With the release of Midsommar, Ari Aster’s follow-up feature to last year’s Hereditary, folk horror is enjoying much deserved time in the spotlight. While the niche horror subgenre is known to many a horror fan (folk horror is one of my favorite subgenres), many curious viewers are at a loss when it comes to folk horror. What is it exactly?

Of course, as many folk horror fans will try to explain, the subgenre is difficult to pin down. Some consider it a subset of religious horror, and while I see and respect that viewpoint, I don’t necessarily agree with that. The two subgenres are related; I see them as distinct. Perhaps folk horror and religious horror are sisters. They both explore man’s fear of his beliefs, of one’s faith being tested, and of watching religion corrupt its practitioners. But folk horror has a particular flavor, a certain aesthetic, which religious horror does not replicate.