I made a post similar to this a few years ago, with what I considered at the time to be seminal examples of good midwestern horror. You can find it here.
Since then, Iâve read and seen a lot of other great examples, so I thought Iâd make a follow up. This is not comprehensive by any means, just some recommendations Iâve read/watched in the past year or so. Also, some of these arenât even Midwestern, but they fit the same general vibe, so Iâm reccing them anyways.
Storm Kings: Americaâs First Tornado Chasers - Lee Sandlin. Non-fiction concerning the evolution of our understanding of tornadoes and the scientists who developed the methodology behind the categories of extreme storms in Tornado Alley. Great character sketches, and some good bouts of prose here and there. Read this one in the waiting room at the Oklahoma airport.
The Wendigo - Algernon Blackwood. A classic novella from one of the masters of the genre. This is short, eerie, and sparse. Read this on a dark, rainy night in front of the fireplace or read aloud to your friends in an isolated hunting cabin in the middle of the night.
N. - Stephen King. Short story from the King about liminal spaces, cosmic horror, and the desperate, doomed attempt to protect this world from mad, unknowable forces. Read this one right after your early-morning walk through bare countryside in thin January.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle - Shirley Jackson. Yes, this is more New England than Midwestern, but hey, what are you, the genre police? Iâm not going to leave the one and only Shirley off of this list. Two sisters live alone in an empty mansion after the mysterious death of their entire family due to a poisoned meal. Suspicious villagers, terrible cousins, and mischievous cats. Read this one while avoiding your extended family at Thanksgiving dinner.
The Troop - Nick Cutter. A troop of Boy Scouts and their Scout Master set out for a weekend hiking trip on an isolated island and discover a biological threat that sets them against each other, and eventually, themselves. Super gory, short, nasty, great B Movie schlock. Read this one at the height of summer when the cicadas wonât let you think, lying on your back on the dock, one foot bravely dangling in the dark water of the lake below.
The Croning - Laird Barron. Oh, this one got to me. Spans the fifty-year marriage of an absent-minded professor and his brilliant, driven researcher of a wife and the dark secrets they carry with them over the years. Cults, cosmic horror, and cruelty. Read this one in the car on the long drive to your new wifeâs research location while you ignore the sinking feeling you can no longer trust her.
Her Body and Other Parties - Carmen Maria Machado. Excellent short story collection about women and the trauma inflicted on their psyches when their bodies are not their own. Best story in the collection is âEspecially Heinousâ, a horror-inspired description of a Law and Order: SVU-esque show that forefronts the lingering trauma that the victims and investigators experience due to the violence theyâre confronted with. Machado is a great Twitter follow, too.
North American Lake Monsters - Nathan Ballingrud. Another short story collection with absolutely gorgeous prose. Characters are confronted by monsters, both internal and external. Love is an intense force in the world, both positive and negative. Adored this collection.
The Dark Dark - Samantha Hunt. This past year was very short story-heavy, so Iâm now passing the savings down to you. Less horror and more magical realism, these stories are full of dissatisfied women trying to find meaning in their lives through unsuccessful marriages and families.
Universal Harvester - John Darnielle. Yes, that John Darnielle. A small-town video store clerk in Iowa tries to unravel the mystery of strange, unexplainable footage appearing on VHS tapes returned to his story that he thinks might be related to the disappearance of his mother years before. Donât go into this book expecting hard-core horror, but more existential sadness and the messy fumblings toward human connection.
Ghostland: An American History in Haunted Places - Colin Dickey. Another nonfiction book where every chapter takes one haunted place somewhere in the US and tells the story, but this isnât your average schlocky ghost tale. This book is far more interested in why we as humans conjure up spirits in the first place, why ghost stories are important to our psyche, what they do for us, and how they help us remember things that shouldnât be forgotten. This is an excellent book.
Blue Ruin (2013, dir. Jeremy Saulnier). From the director of Green Room, this is one of the most realistic revenge thrillers Iâve ever seen, with tense action scenes, realistic violence, and a traumatized protagonist that doesnât turn into an Emotionless Murder Machine â˘, but rather reacts like a real person might.
The Lodge (2019, dir. Veronika Franz, Severin Fiala). A woman spends a weekend with her recently-widowed fianceeâs two children in an isolated, snowed-in cabin. She is the only survivor of a suicide cult, and the isolated location preys on all of their weaknesses. Cold and isolated and quite eerie.
Sleep Has Her House (2017, dir. Scott Barley). Fair warning that this is an experimental film, and a bit hard to lay your hands on, but it is Highly Recommended. As Highly Recommended as can be. An empty landscape suffused with lingering darkness, an oncoming storm that has no escape. You definitely have to be in the mood for something slow-paced and eerie. I suggest headphones and watching this on your own in darkness. Itâs an experience.
Pyewacket (2017, dir. Adam McDonald). Another lesser-known horror movie that is absolutely fantastic. A teenage girl obsessed with witchcraft/heavy metal summons a demon to murder her mother. The synopsis sounds a bit schlocky, but itâs really upsetting and scary, and there are some great emotional undertones to the mother and daughterâs relationship. Also itâs just freaky as hell.
Days of Heaven (1978, dir. Terrence Malick). It doesnât get more Americana than this. Rolling wheat fields, clouds of locusts, turn-of-the-century portraits. Not a lot going on plot-wise, but itâs absolutely gorgeous because they only shot for 20 minutes a day exclusively in the magic hour.
Ravenous (1999, dir. Antonia Bird). This website says they love homoerotic cannibals, but where you all when Antonia Bird needed you in 1999? Shame. No but seriously, this is one of my favorite movies. The rare snowy Western. Great stuff.
The Ritual (2017, dir. David Buckner). Yes, again, this is a British movie, but again, Iâm recommending it anyway. This is probably the most well-known of the movies Iâm going to recommend, but it feels like a lot of people skipped it? One of my favorite folk horror movies. Fantastic atmosphere, eerie pacing, and stellar monster design. Iâm always going to bat for this flick.
I donât have as much to say about these but rapid-fire recommendations at the end:
TV:Â Stranger Things (I know everyoneâs watched this, but season 1 really is excellent), Atlanta, Outcast.
Music:Â Grizzly Bear (Shields, Painted Ruins), Orville Peck, Phoebe Bridgers, Tune Yards, All Them Witches.
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