Wednesday 25 November 2015

GREAT GHOSTS OF THE SHELVES #23 - Folk Horror Revival: Field Studies


Something of a different GGS this time round folks. Many months ago, I was very honoured to be asked to contribute to a new book on folk horror by the very talented Mr Andy Paciorek (whose marvelous uncanny art and books can be found here. And hence I penned an extensive essay looking at the folk horror elements in the ghost stories of MR James, unearthing the role of folklore and landscape in his tales. 

Now what is folk horror? Well, I think the book's contents listed below will give you a fair idea of what lies in this particular subgenre, but as a quick thumbnail guide think movies like The Wicker Man, Blood on Satan's Claw, Witchfinder General, cult TV shows like Children of the Stones, and the more unsettling tales I regularly investigate in Folklore on Friday. The tome weights in at a massive 500 pages, illustrated throughout with artwork by Alan Lee, Paul Rumsey, Julia Jeffrey, Morgaine Art, GB. Jones and Andy Paciorek. Featuring essays and interviews by many great cinematic, musical, artistic and literary talents, Folk Horror Revival: Field Studies is the most comprehensive and engaging exploration to date of the subgenre of Folk Horror and its associated fields in cinema, television, music, art, culture and folklore. 

Available now HERE

The full contents are -

• Foreword, Disclaimer & Acknowledgements
• Folk Horror: From the Forests, Fields and Furrows; An Introduction by Andy Paciorek
• Subtle Magic and the Thrill of The Wicker Man by Sharron Kraus
• An Interview with Kim Newman
• Public Information Films: Play Safe by Grey Malkin
• An Interview with Philip Pullman
• Hysteria and Curses in Nigel Kneale’s Baby (Beasts) by Adam Scovell
• An Interview with Paul Rumsey
• The Green Children of the Woolpits by Karl Shuker
• Sacred Demons: The Dramatic Art of David Rudkin by John Coulthart
• The Last Broadcast by Rich Blackett
• Folklore and the River: A Reflection on Davis Grubb’s The Night of the Hunter by Stephen Canner
• Quatermass II (Nigel Kneale): The Fears of the Outsider Within the Landscape by Adam Scovell
• An Interview with Gary Lachman
• Weird Americana by Andy Paciorek
• An Interview with Julia Jeffrey
• The Wanderings of Melmoth by Jim Peters
• The Traditional Jack in the Green by Chris Walton
• Ghosts, Landscape and Science by Nick Brown
• An Interview with Dr Bob Curran
• The Music of The Cremator and Morgiana by Grey Malkin
• One Small Step for Man: Hunting the Nephilim by Cobweb Mehers
• A Paean to Peter Vaughan by Andy Paciorek
• Other Thoughts, Other Voices: Cults, Hive Minds and a New Philosophy of Horror in the Work of John Wyndham by Dan Hunt
• The Haunted Landscape of Brian Eno: Ambient 4: On Land by Adam Scovell
• Srpski Vampir by Lauri Löytökoski
• The Primrose Sloop of War by Chris Bond
• Phantasms of the Floating World: Tales of Ghostly Japan by Andy Paciorek
• The Folk Horror of Doctor Who by Adam Scovell
• Colin Wilson: Reflections on an Outsider by Gary Lachman
• Morgaine Art by Karen Hilder
• An Interview with Andrew McGuigan: Cumbrian Cthulhu
• Paul Ferris: Witchfinder General Soundtrack Review by Grey Malkin
• An Interview with Thomas Ligotti by Neddal Ayad
• “Just That Little Bit Dark, Haunting and Dramatic”: An Introduction to The Hare and the Moon by Jim Peters & Grey Malkin
• An Interview with Dr Simon Young – The Fairy Investigation Society
• Nordic Twilight: Scandinavian Horror by Andy Paciorek
• “See Ye Not That Bonny Road?”: Places, Haunts and Haunted Places in British Traditional Song by Clare Button
• Kill Lists: The occult, paganism and sacrifice in cinema as an analogy for political upheaval in the 1970s and the 2010s by Aaron Jolly
• MR James: The Presence of More Formidable Visitants by Jim Moon
• An Interview With Drew Mulholland
• Albion’s Children: The Golden Age of British Supernatural Youth Drama by Andy Paciorek
• The Sacred Theatre of Summerisle by John Harrigan
• All you Ever Knew About Vampires Is Wrong: A Transcript of a Fortean Meeting Talk by Tina Rath
• An Interview with Robin Hardy
• The Haunted Fields of England: Diabolical Landscapes and the Genii Locorum by Phil Legard
• Sauna: Abjection and Redemption in the Liminal Spaces by Madeleine Ledespencer
• Hell’s Angel Blake – An Annotated Guide to a Coven at Bix by Andy Sharp
• The Old Hag Phenomenon by Jasmine Gould
• The Olde World Mythology Behind Saurimonde by Scarlett Amaris & Melissa St Hilaire
• Unearthing Forgotten Horrors by Darren Charles
• An Arthurian Antichrist: Alternate Readings of Kill List by Andy Paciorek
• Darkness, Beauty, Fear and Wonder: Exploring the Grotesque and Fantastical World of Czech Folk Horror by Kat Ellinger
• Folk Horror and the Virtual Demiurge – Making False Trails – How Lies Can Be Used to Create New Folklore by Chris Lambert
• Women of Power and Justice: Witches in Folk Horror Movies by Judika Illes
• An Interview With Alan Lee

100% of all profits from sales of the book will be charitably donated to environmental, wildlife and community projects undertaken by The Wildlife Trusts. We would encourage whenever possible for FHR books to be bought directly from Lulu (as linked) as all of the profits will go to charity whereas if bought via Amazon or other sellers they take a big chunk for themselves. Also Lulu is a safe efficient site and service, that offers discount codes fairly regularly which offer savings for the buyer but retain the full charitable donation.

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