to the virus by using his own blood in experiments on vampires he has captured. The horde of vampires is more intelligent than Neville realizes, however, and they take vengeance upon him after he captures a vampire woman who the alpha vampire is bonded to.
Adapted from Hell House by Matheson, into a screenplay by Matheson himself, four people with supposed extrasensory powers are hired to spend the weekend in a haunted house in order to gather evidence of the haunting.
Tom Witzky lives a fairly normal life, he works in Chicago and lives with his wife and son, not believing in anything out of the ordinary. One night, while at a party, Tom and his sister-in-law, Lisa, get into a verbal debate about psychic communication and the power of hypnosis–he challenges Lisa to hypnotize him, so she does. She plants a post-hypnotic suggestion for Tom to be more open-minded and things begin to happen.
Matheson wrote several screenplays, including sixteen episodes of The Twilight Zone, where he could simply pitch an idea and spur an entire episode.
Nightmare at 20,000 Feet (2002)
A salesman is traveling via plane after a recent nervous breakdown–after being told that he’s recovered from his issues–while flying, he begins to believe he’s seeing a monster climbing on the wing of the plane and damaging the engine. The only problem is, is that he’s the only one who sees it.
Georgia-based author and artist, Mary has been a horror aficionado since the mid-2000s. Originally a hobby artist and writer, she found her niche in the horror industry in late 2019 and hasn’t looked back since. Mary’s evolution into a horror expert allowed her to express herself truly for the first time in her life. Now, she prides herself on indulging in the stuff of nightmares.
Mary also moonlights as a content creator across multiple social media platforms—breaking down horror tropes on YouTube, as well as playing horror games and broadcasting live digital art sessions on Twitch.
Dark and mysterious in life and in death, Edgar Allan Poe is most famous for the Gothic horror genre, was a master of macabre poetry and short stories that are the stuff of nightmares. As an American writer, he made a surprising number of enemies through his harsh literary critique of their work. His abundant well of imagination and creative abilities directly enabled him to create a new genre and he has long been considered the father of the modern detective story. While that alone is impressive enough, he is also often regarded in literary history as the architect of the modern short story. As a creative individual, he was also a principle forerunner of the Art for Art’s Sake movement within nineteenth-century European literature.
Edgar’s life, just like his profound short stories, is largely shrouded in mystery to this day. The substantial confusion between the facts and the falsehoods is a direct result of the blatant misrepresentation in a biographical piece written by one of his enemies—in an attempt to smear the dead author’s name. As a result of these widely distributed beliefs, Poe’s image has formed into one that is a morbid, macabre, and mysterious figure who dabbles and lurks in spooky cemeteries has contributed to his legend.
This horror icon grew to become such a renowned author due to his ingenious and profound stories, poems, and critical theories, which proved in time to be influential within their respective fields. He began to be the author everyone associated with tales of murderers and madmen, the prospect of being buried alive, and revenants returning from the dead. He is most widely known for poems like “The Raven,” “The Black Cat,” and “The Tell-Tale Heart,” but that’s not even close to the extent of his most famous works.
Poe managed to produce such compelling literature that he has remained in print since 1827. A man who led an incredibly dark and dreary life and somehow managed to produce these works of literary horror art that was consistently beautiful and haunting.
Early Life
Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19, 1809; his parents were both traveling actors who Edgar was never able to truly get to know. His father was David Poe Jr. Who was originally from Baltimore, his mother Elizabeth Arnold Poe was British in descent. Both died before Poe was even three years old, while his father’s cause of death is unknown, we do know that his mother succumbed to tuberculosis which officially left Poe and his siblings as orphans. At that point, Poe was separated from his brother William and sister Rosalie and he alone was sent to live with John and Frances Allan—a successful tobacco merchant and his wife who lived in Richmond, Virginia. While Edgar seemed to develop a bond with Frances Valentine Allan, Poe’s relationship with John remained unsteady. Allan would never legally adopt his foster son Edgar, but he did send him to the best schools available where he was always a good student.
Despite butting heads, Allan raised Poe to be a Virginian gentleman, as well as a businessman; unfortunately for Allen, Poe was drawn to writing. By the time Poe was a mere thirteen years old, he was already a prolific poet, inspired by the British poet Lord Byron. Unfortunately for Poe, his efforts and literary talents were highly discouraged by his foster father and his headmaster at school. Since Allan raised Poe to be a businessman, he of course did not approve of the fact that Poe preferred to write poetry. He would also allegedly draft poetry on the back of some of Allan’s business papers—needless to say, this was frowned upon by Allan.
Adulthood
Education
Poe was admitted to the University of Virginia at Charlottesville in 1825, where he once again demonstrated his scholarly abilities. Unfortunately, a miserly John Allan sent Poe to his university with less than a third of the funds he would have needed to finish and he quickly accumulated debt. As a result, Poe turned to gambling to raise the money he needed to pay his expenses. By the end of his first term, Poe was rumored to have been so poor, that he had to burn his furniture to keep himself warm. This left him humiliated for being impoverished and furious with Allan for putting him in that position.
Forced to drop out of school, Poe returned to Richmond, Virginia where things went from bad to worse. When he arrived in Richmond, he went to visit his fiancée Sarah Elmira Royster, to the shocking discovery that she had become engaged to another man. After hearing this dismal news, a heartbroken Poe returned to Boston,
Military Service
Poe decided to join the U.S. Army in 1827, the same year he had published his first book—after serving for two years, Poe received news that Frances Allan, his foster mother, was dying of tuberculosis. Sadly, Frances passed away before Poe was able to return home to say his goodbyes. Heartbroken once more, he moved a few hostile months spent living with Allan drove him back to Baltimore to follow his dreams of writing, but also because he was able to call upon relatives for assistance. One cousin ended up robbing him blind, but fortunately for Poe, he met Maria Clemm, another relative who welcomed him with open arms and became a surrogate mother to him. In 1929, Poe was honorably discharged from the army, after having attained the rank of regimental sergeant major.
West Point Military Academy
Two years after meeting Clemm, he entered the United States Military Academy at West Point and continued to write and publish poetry. Poe once again demonstrated his ability to excel in any class but was thrown out after only eight months of attendance. It’s speculated that Poe intentionally got himself expelled to spite his foster father, by ignoring his duties and violating regulations.
In 1831, after moving to New York City, Poe published his third collection of poems, then to Baltimore to live with Clemm, before finally ending up back in Richmond, where the relationship between Poe and Allan had finally deteriorated.
Career
Poe began to follow his dream of being a writer when he published his first book Tamerlane (1927) at the age of eighteen. Later on, Poe was in Baltimore when his foster father passed away, leaving him completely out of the will and instead, witnessed an illegitimate child whom Allan had never met inherit everything. Poe was still living in poverty, but publishing his short stories when he could. One of these submissions won him a contest which was sponsored by the Saturday Visiter. Poe made valuable connections through winning this contest, which allowed him to publish more stories, and eventually, he grabbed an editorial position at the Southern Literary Messenger in Richmond. This would be the first of several journals that Poe would direct over the following decade, through which he would rise in prominence as a critical writer within America.
While his writing continued to gain attention in the late 1830s and the early 1840s, his income from this work remained minimal and he was only able to truly support himself through his work editing Burton’s Gentleman Magazine and Graham’s Magazine in Philadelphia as well as the Broadway Journal in New York City.
Short Stories & Poetry
In 1935, Poe began to sell short stories to magazines—this was also when he began to establish himself as a poet—his best-known works and poems were made during these years, the years when he was happily married despite already being a depressed alcoholic.
Literary Critic
The Southern Literary Messenger was the magazine where he ultimately obtained his goal to become a magazine writer. Before a year had passed, Poe helped to make the Messenger the most popular magazine in the south—it was his sensational short stories and his absolutely ruthless book reviews. Poe ended up developing a reputation for being a ruthless critic who would not only attack an author’s work but also insult the author themselves as well as the northern literary establishment. This job led to Poe writing reviews that were meant to target some of the most famous authors in America—one of which was Rufus Griswold, the anthologist who would become Poe’s worst enemy in life and death!
Married to his Cousin
Clemm’s daughter, Virginia, began carrying letters to Poe’s love interest at the time, but soon after became the object of his desire. He began to devote his time and attention to her and when Poe finally moved back to Baltimore he brought both his aunt Clemm as well as his twelve-year-old cousin, Virginia. The couple was married in 1836 while she was still only thirteen and Poe was twenty-seven. The age difference, as well as the marrying of a cousin, was still considered a normal thing during this era, even though by modern standards, it would be inappropriate for a child to become a bride. The marriage proved to be a joyful one and it’s likely that it was one of the happiest times during his life, but finances were fairly tight throughout despite Poe’s gain in acclaim as a writer.
Taken by Tuberculosis
Virginia was tragically taken in 1947, at the young age of 24, which happened to be the age that Poe’s mother was when she also died of tuberculosis. Poe was devastated by Virginia’s death, so much so that he was unable to write for months—his critics assumed he would die soon after and they weren’t wrong. Yet, it’s also rumored that he became involved in a number of romantic affairs before he was engaged for the third time. This time to his original fiancée, Elmira Royster Shelton, who had recently become a widow just as Poe had become a widower.
Mysterious Death
While in preparation for his second marriage, Poe arrived in Baltimore in late September of 1849. He was discovered in a semi-conscious state on October 3 and was taken to a hospital. He ended up dying four days later of “acute congestion of the brain,” without regaining consciousness to explain what had happened to him during his last days on earth. Neither Poe’s mother-in-law Mrs. Clemm nor his fiancée Elmira knew what had become of him until they read about it in the papers. Medical practitioners later reopened his case and hypothesized that Poe could have been suffering from rabies at the time of his death, but the exact cause still remains a mystery.
Libelous Obituary
Only days after Poe’s death, one of his main literary rivals—he had several due to his moniker “The Tomahawk Man,” when he wrote his scathing literary reviews—Rufus Griswold, decided to write a libelous obituary about the dead author. This was done in a misguided attempt to get his revenge against Poe for some offensive things that Poe had written and said about him. Griswold attempted to smear Poe’s image by labeling him a drunken, womanizing, madman, who possessed neither morals nor friends; his hope was that these attacks on Poe would cause the public to dismiss his works and cause Poe to be forgotten completely. Unfortunately for Griswold, his libelous attack on Poe had the opposite effect on audiences and immediately caused the sales of Poe’s books to skyrocket, higher than they had ever been during his lifetime. The joke was truly on Griswold, however, who instead of being recognized as a writer is only recognized (if vaguely) as Poe’s first biographer, even if he intentionally botched the whole thing.
https://youtu.be/sXsU4C7-rxQ
Work Cited
Edgar Allan Poe. (2020, September 03). Retrieved November 14, 2020, from https://www.biography.com/writer/edgar-allan-poe
“Edgar Allan Poe.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/edgar-allan-poe.
Poe’s Biography: Edgar Allan Poe Museum. (n.d.). Retrieved November 14, 2020, from https://www.poemuseum.org/poes-biography
Georgia-based author and artist, Mary has been a horror aficionado since the mid-2000s. Originally a hobby artist and writer, she found her niche in the horror industry in late 2019 and hasn’t looked back since. Mary’s evolution into a horror expert allowed her to express herself truly for the first time in her life. Now, she prides herself on indulging in the stuff of nightmares.
Mary also moonlights as a content creator across multiple social media platforms—breaking down horror tropes on YouTube, as well as playing horror games and broadcasting live digital art sessions on Twitch.
As a professional writer for fifty years, not only was Dennis Etchison successful with his short stories, novels, and editorial work, he also had a prolific career with film, screen and radio work. This of course simply works as an overview of what he was most known for in these fields—in respect to him as our honored Dead Author Dedication of the month of May, we felt it was fair to mention how he contributed to the field of film, screen, and radio.
Screenplays
In his time writing screenplays, Etchison wrote a fair few that he could be proud of, although his own humility would not allow it later in life. Whether it be a screenplay based on the works of others, or his own—sadly his screenplays were not as widely received as his short stories and novels. In 1998, Etchison’s story, The Late Shift was adapted to film by Patrick Aumont and Damian Harris into the film Killing Time.
Ray Bradbury
One author that Etchison greatly respected was Ray Bradbury and he displayed this in many ways during his career, by paying homage to the classic American author. One screenplay that he was said to have created, but has thus far not been produced, was The Fox and the Forest.
Teaming Up With the Greats
John Carpenter
1986 brought in the opportunity for Etchison to team up with director John Carpenter to write the script for Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers; unfortunately, when Etchison finalized the script, producer Moustapha Akkad rejected it, saying that it was “too cerebral,” and that it would not have been right for the direction of the franchise.
Halloween was banned in Haddonfield and I think that the basic idea was that if you tried to suppress something, it would only rear its head more strongly. By the very [attempt] of trying to erase the memory of Michael Myers, [the teenagers] were going to ironically bring him back into existence.
Dennis Etchison on his idea for Halloween 4
He was informed via telephone with an explanation that his script would not become part of the deal during the sale of the pitch for Halloween 4; that is not to say that the fourth installment of the Halloween franchise was unsuccessful, but once Akkad had gained ownership of the franchise, he returned it to a more original idea that brought the fan-base back.
Stephen King
In 1983, Etchison first worked with King to be the film consultant and historian for King’s Danse Macabre. His work with Stephen King, perhaps is the most impressive, having teamed up with the prolific writer to create the screenplay for The Mist which was adapted in 1984 fir a ZBS Media production as a 90-minute radio rendition.
Television
Etchison was a staff writer during the year of 1985, when he contributed to the television series The Hitchhiker.
The Ogre originally written by Colin Wilson, was rewritten by Etchison—he also co-wrote one of the stories for the television series Logan’s Run, entitled “The Thunder Gods,” which was later printed.
Radio Work
As an author who could seamlessly cross platforms, Etchison adapted almost one hundred episodes of the original The Twilight Zone television series for a CBS radio series which was hosted by Stacy Keach in 2002. Later on this radio series was released commercially on audio CDs. This was definitely not the only time that Etchison did writing for radio work, as he also worked as one of the writers on the audio series for Fangoria’s Deadtime Stories which was hosted by Malcom McDowell—also something that was later released on CDs and digital downloads.
Georgia-based author and artist, Mary has been a horror aficionado since the mid-2000s. Originally a hobby artist and writer, she found her niche in the horror industry in late 2019 and hasn’t looked back since. Mary’s evolution into a horror expert allowed her to express herself truly for the first time in her life. Now, she prides herself on indulging in the stuff of nightmares.
Mary also moonlights as a content creator across multiple social media platforms—breaking down horror tropes on YouTube, as well as playing horror games and broadcasting live digital art sessions on Twitch.
Defining the term “folk horror” and tracing its trajectory throughout history is somewhat of a Herculean task. For a term that sounds so simplistic, it is an incredibly complex and ever-expanding genre. Entire books have been written on the subject (such as Adam Scovell’s 2017 film criticism Folk Horror: Hours Dreadful and Things Strange), and there’s even a three hour long documentary about it titledWoodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror, which itself features over one hundred examples from film.
And while much of the emphasis surrounding the conversation is placed on British movies, there are plenty of overlapping examples in film, TV, and literature from around the world. Not to mention the actual elements that make up the genre are diverse, and range from folklore to the occult to witchcraft.
Simply put, it’s complicated.
To that end, this article is not going to be an exhaustive look at the genre (that’s what the books and documentaries are for), but rather a brief overview of the term, its tropes, and popular examples. Think of it as a primer; a starting place in the shallows of the vast ocean that is folk horror. Ready to wade in?
Origins of the Term
The British music scene experienced something of a folk revival in the 1960s, and that, coupled with the rise in Neopaganism, led to a general infatuation with and exploration of older belief systems. Bands like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin explored occult themes in their songs, and the writings of famous occultist Aleister Crowley gained popularity. It wasn’t long before the fascination with folk and occult themes found its way into the world of cinema. And that’s not to say that music was the only vehicle for introducing folk horror, as disillusionment with modernism and outrage at governing bodies engendered in many a desire to return to nature and the simpler, older ways of life. At the same time, our post-industrial life has made us unused to rural life and uncomfortable with isolation.
When cult classic The Blood on Satan’s Claws came out in 1971, the Kine Weekly referred to the film as “a study in folk horror”. The movie’s director Piers Haggard also used this term when describing his film. Later the term received renewed attention in 2010 when writer/actor Mark Gatiss interviewed Haggard during a section of the BBC documentary A History of Horror. These two moments, 1971 and 2010, appear to mark the emergence and then subsequent revitalization of the expression “folk horror”.
Elements of Folk Horror
Though it can be difficult to pin down the exact definition of folk horror, there is a general agreement that it is more of a mood, an atmosphere, than anything else. You know it when you see it, though it may be hard to explain why. Even common tropes can vary widely depending on geographic region and time period, and movies with very dissimilar plots can still fall under the folk horror umbrella. But for the purpose of simplicity, we will highlight what writer and filmmaker Adam Scovell (owner of the Celluloid Wicker Man blog) describes as the “Folk Horror Chain”, or the four basic thematic/aesthetic tenets of folk horror: Rural Location, Isolated Groups, Skewed Moral and Belief Systems, and Supernatural or Violent Happenings.
Rural Location: This was a big one for movies in the 60s and 70s because it saw a move away from filming in studios and out into the natural world. This element typically involves a fascination with pastoral landscapes and locations outside of urban life. Often there is an outsider who stumbles upon or is forced into a rural community, and who usually becomes some sort of scapegoat or sacrifice to traditional/pagan beliefs. Some argue that this element also encompasses ideas of psychography and location being a “state of mind” in more urban communities, such as in Roman Polanski’s filmRosemary’s Baby (1968).
Isolated Groups: This element typically takes one one of two meanings – either an individual is isolated from their normal physical environment or they’re isolated from those who share their same moral beliefs. For example, the characters in David Bruckner’s The Ritual (2017) find themselves stranded in the forest but also in discord with people who worship much different gods than they. This element is a link between the previous one and the next because isolation usually happens in rural environments, and it’s made even more upsetting because the antagonistic forces don’t act or think the same as the protagonist.
Skewed Moral and Belief Systems: InRobin Hardy’s The Wicker Man (1973), Sergeant Howie finds himself in a community whose religious beliefs and practices are at odds with his own. Across other examples there is a common thread of “modern” or “Christian” beliefs finding themselves in direct conflict with occult or pagan beliefs. This collision of morality and religious belief leads into or is specifically connected to the final element of the chain.
Supernatural or Violent Happenings: Folk horror stories are often steeped in, or at least influenced by, folklore of the particular region they’re set in, and this final piece of the chain usually involves either supernatural beings or some form of ritualistic violence (or both) related to that folklore. Invocations of demonic entities, horrific sacrifices, occult practices, and pagan idolatry are all par for the course.
British Folk Horror
The current popularity of folk horror, at least what our primary audience would be familiar with, owes a lot to British cinema, and in particular the Hammer Films production company. A group of films from the 60s and 70s, known affectionately as the “Unholy Trinity,” is what many point to as the birth of the genre. These movies are Witchfinder General(1968), the aforementioned Blood on Satan’s Claw (1971), and The Wicker Man (1973). These three films helped distinguish some common characteristics of folk horror, namely the picturesque landscapes, the isolated communities, and the emphasis on sacrifices and supernatural summonings. And yet, showing how intangible the genre is, these are also three very different movies in terms of plot.
Strong examples of the genre can also be found in British television from the same time period. There was the BBC’s Ghost Stories for Christmas series, which adapted several of M.R. James’s short stories with folk horror elements, such as Whistle and I’ll Come to You (1968), A Warning to the Curious(1972), and The Ash Tree (1975). There was a drama series from the BBC, titled Plays for Today, with standout hits like Robin Redbreast(1970) and Penda’s Fen (1974). And there were still other enduring examples of the genre like Children of the Stones(1977), a miniseries made for children but still incredibly terrifying.
Though the British rise in folk horror began in the 1960s and 1970s, there was something of a resurgence in the genre in the 2010s. Some of these newer British films (and in the UK more widely) took the tropes and themes from decades previous and put their own modern spin on them, while others sought to return to folk horror’s roots, so to speak, with their emphasis on ritual, folklore, and mankind’s connection to nature. While there are many examples to pull from – folk horror appears to be trending right now – several standout movies include David Keating’s Wake Wood (2009), Paul Wright’s For Those in Peril(2013), Elliot Goldner’s The Borderlands (2013), and Corin Hardy’s The Hallow (2015). Another prolific filmmaker in the genre is Ben Wheatley, whose canon of folk horror movies includes Kill List(2011), Sightseers (2012),A Field in England(2013), andIn the Earth(2021).
Most of the common examples in British folk horror are from film, however there are many books from Britain that include plots and tropes from the genre. In fact, as it goes, some of the oldest examples of the genre are found in literature, from authors such as Arthur Machen, Algernon Blackwood, and M.R. James. Some shining examples in more modern literature include Adam Nevill’s The Ritual(2011) and The Reddening (2019), Andrew Michael Hurley’s The Loney (2014) and Devil’s Day(2017), Thomas Olde Heuvelt’s Hex(2016), and Stephanie Ellis’s The Five Turns of the Wheel(2020) – as well as numerous comics, such as Simon Davis’s Thistlebone(2020) from 2000AD.
American Folk Horror
Though the term originated in the British imagination, the evolving genre of folk horror has set roots in American cinema and literature as well. In some cases this involves American filmmakers creating movies very much influenced by the British tradition, such as Avery Crounse’s Eyes of Fire(1983), Robert Eggers’s The Witch (2015), Gareth Evans’s Apostle (2018), and Ari Aster’s Midsommar(2019). These films have strong similarities to their British cousins in regards to their emphasis on British landscapes and lore. The Blair Witch Project(1999) is another movie that could be included in this group, though it doesn’t fit the mold quite as well.
There are also many crossover elements between the genres of southern gothic and folk horror, and these commonalities can be seen in films such as Charles Laughton’s Night of the Hunter(1955). There is also a sub-genre of film called “hicksploitation” or “hillbilly horror” which spawns from the southern gothic tradition and which, upon first glance, may not seem to have much to do with folk horror. Yet, when one applies Scovell’s folk horror chain theory, the similarities begin to arise. Films that would fit in this category include movies like John Boorman’s Deliverance(1972), Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chainsaw Massacre(1974), and Wes Craven’s The Hills Have Eyes(1977).
In American literature, elements of folk horror can be seen as early as the works of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Washington Irving. Other popular novels and short stories in the genre include Thomas Tryon’s Harvest Home(1973), Stephen King’s “Children Of The Corn” (1977),Shirley Jackson’s “The Summer People” (1984), Raymond E. Feist’s Faerie Tale(1988), Elizabeth Hand’s Wylding Hall (2015), John Langan’s The Fisherman(2016), and Victor Lavalle’s The Changeling(2017).
A Genre Diverse and Divergent
As we continue to reevaluate and redefine what folk horror is, we begin to notice a few common truths: the genre has existed in some form or fashion long before the 60s and 70s, and some version of it can be found in almost every country around the world. Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, early forms of mystical poetry, and even some of Shakespeare’s plays all have folk horror elements. The earliest example in film comes from the Danish-Swedish fictionalized documentary Häxan: Witchcraft Through The Ages(1922). Sweden has Ingmar Bergman’s Hour of the Wolf (1968). Australia has Peter Weir’s The Picnic at Hanging Rock(1975). Japan has Kaneto Shindo’s Onibaba (1964) and Kuroneko (1968). And on and on it goes.
Also the more we explore the foundations and tenets of folk horror, the more we find examples which lie outside of the commonly accepted cannon, but which end up fitting the mold in diverse and interesting ways. Some titles here would include Sam Peckinpah’s Straw Dogs (1971), Bernard Rose’s Candyman(1992), Guillermo Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth (2006), Edgar Wright’s Hot Fuzz(2007), Jordan Peele’s Get Out(2017), Ari Aster’s Hereditary (2018), and even the Paranormal Activity franchise.
As it should be clear by now, attempting to box the folk horror genre into an easy-to-digest definition is simply not possible. We didn’t even get into the various histories of folklore and dark fairy tales around the world and their individual influences and appearances in the genre. We also didn’t get into the overlapping traits in genres such as science fiction and cosmic horror. What we did accomplish, hopefully, is to give you a taste of the world that you will carry with you into your own exploration of this wonderfully diverse genre known as folk horror.
Ben’s love for horror began at a young age when he devoured books like the Goosebumps series and the various scary stories of Alvin Schwartz. Growing up he spent an unholy amount of time binge watching horror films and staying up till the early hours of the morning playing games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. Since then his love for the genre has only increased, expanding to include all manner of subgenres and mediums. He firmly believes in the power of horror to create an imaginative space for exploring our connection to each other and the universe, but he also appreciates the pure entertainment of B movies and splatterpunk fiction.
Nowadays you can find Ben hustling his skills as a freelance writer and editor. When he’s not building his portfolio or spending time with his wife and two kids, he’s immersing himself in his reading and writing. Though he loves horror in all forms, he has a particular penchant for indie authors and publishers. He is a proud supporter of the horror community and spends much of his free time reviewing and promoting the books/comics you need to be reading right now!
List of HorrorBooks that Became Famous Horror Movies
How Many Horror Movies Started As Books?
Many horror movies begin as novels or short stories of some kind. Some of them are more popular than others. There are horror movies which are nearly word-for-word scripted by the books. There are also movies that are only loosely based upon a true story. Whether it was loosely inspired, or a full-on contribution, novels which become horror movies have done pretty well in terms of creating a cult following and earning box office dollars. Most of the time, the books are even worth reading on their own!
Popular Books that Became Horror Movies
These are the most popular novels that became horror movies. Because it is impossible to rank these movies in terms of actual popularity, they are listed alphabetically.
1408 – Inspired by Stephen King
1408 is a very creative haunted house story. It stars John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson. Cusack plays a depressed, alcohol horror novelist reviewing haunted hotels. 1408 is a special room in New York’s Dolphin Hotel. The writer stays in the hotel room despite the many warnings from Jackson’s character, the hotel manager. The write, and the audience, battles the psychological thriller throughout the night until the room permanently consumes the protagonist.
30 Days of Night – Inspired by Steve Niles
30 Days of Night is one of the best vampire movies ever made. The vampires have an “understood backstory,” which explains them in an almost gypsie-like fashion. They travel to feed, visiting towns which experience authentic darkness for a month or longer. Although they have the typical vampire power to convert a human into a blood sucker, they typically prefer to violently kill their victims and
American Psycho – Inspired by Bret Easton Ellis
Christian Bale is an incredible actor who fully immerses himself into a role. American Psycho is a display of talent that exceeds the expectation of even a Bale performance! This movie became an instant cult classic, but still spawns from one of the most elegantly composed orchestras ever to grace paper.
The Amityville Horror – Inspired by Jay Anson
The Amityville Horror is a well-respected haunted house horror classic. The film focuses on the weakness of unsuspecting residence to fall to spiritual possession. The patriarch of the family is always possessed and forced to adhere to the murderous ways of the spirit who controls the house. The spirit encourages the possessed to kill their entire family.
Cabal – Inspired by Clive Barker
This movie was written about nightmarish city-dwelling monsters, a psychiatrist-serial killer, and overall horror despair.
Candyman – Inspired by Clive Barker
Candyman (1992) is about a knife-wielding (hook handed) killer who can be summoned by repeating his name five times in front of a mirror. It is a demonic possession-thriller that is the fear of any human being who has ever heard an urban legend involving a mirror. Clive Barker is responsible for this masterpiece.
Carrie – Inspired by Stephen King
Carrie (1976) and the remake (2013) are really popular horror classics. They were given a humble entrance to the horror scene by an early Stephen King. Carrie has always done very well, drawing so much positive feedback and a significant cult following.
Children of the Corn – Inspired by Stephen King
Out of all of the books Stephen King has written which have inspired movies, Children of the Corn (1984) is one of the most disturbing stories. The town which engulfs the protagonists is a small town, but only children live there. Though, they are all followers of a super sinister preacher. The couple realizes they are the feature on the children’s sacrificial menu and they run for their lives.
Christine – Inspired by Stephen King
Christine is a scary movie about a car that takes on a life of its own. Unfortunately this vehicle has the personality of a murderer. It was a really popular movie in 1983 and has remained relevant even today. Christine got its start in another Stephen King book.
Cujo – Inspired by Stephen King
The 1981 terror known as Cujo showcases a horrifying experience of being hunted by a rabid St. Bernard. While many people would not find a dog particularly scary nor horror-worthy, Stephen King painted an excellent storyline for the insane canine killer.
The Dead Zone – Inspired by Stephen King
Christopher Walken plays a patient who awakens from a coma to find many years have eluded him. He also finds himself some new psychic abilities to play with.
The Devil’s Advocate – Inspired by Andrew Neiderman
The Devil’s Advocate is often considered one of the most perverse horror flicks to hit the big screen, even including some suggestive incest. Ultimately, it still built a very powerful cult following and performed very well at the box office. Keanu Reeves and Al Pacino pulled in the bacon and provided viewers a great rendition of Neiderman’s novel.
Dracula – Inspired by Bram Stoker
Dracula (1992) is one of the most infamous, instant classics to ever grace the horror genre. This is one of the better historical-period horror movies.
Dreamcatcher – Inspired by Stephen King
Dreamcatcher (2001) is about an alien invasion and was written in cursive while King recovered from a car accident. It was also his 36th novel.
The Exorcist – Inspired by William Peter Blatty
The Exorcist (1973) may be one of the older movies on this list, however, it was scary then and it is still scary today! Blatty did an excellent job with cementing terror through time.
Firestarter – Inspired by Stephen King
Firestarter (1984) is about a couple whom submitted themselves to medical testing and give birth to a daughter with a special ability. The little girl (played by Drew Barrymore) can start fires with her mind.
Frankenstein – Inspired by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Frankenstein (1931) is one of the most classic horror movies of all time. It is also the oldest movie on this list.
Hannibal – Inspired by Thomas Harris
Hannibal (2001) is the sequel to The Silence of the Lambs. The story tracks Dr. Hannibal Lecter after he escaped custody in Europe. Julianne Moore joins Anthony Hopkins to put author Thomas Harris’ sequel to life on the big screen.
The Haunting of Hill House – Inspired by Shirley Jackson
The Haunting of Hill House is actually a novel which inspired multiple horror movies. The two most notable movies which based their storyline most closely to the book include The Haunting (1999) and House on Haunted Hill (1999). Jackson was truly a wicked good writer and a creative soul!
Hellraiser – Inspired by Clive Barker
Hellraiser (1987) was created after the Clive Barker novel The Hellbound Heart. It’s a creepy film about a man who opens a portal to hell. The demons released are insanely disturbing. So is the reincarnation of a dead man who requires fresh blood to reconstruct his being.
I Know What You Did Last Summer – Inspired by Lois Duncan
I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) rustled together an all-star cast including: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ryan Phillippe, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Freddie Prinze Jr.). The partying high school graduates accidentally hit a pedestrian with their car, creating a wild train of paranoia and suspense worthy of the horror industry. The original story is credited to Lois Duncan.
Interview With the Vampire – Inspired by Anne Rice
Interview With the Vampire (1994) is a period horror set in the 18th century. Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt put on an amazing show, all of which is being recorded by biographer Christian Slater.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers – Inspired by Jack Finney
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) is another one of the older horror movies. Still, very thrilling and about a nearly unstoppable alien invasion.
IT – Inspired by Stephen King
The original IT from 1990 is technically a TV mini-series. It is an extreme psychological terror flick. However, the movie adaptation of 2017 takes Pennywise and evil to an entirely new level. The gore, blood, and killings are truly horrifying. The cinematic value is extremely well-done and the mental depravity is unruly.
Jaws – Inspired by Peter Benchley
Jaws (1975) was directed by Steven Spielberg and brought to life one of the most intimidating beasts of the sea: a mammoth-sized shark that haunts unsuspecting water-dwelling beach-goers and boat-riders. Before Jaws became an instant cult franchise classic, the original material came from the clever mind of Peter Benchley.
The Midnight Meat Train – Inspired by Clive Barker
The Midnight Meat Train (2008) is an interesting horror movie about photographer down on his luck who follows an organization onto one of the most bloodiest subway rides ever seen.
Misery – Inspired by Stephen King
Misery (1990) is another Stephen King inspired film to make the list. This movie highlights realistic horror. A nurse rescues a writer after a serious car accident and is revealed to be an obsessive lunatic.
The Mist – Inspired by Stephen King
The Mist (2007) is about a destructive storm that forces a family into town for supplies. Terror in the form of a mist surrounds the family when they enter a grocery store and they are forced to hole up. The true terror, however, was yet to come from the fog!
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies – Inspired by Seth Grahame-Smith
Grahame-Smith made this movie into a much more cinematic thriller than many of the other movies in the general genre. Still, the 2016 action-thriller still makes the list due to its obvious horror-oriented theme.
Psycho – Inspired by Robert Bloch
Psycho (1960) is one of the coolest ideas for a horror movie of its time. This is because it focuses on normal, everyday life and embraces a lot of realism. Norman Bates and his mother are in charge of a hotel which they use to terrorize and murder guests.
The Ring – Inspired by Koji Suzuki
The Ring (2002) left many moviegoers in shock and too scarred to ever watch another video cassette again. The movie crafts the idea that a simple videotape could invoke an evil that kills the viewer within 7 days. For a very long time, many people pranked one another, imitating the eerie phone call a viewer would get directly after watching the film. Thank you, Koji Suzuki, for this scary masterpiece!
Rosemary’s Baby – Inspired by Ira Levin
Rosemary’s Baby (1968) is another older flick that made the list. Levin does a wonderful job of painting the most horrifying picture about a mother who decides her baby is from another world.
The Shining – Inspired by Stephen King
The Shining (1980) is one of Jack Nicholson’s finest performances. He was extremely immersive in his acting. The story of psychic premonition and suspense is carefully crafted. Jack’s character is a writer who’s writing dries up and forces him into mania.
The Silence of the Lambs – Inspired by Thomas Harris
No one can deny The Silence of the Lambs (1991) was not one of Anthony Hopkin’s most realistic and disturbing performances. The movie follows a psychiatrist who hunts people and eats them. Yes, eats them. Thomas Harris is the writer who originally found this idea appealing, although, the cult following suggests he is not alone!
Something Wicked This Way Comes – Inspired by Ray Bradbury
Ray Bradbury is one of the most underrated authors of all time, however, his horror staples made a dent in the genre that will last forever. Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983) is about a terrifying carnival owner who preys on people having fun.
A Stir of Echoes – Inspired by Richard Mattheson
A Stir of Echoes (1999) is an incredible mystery-horror flick which follows a blue-collar worker (played by Kevin Bacon) throughout his newly found psychic lifestyle.
Last Words About Horror Novels
Many other books have also evolved into really great horror flicks as well. In fact, it is very rare for a film to draw no inspiration from any written content. Obviously, Stephen King has taken the largest chunk of the pie in terms of “novel to horror movie” genre, however, many other great authors have surfaced too. After all, fear is evolving, and it is only a matter of time before the next horror movie genius is born upon the pages!
Tritone’s love of horror and mystery began at a young age. Growing up in the 80’s he got to see some of the greatest horror movies play out in the best of venues, the drive-in theater. That’s when his obsession with the genre really began—but it wasn’t just the movies, it was the games, the books, the comics, and the lore behind it all that really ignited his obsession. Tritone is a published author and continues to write and write about horror whenever possible.
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