Opening because it's an odd way to define a trope, but the case for there being a problem is not overly strong so also clocking.
"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
So this is the Live-Action Television section for Campbell Country:
Series:
- Doctor Who: "The Hungry Earth"/"Cold Blood" presents the dreary Welsh hamlet of Cwmtaff, apparently on loan from Torchwood, complete with mists and an old church, where the graves are apparently eating people. Set in Wales.
- Darkplace Hospital in Garth Marenghis Darkplace is an Affectionate Parody of this setting. Example doesn't specify location.
- The League of Gentlemen is set in Royston Vasey, in Northern England. It's... odd. Initially a comedy, the sense that the town is just a mask for insanity, evil and genuinely disturbing horror grows as the series progresses. Set in England.
- The Israeli drama series Pillars of Smoke, while not quite subscribing to the supernatural nature of other horror works, centres around a cult that formed a kibbutz
in the remote Golan Heights that up and vanished mysteriously one day. The series was bought by NBC, and the remake was intended to take place in Alaska, but so far nothing has come of it. Set in Israel.
- The Torchwood episode "Countrycide" was all about this in rural Wales, contrasting with the usual Aliens in Cardiff stories. Set in Wales.
- The very eldritch town of Twin Peaks is located in Washington State. Set in Washington state.
- While not featuring any Eldritch Abominations per se, Kingdom (2019) is set in mid-Joseon Korea (roughly around the late 1500s to early 1600s), featuring remote, largely isolated provincial towns in the south of the Korean peninsula, surrounded by mountains, freezing-cold valleys and caves, and unbroken wilderness. It's in these isolated southern regions where the series' main horror—a Zombie Apocalypse—really begins spreading; although it started with the infection of no less than the king himself, the infection itself started because of attempts to keep him alive using a mysterious plant—which itself came from those cold valleys in the south. Set in Korea.
TV Movies:
- The Stone Tape (1972) is set in a castle that only dates from the 19th century, but it turns out the foundations are over a thousand years old. And there are noises said to be caused by "rats in the walls" only it doesn't have any rats. Example doesn't specify location.
Okay, so out of these eight examples, two don't specify location. Three are set in the British isles. Two are set in Asia. One is set in the United States. I admit this is a small sample size, but I feel this illustrates how broad this trope is and anything that isn't set in New England can be considered an example of this trope.
Edited by RustBeard on Jun 9th 2020 at 9:02:39 AM
Very Spooky
The concept of the trope does seem too broad currently, but we could possibly split it into multiple tropes. Somebody needs to do a wick check to see if there’s any reoccurring patterns, so we can potentially create new tropes from those.
back lol
The most obvious trope we could make from this is one for horror set in the British Isles. Most of the examples seem to be that anyway. Another possible trope is for horror set in the Pacific Northwest. The page mentions this as being a common location, but I haven't actually looked into it to see if there are enough examples to create a separate trope.
So, it seems like I might have to do a wick check for Campbell Country. I haven't done that before. What's an appropriate amount of wicks to check?
Very Spooky
![[up]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/smiles/arrow_up.png "[up]"){kind=icon}
The recommended amount is 50.
she/her
You need to check either 50 or the square root of the wick count, whichever is higher. If the page has less than 50 wicks, check all of them.
Since this is a trope related to Geography, I'm going to divide the examples by continent. I've created a separate folder for examples that are Zero-Context, don't specify location, or are just listing the trope in an index.
- B-Movie Set in Britain.
- Europe Index Listed in the index.
- Lovecraft on Film Mentioned in relation to a film that moved the setting from New England to England
- No Communities Were Harmed Referenced in relation to how Ramsay Campbell uses England as a common setting.
- Town with a Dark Secret Mentioned in relation to author Ramsay Campbell and how he likes to use this setting.
- Where the Hell Is Springfield? Mentions a town that is set in Campbell Country.
- Cthulhu Mythos Mentioned in relation to author Ramsay Campbell and how he likes to use this setting.
- Sunless Sea Refers to an English fishing village as taking place in this setting.
- We Are Our Avatars Used to refer to a location in the United Kingdom.
- Brian Lumley Refers to a setting in NE England as this.
- Dagon Film is set in Spain.
- Die, Monster, Die! Film is set in England.
- Draug (2018) Film is set in Scandinavia during Viking times.
- Ghost Stories (2017) Film is set in Britain.
- Sauna Film is set in Scandinavia.
- Stonehearst Asylum Film is set in England.
- Hound Of The Baskervilles Film is set in England.
- The Lair of the White Worm Film is set in England.
- The Lodgers Film is set in an Irish town.
- The Stone Tape Film is set in England.
- The Wicker Man (1973) Film is set in a Scottish island.
- The Wolf Man 2010 Film is set in England.
- Wake Wood Film is set in England.
- Witchfinder General Film is set in England
- W.H. Pugmire Refers to the Pacific Northwest as being this trope.
- Manos: The Hands of Fate This film is set in El Paso.
- Next of Kin (1982) Film is set in Australia.
- Kyon: Big Damn Hero Refers to a setting in Japan as this trope.
- Barsetshire Being compared to the trope.
- Cosmic Horror Story Mentioned as being a common setting for the genre.
- Creator Provincialism Being compared to the trope.
- Hollywood Atlas Listed in this index.
- Index of Gothic Horror Tropes Listed in this index.
- Indian Burial Ground Stated to be the non-American equivalent of Lovecraft Country
- Lovecraft Country Stated to be an analogous horror setting.
- Lovecraftian Tropes Listed in this index.
- Old, Dark House Referenced as being a horror setting.
- Our Ghouls Are Creepier Referenced as being a horror setting.
- Settings Listed in the index.
- Southern Gothic Compared to this setting.
- The National Index Listed in this index.
- Tome of Eldritch Lore Referenced in relation to the author Ramsay Campbell.
- Uberwald Compared to this setting.
- Weird West Compared to this setting.
- You Would Not Want to Live in Dex Listed in this index.
- Tropes A to E Listed in this index.
- Arthur Machen Zero Context Example
- Edgar Allan Poe Zero Context Example
- Ramsey Campbell Mentions he is the trope namer
- Cast a Deadly Spell Zero Context Example
Very Spooky
There seems to be a significant amount of examples set on the British Isles; maybe we could retool the trope to focus on that setting?
Yeah, that's what I was thinking.
she/her
I feel like Britain is what the trope was supposed to be about, given all the focus it gets in the trope description.
As for other possible tropes we could break this into, I'm not really seeing any other patterns here.
So, it seems like the general consensus is to retool Campbell Country to be about horror set in the British Isles. Is there anyone who disagrees or has any other ideas?
Big Catch, Sparkle Edition
I don't, I like the idea. ![[tup]](https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Thumbs_up_emoticon_3268.png "[thumb up]"){kind=small}
Sounds good on paper (he/him)
We have until 11:59 tonight before this thread gets locked, so I'm going to give it one last bump.
This thread is going to close soon. It seems to me the general consensus is that this trope should be reworked to be about horror set in the British Isles.
Sounds good on paper (he/him)
The clock was set in case the thread didn't make enough progress for it to stay open. Since there was a wick check and people have voted on how to define this, that should keep the thread open (that is, unless the mods re-clock the thread later).
Edited by GastonRabbit on Jun 13th 2020 at 4:09:40 AM
Patiently awaiting the release of Paper Luigi and the Marvelous Compass.
To refining this trope to be about horror set in Britain. I don't see how a trope can be "Horror that isn't set in New England".
Hmm...not opposed to this redefinition, since the current description does explain traits of England that make it a good horror setting, and it seems to have the numbers to back it up, but do these traits reflect in the example contexts? Because just "horror set in England" doesn't seem all that tropeworthy to me either.
Edited by Synchronicity on Jun 16th 2020 at 4:40:26 AM
We do have Überwald which is horror set in Eastern/Central Europe. That covers a larger geographic area.
Very Spooky
We should figure out some common traits of horror set on the British Isles.
back lol
I would say Britain used as a setting for horror generally involves lots of fog and rain. Lonely moors and heathland as well make for good horror. Small, remote villages. It shares a lot of features with New England w/regards to the seaside towns, too. Often you might find elements of old Celtic paganism in this horror ala The Wicker Man (1973) if set in the Celtic countries.
Edited by A_Really_Big_Cat on Jun 16th 2020 at 4:23:57 AM
Though I haven't played it, Barrow Hill comes to mind.
Crown Description:
This trope is too vague and covers any horror that isn't set in New England.
Campbell Country seems to define itself as being horror that isn't set in Lovecraft Country. Here are the first few paragraphs of the trope:
>
Like Lovecraft Country, but overseas.
Lovecraft Country is typically set in Hollywood New England, home of horror writers Howard Phillips Lovecraft, Stephen King, and many of their respective followers/imitators. This makes it a difficult place for writers of Lovecraftian Fiction who do not have a New England background to write about.
The solution was suggested to British writer Ramsey Campbell by Lovecraft's follower August Derleth: Create your own equivalent in a place you know, either your home country or a place you have visited. This has led to the creation of variant Lovecraftian settings appropriate to other locales.
>
To me, horror that isn't set in Lovecraft Country doesn't seem trope worthy. I was thinking we could redefine this trope to be about horror set in Britain. The title already implies that's what the trope is and most of the examples match this definition already.
Edited by RustBeard on May 12th 2020 at 2:22:26 AM