Welcome back to White Rose of Avalon, my Darlings.   Today’s post is an examination of the Maenad storyline from True Blood, with The God Who Comes (Dionysus), and the Pagan storyline from Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, with the Green Man, and how they relate to Folk Horror!   In this Magical Media Analysis, I will be looking at some of the major aspects of how Folk Horror is utilized in these two shows and how it was possibly inspired by the earlier Folk Horror film The Wicker Man!  

The stories of both The God Who Comes and the Green Man in their respective series are that they are being summoned by their worshippers and given sacrifices in order for the worshippers to gain blessings.   This is much what is done in The Wicker Man, as the titular figure (a large man made of wicker) is burned in an offering to the Gods with a virgin inside of it to grant a fruitful harvest after a previously failed crop.    How the television series use this concept differently is that they do not make this offering because of wanting good crops or due to a previous failure.   Instead, in both television series, the offering is made so that the God will come and bless the worshippers with his presence!

The offerings in The Wicker Man and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina need to be virgins.   This is a pre-requisite of many Folk Horror tales, likely drawing on the fact that Pagan cults are often seen to be sexually liberated and sexually voracious.   This means that the people they view as good sacrifices are those who are outside of their own moral beliefs and societal customs.   Other than that, it could be a concept of the offering needing to be pure.   In True Blood, this is not the case, but the offering must still be very powerful and special, hence why a shifter is chosen!   All three pieces of media have the concept that the worshippers of these Gods feel that it is a great honor to be chosen as a sacrifice!

Finally, the actual celebrations and rituals that are shown bear many similarities.   There is always an aspect of great celebration; they take place in Spring or Summer, and the worshippers like dressing up for the occasion.   Some of this is drawn from actual ancient artwork, and some is drawn from actual current Pagan and polytheistic nature worshipping ceremonies.   No matter what, this common through line is part of what makes these Folk Horror stories so interesting to watch.   There is a sense of otherness for many people, and even for those of us who hold beliefs similar to the worshippers in these tales, it serves as a potent reminder of how dark even the most beautiful and loving of rituals can become.   After all, it is not too difficult to imagine truly ill-intentioned and insane individuals committing acts of horror in devotion to any God, as we have seen this time and again throughout history!   I think that is where the truly visceral terror of this type of Folk Horror tale lies.

I hope you have enjoyed this short analysis of Folk Horror on television with a comparison to The Wicker Man.   What is your favorite Folk Horror tale?   Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!     

Further Watching

• The Wicker Man (1973)
• True Blood (2008)
• Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018)

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