John Togher

Last week, Bound by the Salt officially made its way into the world, and for one evening, Cairnshore felt a little less fictional. The launch event was more than a reading. It became an atmosphere. A threshold. A chance for people to step, briefly and willingly, into the uneasy little coastal village at the heart of the book. The room was dressed with images, found documents, strange fragments, and carefully placed details that hinted at the wider world of Cairnshore: its rit

Home towns do something strange to you, and nobody really explains it when you are young. You grow up thinking the place is ordinary. School gates, the corner shop, the rain on the bus shelter, the same faces moving through the same streets. Familiarity makes it all seem too close to mean anything. Then you leave, or try to leave, and the place begins to rise in your mind with a different kind of weight. A town gets into you quietly. It could be through your accent or your hu

Folk horror holds a quiet power. It creeps in through the landscape, the old tales, and the shadows of rural life. I find it in the stories that linger on the edges of the familiar. The themes that run through UK folk horror blogs reveal much about the genre’s enduring appeal. They offer a window into the fears and mysteries rooted in place and tradition. Key Themes in Folk Horror One theme stands out clearly: the land as a living force. The countryside is not just a backdrop