There's something uniquely unsettling about folk horror. While modern scary movies might make you jump with sudden scares and gore, these ancient tales tap into something deeper — primal fears that have been keeping humans awake at night for centuries. They're the stories your ancestors whispered around fires, warning of what lurks in deep woods, remote villages, and forgotten traditions.
Welcome! This article is part of Trick or Stream, a seasonal series in which members of the Tom's Guide staff share what they're planning to watch for Halloween 2024 and their takes on the horror genre, with the goal of helping you find great movies that you might want to stream during spooky season.
What makes these films so compelling is how they remind us that beneath our modern lives, old fears still linger. Whether set in colonial America, isolated Scandinavian communes, or rural British villages, folk horror shows us that some traditions never truly died out. These aren't just ghost stories — they're glimpses into beliefs that shaped entire cultures, reimagined for modern audiences.
We've gathered seven films that bring these ancient terrors to vivid, haunting life. Each one proves that sometimes the oldest stories are the scariest — not because of what they show us, but because of what they remind us about ourselves. Ready to discover what our ancestors were so afraid of?
'Sleepy Hollow'
Take one classic American ghost story, add Tim Burton's gothic flair, and throw in a heavy dash of Hammer Horror influence — that's the deliciously dark cocktail that is 1999's "Sleepy Hollow." It's a gorgeously grim murder mystery that'll have you sleeping with the lights on. Johnny Depp brings a wonderfully weird energy to Ichabod Crane, reimagined here as a squeamish police constable who's all about science and reason ... until he isn't.
Sent to investigate a series of mysterious beheadings in the isolated village of Sleepy Hollow, he finds himself tangled up with Christina Ricci's enigmatic Katrina Van Tassel and her family's dark secrets. Burton turns Washington Irving's simple ghost story into a twisted tale of witchcraft, revenge, and the battle between superstition and science — all wrapped up in the most beautifully atmospheric package you could ask for.
🎃 Stream it now on Paramount Plus
'Midsommar'
Ari Aster flips horror conventions on their head by setting his folk horror nightmare in the endless sunlight of Swedish summer. This 2019 film proves that sometimes the scariest things happen in broad daylight, especially when ancient pagan rituals are involved. It's a break-up movie dressed in flower crowns and white linen, with a hefty dose of hallucinogens thrown in for good measure.
Florence Pugh delivers a stunning performance as Dani, a grief-stricken student who joins her increasingly distant boyfriend and his friends on a trip to a remote Swedish commune's midsummer festival. What begins as an anthropological study of traditional celebrations slowly reveals itself to be something far more sinister. The film's bright, beautiful aesthetic makes its dark turns all the more disturbing.
🎃 Stream it now on Max
'The Wicker Man'
The 1973 original (not the Nicolas Cage remake) remains the gold standard of folk horror. This British classic follows a deeply religious police sergeant investigating the disappearance of a young girl on a remote Scottish island. What he finds is a community that's abandoned Christianity for something much older and darker.
Edward Woodward's uptight Sergeant Howie provides the perfect foil to Christopher Lee's charming but sinister Lord Summerisle. As Howie delves deeper into the island's pagan practices, the film builds to one of cinema's most memorable and shocking conclusions. It's a masterclass in creating tension through the clash of beliefs rather than supernatural scares.
🎃 Stream it now on Prime Video
'The Witch'
If you think you know folk horror, Robert Eggers' bone-chilling 2015 debut will make you think again. This isn't your typical woods-and-witches tale — it's a masterclass in slow-burning dread that transports you to 1630s New England with such authenticity you can practically smell the wood smoke. Eggers dug deep into colonial archives and witch trial documents to create something that feels less like watching a movie and more like peering through a cursed window into America's darkest past.
At its core, this is a family drama gone terribly wrong. When a Puritan family (played with haunting intensity by Ralph Ineson and Kate Dickie) gets kicked out of their settlement, they set up home at the edge of a seriously creepy forest. What follows is a spiral into paranoia, religious hysteria, and genuine supernatural terror, anchored by Anya Taylor-Joy's star-making performance as Thomasin, their teenage daughter who may or may not be as innocent as she seems. Trust me — you'll never look at a goat the same way again.
🎃 Stream it now on Prime Video
'The Company of Wolves'
Neil Jordan's dreamlike 1984 adaptation of Angela Carter's work isn't the Red Riding Hood from your childhood. This surreal, gothic take on werewolf folklore weaves together multiple stories within stories, creating a haunting meditation on coming of age and feminine power. The film's practical effects and stunning practical transformations have aged like fine wine, proving that sometimes old-school movie magic hits harder than CGI.
Sarah Patterson stars as Rosaleen, a modern teenager dreaming of life in a fairy-tale village, where her grandmother (Angela Lansbury) warns her about men whose eyebrows meet and wolves that walk as men. As the stories unfold, the line between dream and reality blurs, creating a fascinating exploration of how fairy tales shape our understanding of desire and danger.
🎃 Stream it now on Prime Video
'The Ritual'
Based on Adam Nevill's novel, this 2017 Netflix film proves there's still plenty of terror to be found in ancient Norse mythology. Four friends hiking through Sweden's wilderness to honor their dead companion find themselves confronting something that's been haunting these woods for centuries.
What starts as a familiar lost-in-the-woods story evolves into something far more interesting, touching on themes of guilt, grief, and toxic masculinity. The film's monster, when finally revealed, is one of modern horror's most unique and terrifying creations, drawn from genuine Norse folklore rather than familiar horror tropes.
🎃 Stream it now on Netflix
'Lamb'
A24's "Lamb" is a haunting dive into Icelandic folklore, blending pastoral beauty with an unsettling narrative. It's a slow-burning story about a childless farming couple who discover something extraordinary in their sheep barn — part lamb, part human. What follows is a strange and touching exploration of parenthood, nature, and the price of defying the natural order.
Noomi Rapace gives a beautifully nuanced performance as Maria, whose maternal instincts override any concerns about the unusual nature of her new child. The film's stunning Icelandic landscapes and matter-of-fact approach to its supernatural elements create an atmosphere where the extraordinary feels completely plausible, right until the moment it doesn't.
🎃 Stream it now on Prime Video
