Hello listeners. Before we start this episode, I wanted to explain that my voice may sound

a little off this time, and I apologize for that. In February, I experienced total kidney failure,

and it's taken months to get back too close to normal. Prior to my kidney failure, and it's taken months to get back too close to normal. Prior to my kidney

failure, I was violently ill, which was what led to my kidney failure, and due to all the vomiting

I experienced, I had vocal core damage and lost my voice. It's taken weeks to speak above a whisper. My voice is

mostly back now, but not all the way. So if you notice that with my first episode back

since my health emergency, I hope you'll understand.

Additionally, I wanted to remind listeners that I now have a second podcast about horror films called The Frightgeist, which I co-host with my dear friend, Jen Carrasco.

We will soon have an episode about the Wicker Man coming out,

which is the perfect companion to this folk horror episode. And now, without further ado,

let's get into some folk horror.

The first warm day in spring makes people bold.

It convinces you to open the windows that you kept shut all winter.

It convinces you to walk a little farther than you planned.

And it convinces you to trust the land again.

In the small village of Elder Grove, tucked into a valley, surrounded by green hills, spring gently arrived.

Daffodils grew in small clusters by the stone walls that wound through the

village. Apple blossoms budded in a white haze that seemed to float like clouds through the orchards.

And then there was the well.

It sat just off the main road, partially shaded by an old hawthorn tree.

The hawthorn was beginning to bloom, with white blossoms with dark centers like eyes.

Someone had tied red and white ribbons to the well's iron handle. They fluttered in the breeze, as Fiona stood nearby with a bucket. She lowered the bucket into the well, and the rope slid

...