Do Be Afraid: Folk Horror, Monstrous Sacred and Divine Terror in The Silt Verses Podcast

The article analyzes contemporary folk horror podcast series The Silt Verses (2021–ongoing) in order to theorize how horror as a genre conveys the relationship with the sacred in contemporary culture, with the characteristics and functions of the sacred described by Roger Caillois in L’homme et le...

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Main Author: Aldona Kobus
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Polish Ethnological Society 2025-06-01
Series:Journal of Folklore and Popular Culture
Subjects:
Online Access:https://apcz.umk.pl/LL/article/view/62621
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author Aldona Kobus
author_facet Aldona Kobus
author_sort Aldona Kobus
collection DOAJ
description The article analyzes contemporary folk horror podcast series The Silt Verses (2021–ongoing) in order to theorize how horror as a genre conveys the relationship with the sacred in contemporary culture, with the characteristics and functions of the sacred described by Roger Caillois in L’homme et le sacré. First, the article focuses on the folk horror aspect of the series, how it alters the sub-genre conventions and how it presents the monstrous sacred which leads to notion of “divine terror” or “sacred dread” and fear as a primordial response to the sacred and, therefore, the role of religious horror as reminiscent of the religious experience within contemporary society. Lastly, the article will argue that the interchangeability of the sacred and capitalism within the fictional world of the podcast poses the question of what has taken the place of the sacred in the contemporary culture and points at the inviolable status of the capitalistic economy, in the name of which we commit contemporary human sacrifices.
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spelling doaj-art-cc2f5f0778454780b2c95ba4491ee2e62025-08-20T02:36:30ZengPolish Ethnological SocietyJournal of Folklore and Popular Culture0024-47082544-28722025-06-01691-210.12775/LL.1–2.2025.007Do Be Afraid: Folk Horror, Monstrous Sacred and Divine Terror in The Silt Verses PodcastAldona Kobus0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6646-8640Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń The article analyzes contemporary folk horror podcast series The Silt Verses (2021–ongoing) in order to theorize how horror as a genre conveys the relationship with the sacred in contemporary culture, with the characteristics and functions of the sacred described by Roger Caillois in L’homme et le sacré. First, the article focuses on the folk horror aspect of the series, how it alters the sub-genre conventions and how it presents the monstrous sacred which leads to notion of “divine terror” or “sacred dread” and fear as a primordial response to the sacred and, therefore, the role of religious horror as reminiscent of the religious experience within contemporary society. Lastly, the article will argue that the interchangeability of the sacred and capitalism within the fictional world of the podcast poses the question of what has taken the place of the sacred in the contemporary culture and points at the inviolable status of the capitalistic economy, in the name of which we commit contemporary human sacrifices. https://apcz.umk.pl/LL/article/view/62621folk horrorpodcastingreligious horrorthe sacredThe Silt Verses
spellingShingle Aldona Kobus
Do Be Afraid: Folk Horror, Monstrous Sacred and Divine Terror in The Silt Verses Podcast
Journal of Folklore and Popular Culture
folk horror
podcasting
religious horror
the sacred
The Silt Verses
title Do Be Afraid: Folk Horror, Monstrous Sacred and Divine Terror in The Silt Verses Podcast
title_full Do Be Afraid: Folk Horror, Monstrous Sacred and Divine Terror in The Silt Verses Podcast
title_fullStr Do Be Afraid: Folk Horror, Monstrous Sacred and Divine Terror in The Silt Verses Podcast
title_full_unstemmed Do Be Afraid: Folk Horror, Monstrous Sacred and Divine Terror in The Silt Verses Podcast
title_short Do Be Afraid: Folk Horror, Monstrous Sacred and Divine Terror in The Silt Verses Podcast
title_sort do be afraid folk horror monstrous sacred and divine terror in the silt verses podcast
topic folk horror
podcasting
religious horror
the sacred
The Silt Verses
url https://apcz.umk.pl/LL/article/view/62621
work_keys_str_mv AT aldonakobus dobeafraidfolkhorrormonstroussacredanddivineterrorinthesiltversespodcast