Description
From isolated villages and inherited rituals to creeping paranoia and collective fear, folk horror explores the unsettling power of community and the dangers that emerge when belonging comes at a cost.
Join acclaimed writers David Barnett and Andrew Michael Hurley alongside therapist and horror psychology speaker Katie Evans for a fascinating discussion on folklore, fear and the psychology of the collective.
Together, they will explore why stories of superstition, moral panic and communal hysteria continue to captivate us and how folk horror transforms ordinary landscapes and close-knit communities into places of unease and dread.
From ritual and conformity to isolation and obsession, this event examines what these unsettling stories reveal about belief, identity and the human need to belong.
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About the Authors
David M. Barnett
David Barnett is an author and journalist based in West Yorkshire. His latest novel is Calling Major Tom, published by Trapeze. He writes mainly for the UK national press on books, culture and general topics, and is published regularly in the Guardian, Independent, and several magazines and online platforms.
Andrew Michael Hurley
Andrew Michael Hurley is a novelist and short story writer based in Lancashire. His first novel, The Loney,/i>, won the 2015 Costa First Novel Award and the 2016 British Book Industry awards for Debut Novel and Book of the Year. Devil’s Day jointly won the 2018 Royal Society of Literature Encore Award. His third novel, Starve Acre, has been adapted into a film, starring Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark. His BBC Radio 4 series, Voices in the Valley, formed the basis of the critically acclaimed novel, Barrowbeck. His latest book, Saltwash, came out in October 2025.
About the Speaker
Katie Evans
Katie Evans is a BACP-accredited therapist and self-confessed horror nerd, specialising in the psychology of horror, sexuality and vampires. An advocate for using pop culture in psychotherapy, Evans has lectured across the UK, Ireland and Europe for organisations including the NHS, British Psychological Society and LGBT Foundation. Evans is also a registered guest lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University and former host of The Mental Health Monsters Podcast.
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