Folklore Horror

We’re reading two stories from one of our most highly anticipated books of 2026, Folklore Horror Short Stories. Tales of whispering woods, gloom, primeval mysteries and terrifying omens all bound together in one comprehensive volume. This one was sourced in part from open submissions and the rest was curated by our editorial team to deliver an overview of some of the best classic short stories within the genre. We’ve got one of each type in this podcast episode!

Featuring

‘Woodface’ by Charlie Hughes (01.33), read by Olivia. This story is about a little girl who refuses to bow to the tyranny of an ancient and powerful monster. You can find the print version in Folklore Horror Short Stories. 

‘The Music on the Hill’ by Saki (21.53), read by Cornelia Colman. One of the most renowned short stories within the folk horror subgenre, this follows an urbanite woman who moves to the countryside and unwillingly disturbs pagan forces. You can find the print version in Folklore Horror Short Stories. 

Biographies

Charlie Hughes lives in London, England where he writes horror and dark short fiction. Authors he admires include Laird Barron, Gemma Files, Stephen King and Ramsey Campbell. His stories have appeared in The Dark, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Fiends in the Furrows III anthology and Close to Midnight from Flame Tree Press, among other publications. Two of Charlie’s stories have appeared in ‘Best Horror of the Year’, edited by Ellen Datlow. You can find a full list of published stories at charliehugheswriting.blogspot.com

Saki was the pen-name for Hector Hugh Munro (1870–1916). Born in British Burma, the son of an Inspector General of the Imperial Indian Police, Munro lost his mother early and was brought up by grandparents in England. He signed up for the Imperial Police himself, but was quickly invalided home. At a loose end in London, he wrote for newspapers and magazines. The theory always was that his witty, but frequently macabre, short stories were just a way of supporting him as he worked on serious studies of Russian history and politics. In practice, they were to become the basis of both his contemporary and his enduring fame.

Cornelia Colman is a Voice Actor, Hand Model and Actor with a background in Food Science. Although her resting accent is RP, her range includes several African and Caribbean accents, other foreign accents, and various English dialects. When narrating, she aims to bring diverse, multicultural characters to life. Hopefully, via using these accents, to enhance the experience and increase the enjoyment listeners have when listening to her audiobook narrations.

This episode was hosted by Bea.

‘Woodface’ is ©2024 Charlie Hughes and was originally published in Dark Dead Things: Issue 3, but more recently appears in Folklore Horror (Flame Tree Publishing, 2026).

‘The Music on the Hill’ by Saki was first published in The Chronicles of Clovis in 1911 but more recently appears in Folklore Horror (Flame Tree Publishing, 2026).

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Music is an extract of Sunbeams by Allen Stroud, from his Fractal Series album, licensed courtesy of fpl-digital 2025.

This podcast is hosted and sometimes narrated by Beatrix Ambery (also audio editor), Olivia Jackson (also podcast coordinator), Shilpa Varma and Nick Wells (also producer). 

Chosen from hundreds of wonderful tales, short stories such as these are selected by our short window open submission process, giving opportunities to writers of all levels of experience, culture and location. Look out for our submission announcements, and see the full list here:  flametreepublishing.com/gothic-fantasy-book-series-list.html

Our full range of thematic short stories, epic tales, mythology and folklore titles are available at all good bookstores, online and in retail, and at flametreepublishing.com 

Flame Tree Publishing, Best Indie Press 2024 & 2025 (British Fantasy Society). Beautiful Books, Timeless Storytelling, Fresh Perspectives.

The Flame Tree Myth and Fiction podcast is created and © copyright 2025 Flame Tree Publishing Ltd.