#rural horror

[bearingxnorth]

What urbanites think is rural horror: a deep growl coming from within a cave, a shadowy figure ducking behind a tree, cornstalks bending as something moves through them.

What's actually rural horror: the animals and bugs suddenly go silent.

[candlelitcorners]

[earth-scented]

They tried reaching out to the Gods.

But something else answered.

[ovytia-art]

Danny is just here to make sure you’re not up to no good in his town :)

Very minimal dp, mostly spooky rural vibes…

DannyMay Masterlist

[prairiedeath]

don't get lost! :)

[guiiltzy]

[horror-aesthete]

Strait-Jacket, 1964, dir. William Castle

[violetsrotting]

I never had curtains on my windows, even as a child. We lived in the country, and there was no need for them really. The only things to see through them were between me, my family, and God. The neighbors were too far away to be peeking through, down the road and enclosed in trees, secluded in their own slice of the countryside. As an adult now, I never knew it was something “odd” until I mentioned it to a coworker.

“Doesn’t that scare you? To look out of them at night?” she asked.

But I couldn’t really recall a desire to do such a thing. When it was a cloudy night, the only light came from the yard light in the front. The back rooms featured nothing but views of darkness, except for when the moon was full and you could see deer grazing in the fields. Or, in winter, the illumination of the snow, soft white drifts coating the ground. Still and dead. Sleep came easy when surrounded by the quiet ambience of winter.

“No,” I answered, “It doesn’t scare me at all.”

People talked online about the strange things outside at night, especially in the woods or mountains. Things with too many teeth, paws that seem too human, and glowing eyes that know too much, calling out to the trees, begging you to step outside for just a moment. Just a second. Just come and see.

This was Iowa though. There were no big cats, no wolves, and no bears. I’ve never heard anyone mention any strange animal outside at night, though maybe I didn’t talk to enough hunters . There was nothing but cornfields, deer, and slinky coyotes hunting for cats.

But I was intrigued by the thought, which seemed ridiculous to me. Scared? Of looking outside at night?

So I tried it one night during the full moon. Having just gotten back from a horrifically tiring workday, I stumbled through the empty house to the dining room, the farthest away from the illumination of the yard light. It looked out over the fields, marked by the forest on the horizon. They had harvested already, and the ground was clear and flat with only the round bales dotting the landscape.

Something huge and black crossed the barren plain. It was moving fast, as if being chased, or maybe it was the predator. When it came right into the middle of my field of vision, it stopped. It rose slightly in the moonlight, its figure becoming increasingly tall and lithe.

I leaned forward, squinting against the darkness and touching the cool glass with my fingertips. Its eyes were mere hovering yellow spots, steady and bright, looking straight into mine. It knew I was there, somehow, several yards away in the pitch black of that room.

Blinking rapidly, when I focused back on the creature, it scurried off somewhere. The fields were wide spans of open land, and I couldn’t understand where it had gone. From an open window I’d forgotten to close, a cold breeze chilled me, but on the wind, something screamed. It was a gripping and raspy noise, but God knows there were no mountain lions in the area. My neighbors were miles away down the road. I closed the window, and hurried upstairs into my bed. That night, the chill of my room did not soothe me while I sweated under my sheets.

[deadlylullaby2]

Surviving the rural south

If you pass something strange on the side of the road, keep driving and do not look back.

Pay close attention to the red lights of the turbines, seek indoors if one sticks out, DO NOT STARE.

Don't look into the eyes of a jack rabbit for long, they've seen more than you can know

Those screams aren't always coyotes, nor human.

Listen to the cicadas, if they go silent, run.

Look at the mesquite trees for impaled creatures, as they are signs of a shrike nest. They are mostly peaceful, as long as you don't bleed on the tree or touch their food.

Don't try to find the ends of fences, you never will.

Respect the deer.

Never trust a white truck.

Always count the crows.

Never go where buzzards circle.

Watch the animals

Never wear opened toes shoes at night

[candlelitcorners]

[somewhereohio]

Episode 4: Estranged from Grace is out now!

Olivia wakes up after the altercation in the planetarium and learns what went down. Orange talks with the locals and does some light editing. Nadia discovers something about herself. Listen now!

[field-cryptobotanist]

I don't believe you can go into any of the fields of environmental science if you don't absolutely adore horror to some degree.

Like in this sociopolitical climate?

Absolutely unbelievable.

[prairiedeath]

source

[guiiltzy]

[riverheadrangers]

Thorne, do you know something about Katherine that we don’t?

I DON’T KNOW ANYTHING.

I don’t know why you would think that,

I don’t know anything she wouldn’t want me to.

[rachelweisz300]

photos from a project last year based on some rural horror concepts!