Cunning Folk

I’d like to start off my review by acknowledging several observations made by the author in his closing essay to this book – “Story Notes: About This Horror”. This story is not about a haunted house, although it details horrific events that happen within a house. The house is cursed. And that curse is created by the next door neighbors.Neville asks the question – “Why do we spend so little attention to the people who live next door” when we purchase a house (or rent an apartment for that matter)? Sure, most of us look at what the neighborhood is like and what attractions are near-by but very seldom do we have the chance to find out what the neighbors are like until after we’ve moved in. Cunning Folk is a story about a young family who doesn’t learn about their neighbors until it is too late.<blockquote>"Neighbours, eh? Easy to overlook them. Too easy to dismiss your new neighbours as an outlier, an insignificance that will have no effect on your lives and play no real part in your pursuit of contentment, comfort, security, protection, shelter, warmth, privacy and solace.”</blockquote>Adam Nevill from Cunning Folk – pg. 321Tom and Fiona with their young daughter, Gracey and pet puppy move to the country to live out a dream of Tom’s. The dream: to spend Gracey’s childhood in the country so she may experience a magical time adventuring within the woods that are adjacent to their backyard garden. Money is an issue as the family has overextended itself by purchasing a run down house that Tom figures he’ll renovate while looking for full time employment.From the beginning there is a tension between Tom and Fiona over purchasing the home. Fiona feels that they have taken on more than they can do. The house is a wreck and is going to require enormous work and money to make livable. In stark contrast, the home next door is picturesque and beautiful.After several days of moving in and the start of renovation Tom decides to introduce himself to the next door neighbors. He thinks it strange that the older couple next door has not come over to welcome them and figures that to avoid future awkwardness walks over to introduce himself. The introduction goes badly as the couple seem very odd-looking and rude. Instead of welcoming him, they demand that he fix the fence that abuts their property and list off improvements that he should make in order to satisfy their standards. Tom loses his temper and storms off back to his house.The house has a bad history… the previous owner hanged himself in the foyer while he was trying to remodel the house. Since then the house has fallen into further disrepair and the yard / garden looks like a battlefield.Strange and disturbing events ensue as Tom’s relationship with his neighbors and wife rapidly deteriorates. Gracey’s dog starts digging up lead tablets with strange inscriptions around their backyard and she starts to experience terrifying events in the adjacent woods. It soon becomes apparent to Tom that the neighboring couple are inexplicably responsible for awful things happening to his family.Overall, I found the story eerie and disturbing. It was well worth the read and would recommend it… especially if you are a fan of Folk Horror.

Up front: Adam Nevill’s CUNNING FOLK (2021, 336 pp.) has to be the most chilling novel I have read in a very long time filled with scenes of absolute dread, incredible visual images which make the senses tingle, page after anxiety provoking page, as well as, surprisingly for a horror novel, pathos.Following a brief but utterly creepy introductory chapter, Nevill springs his narrative ahead by six months. Husband and wife Tom and Fiona leave the apartment they have been renting for eight years to move into their first house which they hope will eventually be their dream home. With them is their four-year-old daughter, Gracey, and a spaniel puppy, Archie. The couple have sunk their life savings into a down payment, plan on using money from Fiona’s mother to help with repairs, and have taken out a home improvement loan. The furthest structure outside the village of Eadric in rural South West England, the house is in total disrepair reeking of rot, bad plumbing and electricity, decaying floors and walls, and unfinished bedrooms. No previous owners have stayed long enough to properly restore the house. The grounds around the house and the garden are equally disheveled with an ancient woods beyond the house. For Tom and Fiona, however, it is filled with potential, knowing it will take a lot of work, with Tom doing as many of the repairs as he can to keep expenses at a minimum. Tom, in particular, wants the house and his daughter’s bedroom to be associated “with comfort… [a] refuge… a sanctuary for his child… a safety net extending beyond her parents.”Across from their house and a dividing wall and fence stands a property which couldn’t be more different. The house and grounds are pristine, a “property effortlessly exuding the charm of an English village idyll. A vision of a dream-house realised.” Having good relationships with his neighbors being crucial to his visions of a perfect home, when Tom is able to finally meet their new neighbors, he is shocked and bewildered. Somewhere in their seventies, Magi and Medea Moot are unattractive individuals—both physically and temperamentally; total opposites of what their home and grounds project. The two are beyond unfriendly and rude. They are demanding, spiteful, even maniacal from the very beginning. It isn’t the welcome Tom expects and it does not bode well as a part of Tom’s sense of community, but little does he know the dire state of affairs which await him and his family.While clearly and richly depicting his characters and establishing the setting of his novel in vivid detail, a sense of the eerie creeps into the pages of CUNNING FOLK —a tone which rapidly worsens as do events after Tom’s meeting of his neighbors.In an interview with horror film producer and director Eli Roth (CABIN FEVER, 2002, and HATCHET 1 and 2, 2005 and 2007, respectively, etc.), television screenplay writer Bryan Fuller (HANNIBAL, 20013-2015, AMERICAN GODS, 2017-2021, etc.), states, “Family is a great source for horror telling, because family is intimate, family is very close to us…” and family plays an essential role in CUNNING FOLK making the ever-intensifying events which take place all the more insidious and horrifying. Nevill proves, as he has before, to be a master at pacing and making the terror in his novels and tales very personal.Mistakes are made, acts of retribution are quick and harsh, terrifying dreams replace reality, and discoveries and revelations are made. This pattern continues with each incident, including the incursion of elements of supernatural folk horror (especially in the woods) until CUNNING FOLK becomes a work of almost unbearable suspense and dismay.Nevill’s consistently excellent writing includes word choices which are vibrant and descriptive. They color every page and gnaw at the mind and emotions of the reader. The author plays with some of the names of the characters as some readers are bound to recognize and, amazingly, the author also skillfully works in an occasional moment of social commentary (especially in regards to children). There is also some black humor. At times Mrs. Moot comes across a bit like Margaret Hamilton’s witch in THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939) uttering “I’ll get you my pretty, and your little dog too!” whereas Mr. Moot comes across as a stereotypical hen-pecked, cowardly and bumbling husband willing to be domineered by his wife with a sighing “Yes, dear,” response to her every demand. However, Nevill never allows the subtle comic elements of the two or their droll physical appearances to overshadow their dreadful, deadly, and inescapable malevolence. No one would want a Moot for a neighbor.Perhaps there is truth in the old saying, “The truth will set you free,” but for Tom and his family the truth is a path which leads to terrible consequences and to some very high prices to be paid.As CUNNING FOLK rapidly moves to its white-knuckle, swirling, grisly, cinematic climax with evil and havoc running amuck, readers will find their apprehension seemingly as infinite as Nevill’s imagination and creative powers. With a myriad number of fanciful possibilities available to him due to previous events in the book, the author keeps the book’s conclusion entirely honest and fitting and still with family at its heart. In short, CUNNING FOLK may be Nevill’s best, most gripping work of fiction to date—which is saying a lot. [NOTE: The author follows his story with insightful and personal information about the history of the creation of CUNNING FOLK which is a valuable addition to the publication for the reader.]

I enjoyed Cunning Folk, much more so than The Ritual, which I liked well enough until the last portion. I empathized with the protagonist, wanting something so much only to have it jump off the rails. I look forward to reading another of Nevill’s works in the near future.

Adam Neville may be the most dependable author currently on the horror scene. Always creepy and unique, his work never fails to get under the skin. Cunning Folk is brilliant.

It's not every day I read a satisfying folk horror novel, but this one fits the bill. First of all, the language used in this book is wonderful. The atmosphere is strange and off-putting. I love the progression of madness and the slow spiral this book has. This is a fantastic book sure to scratch that folk horror itch

I’ve read all of Adam’s books, and as with the previous ones I’ve devoured, I’ve found there’s always something missing. Sometimes, less is more - but in this case, more is needed. Cunning Folk seems to be a social commentary on society and the people who live next door to you, but there are so many unnecessary additions to the story that at the end you feel like you’ve been duped. I was waiting for something, anything that would scare me - something visceral that grabs you, but it seems that when it comes down to the actual horror side of things… we’re left with random images, hints and ultimately nothing that makes us feel that chill down our spines. Adam seems to hint at something, but not know exactly what to do once confronted with the “Big Bad”, and ultimately it falls flat. I’d say skip this - watch The Ritual on DVD (it’s better than the book), or read Banquet for the Damned instead - another of Adams books that leave you feeling unsatisfied, but at least it succeeds in creating a feeling of claustrophobia despite being set in a large town. Not sure if I’ll be reading his next book, there’s so many incredible horror novels being published at the moment that I’d rather read something new as opposed to forcing myself to finish a book out of feeling obligated.

Completely spellbound by this story. The story evolves around Tom his Wife Fiona and daughter Gracey leaving the confines of the city to make the dream of living in the countryside, but it proves much harder than first thought . Financial difficulties, dilapidation, isolation and of course the new neighbours the Moots all conspire to undermine the dream.It was nice to see the story evolve around a family and shows Adam Neville continues to mature and improve as a Novelist whilst maintaining his core principles which makes his horror stories so compelling. A unique style of writing and a vision of an underworld which has been maintained from his earlier works such as the Brown Man from Banquet of the Damned and the vortex from Apartment 16

My word, this was good. A young couple and their daughter move from the city, deep into the English countryside. Next door lives a 'tetchy' older couple who don't appear keen to roll out the red carpet. Maybe not the most exciting premise you've ever heard but Nevill conjures a living nightmare for his central characters who have no idea of their neigbours 'interests'. Genuinely unsettling, at times quite scary (and that's on the back of 40+ years reading horror novels and watching horror films) and utterly convincing. This author goes from strength to strength - I just hope that should this be turned into a film it's set in the south west of England and given the care and attention it deserves. I've been a fan of folk horror since before I'd heard the term and this feller is the very best the literary genre can offer.

I approached this one with trepidation, as I didn't get into Nevill's last collection of short stories 'Wyrd and other derelictions' , it didn't work for me, but I really got into this one. I'm glad to report that It really works , and firstly I was reminded of Arthur Machen's 'The White People' , and the movie 'Sinister' , but as this folk horror tale unfolds we discover that the neighbours, the oddly named Magi and Medea Moot, are more than just weirdo neighbours from Hell, and there's a lot more weirdness to come in and around Tom and Fiona's new home.The ending took me by surprise also, and was with me for days after I had finished the book. Oh , and I read most of it during the night Storm Arwen hit us, so you can maybe imagine the background noise when I read it , doubling the fear factor!!

You have to hand it to Adam Nevill. He is on top of the world these days. Two of his novels have been adapted into fairly decent movies (even though the essence of those novels was twisted and adjusted ... the overall feel was kept alive.)Ever since he became Adam L. G. Nevill and has gone all Neo-Pagan English Countryside, folklore, dark entites rising from the earth with the Fairies, Sprites, Sprogs, ... wellie boots, mud, hedges, trees, gardens and insane "old money" families, it has become a little ... odd.He has dropped the cool Adam NeVill dropped "V" logo .. and has gone all pipes, stew and whispers in the dark.Witchcraft basically, of the very English kind is what he is into these days. I love his style of writing, but these last couple of novels are short, overly flowery (literally) in the case of "Cunning Folk" and a little bewildering. (bewilderness?).Great stuff but I am confused. Its a long way from the first 6 novels, that is for sure. Still high quality though.