Bog People
A Working-Class Anthology of Folk Horror
Published on 16. October 2025
Book
Hardback
320 pages
978-1-78474-582-0 (ISBN)
Description
'A masterful collection' MAXINE PEAKE
'Astonishing and long overdue, you really need to read this' ALAN MOORE
'An absolute treat' ADAM S. LESLIE
Unleash the dark and delirious with this electrifying anthology of folk horror from some of Britain's most iconic working-class voices
A phonograph cylinder that plays on a loop for eternity, casting out ghostly spectres of violence; a centuries-old stew made of severed body parts; a bigoted woman working at an ossuary, the bones she watches over her only remaining friends; three siblings who set out to scatter their father's ashes, a man none of them could stand; and a hag stone sitting in the pocket of a witch.
Uncanny and unsettling, wild and wyrd, the ten stories in this collection showcase the best of folk horror. Set in and across England, they celebrate working-class culture and history, and, sharp as a guillotine blade, reveal the real monsters that stalk our green and pleasant land.
Includes writing from: A.K. Blakemore, Daniel Draper, Emma Glass, Mark Colbourne, Mark Stafford, Hollie Starling, Jenn Ashworth, Natasha Carthew, Salena Godden and Tom Benn.
'Deeply unsettling and totally radical' LALLY MACBETH, author of The Lost Folk
'Everything folk tales and folk horror should be' TABITHA STANMORE, author of Cunning Folk
'Feral and furious' CHARLIE COOPER, star of THIS COUNTRY
'Astonishing and long overdue, you really need to read this' ALAN MOORE
'An absolute treat' ADAM S. LESLIE
Unleash the dark and delirious with this electrifying anthology of folk horror from some of Britain's most iconic working-class voices
A phonograph cylinder that plays on a loop for eternity, casting out ghostly spectres of violence; a centuries-old stew made of severed body parts; a bigoted woman working at an ossuary, the bones she watches over her only remaining friends; three siblings who set out to scatter their father's ashes, a man none of them could stand; and a hag stone sitting in the pocket of a witch.
Uncanny and unsettling, wild and wyrd, the ten stories in this collection showcase the best of folk horror. Set in and across England, they celebrate working-class culture and history, and, sharp as a guillotine blade, reveal the real monsters that stalk our green and pleasant land.
Includes writing from: A.K. Blakemore, Daniel Draper, Emma Glass, Mark Colbourne, Mark Stafford, Hollie Starling, Jenn Ashworth, Natasha Carthew, Salena Godden and Tom Benn.
'Deeply unsettling and totally radical' LALLY MACBETH, author of The Lost Folk
'Everything folk tales and folk horror should be' TABITHA STANMORE, author of Cunning Folk
'Feral and furious' CHARLIE COOPER, star of THIS COUNTRY
Reviews / Votes
A masterful collection that captures the raw, unsettling essence of folk horror and its working-class roots -- MAXINE PEAKE The working class understand horror, often sharing its postcode. They know about crossed knives on the tea-table, and hagstones, and the people in the puddles. Bog People is a thrilling cache of unearthed diamonds, black, brilliant and beautifully cut, none of them rough, born of the lower strata where the pressures are greater. Astonishing and long overdue, you really need to read this -- ALAN MOORE Folk horror at its most feral and furious. Just as it should be -- CHARLIE COOPER An absolute treat - a giddy tumble into wild and diverse British folk-horror. This feels like the countryside of my childhood, before every thatched cottage had a Mercedes in the driveway. It's raw, earthy (in every sense of the word) and darkly fun - you'll come away with dirt under your nails and woodlice in your hair -- ADAM S LESLIE, author of Lost in the Garden This collection is everything folk tales and folk horror should be. It's angry, disturbing, and shines a light on the obvious problems in society that mainstream media continues to ignore -- TABITHA STANMORE, author of Cunning Folk Deeply unsettling and totally radical it tells of the horrors of our age in complex and haunting ways that will stay with the reader long into the future -- LALLY MACBETH, author of The Lost Folk A brilliant and eclectic collection of tales that illuminated all the darkest corners of my mind. I'm thrilled Bog People has lead me to find a selection of my new favourite writers -- KIRI PRITCHARD-MCLEAN An anthology that is ambitious, entertaining and full of surprises... Not one of the book's 10 tales is a disappointment, and several are exceptional in terms of originality and impact * Morning Star *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Vintage Publishing
Dimensions
Height: 219 mm
Width: 144 mm
Thickness: 35 mm
Weight
431 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78474-582-0 (9781784745820)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
10/2025
Vintage Digital
€12.99
Available for download
Persons
Hollie Starling (Anthology Editor, Contributor)
Hollie Starling is a Lincolnshire-born writer working in London. She is the author of The Bleeding Tree: A Pathway Through Grief Guided by Forests, Folk Tales and the Ritual Year. Her essays and short fiction have appeared in various print and online publications. Starling runs the page Folk Horror Magpie on social media. Visit her website at holliestarling.com for updates.
Hollie Starling is a Lincolnshire-born writer working in London. She is the author of The Bleeding Tree: A Pathway Through Grief Guided by Forests, Folk Tales and the Ritual Year. Her essays and short fiction have appeared in various print and online publications. Starling runs the page Folk Horror Magpie on social media. Visit her website at holliestarling.com for updates.