Hellebore #7: The Ritual Issue

Mummers with ill intentions, sacrificial May Queens, ecstatic trances. Folk horror is consistently fascinated by the power of ritual. In this issue we question the subgenre’s distrust of communal expression while we celebrate communities and their power to re-enchant. We travel through the isles following parades of ancient antlers, clashing swords, and spectral skeleton horses, and look at an ever-evolving body of folklore in order to reflect on our history and our future. This is our Beltane offering: folklore, magic, togetherness, and re-enchantment.

HELLEBORE is a collection of writings and essays devoted to folk horror and the themes that inspire it: folklore, myth, history, archaeology, psychogeography, and the occult.

Featuring words by Francis Young, Catherine Spooner, Victoria Anne Pearson, Maria J. Pérez Cuervo, Clare Button, Hannah Armstrong, Aleco Julius, and Angeline Morrison. Artwork by Nona Limmen, Richard Wells, and Nathaniel Hébert.

Edited by Maria J. Pérez Cuervo.