folk horror

I’d quote-posted someone using a screenshot—feelin’ sketchy about that, since they obviously wanted to make a point without any ‘engagement’ or reply-threads or dogpiles—but they were making a point about readers’ or fans’ refusal to engage with a story as written, as opposed to the nonexistent version fans had written in their own heads. “I realized I did this with Widow’s Bay,” I posted, “and THEN I realized, actually, I do it with people also.” Ugh. As written, Widow’s Bay is American folk horror. What else is folk horror? Midsommar, Wicker Man, The Ring, The Excavation of Hob’s Barrow. These stories crank up the dread because they have a pathological outcome, because the ‘conspiracy’ is so systemic, so ancient, so ingrained, the ‘hero’ might be one person fighting the forces of nature all alone: slapping the ocean with a stick. So Widow’s Bay gave us the story as advertised: not a hero’s journey, just a lamb walking itself to slaughter and feeling great about it. I’m really only…