The situation in which you’re most likely need advice on writing Folk Horror is that you already have a basic idea in mind, and then you realize it falls into folk horror territory, so you look for ways to enhance that connection.
However, the easiest way to discuss the subject is to pretend that we’re starting from zero, knowing only that “folk horror” is the target we want to hit, and at liberty to take any of the many routes which end up leading in that direction. That’s the approach we’ll take here.
All the general advice about how to Write a Story and specifically how to Write a Horror Story applies, so you may want to read that advice and then return here, to study what makes a work specifically folk horror.
Folk horror came to the attention of literary critics relatively recently. As a result, there’s still a lot of work being done to figure out which works belong in the genre, and what characterizes it. There is wide agreement that three films (known as ‘the unholy trinity’) serve as the defining examples (Trope Codifiers): The Wicker Man (1973), The Blood on Satan's Claw, and Witchfinder General.
Fortunately, there’s nearly universal agreement on the first key element of folk horror: landscape. The landscape is such a crucial element of folk horror, you’ll almost certainly want to study using Setting as a Character.
Take a moment to read the following short story, deliberately written to be as archetypal a folk horror tale as possible:
This story
So you've decided to write a story. You love to read (insert genre here), so you've decided to write (that genre again).
First, be sure to check out Write a Story for basic advice that holds across all genres. Then, get look over a rundown of the genre-specific tropes that will help you, hurt you, and guide you on your way.
Those guides follow this template:
All examples here are, well, examples of examples. Do not try to wrap your head around a story using all of the examples.
Necessary Tropes
The very nature of the genre dictates that your material will fall under these tropes. Learn to use them well.
- Our Vampires Are Different: Many, many writers have already messed with the nature of vampires, and no two novels present them exactly alike. Familiarize yourself with what has been done, and see if you can't create something new - or at least revive a long-forgotten version. It might also be a good idea to research the history of vampire legends online or at your local library.
- Big Bad: Big epic quests like these tend to have Big Bads; it'd be hard not to have a major villain and still have a good, workable story. And the Big Bad doesn't have to be a person, either - but you can read more about that on the page itself.
- During the War: Well... yeah... hard to avoid this trope when you've decided to write a war story.
Choices, Choices
These tropes cover a wide spectrum of choices regarding a certain element of your story, and you're going to have to pick a spot somewhere on that spectrum. Unless we've forgotten to include something, and you can spot it, because in that case you might actually surprise us after all.
- Death: From Never Say "Die" through Red Shirt Army to Anyone Can Die (or even "Everybody Dies" Ending), you're going to have to decide to what degree death can affect the characters you've created. Don't forget the death of villains, too, from Thou Shalt Not Kill to Shoot the Dog and so forth.
- The Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: Just how idealistic is your story's worldview? And to what extent do the characters agree with this? Cynics in an Idealistic world may be funny; Idealistics in a Cynical world, decidedly less so.
Note: Depending on how the Choices section plays out, it might get pulled over to the genre-free page after all.
Pitfalls
Watch out for these tropes! They're bad news - or, well, at least they're tropes you generally want to avoid - and they're particularly common in your chosen genre.
- Glurge: Any heartwarming story has the chance of descending into utter glurge, and you should study the examples to get an idea on how to spot it and, more importantly, how to avoid it.
- Purple Prose: Many Romances fall prey to flowery writing that detracts from the story and often makes it difficult to even figure out what is going on. Then again, there are those who defend at least a certain amount of flowery writing... and I wish I could recall the name of the "How to Write Romance" books I found that discussed the matter, so you could read the defense for yourself.
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Mary Sue: Too many fanfic authors fall prey to this one. Not that a Mary Sue can't be done well.... - Your new Reality TV show? For the love of all that's worth watching, please find a way to minimize
FilleritisFiller.
Potential Subversions
These tropes are in common use throughout the genre, so we'll forgive you if you use them - but if you can think of a good way to subvert, invert, or just plain avert them, then you just might be able to start a new trend....
- Space Is an Ocean: Okay, your average Space Western rides along on this wave, but isn't there some way you can reinvent the analogy, the terminology...?
- Living in a Furniture Store: Yes, there's good reason to not make things too messy when you're filming a Sitcom, and it's not like we're going to notice it... unless you call our attention to it, of course.
Writers' Lounge
Suggested Themes and Aesops
- After the End: You could go with an anti-nuclear-weapon Aesop, a total, Gandhi-esque pacifism Aesop... an "if we all work together we can survive and bounce back from anything" Aesop (hey, it worked quite well in Wall-E)....
- That cynical Tabletop RPG might use the theme of Crapsack World to underscore everything that happens, perhaps coupled with Humans Are Bastards.
Potential Motifs
- Vampire novel means lots of roses and blood.
- If you want your Cosmic Horror story to really creep your audience out, make sure to throw in lots of eyes. And maybe an Eye Scream to boot.
- Tentacles will do too. Be they Combat Tentacles or the other kind, tentacles tend to freak people out.
- Ofcourse, why not have both? Or in a true Lovecraftian style, create a monter so horrible the protagonist is unable to even describe it, other than saying it had lots of tentacles, eyes and pointy teeth.
- Tentacles will do too. Be they Combat Tentacles or the other kind, tentacles tend to freak people out.
Suggested Plots
- Your High School Sitcom could include such plots as Two-Timer Date, In with the In Crowd, Feud Episode, and even Horrible Camping Trip.
- A fantasy/horror piece that's heavy on Telepathy and Mind Manipulation? Try Fake Memories, Grand Theft Me, Amnesia Danger, Journey to the Center of the Mind, and Out-of-Character Alert.
Departments
Set Designer / Location Scout
- Given that you're after a Heroic Fantasy, you'll want to look into The Good Kingdom, the Enchanted Forest, and Ruritania.
- Lemme see, for the classic Big Bad we have the Elaborate Underground Base, the Evil Tower of Ominousness, or, if you prefer, go even bigger with The Empire.
Props Department
- Spy thriller, eh? You'll need to look at some weapons: I suggest either guns, but maybe Revolvers Are Just Better... and let's not forget some backup, like Razor Floss. Then you'll need equipment: a Grappling-Hook Pistol, a Shoe Phone... and perhaps a Caper Crew.
- Dark magicks require dark regeants. Let's set you up with the Great Big Book of Everything, a Magic Wand, a Crystal Ball, and your own pantry full of spell ingredients including a year's supply of Eye of Newt.
- Heroic Fantasy: Take up the tome of weapons and consider it well.
Costume Designer
- Any school-based anime worth its salt needs the Red Armband of Leadership and at least one example of Transfer Student Uniforms.
- Superhero uniforms, superhero uniforms... ah! there we go. Let's see, if you want to avoid spandex and tights, there's always Civvie Spandex, or then again the Badass Longcoat; and of course you'll want to disguise your face, so let me suggest Cool Shades (or Sinister Shades), maybe an Expressive Mask....
Casting Director
- Well, for a heroic quest, you might go with Heterosexual Life-Partners, the Power Trio, the Four-Girl Ensemble, the Five-Man Band....
- For the Western, choose from among The Drifter, The Gunslinger, the Mountain Man, The Gambler, the Noble Savage...
Stunt Department
- Your spy thriller could benefit from some good moves: Dressing as the Enemy, a Ceiling Cling, maybe some Juggle Fu... and if you want to get really fancy, add in some Le Parkour.
- Romantic Anime, we're looking at maybe a Meet Cute, a Yawn and Reach, maybe an Indirect Kiss....
Extra Credit
Now, if you're really looking to bring up the quality of your work, head off to your local library (or jump on your computer... wait, you're already there) to study how the best (and worst) have managed to make it work:
The Greats
- If you ever wanted An Anvil about the value of education dropped as well as an anvil ever could be dropped, look no further than The Phantom Tollbooth.
- Tired of your friends teasing you about how extensive your world-building is and how it's all really a waste of time? Tolkien did it right, and boy, did he ever pile on the detail.
The Epic Fails
- Harry Potter Fanfiction: Here's a short list of MSTings of bad fics, so you can tell just where they went wrong.
- So you want to adapt a video game story to a movie script, eh? Let me walk you over to this section of Uwe Boll movies....
- I'm not saying American Idol is necessarily bad (and in fact I do enjoy it!), but if you want to avoid
FilleritisFiller, give it an objective look to see (1) what the audience really wants to see and (2) all the many things they don't care about that you could easily cut out of the program.
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