{"podcast":{"title":"FolknHell","slug":"folknhell-7405500","podcast_index_feed_id":7405500,"rss_url":"https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/686d2a6a37e3cb9d349cb1d7","website_url":"https://www.folknhell.com/","image_url":"https://assets.pippa.io/shows/686d2a6a37e3cb9d349cb1d7/1773565308006-12534475-9a2b-47fa-861b-f3902e05b0a0.jpeg","author":"David Hall","episode_count":25,"summary":"FolknHell is the camp-fire you shouldn’t have wandered up to: a loud, spoiler-packed podcast where three unapologetic cine-goblins – host Andy Davidson and his horror-hungry pals David Hall & Dave Houghton, decide two things about every movie they watch: 1, is it folk-horror, and 2, is it worth your precious, blood-pumping time. Armed with nothing but “three mates, a microphone, and an unholy amount of spoilers” Intro-transcript the trio torch-walk through obscure European oddities, cult favourites and fresh nightmares you’ve never heard of, unpacking the myths, the monsters and the madness along the way. Their rule-of-three definition keeps every discussion razor-sharp: the threat must menace an isolated community, sprout from the land itself, and echo older, folkloric times. Each episode opens with a brisk plot rundown and spoiler warning, then erupts into forensic myth-picking, sound-design geekery and good-natured bickering before the lads slap down a score out of 30 (“the adding up is the hard part!\") FolknHell is equal parts academic curiosity and pub-table cackling; you’ll learn about pan-European harvest demons and still snort ale through your nose. Dodging the obvious, an…","last_synced_at":"2026-06-11T22:18:25.618351+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/folknhell-7405500"},"episode":{"title":"Witchfinder General","slug":"witchfinder-general","published_at":"2025-12-18T00:26:22+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/folknhell-7405500/witchfinder-general","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/folknhell-7405500","url":"https://folknhell.com","audio_url":"https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/686d2a6a37e3cb9d349cb1d7/e/69434a2e3d3b907dc0e94b7b/media.mp3","summary":"Witchfinder General finally gets its turn under the FolknHell microscope and immediately starts causing problems. It turns up with a big reputation a lot of baggage and the confidence of a film that has been told for decades that it belongs in the folk horror big leagues. The trouble is once you actually sit down and watch it that claim starts wobbling almost immediately. The set up is simple and relentlessly grim. Matthew Hopkins a self appointed witchfinder rides from village to village across East Anglia turning petty grudges fear and sexual repression into a very profitable little business. People accuse their neighbours not because they genuinely believe in witchcraft but because it is useful. Hopkins is not uncovering ancient evils or dark rituals. He is just a horrible man spotting an opportunity and taking it. This is where the argument really kicks off around the table. There is no sense of shared belief. No community bound together by folklore. No land that feels cursed or alive or pushing back. Compared with The Wicker Man or Blood on Satan’s Claw where belief itself becomes the monster Witchfinder General feels hollow. The countryside looks lovely but does absolutely nothing except provide somewhere for people to be tortured. That does not mean it is toothless. Far from it. This is a late 1960s British exploitation film and it is not shy about it. The violence is blunt nasty and often mean spirited. There are hangings burnings stabbings and a lot of deeply uncomfortable sexual menace. Watching it now feels less like being scared and more like being slowly worn down which depending on your mood may or may not be your idea of a good evening. Vincent Price is doing a lot of the heavy lifting. His accent belongs exclusively to Vincent Price and nobody else but…","meta_description":"Witchfinder General finally gets its turn under the FolknHell microscope and immediately starts causing problems. It turns up with a big reputation a lot…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2078,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/folknhell-7405500/episodes/witchfinder-general/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/folknhell-7405500/witchfinder-general.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}