Intro by Candi Norwood | Bluesky | Instagram | Letterboxd | StoryGraph | Website

Hi, Horrorverse! I’m Candi Norwood, and you know me from further down the page where I recommend books, but the team let me take over this week for Appalachian Horror. My creds: I was born, raised, and currently live in central Appalachia where we say Apple-Atcha, and I am currently writing an Appalachian horror novel.

I love all kinds of horror and have for as far back as my memories go, and the first horror stories I remember came from my Appalachian childhood, the warnings from my papaw and the ghost stories that my great-aunt Sid swore to her dying day were true and the time my step-grandmother said my then 8-year old sister was of the devil because she was wearing the color red. A lot of the warnings I heard were passed down in the tradition of folklore, and now that the “folk” we get our “lore” from are the faces and voices from social media, people all over the world are hearing these same stories and warnings, like “If you heard something call your name, no, you didn’t,” and “don’t whistle at night.” One of my distant relatives (the “rich” side of the family, I guess) owns a huge mansion on a private drive in our tiny, rural town called “Cliffs of Ghost Rock Lane,” so is it really a wonder that gothic and folk horror continue to be among my favorites? It’s in my blood.

Smarter people than I have written essays and books on how Appalachia is not a monolith of meth-addicted hillbillies, so I’m going to resist the urge to lecture you about the multitudes contained within Appalachia and Appalachian horror. These hills are among the oldest in the world, and much like modern American music can trace some of its roots back to the blend of British/Irish/Scottish folk music and African-American blues and spirituals that converged in these hills and across the South, many types of stories can as well.

Some of my recommended Appalachian horror films (and a bonus podcast!): Starting with a fun twist on the hillbilly horror film is Tucker and Dale vs. Evil which is as much a comedy of errors as a horror film. Getting even further away from the hillbilly stereotype are folk horror in films like Jug Face (or the podcast Old Gods of Appalachia), creature/survival horror like The Descent, or horror mysteries like The Mothman Prophecies. You can even look to Appalachia for the infamous found footage film The Blair Witch Project and the classic Southern Gothic film The Night of the Hunter. And here you thought it was just going to be seven Wrong Turn movies.

Brett Petersel | Bluesky | Instagram | Letterboxd & Sarah Stubbs | Bluesky | Instagram | Letterboxd

“Hello, I want you to read a book.” Saw: The Ultimate Pop-Up Book is hitting bookshelves this September and will feature 12 interactive pages of trap-filled goodness! Pre-order the book here.

Jonathan Tiersten, one of the stars of Sleepaway Camp, has sadly passed away at the age of 60. Tiersten portrayed Ricky, Angela's cousin in the film. The Horrorverse Team sends their condolences to his family and loved ones.

A fourth A Quiet Place film is coming our way, once again directed by Jim Halpert, er… John Krasinski. With the full cast now announced, with many returning from A Quiet Place II, details about the film’s plot are currently kept under wraps. A Quiet Place III will (not so) quietly hit theaters in July 2027.

Candi Norwood | Bluesky | Instagram | Letterboxd & Sarah Stubbs | Bluesky | Instagram | Letterboxd

Wrong Turn 2: Dead End aka Survivor Goes to West Virginia has all the cannibalistic goodness from the first Wrong Turn but with 100% more Henry Rollins who is perfect as he explains, with a straight face, the arbitrary and convoluted rules to the survival reality show he’s hosting, where 6 contestants have to survive in the Appalachian wilderness with nothing but their skills and whatever the producers provide to keep them from literally dying. Of course, it’s not the bears or starvation that’s going to get them, it’s the locals. Henry Rollins’ 30 second speech yelled into another character’s face about growing up 2 counties away and not to believe the hillbilly stereotypes is why this is my favorite Wrong Turn. [written by Candi]

When talking to Candi about doing this week's Double Trouble, I kind of felt like doing a Wrong Turn pairing was the way to go. It combines her love of Appalachian Horror (which I also enjoy) and my love of gastro horror! Since she chose my all time favorite entry, I thought it would be fun to talk about another favorite of mine, Wrong Turn 4: Bloody Beginnings! My ranking of this franchise is basically a hot take in and of itself but my love of this film especially takes the cake. Not only is it partially a prequel, but it's setting isn't the backwoods. Instead it takes place in a mental hospital in a snowy setting. The gore and effects work are a ton of fun and there is even a cannibal fondue scene! It's a far from perfect film, but it's a good time! Honestly, you can skip the 3rd film and just go from 2 to 4 and be just fine! [written by Sarah]

Since we are talking all things Appalachian this week, we asked Candi to share some of her favorite Appalachian horror shorts so that folks could dip their toe into Appalachian horror!

APPALACHIAN HORROR

Though there are cities, when we think of Appalachian horror, we think about the rural, the mountain wilderness, and the forests – which is not only a perfect setting for horror from folk to gothic to creature feature and, sigh, yes, cannibalistic, it’s also a perfect breeding ground for horror writers and directors, so we want to share our favorite horror that’s set in or made by Appalachians. Check out the list on Letterboxd.

Did you know the infamous cabin scenes were filmed at a real cabin located in the Appalachians of Tennessee? If you love The Evil Dead, check out these films! See the list on Letterboxd.

💀 TABOO TERROR: The Epidemic of Erotica & Crossing Over in “RABID” (1977) (READ)

💀 "OBSESSION" (2025) Is A Punishing And Poignant Examination Of Wish Fulfillment (REVIEW)

💀 Director Aron Rudner-Stokell And Actor Harriet Bridgwater Vamp On Their Horror Short, "FEAST" (INTERVIEW)

💀 "HELLMARE" (2026) Is An Unapologetically Awesome Piece Of Independent Horror (REVIEW)

Candi Norwood | Bluesky | Instagram | Letterboxd | StoryGraph | Website

If you read my intro, you know I’m Appalachian, I love Appalachian horror, so let’s get into it.

Some recommended reading:

The Twisted Ones by T. Kingfisher- Mouse’s evil grandmother dies, and she and her dog Bongo travel to North Carolina to clean out her hoarded house. Even though things are ominous right away, she doesn’t realize she’s in a horror novel, so Mouse goes into the woods where she sees even creepier things like a bunch of effigies and still keeps staying there. She ends up following Bongo into the woods to a dark magical realm where she finds people who have been trapped and tries to help them escape. Kingfisher’s language is very descriptive and really amps up the creep factor. Plus there’s an effigy made of doll parts. {{shudder}}

Sineater by Elizabeth Massie- A sin-eater is someone who performs a ritual by eating a meal passed over a recently dead person and symbolically absorbs that person’s sin (so they can go to heaven, pretty convenient for everybody but the sin-eater). I’ve seen this used pretty effectively in horror, especially using the concept of the sins growing within the sin-eater and how that could play out in dark ways. But Elizabeth Massie’s book is less about the sin-eater himself, although his presence is consistently felt, it’s more about his family, how it impacts his wife and three children. He doesn’t really live day to day with them so he’s as mythical to them as he is to the rest of the town. His oldest son has the burden of knowing he will have to take over when his father dies, and his youngest son seems to be hardest hit by how they are ostracized by the town, especially when his only friend moves away. This is a folk and gothic horror masterpiece, and I’m amazed more people haven’t read it.

A Hodgepodge of Horror by Tony Evans- Tony Evans has a few collections and several books, and most, if not all, are Appalachian horror. Tony is from eastern Kentucky, and his writing reads like you’re sitting with him on the front porch listening to him tell you a story. His characters feel like people you grew up with (or at least the people I grew up with), and a lot of his writing leans towards the folk horror. I’m recommending this one because I think it’s his most recent, but you can’t go wrong with any of them.

Hellboy: The Crooked Man by Mike Mignola- What if Hellboy went to Appalachia and landed smack in the middle of a folk horror situation?