The History of Folk Horror

Dr Sam Le Butt is at The Glee Club Glasgow on Wednesday 14 October for a talk on the history of folk horror. It's part of the Seed Talks series, and it works its way through the dark origins of the genre, tracing its connection to ancient customs, folklore and ritual across the British Isles, and the modern anxieties they speak to.

She sets that history against the recent comeback of folk horror, with new films, TV and books building on the classics of the 1960s and 70s — The Wicker Man, Witchfinder General and The Blood on Satan's Claw. Those, in turn, drew on older Gothic and supernatural writing, including that of Algernon Blackwood. If you've seen the newer wave of folk horror but aren't sure where it actually comes from, this is the kind of thing that fills in the gaps.

Dr Sam Le Butt (she/her) is a researcher, writer and educator with a PhD in English Literature from the University of Bristol. Her speciality is fungal horror, Gothic and sci-fi storytelling in contemporary culture. Her debut fiction collection, Curious Woman and other Creatures, was published in 2022, and she's also a collage artist and workshop facilitator. She'll be speaking at The Glee Club Glasgow, 11 Renfrew Street, G2 3AB.

Doors open at 6:30pm, last entry is 7pm, and the talk starts at 7:30pm. It runs for about three hours, so it's a proper evening rather than a quick drop-in. Tickets are available via Eventbrite.