Starve Acre

I knew before I finished reading that this novel would jump straight onto my "Best of 2023" shelf. I enjoyed it immensely.

Having previously read The Loney by the same author, I knew what to expect: Folk horror, grief horror, and a smattering of weird. In my opinion, Andrew Michael Hurley is one of the best folk horror writers in the UK.

He captures the dark elements of the countryside like no other, and his flawed characters are so well portrayed.

I devoured each and every page and didn't want it to end.

I have a real thing about needing the setting to be pretty much a character in itself in the folk horror I read.

For me, it is that which brings out the atmosphere, the sense of otherworldliness, critical to such stories. Starve Acre, a haunting tragedy, set in bleak moorland offers no rural idyll. The desolate setting perfectly mirrors the disintegrating marriage of a couple who are trying come to terms with the loss of their young son.

Whilst the wife turns to the spirit world, the husband researches a legend, uncovering the sinister story of the demonic Jack… show more.

A haunting tale based on local folklore, set in a remote village.

Robert and Juliet return to the family home bequeathed by Robert’s father. Their son Ewan enjoys playing in the field opposite the house, where Richard tries to locate the roots of the Stythwaite Oak, ignoring villagers’ warnings.

When he uncovers the remains of a hare, the story becomes surreal and magical. Ewan dies suddenly, and Juliet sinks into grief and withdraws from everyone, except a group known as The Beacons, which includes a medium. Following a seance, Juliet claims to have had a revelation of the truth of… show more.