Horror review clichés get translated into plain English in this Halloween week dictionary from Ginger Nuts of Horror. From slow burn horror and elevated horror to the final girl, folk horror and the jump scare, every entry explains what reviewers actually mean. It also asks why horror book reviews and film reviews talk in code at all.
The Witch Elm author Sally-Anne Martyn traces her folk horror roots to a Derbyshire village of corn dollies, well dressings and gala weeks. She revisits The Wicker Man, the Nine Ladies stone circle and a Bakewell witch trial, and explains why Peak District folklore runs through everything she writes.
Katherine Daniel’s debut is an Appalachian horror novel about two estranged siblings, a roadside store and a creature that feeds on guilty hearts. This When the Night Comes Knocking review explains why the siege horror novel earns four and a half stars, and why fans of books like The Mist should lock the doors and read it.
Horror film locations make terrible places to stay, so Ginger Nuts of Horror has written the guest reviews they never got, from one star to five. The Shining’s Overlook Hotel, the Bates Motel, Camp Crystal Lake, Amity Island from Jaws and the Slaughtered Lamb from An American Werewolf in London are all rated, with the stars handed out at random. Then comes the real question: why do horror fans keep booking the rooms?
