Three Folk Horror Stories to Welcome Halloween Season
October unfolds, the skies darken, leaves blaze with red, and the air turns crisp. For those of us drawn to the eerie, this entire month feels like a series of All Hallows Eves. We bid adieu to the sun-drenched days of summer with September’s harvest moon and, in the days of old, we might have begun to spend our time gathering the last of our crops. We could braid a corn dolly to host the spirit of the harvest until next spring, gather dry wood for our fires, and spin yarns to keep ourselves company as we prepare to enter the long, dim, cold winter. Perhaps our crops didn’t yield as we hoped … shall we prepare our wicker man?
This October, you may be too busy threshing, reaping, and plowing to get through a whole book or don’t have enough candlelight to read by. Or, perhaps you’re stuck working in the office… Anyway, here are three very short tales of folk horror to keep you on edge.
The term “folk horror” is used loosely here. Only one of the following is typically included in classic folk horror canon. However, all three of these stories have elements of folklore, small-town haunts, local insanity, and horrors lurking in unexpected places.
“The Lottery” (1948) by Shirley Jackson
Set in idyllic small-town America, “The Lottery” follows townsfolk through their yearly communal ritual – the story’s namesake – done to ensure healthy crops. However, the townspeople seem to have forgotten the real reason for the lottery due to its enduring tradition.
As the children gather stones, the adults prepare for their yearly event, which Old Man Warner insists is vital for a good crop, quoting the old phrase, “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.” Meanwhile, some neighboring villages have abandoned the lottery, and rumors suggest that others are contemplating the same. Yet, many in the town argue that this tradition must continue as it always has.
Described by the Irish Times as “arguably the most influential North American folk horror text,” Shirley Jackson’s story is a brief, gripping, and ultimately horrifying read. Though “The Lottery” isn’t technically a Halloween story, it takes place in June, it offers a suspenseful atmosphere and a chilling twist. Plus, the town’s lottery is meant to bring a good harvest – so, I think it counts as autumnal.
The full text of “The Lottery” can be found for free online.
“Make No Sound to Wake” (2022) by Bojan Louis
Diné author Bojan Louis crafts a haunting tale that evokes the renowned legend of La Llorona. Much like the weeping woman, Louis’ ghost is deeply intertwined with the tragedies and violence of colonialism. Set within a rural hogan in the Navajo Nation, a grandmother recounts a chilling legend to her misbehaving grandchildren. She tells of a mother who cannibalized her own children, her ghost now roaming the land in search of more to take. What sets “Make No Sound to Wake” apart from other ghost stories is that the ghost herself serves as its narrator.
In “Make No Sound to Wake,” the reader is constantly reminded of the harsh, desolate landscape beyond the family’s hogan. The wind howls, prairie dogs yip, and a pervasive chill seeps in. Louis’ narrative is intricately linked to the haunting memories of the Long Walk—a horrific chapter in history where the U.S. government forced Diné people—children, women, men, elders, and families—to march up to 450 miles from their ancestral homeland to a newly designated reservation. Many perished from starvation, exhaustion, or were shot by U.S. soldiers along the way.
As the ghost reflects on her own experience of displacement, she observes the modern Diné family, navigating the blend of traditional Navajo and settler cultures that she struggles to interpret while listening to the grandmother’s story of her past. Yet, she is more than a mere observer, and the children are far from safe.
You can find “Make No Sound to Wake” in Bojan Louis’ collection of short stories, Sinking Bell, and for free online. But I recommend reading the whole collection!
“Gas Station Carnivals” (2008) by Thomas Ligotti
“Gas Station Carnivals” is absurdly creepy. What is most enchanting about this story is that its imagery seeps into the imagination so fully, that it can have you questioning your own memories. The protagonist, grappling with a nagging stomach pain, listens to his companion describe the “gas station carnivals” that he visited as a child. As strange as it sounds, by about midway through his description of these peculiar sideshows, you might ask, did I once find myself at a gas station carnival?
Traveling through rural America—or perhaps other rural places—you’re bound to encounter desolate gas stations. Some of these spots boast their own quirky attractions: maybe it’s the world’s largest fiberglass Holstein cow in North Dakota or alien sculptures from Area 51 in Nevada. While Ligotti’s story is filled with classic horror elements, it’s the image of the lone gas station that ignites my nostalgia for long road trips, where I’d stop to explore roadside wonders. While reading “Gas Station Carnivals,” I had to keep reminding myself that this strange experience didn’t happen to me—perhaps it didn’t even happen to the man in the story. Ligotti’s narrative feels like a form of spooky literary gaslighting (no pun intended).
I even recommended this story to a friend, who, after reading it, exclaimed, “I think I’ve been to something like that!” She recalled stopping at a gas station in “the middle of nowhere” as a child, wandering through tall grasses to watch an evening performance from a picnic table.
As we discover in folk horror, hidden secrets and magic abound in less-traveled places. I won’t spoil “Gas Station Carnivals” or divulge its plot—just read it!Read “Gas Station Carnivals” in Thomas Ligotti’s short story collection, Teatro Grottesco alongside other equally bizarre tales.
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