Scratch Moss

by David Barnett

Coal lies beneath Scratch Moss Manor and Sir Henry Brody is determined to get to it. But something else lurks below, something dark and evil.

1905. Reverend George Ackman has never known such godless people as those of Scratch Moss. But if not God, what do they believe in?

1945. Arthur works for the Coal Commission, visiting privately-owned pits ahead of their nationalisation. On his visit to Scratch Moss, he finds only misery and death.

1985. The miners have lost. Thatcher reigns supreme. And in the shattered community of Scratch Moss, rumours resurface about Red Clogs, a terrible presence in the land below.

2025. Divorced, fifty-something writer Joe returns to his hometown of Scratch Moss for the funeral of his father. Soon the memories of Joe's teenage years, and the horror that blighted the community, come flooding back

A devastating, five-timeline tale centred on a community first invigorated, then devastated by the coal mining industry in the most original folk horror novel of the year.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Folklore, Thriller, Supernatural, Historical

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 5, 2026

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Reviews

[Chewable Orb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scratch Moss by David Barnett
5 🔮🔮🔮🔮🔮orbs
Est. Pub. Date: March 5, 2026
Canelo Publishing

Flying through the smog of withered ash…

💡 Orbs Prologue: An iridescent sheen glistens off my wings as I sit perched high above Scratch Moss’ long-abandoned mine. Humans often think I am a bringer of bad luck, but fortunately for me, the folks of Scratch Moss view me as a lending hand to those recently deceased. My likeness is stamped on their gravestones with hopes of guiding deceased family members' safe passage in the nether realms of the unknown. Sweeping my wings with a graceful force, I glide towards the mine, inspecting… From the shadows of century-old trees, a man walks solemnly towards this area. Joe Collier, I presume. A man, an author, who escaped this town, and yet now he is back, mourning the death of his father, Terry Collier, a hometown hero. They often say that people can never truly leave Scratch Moss, for the century-old superstitions act as an invisible barrier to the outside world. Cocking my head towards a patch of undergrowth, I witness the concerning look that sits squarely on Joe’s tired face. He is contemplative in remembrance of a time of his youth, when the evil child-snatcher known as Red Clogs haunted the children of Scratch Moss.

🧐 A small glimpse: An author past his prime reenters a world that he left far behind in the small mining community of Scratch Moss. An air of uncomfortableness greets Joe Collier, one that speaks of unfinished business and undiscovered lore. In David Barnett’s latest folklore masterpiece, readers will dive headfirst into the deep end of a pool filled with quicksand, unable to escape the realities of the peculiarity of those who call Scratch Moss home. Barnett transforms the pages into a time-traveling machine, offering centuries-old backstory as to the history that haunts Scratch Moss. This is no ordinary town. A flux of wealth and stability has been blessed upon its residents, but at what cost? What evil lies beneath the surface?

👍 Orbs Pros: The prose! Wow! I am firmly convinced that David Barnett is simply a master of the folklore horror genre. Barnett’s innate ability to conjure the creepiest of vibes while maintaining emotional depth in the characters is awe-inspiring. The story draws on an unabashed primality, centuries-old horror macerated in a brine of seafoam, or the smells of the dankness of an underground cave. Barnett’s use of the environment always succeeds in making me feel truly invested in the time and place…as if I am a resident as well, succumbing to the demands of ritualistic behavior to provide a safety blanket for generations to come. Creepy! While there are elements of downright splattertastic horror sprinkled within the pages, Barnett employs a more subtle tactic of an unknown god or entity not to be trifled with. For what is scarier than a myth of sorts? The terror of something we cannot actively see or touch adds another complex layer of panic.

👎 Orbs Cons: None, I think Barnett nailed this one!

Must Read! This is fantastic! Terrific job by David Barnett. For fans of the horror genre, this is one not to be missed.

💡 Orbs Epilogue: Flapping my feathery wings, I descend deep within the dimness of the tunnels. I am in search of a worm to abate my insatiable hunger. Further down, I swoop close to the brownish-black coal-coated walls, often sensing lifetimes of sweat and blood left by the men of Scratch Moss. Landing abruptly, I come upon some glowing torches that have illuminated a blocked-off passageway that plunges further downward. Strange dolls made of cornhusks line the area, adding a sense of foreboding. In my birdlike mind, I can’t help but think these poppets are placed to confuse or placate whatever lies beneath the soil. My beady eyes stare into the void, and I hop yet closer, crunching upon small bones lining the entryway. Bones of what? From the mouth of this forbidden tunnel, a thunderous wave of hot, steamy air rises through the shaft and attacks my beak, clearly a warning for me to turn back. A tilt of my head changes my periphery slightly, and I recognize a pair of clogs, coated in a wine-red hue. Blood? Worn by whom? Riding a nauseating wave of stench through which I entered, I spot Joe at the lip of the entrance. My guttural cawing reaches a frenzied pace in my attempt to warn him, yet to no avail. Joe starts his methodical descent… and one must wonder if I will ever see him again…

Many thanks to Canelo Publishing for the ARC through NetGalley. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Vicki Herbert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Something's Coming...
Something Big

SCRATCH MOSS
by David Barnett

4.5 stars. Something lurked beneath the earth in Scratch Moss. Something dark that burned with an evil glow...

Fifty-three year old Joe Collier was returning to Scratch Moss for his father's funeral. He'd grown up there...

He had magpies on his mind...
Though he couldn't recall why...

A childhood memory also locked into his mind: Red Clogs is coming to get you...

Joe will be staying at his childhood home with his mother until the funeral, but mum is blank-eyed and out of it...

In a trance-like state...

She tells Joe: You should never kill a magpie. Yet, one night, she does just that...

Since his arrival in Scratch Moss, Joe felt and saw people expectantly watching him behind closed curtains...

His stroll through the graveyard revealed headstones with magpies engraved on them. Magpies and death tied together in Scratch Moss...

Serial child killer Red Clogs had returned...

Coal had been mined in Scratch Moss for 120 years. Coal was a good living for the town, but at what cost?

Something was coming. Something big...

This is another exceptional tale of English folklore by David Barnett. If you're unfamiliar with his stories, WITHERED HILL and SCUTTLER'S COVE are two outstanding books by this author. SCUTTLER'S COVE is mentioned at the end of this book, but you don't need to have read it to enjoy this one. There is definitely a follow-up book alluded to at the end of this story.

[Dutchie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creeptastic! Scratch Moss is one town that I will be taking a hard pass at visiting.

Joe hasn’t set foot in his childhood town of Scratch Moss in years, only to return home after his father dies to help his mother with the arrangements. The town itself was once a prosperous mining town, but in 1985 the mine shut down leaving everyone struggling for work. Nothing much has changed since then. Joe was hoping to get things squared away and head back to London. Unfortunately, his mom begins to act strange, and Joe’s memories start to resurface that cause him to start looking into his past. The story then shifts to 1985 during Joe’s childhood and keeps moving backwards all the way to 1865 when the mine was being built. Let’s just say it’s imperative to make sure you know where you’re digging your mine. There’s a ton of folklore attributed to the town of Scratch Moss specifically one that involves missing children.

I really enjoyed how the timelines went backwards to see where it all began. I liked that I was shown how everything progressed as opposed to just told. The timeline jumps all felt fluid and seamless.

This is my third Barnett novel and it did not disappoint. The book does fall in the same universe as Withered Hill and Scuttler’s Cove but can be read as a standalone. I absolutely can’t wait for the next one to come out.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced copy and exchange for an honest review

[Lady MacDeath 🌒🌕🌘 · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW WOW WOW!!
I was so excited to read this, after thoroughly enjoying and being a HUGE fan of David’s previous book Withered Hill. With Scratch Moss, it was everything I hoped for and more, and deserves more than 5 ⭐️, for sure.

I’m am obsessed with anything to do with folklore and the old traditions, and this book satisfied my lust for the genre, much more than I ever expected. I can’t explain how amazing Scratch Moss is, and I was gripped from beginning to end, the only negative thing…despite it being an absolutely awesome read, and a fantastic ending, I just didn’t want it to end, because I was having such a fabulous time reading it.

The story spans over different timelines and over hundreds of years, though not confusing how some stories can be, but pertinent to understanding how “Red Clogs” came to be. That’s all I’m giving away, because you just HAVE to read this for yourself. To me David Barnett is a literary god and I’m so looking forward to reading more.

With many thanks to David Barnett, Canelo, and NetGalley, for providing me with this “fantastic”, free ARC, with which I leave a voluntary review.

5+ ⭐️

Available: 1st September 2026

[Horror Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scratch Moss is a fantastic folk horror novel told through several timelines and features something ancient and horrific deep in the ground below an old coal mine.

The town of Scratch Moss seems prosperous enough to outsiders. But when Joe goes back for the funeral of his father we'll soon discover that this is no ordinary town and the secrets it holds are kept by the people there.

Joe's father kicked a man to death and went to prison, refusing pardons and eventually died there. But to the citizens of the town, he was a hero.

The mystery deepens when a tragic and terrifying death sends Joe reeling even further. Through several decades and centuries even, we'll find out about the town, the mine, the deals which were made for prosperity, and the terrifying rituals needed to sate the hunger of a creature older than the earth itself which lives trapped at the bottom of the coal mine.

There's also a surprise if you liked his other books since they all take place in the same universe. I've loved all three and if you like folk horror, you'll love this one. Highly recommend

I received an ARC of this book through Netgalley. This review is voluntary and is my own personal opinion.

[Gyalten Lekden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark, multi-layered, and atmospheric, this is contemporary folk horror at the top of its game. As I have come to expect, Barnett does an incredible job at creating a sense of place. You immediately have the foreboding sense of being somewhere familiar but also somewhere you don’t really belong. The emotional and political world-building really is excellent, embracing the reader and keeping you locked into the story as it descends deeper and deeper into the pit of local history, the pits of myth and ancient powers beyond our ken. One reason this atmosphere is so effective is because we follow an adult character who left the small town as barely a teen and represents everything the rural village is not – the fast-paced life of the big city, concerned with appearance and performance and not with the ties and promises that keep community together, even if with whispered breaths. Folk horror is almost always about the eruption that occurs at the site when the old and the new meet, and here we have this character who isn’t discovering the old but instead returning to it, and traveling with him allows the book to have a proper sense of claustrophobia and intentionality.

The narrative structure is incredibly clever and adds to the depth of the story. We start in 2025, following a 53-year-old main character. Then the narrative jumps back 40 years, and we follow the teenage version of him, as well as his father. Then the narrative goes backwards another 40 years, and we see when our main character’s grandfather first came to the village, and so on, continuing backwards further in the past until reversing, closing the zipper and jumping back up, sequentially, until we conclude back in the present. This fractured narrative allows the reader to see the connections between the past and the present, and how our ancestors can both carry us on their shoulders but also crush us under their boots. It is a reflective meditation on power, inheritance, fate, and community that is powerful and unafraid. This structure brings to mind books like Cloud Atlas as well as It, both novels that move across time to show he we are more deeply connected to each other and to the land beneath our feet than we could have anticipated. Since we do move across time periods there are a handful of different primary characters, and Barnett manages to make all of them interesting, complicated, and genuine. Often characters move across sections, as we spy them at forty-year increments, and that helps make this whole village feel realized and complete. The characters are not polished and smooth, and instead their rough edges are what make up the heart of this story, the texture that catches your attention and refuses to let you look away.

Given how all the pieces line up, when we get to the ending it is not entirely surprising. That isn’t because Barnett took the easiest or laziest route but instead because he built up the story, layer-by-layer, making the ending an inevitability. We all know how folklore works, we know what costs the dark demands, so instead of trying to surprise us Barnett makes us care about every character, every tear, every drop of blood. Meanwhile he is making continual commentary on the state of the small village, on the conditions of the working class and the working poor, on the insularity and communal values that emerge as a way to protect small communities from outsiders who mean to exploit them. The novel is one about solidarity, about responsibility, and about dignity. It is about sacrifice and exertion, labor and sweat and honest work, and the realization that isn’t enough in the face of so-called progress. While very clearly embracing the essence of traditional folk horror, including the story-within-a-story structure, the cautionary tales, the reminder that contemporary faith traditions such as Christianity are infants compared to what lies beneath the soil, this novel has a fresh, contemporary voice and is willing to investigate the Old Ways even while buckling under their weight. It is smart, heartfelt and damned hard to put down.

(Rounded from 4.5)

[C. Sinclair · Rating 5 out of 5]

"There's something wrong with this place, Ellen. Scratch Moss. There's something bad about it."

4.5/5

Scratch Moss is what happens when Southern Gothic folk horror is uprooted and replanted in the decaying landscape of post-industrial England, and David Barnett makes the transplant feel disturbingly natural. The prose is a masterclass in ominous foreboding, rendering each sentence from charcoal dust and quiet dread until the entire story feels coated in coal-mine grime. Every twist and exchange comes drenched in ghoulish mythology, morbid contemplation, carefully wrought metaphor, and an almost tangible sense of bleak apprehension, yet the fantastical elements remain so expertly tucked into the fabric of realism that impossibilities unfold like inevitabilities. Even the relationships are rendered with an unsettling legitimacy, romantic or familiar in the same way that a bulb lights a room on fire — you understand and believe in its light in the background of knowledge that its legitimacy does not amount to consequence.

The timeline is particularly impressive, with its carefully constructed structure contributing substantially to the novel's pervasive unease. I felt entirely at the mercy of the plot's design, much like the people of Scratch Moss themselves, gradually realizing that the story had been neatly arranging its pieces long before I understood what game was being played. The occasional fourth-wall irreverence is equally effective, particularly in a novel so otherwise steeped in solemnity; there is something deliciously impertinent about a writer writing about a writer and occasionally winking at the reader from behind the curtain. Joe is persistently compelling, as are the people orbiting him, and each storyline offers an ensemble of memorable characters without allowing any individual to eclipse the setting itself. The land and its lore are the uncontested stars of this particular performance, thrusting the reader into the passenger seat alongside the inhabitants of Scratch Moss — although whether "community" is quite the right word remains uncertain. Hostages? Parish? Denizens? I have no confidence in a label having turned the final page, which I suspect is precisely Barnett's intention.

Scratch Moss is simultaneously a page-turner and a thinker, the sort of ambient horror novel that entertains while leaving something unpleasantly thoughtful clawing beneath the surface. Barnett's prose is exceptionally atmospheric, with a patient confidence that makes even the quietest passages feel faintly dangerous. The result is a deeply immersive piece of folk horror that manages to make its setting feel ancient, wounded, and somehow still alive despite the industrial decay surrounding it. I was delighted to discover that the Scratch Moss universe extends beyond this novel, because the related books have now been added to my TBR with equal parts intrigue and trepidation. Consider me thoroughly seduced by the lore, mildly suspicious of the landscape, and very much looking forward to spending more time in Barnett's wonderfully bleak imagination. Because at the end of the day... Nobody leaves Scratch Moss. Hardly ever.

Thank you David Barnett and Canelo Publishing for the advance reader access to this exceptional novel, it was a thrill to read and an honor to review!

[Adrienne L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent, intricately plotted folk horror novel. I listened to this on audiobook through hoopla before the physical book was available. While I do wish I had had a copy to read, since I usually prefer consuming the books I'm really enjoying that way (at least for the first time through), this still ended up being a five-star book for me, which is saying something. I'll definitely be purchasing a copy once it's available.

There are multiple perspectives spanning 150+ years in Scratch Moss, but I don't think a single POV was wasted. And I appreciate that Barnett puts a lot of focus on the townspeople who live with the dark secrets of their shared history, rather than just viewing the horror through the lens of outsiders who settle in/stumble upon the village, which is how so many folk horror tales play out (although there is some of that in a couple of parts, including one section that's very Wicker Man-esque).

One final note for those readers who were put-off by Barnett's portrayal of women in Withered Hill. While I also gave that book 5 stars, I certainly understand the issue taken and think it is definitely warranted. But it would be a shame if it keeps readers from picking up Scratch Moss, which really doesn't have that problematic element. If you like folk horror, I highly recommend this book.

[Christian Z · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scratch Moss is a folk horror novel that could be described as what happens when Shirley Jackson's The Lottery meets David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas. Set in an isolated mining town in England, the narrative moves through time from 2025 to 85 AD and back again as the story of an ancient curse unfolds. Across the centuries, people in the town benefit from the mine at the heart of their community because of the high quality of coal produced. Unfortunately, there is also a high cost that comes with the stable coal production. For generations, the town of Scratch Moss has been filled with people who simply accept that in their town things are not the same as other places and choosing a different way of life is not an option. At least that is until someone decides to choose sacrifice instead of the status quo.

This book focuses on the plight of those who choose to fight for outdated systems, even when those systems have failed them and brought largely misery and harm. It highlights those whose predicament is having little else to choose but what has always been before them.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reading copy of the book.

[Matty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scratch Moss blends supernatural mystery, and British folklore, with the harsh realities of a struggling mining community in the current era, creating a story that is both disturbing and emotionally powerful. The novel unfolds across multiple timelines, going back to AD85, with each era telling its own compelling story. The stories gradually weave together into a deeply haunting ending in the same universe as Withered Hill and Scuttlers Cove.

One of the book’s greatest strengths is its atmosphere. The abandoned mines, forgotten traditions, and lingering sense of dread make Scratch Moss feel like a place with a history that refuses to stay buried. Barnett’s writing is vivid and immersive, into a world where folklore, family secrets, and the scars of industrial decline are inseparable.

The multiple points of view and shifting time periods reveal how past choices continue to shape future generations. Barnett balances suspense, mystery, and character development exceptionally well, making each revelation feel earned. By the end, the novel delivers both an exciting climax and a thoughtful exploration of sacrifice, tradition, and the cost of survival.

I can’t wait until the release of the fourth installment!

[Catherine McCarthy]

I adore folk horror, especially when set in the UK because it's so easy to make a strong connection to the land and characters. This was no exception, as hailing from a coal mining town myself and also being able to vividly remember the devastating strike back in the 80s meant that Scratch Moss felt like coming home. So many little details tweaked such vivid memories, and that's always a bonus.
Scratch Moss has a few time changes and also several POV changes, but that didn't disrupt the flow as far as I was concerned.
Overall, I would describe this as solid folk horror genre fiction, and would definitely recommend it to those who enjoy that particular genre.

[The Blog Without a Face · Rating 4 out of 5]

Your hometown sucks, and also it worships a child-eating coal demon

BWAF SINISTER SELECTION
BWAF Score: 7/10

TL;DR: Scratch Moss is industrial folk horror at its filthy, furious best. David Barnett rips the genre out of its rural comfort zone and buries it in a coalfield, proving that the scariest thing in any community isn’t the ancient god under the earth but the neighbors who decided the price was worth paying. Confident, angry, and genuinely haunting. Read it.

There’s a moment early in Scratch Moss where Joe Collier, a washed-up literary novelist coming home for his father’s funeral, reprimands himself for drafting opening lines in his head. “Stop dreaming up first lines,” he thinks. “You’re not going home to write a book.” David Barnett, thankfully, has no such hesitation, and he opens his third folk horror novel with a chapter so thick with foreboding you can practically taste the coal dust. This is a book about a place that doesn’t want you, and the terrible shit that happens when you show up anyway.

Joe, fifty-three, divorced, career circling the drain, returns to Scratch Moss, a dying ex-mining community wedged between Warrington and Wigan that other towns seem to physically recoil from. His dad Terry died in prison after a life sentence for kicking a man to death. The whole town thinks Terry was a hero. Within days of arriving, Joe’s mum kills herself in a manner so spectacularly horrible I had to set the book down and stare at a wall. Straw effigies are appearing in an abandoned church. The local weirdo is muttering about an entity called Red Clogs. Something dormant for forty years is waking up under the earth, and it is hungry, and it wants children.

What Barnett is actually writing about, beneath the folk horror apparatus, is sacrifice. Who gets sacrificed so communities can prosper, and the moral calculus people perform to look away. The mine gave Scratch Moss everything, but the god sleeping in the coal seam demanded a price: one child a year, taken by whoever carried the spirit’s essence. For over a century, the town decided this was acceptable. That’s the real horror, not the ancient earth-god but the collective shrug. Barnett draws explicit parallels to mining itself, to men destroying their lungs for a paycheck, to Thatcher gutting the coalfields. It’s not subtle, but it earns its anger.

The prose is sturdy and propulsive, more workmanlike than lyrical, which suits the material. Barnett writes with the confidence of someone who grew up in these streets and knows exactly how a flat-vowelled dialect settles back onto you the second you walk through your mum’s front door. He’s especially good at domestic texture: the cracked teapot from a holiday decades ago, Angel Delight in the fridge, a carpet pattern with a face hidden in it that terrified young Joe. These details aren’t decoration. They’re load-bearing.

Barnett is a journalist, comic book writer, and novelist based in West Yorkshire who came to folk horror sideways. He’d published commercial fiction under the name David M. Barnett, including Calling Major Tom, and written comics for DC’s Sandman Universe line and 2000AD. His first folk horror outing, Withered Hill (2024), earned a Best Horror Novel shortlist nomination at the British Fantasy Awards. Scuttler’s Cove followed in 2025, shifting to a coastal setting where wealthy outsiders collide with something ancient. With Scratch Moss, the third standalone in a shared universe, Barnett set out to test whether folk horror could work in an industrial setting, drawing on his childhood in Ince, outside Wigan, where he played on slag heaps and heard local legends about a blood-soaked bogeyman called Red Clogs. A fourth novel, Twisted Pike, is due later this year. The trajectory is clear: each book pushes the subgenre somewhere new, and this is the most ambitious of the three.

The book’s boldest structural move is its five timelines, leapfrogging from 2025 back through 1985, 1945, 1905, and 1865. Each era has its own register: Victorian melodrama, Jamesian ecclesiastical horror, angry social realism during the pit closures. The 1985 sections, told through thirteen-year-old Joe and his father Terry, are the emotional core. Joe’s summer with Ellen Dowd, the girl he never stopped thinking about, is as affecting as anything in the horror chapters. Pacing sags when the timelines multiply and you’re getting another iteration of the same revelation (Red Clogs is real, the town is complicit), but the cumulative effect is powerful.

Ellen Dowd is the book’s secret weapon: funny, sharp, the kind of woman who clocked her abusive husband with a coal shovel and can deconstruct your novel’s shitty ending over bad rosé. Joe is convincing as a man who spent his adult life running from where he came from. Where characterization falters is late in the book, when Joe’s possession by Red Clogs turns him from a person into a vessel and the internal struggle gets told more than dramatized.

But the ending. The ending is the best thing Barnett has written. It commits fully: Joe descending into the mine shaft with paraffin and a Zippo, Marillion in his headphones, choosing to end what should have been ended 160 years ago. It’s sacrificial, earned, and threads together generational duty and working-class solidarity in a final act that’s almost unbearably sad but feels exactly right. Then the epilogue pulls back to show the community scattered and a stranger at Ellen’s door, suggesting the fight isn’t over. Both complete and open.

Scratch Moss is too long, its middle timelines sometimes feel redundant, and it occasionally explains themes the story is already communicating. But goddamn, it’s a confident book. Barnett has figured out something most folk horror writers haven’t: the genre doesn’t need wicker men or remote islands. It just needs a community that made a deal it can’t get out of, and someone willing to pay the fucking bill.

[Steph's_Creepy _Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars 🌟
I adored the folklore concept from this story and the peculiar inhabitants of the town. The hushed rumours about the history of the place, Scratch Moss, and how it managed to hold it's ground for so long.
I just didn't feel like I really had anyone to solidly cheer for with this story. Yes we have the main character Joe, but by his own admission, had not been an active member of the community of Scratch Moss or his parents lives for a long time. We don't really get to know him all that well either before we are transported through different timelines, getting numerous new characters and theories.
I wasn't shocked or upset by the ending as it had been pretty obviously hinted at halfway through the book what needed to be done. It just hasn't been done by the ancestors.
I am a little disappointed with this story.

[Emily Garmon · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

The village of Scratch Moss has their traditions. However, their traditions could be considered weird, outlandish, and even pagan to outsiders. As for Joe Collier, who spent his childhood there, even he has reservations about the suspersitions of his hometown. Joe's father, Terry, has just passed away in prision. Even though Joe isn't exactly sure why, the residents of Scratch Moss considered Terry Collier a hero, and his death, a terrible omen of chaos to come. When Joe's mother begans exhibiting her own strange behavior, Joe teams up with his former flame Ellen, to remember the murky details of his own childhood and why his father went to prison and decided to stay there. What follows is a harrowing, multi-generational tale of the deceits of Scratch Moss, and the secrets the residents are willing to hide for the "good" of the village. Engrossing and eerie, Scratch Moss will ease that urge for a new folk horror.

My thoughts:
After having read Withered Hill earlier this year for my book club, I have become obsessed with reading all of Barnett's books. I was pleasantly surpised to find Scratch Moss on the NetGalley list and immediately requested. I was not disappointed! An amazingly intricate yet captivating novel that unfurls the lengths people will go to for supposed security. I loved it. I look forward to reading the next installment in this world!

Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for an advanced reader's copy for review. All opinions are my own.

[Dave Musson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This blasted little Lancashire town of Scratch Moss won’t be leaving my head any time soon thanks to this fantastic bit of folk horror.

Within a couple of chapters of this one, I was hooked and burned through the entire story in just a couple of days. The pacing was spot on, the dread and the horror and the intrigue kept building, and I found I simply couldn’t put it down.

It’s not all that surprising I got hooked early, given how bleak and death-filled the opening of this one is. Death is the reason our man character Joe has come home to Scratch Moss, and seeing the body of a man hanging from a tree from his taxi ride back to his childhood home isn’t the last of it.

I loved the iconography that fills this story. Not only the ghoulish Red Clogs, and the straw effigies, but the magpies that won’t leave these pages alone. Why is there a magpie carved onto every tombstone in this town? Why isn’t the church in use? Why does everything feel different here? And just why does one child see to go missing every year?

I was also really impressed with the way we learned the Scratch Moss story by going back in time and visiting different key moments. It kept things moving and showed how meticulously plotted and well-thought-out this novel was. Like I said already, I was hooked.

In many ways this felt something like a Lancastrian version of It. Stories spanning generations, a town where those lucky enough to leave soon forget, and, of course, missing kids…not to mention an unimaginable underground horror.

This was terrific, a thoroughly enjoyable and chilling bit of British folk horror that I had a blast with. I will definitely be checking out the author’s other two books from this world - hopefully before his next one comes out!

Huge thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.

[LX · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you so much to Canelo for the e-arc!

4 stars!

This was my first David Barnett and my thirst of the current 3 out that can be seen as connecting stories but they are also independent, the other two being Withered Hill & Scuttler's Cove

I liked the atmosphere within this as I adore British folk horror and I actually didn't mind the multiple time frames as most of the time I find myself struggling to truly get invested in stories with this but this just worked and worked well. The story held my attention, had interesting parts and history within it that kept the dread building up to what could and would happen.

I can't wait to read more by David!

[Steve Stred]

*Huge thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the digital ARC of this one!*

I’ll admit, this one wasn’t on my ‘absolutely need to read list,’ even after seeing Kealan Patrick Burke raving about it on one of his social media pages. As you probably know, I LOVE folklore and all that comes with it, but the description of this one, with the multiple timelines had me on the fence about reading it. That changed after I was messaging with All Star reviewer, Tony Jones, who told me I’d love it. I popped on Netgalley, saw it was still available and requested it. Amazingly, I was approved and hopped onto it shortly after.

Going in, I was really excited to feel the atmosphere this one suggested and was elated to find that it had exactly that and so much more.

What I liked: The story follows down-on-his-luck author Joe, who is returning to his childhood home in Scratch Moss, to attend his father’s funeral. Though his father is viewed as a hero to many, Joe’s memories of those early years are shrouded in trauma blocking and he doesn’t remember much of Scratch Moss, or why his father spent most of Joe’s life in prison.

Soon after arriving, his mother begins to act strangely and when Joe catches up with one of his first boyhood crushes, the past begins to return to him.

From here, Barnett gives us a descending timeline all the way back to 1905, then re-ascends back to present day, sharing how the events from over a century ago played out to the townsfolk over the years and even the town itself.

There’s a lot of connecting-the-dots that take place as the story reveals itself, and learning the history of Scratch Moss was a lot of fun – though obviously dark and twisted.

As we re-ascend to present day, the reality of what needs to happen is showcased front and center and I appreciated that Barnett didn’t find a way to weasel the story out of confronting things head on. The ending – though briefly described – still works to answer a lot of those burning questions you’ll have.

What I didn’t like: Though I really liked the book, I still wasn’t super onboard with the descending/ascending timeline layout of the book. I found by the time I got back to the present day at the end, I had to remind myself about what was happening as it’d been a bit since we’d been there. I think that would read differently if you’re able to sit and read this straight through in one or two sittings, but with my current reading, I wasn’t able to do that.

Secondly, there’s an epilogue of sorts that ties this book into Barnett’s other books and because I’d not read those, the big reveal moment of tying them together had no impact with me. So, for new readers who’ve not read any of his other stuff, Barnett does describe it a bit in the afterword, but I found it unnecessary after how solid the ending was.

Why you should buy this: If you love atmospherically dark folklore with tons of timeline building and following something causing chaos over the course of a hundred years, look no further. This was like wrapping a Kealan Patrick Burke novel into an A.M. Shine novel and then having Adam Nevill rewrite the whole thing.

Bleak, haunting and absolutely captivating.

[Lanie Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joe Collier's father has passed away forcing him to go home to Scratch Moss, a place that hasn't felt like home for him for a very long time. As his cab approaches Scratch Moss, he sees a man hanging from a tree, something that instills a sense of foreboding in him. When he arrives at home his mother's extremely odd and violent behavior makes it even worse. Two days later when she kills herself in a truly gruesome manner Joe has to admit that there is something very wrong in Scratch Moss and with Ellen his childhood crush he is determined to figure out what it is before someone else gets hurt.

OMG THIS WAS SO GOOD!! Look okay, I knew it was going to be, I had heard nothing but good things about it, but this is much, much better than I expected it to be!

At the end of the day this is a story about change and the rise of capitalism and the absolutely unfathomable greed that really shapes our society now. And yes, yes I am aware that the story is set in England, a place I do not live, so using our seems wrong, but I don't think there is a place on the planet where a story like Scratch Moss could not be set. So our stays. I think what makes this stand out for me though is how freaking relatable it is, especially when we are hearing the story from Terry, Joe's father's perspective.

In Terry's story line Thatcher has just been able to shut down the coal mine that those in Scratch Moss have worked at since 1905. All men, everyone, in the town has worked there. Obviously the union fought against this but in the end they lost. Terry's story in particular simply hits home, I've been laid off due to outsourcing more times than I'd care to count. I get it. However, he's also more than a little angering. He's almost ten years younger than I am now when this all goes down his insistence that he can't be retrained and blah blah blah is simply infuriating. I'm a millenial I get retrained everytime some industry I'm in ceases to exist and I will probably until the day I retire. Now, I know what everyone is thinking that I don't like Terry, that could not be farther from the truth and I promise I'll get to why in a bit.

Now, Joe's grandather (I promise I'll add his name later I just am at work and trying to get this kicked it) is the character I relate to the most here. At first. This man walks into Scratch Moss and says there is something very deeply wrong here and is pretty dedicated to getting to the bottom of it, which he does and it's worse than he could have possibly imagined. He is ready to say eff it and bail the minute he can. He can't fix it and he can't go to the authorities and as he says quite a few times the people of Scratch Moss gain too damn much from this thing to be expected to actually stand up to it. However, the minute, the freaking minute he finds out that Terry's mom is pregnant with him and she won't leave he just becomes another person in Scratch Moss willing to sacrifice the most vunerable for his own comfort. Worse his son ends up making the sacrifice he should have. Worse yet Joe ends up making the sacrifice that should have been made almost a century before he was born.

Because of all of this in the end I didn't find the eldritch nightmare slumbering beneath Scratch Moss to be the most horrific thing that exists in Scratch Moss, it was by far the adults unwilling to change that were the most terrifying things in Scratch Moss. I think the worst part here is after the mine closes they aren't even truly getting anything from not standing up for themselves and their families. So it's difficult to just not be furious with them all especially since the older generation, Terry's gen, doesn't say shit to the younger gen after Terry dies. I find that to be far more terrifying than anything else that's happening. The "elders" to this point had chosen to do absolutely nothing for decades and they just continue to do absolutley nothing expect make their stupid dolls and hope it's not their family effected.

Of course you also have the disgusting greed that allows this whole damn thing to take place, which using the working class to demonstrate this is quite frankly a stroke of genius in my book. Our society has a tendancy to either put the working class on a pedastal or demonize them. There is no inbetween. Scratch Moss shows that in between, it demonstrates that sure maybe these guys weren't multibillionaire tech bros but the sacrifice they were willing to make for comfort was just as bad, hell arguably worse, than the people sacrificing the working class to become multiobillionaires. In their case though it's not the fact that the greed they sacrificed for was sustainable, they threw their own children under the bus for something that was on it's way out the door. And again without Terry they would have continued too.

Honestly, I could probably talk about this book for five hours and still not hit on every valid point that is brought up. For such a short book it is a multi layered gem and I truly cannot recommend it enough!

As always thanks to NetGalley and DK for the eArc!

[Michael MRBookReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 4.75 / 5
Format: eARC via NetGalley

“Reverend, one man’s devil is just another man’s god.”

Scratch Moss by David Barnett is a folk horror novel that follows Joe, a divorced writer in his fifties, as he returns to his hometown of Scratch Moss for his father’s funeral. Joe has not lived there since a traumatic incident when he was a teenager, one he doesn’t fully remember, except that it ended with his father killing a man and spending the rest of his life in prison.

Throughout the book, we learn about the history of Scratch Moss and its residents, moving between the town’s early days and to the present. I always want to know more about the background of stories like this, since I find authors often either gloss over it or leave it a mystery, so I really enjoyed learning the history of this unsettlingly sinister town. Because of that timeline-spanning structure, the book is more plot-driven than character-driven, which I didn’t mind, though others might.

Being folk horror, it’s no surprise that it reminded me of The Wicker Man, but I thought the inspiration was handled very well, and I enjoyed it. I recently learned that Barnett has other books set in this universe, and I’m planning to read those as well. I’m very curious to see how his other works differ from this one.

Thank you to Canelo for providing me with this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[Alicia Maskley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of Scratch Moss via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.7 stars, rounded up to 4.

I really loved the timeline structure of this book. The multi-thread approach was creative, and it kept me reading to see how everything would come together. Of all the timelines, Terry and Arthur’s were easily my favourites. The horror, too, absolutely delivered. Some of the gore caught me off guard, and it was true to its folkloric genre.

I struggled with Joe Collier’s timeline, only because I found Joe as a character somewhat grating. And while I appreciated what his arc was trying to do, it ended up being my least favourite part to read. The story felt repetitive at times, especially early on, so I'd encourage readers who might struggle with that to just push through because it does get more layered the deeper you go (pin intended).

Another minor thing, I found elements of the romance off-putting... not necessarily bad, but misaligned with what I personally wanted from the story.

About halfway through, it became fairly clear where things were heading, so the ending didn’t really surprise me. Still, the execution was solid. Overall, Scratch Moss was a good folkloric horror. I’m genuinely curious to see how the author’s other books connect within this shared universe.

[Holly spiby-Bree · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could not put this down!!! Really enjoy these british folk horror books, can’t wait for the 4th.

[Sam Bayfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again David Barnett really delivers. Eerie, unnerving and very different from the previous two in this universes of his.

My only criticism of this one was the amount of times we jumped around throughout the years. I understand why it needed to happen, but it made it slightly confusing at times when picking it back up (probably more reader memory issues but…) 😅

Overall I had another great time with this and the ending had me gagged!!!

Can’t wait for Twisted Pike now.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Scratch Moss really delivers on the folk horror vibes. It’s set in a former English mining village where there is a darkness associated with the coal mine that is only mentioned in whispers. The village has a long history of looking the other way when children disappear, though it has been 40 years since the last disappearance.

I liked the multiple nested timelines and how they slowly revealed the truth and history of Scratch Moss and its mine. The folklore elements were well done, and the atmosphere was properly ominous. I personally did not love the writing style; it felt a bit wooden at times, and there were a few too many passages repeated for emphasis. However, it was overall an interesting and creepy story, and well worth the read if you’re into English folk horror.

Thank you to NetGalley and Canelo for the ARC.

[DarkTwistedReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you netgalley and publishers for access to this eARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A story that spans centuries.
Joe comes back to his hometown of Scratch moss, having left it as a teenager, when he heard news of the death of his father who passed away in prison. His father was a hero. This is the story of Joe and his discovery of what his father did to save the town and the absolute evil that lurks within it.
A child disappears every year in scratch moss.
Some secrets are worth dying for.

I enjoyed the story. I felt like other than the concept, there was only 2 truly horrific scenes in my opinion.. I liked the characters and everything felt seamless, but I felt like it jumped around too much or was a bit too long. The mystery overtook the horror aspect but I still enjoyed the mystery and discovering the who, what, where, when and why's.

Note: After I finished this book, I grabbed two more novels by the same author.
I look forward to exploring other places in the same world.

[Jo_Scho_Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Scratch Miss is an old mining town. Once prosperous, but since the mine closed it’s an isolated place where life passes slowly and quietly - and no one ever mentions the local kids that have gone missing over the years. Joe Collier is on his way back home to Scratch Moss for his father’s funeral. As he returns and settles in, the memories of the past start slowly coming back to him. It’s soon evident that the history of Scratch Moss, and its secrets, runs deep…

Whew! For me, this is folk horror at its finest. The community is intriguing, almost welcoming, but you can instantly tell there’s more than meets the eye here. There’s that immediate undercurrent of unease everywhere. The characters are actually all relatable, Scratch Moss feels like an anomaly, yes there’s something going on but these people seem, well, normal, surely they can’t be involved?

The story jumps back five different timelines, which may sound daunting but it’s not at all. In fact I welcomed it as a clever way of discovering the history of this peculiar place. There are mysteries and secrets within this town which were once long buried and, as the timeline moves backwards, they soon awaken.

Engrossing and creepy throughout, then throw in an ending I definitely did not see coming and there you have it, one hell of a tale.

[Emer Tannam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was good, good and scary. So scary that I’ve stayed up too late to finish it. Had to put the monster to bed before I could put myself to bed.
It reminded me a bit of Stephen King. It was horror but also well-written.
At one point, I did get a bit sick of the narrative going back in time. Whatever about meeting Joe in 2025 and then 1985, and his grandfather in 1945, it was hard to muster up enthusiasm for the vicar and then the Roman bit, but thankfully, the narrative moved forward again.
I liked the ending except for the last page, but that made sense when I read the afterward, and saw that the last page was referring to another book by the author, which I might even read.
So yes, I recommend it, especially to Conor.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was great, I’m a big fan of folk horror and it delivered. Although in the same universe it was a completely different vibe from Withered Hill and Scuttlers Cove, with the mining village setting. I really felt sorry for some of the characters and lore building was very well done.

I really enjoyed this and I can’t wait get my hands on the next one!

Thank you NetGalley and Canelo for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Gianaclis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly loved this folk horror from David Barnett that brings ancient dread into a modern setting. The timeline and shifting points of view flow seamlessly from the present to the past and back again (only one time, not jumping around) in a way that doesn't disrupt the stories structure. This is my first book by the author. I can't wait to read more.

[Erik Bleijenberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF. Sterk begin maar kakt halverwege volledig in.

[Bridgit]

I think this book concluded that me and folk horror do not mesh well. I'm not rating it, because it's a me problem, not a book problem. I have tried a few now and not enjoyed a single one of them, so I officially declare my folk horror journey to be dead.