Hey Y’all! Fire up the barbeque and grab some sweet tea. It’s time to take a trip down to SEC country to partake in some Southern Fried Horror!
Loaded with folklore, charm, sweat, and boozy ambiance, Southern Horror offers languid and charming horror that doesn’t spare the bloodshed. That well-earned Southern Hospitality becomes a mask of deception! For much of Southern horror, it’s a rural affair. It emphasizes close-knit communities that must band together to face the impending evil.
The exception is the city most associated with horror in the US: New Orleans. NOLA is the most exotic location in the whole country, a city with strong ties to voodoo and hauntings. The film industry loves the creepy environs. Fortunately for the Scariest Things, our own Southern Belle is a New Orleans resident. Not surprisingly, she selected New Orleans-centric productions and managed an all-television slate.
It is safe to declare that there is a unique regional feel to Southern-themed horror. Often, however, Southern Horror is not portrayed with much dignity. It is a close cousin to Hillbilly Horror, where the villains are often inbred maniacs or mutants. For this episode, we (largely) stay away from the Hillbilly trope. But it must be noted that the undisputed king of Southern Horror, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, helped to cement that reputation. Subsequently, that’s a hard characterization to kick.
Fire up the grill! And the chainsaws!
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