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Song of the Red Squire
North Carolina, 1949.
When agricultural inspector Charlie Danwitter is sent on a special assignment to bucolic Ashe County, he expects an easy job cataloging heirloom apple varieties. However, when the local farmers grow suspicious of his motives, Charlie finds himself in far more trouble than he bargained for. In an attempt to salvage his assignment, he follows a mysterious woman deep into the beating heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains to a long-forgotten village where harvest rituals are rooted in bizarre Old World customs—and discovers that some traditions are better left in the past.
When agricultural inspector Charlie Danwitter is sent on a special assignment to bucolic Ashe County, he expects an easy job cataloging heirloom apple varieties. However, when the local farmers grow suspicious of his motives, Charlie finds himself in far more trouble than he bargained for. In an attempt to salvage his assignment, he follows a mysterious woman deep into the beating heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains to a long-forgotten village where harvest rituals are rooted in bizarre Old World customs—and discovers that some traditions are better left in the past.
- GenresHorror
172 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 6, 2022
6 people are currently reading
327 people want to read
About the author
C.W. Blackwell
51 books72 followersC.W. Blackwell is an American author from the Central Coast of California. His short stories have appeared with Shotgun Honey, Tough Magazine, Reckon Review, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Dark Yonder, and Rock and a Hard Place Press. He is a 2x Derringer Award winner and 5x nominee. He was included on the Distinguished Author list in the 2024 Best American Mystery and Suspense collection. His folk horror novella Song of the Red Squire was published in 2022 from Nosetouch Press. His crime fiction novella Hard Mountain Clay was published in January 2023 from Shotgun Honey Books. His debut crime fiction collection Whatever Kills the Pain was released by Rock and a Hard Place Press in July 2025.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
May 21, 2024
Come Now, Squire...
A Hungry Devil is Dangerous
SONG OF THE RED SQUIRE
by C.W. Blackwell
No spoilers. 5 stars. I regret that I didn't make this short novel (144 pages) my Halloween story for this year...
It was a village tradition...
... giving their dead back to the mountains on the night of the Harvest Festival...
Remains were buried in the orchard with a sapling planted atop the grave so that the great orchard would continue growing...
But...
The orchard was more than it seemed. It wasn't only the most lovely orchard but also a most beautiful cemetery....
The tree roots pushed the dead...
... deep into the earth, and the mountain took on the characteristics of the dead; That power must be respected...
Feeding the Hellekyn...
... was one of their oldest traditions. Every Harvest Festival, the village fed that fearsome devil because a hungry devil is a dangerous devil...
And the village children sang:
... The Chessman plays upon the board
... The bard upon the lute
... The Harvest Queen will please the Lord
... And bear the maiden fruit
As the sun set, a cackle rose from the orchard, and the children were hustled to the shacks and to their beds...
When the thing emerged from the orchard after the festival ended... it wasn't anything for a child to see...
Come now, Squire...
Soon, the virgin moon will find you in her newly woken eye, and the Chessman will take a queen to bear the maiden fruit...
This was a folk tale to raise goose bumps on your flesh and hairs on the back of your neck. It was one of the creepiest Appalachian horror stories I've ever read.
The first 75% was atmospheric and built the tension for the last 25%, where I honestly couldn't turn the pages fast enough!
This is a great story for the upcoming Halloween season if you've outgrown trick-or-treating!
A Hungry Devil is Dangerous
SONG OF THE RED SQUIRE
by C.W. Blackwell
No spoilers. 5 stars. I regret that I didn't make this short novel (144 pages) my Halloween story for this year...
It was a village tradition...
... giving their dead back to the mountains on the night of the Harvest Festival...
Remains were buried in the orchard with a sapling planted atop the grave so that the great orchard would continue growing...
But...
The orchard was more than it seemed. It wasn't only the most lovely orchard but also a most beautiful cemetery....
The tree roots pushed the dead...
... deep into the earth, and the mountain took on the characteristics of the dead; That power must be respected...
Feeding the Hellekyn...
... was one of their oldest traditions. Every Harvest Festival, the village fed that fearsome devil because a hungry devil is a dangerous devil...
And the village children sang:
... The Chessman plays upon the board
... The bard upon the lute
... The Harvest Queen will please the Lord
... And bear the maiden fruit
As the sun set, a cackle rose from the orchard, and the children were hustled to the shacks and to their beds...
When the thing emerged from the orchard after the festival ended... it wasn't anything for a child to see...
Come now, Squire...
Soon, the virgin moon will find you in her newly woken eye, and the Chessman will take a queen to bear the maiden fruit...
This was a folk tale to raise goose bumps on your flesh and hairs on the back of your neck. It was one of the creepiest Appalachian horror stories I've ever read.
The first 75% was atmospheric and built the tension for the last 25%, where I honestly couldn't turn the pages fast enough!
This is a great story for the upcoming Halloween season if you've outgrown trick-or-treating!
June 20, 2022
C.W. Blackwell gifts a story to the annals of folk horror with Song of the Red Squire, a novella in a hundred pages. We follow Charlie Danwitter into the insular and shadowed hills of 1949 Appalachia as he seeks to catalogue apple varieties on the verge of big agribusiness extinction.
A little overwhelmed by the sharp punch, so I'll tell you what I admired and loved:
1. Charlie Danwitter is a character with verve. He's alive and complex and, from the first note of his voice, you cease to know him as a character in Blackwell's imagination. He's real and you want to know him better.
2. Blackwell captures the postwar world of 1949. Danwitter fought in WWII, and this experience shaped his character and several other characters in the book. There's an embryonic Cold War in the background, too, but subtle. The cars, trains, and phones also lock you into the late 40s.
3. The dialogue has verisimilitude and wonderful humor. Blackwell is intentionally funny when he makes characters be unintentionally funny.
4. Importance of place in the narrative. Rural North Carolina is captured in fine strokes without caricaturing Appalachia and its people. It's clear the author utilized a sensitivity reader in his portrayals. Blackwell uses realism appropriately, keeping a narrative that turns fantastic grounded.
5. The poet in the author shines through in his descriptions. With a single line, he paints a world. With a paragraph, you live in that world. With a chapter, you can be traumatized by that world.
6. The narrative opens and moves in a manner that reminded me of the best crime fiction of the 1950s. The pacing was excellent.
7. Blackwell shows a penchant for the bizarre. The festival in act III rivals eldritch glimpses of the weird found in Thomas Ligotti.
A smart folk horror tale that will tempt you to read with haste (the story is too well-crafted to be otherwise), but avoid reading quickly if you can. Savor it because you're dealing with a storyteller that values and understands the craft of fine writing. Appreciate the layers.
A little overwhelmed by the sharp punch, so I'll tell you what I admired and loved:
1. Charlie Danwitter is a character with verve. He's alive and complex and, from the first note of his voice, you cease to know him as a character in Blackwell's imagination. He's real and you want to know him better.
2. Blackwell captures the postwar world of 1949. Danwitter fought in WWII, and this experience shaped his character and several other characters in the book. There's an embryonic Cold War in the background, too, but subtle. The cars, trains, and phones also lock you into the late 40s.
3. The dialogue has verisimilitude and wonderful humor. Blackwell is intentionally funny when he makes characters be unintentionally funny.
4. Importance of place in the narrative. Rural North Carolina is captured in fine strokes without caricaturing Appalachia and its people. It's clear the author utilized a sensitivity reader in his portrayals. Blackwell uses realism appropriately, keeping a narrative that turns fantastic grounded.
5. The poet in the author shines through in his descriptions. With a single line, he paints a world. With a paragraph, you live in that world. With a chapter, you can be traumatized by that world.
6. The narrative opens and moves in a manner that reminded me of the best crime fiction of the 1950s. The pacing was excellent.
7. Blackwell shows a penchant for the bizarre. The festival in act III rivals eldritch glimpses of the weird found in Thomas Ligotti.
A smart folk horror tale that will tempt you to read with haste (the story is too well-crafted to be otherwise), but avoid reading quickly if you can. Savor it because you're dealing with a storyteller that values and understands the craft of fine writing. Appreciate the layers.
Read
September 15, 2022Before I comment on the novella itself I’d like to give an appreciative nod to the sublime cover. I often forget to mention covers in my reviews, but this one is so eye-catching. It really stands out from the crowd.
Now to the novella itself. I love novellas. I think they’re making a comeback, and rightly so. I read this one in just two sittings, it was that engaging. The genre is folk horror with more than a dash of noir crime, which also seems popular right now.
The story opens with Charlie, an agent from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, journeying by train to inspect and record apple varieties. Yes apple varieties – a unique subject for a story, but trust me, it works. The immersive description of the Blue Ridge Mountains drew me in immediately and the opening soon lets the reader know that the main character, Charlie, has arrived with issues intact having returned from war. A vision from the window of the train of a wraithlike character and his subsequent swallowing of pills gives the impression of an unreliable narrator and that uncertainty remains as the story progresses.
As a Brit, the imagery and setting descriptions reminded me of old movies, those I watched and loved as a kid. The time frame of post Second World War also appealed to me.
One thing the author does extremely well is character portrayal. Each of the characters, even the minor ones, had a strong presence, from Deedee the landlady to Beech Buchanan, Cal’s brother. The dialogue throughout is authentic.
Moments of unreality scattered throughout keep up the uncertainty as to whether or not Charlie is stable, and therefore his accounts of what is happening trustworthy. For example, the deco on the wall seemingly coming alive. I loved this uncertainty. It added to the tale. Is he really seeing these things, or is he hallucinating?
Another folk element I enjoyed was the inclusion of the folk songs sung by children. Always a creepy addition!
The author certainly has an eye for detail and knows when best to utilize it. Rituals around the night of the harvest moon and the inclusion of apple dolls keep it within the genre. This quote, right here...
“He walked the doll outside and held it to the light. A small blister welled up between its lips. It pulsed and grew and began to split apart. The larva of a codling moth came wagging from the doll’s mouth. A creamy white tongue lapping the air. He took the larva by the head and pinched.”
Towards the end we feel Charlie’s plight intensely when the Sheriff questions the truth of his story. Loved the epilogue!
I have five apple trees in my garden, all different varieties. I’m not certain I’ll ever be able to look at them in the same light again.
Now to the novella itself. I love novellas. I think they’re making a comeback, and rightly so. I read this one in just two sittings, it was that engaging. The genre is folk horror with more than a dash of noir crime, which also seems popular right now.
The story opens with Charlie, an agent from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, journeying by train to inspect and record apple varieties. Yes apple varieties – a unique subject for a story, but trust me, it works. The immersive description of the Blue Ridge Mountains drew me in immediately and the opening soon lets the reader know that the main character, Charlie, has arrived with issues intact having returned from war. A vision from the window of the train of a wraithlike character and his subsequent swallowing of pills gives the impression of an unreliable narrator and that uncertainty remains as the story progresses.
As a Brit, the imagery and setting descriptions reminded me of old movies, those I watched and loved as a kid. The time frame of post Second World War also appealed to me.
One thing the author does extremely well is character portrayal. Each of the characters, even the minor ones, had a strong presence, from Deedee the landlady to Beech Buchanan, Cal’s brother. The dialogue throughout is authentic.
Moments of unreality scattered throughout keep up the uncertainty as to whether or not Charlie is stable, and therefore his accounts of what is happening trustworthy. For example, the deco on the wall seemingly coming alive. I loved this uncertainty. It added to the tale. Is he really seeing these things, or is he hallucinating?
Another folk element I enjoyed was the inclusion of the folk songs sung by children. Always a creepy addition!
The author certainly has an eye for detail and knows when best to utilize it. Rituals around the night of the harvest moon and the inclusion of apple dolls keep it within the genre. This quote, right here...
“He walked the doll outside and held it to the light. A small blister welled up between its lips. It pulsed and grew and began to split apart. The larva of a codling moth came wagging from the doll’s mouth. A creamy white tongue lapping the air. He took the larva by the head and pinched.”
Towards the end we feel Charlie’s plight intensely when the Sheriff questions the truth of his story. Loved the epilogue!
I have five apple trees in my garden, all different varieties. I’m not certain I’ll ever be able to look at them in the same light again.
June 2, 2022
A slowly rising roller coaster
Okay so - you know when you ride a large roller coaster, the first part of the ride is usually a slow climb up a hill to get to a massive drop? For me, the beginning of the story was that sort of build-up, inching higher and higher and higher, until you're suddenly over the edge and not sure how but the world is upside down and did we go left or right and oh shit lost my heart somewhere 30 feet back.
C.W. Blackwell is phenomenal at placing little breadcrumbs at the beginning of the story that turn into satisfying payoffs in the final pages. With characters the reader will inevitably come to love/care about, fantastic scene building, and an ending that I needed to go back through several times just to appreciate all the twists and turns again.
The end will have you question what all is real and what is not, and now I need more people to read this story so I can debate my theories with someone else.
If you're a fan of noir and all things spooky, I highly recommend this story. Can't wait for what Blackwell does next.
Okay so - you know when you ride a large roller coaster, the first part of the ride is usually a slow climb up a hill to get to a massive drop? For me, the beginning of the story was that sort of build-up, inching higher and higher and higher, until you're suddenly over the edge and not sure how but the world is upside down and did we go left or right and oh shit lost my heart somewhere 30 feet back.
C.W. Blackwell is phenomenal at placing little breadcrumbs at the beginning of the story that turn into satisfying payoffs in the final pages. With characters the reader will inevitably come to love/care about, fantastic scene building, and an ending that I needed to go back through several times just to appreciate all the twists and turns again.
The end will have you question what all is real and what is not, and now I need more people to read this story so I can debate my theories with someone else.
If you're a fan of noir and all things spooky, I highly recommend this story. Can't wait for what Blackwell does next.
September 10, 2022
Harvest time
Folk horror with a dash of noir...Captures the rural postwar setting with rich, emersive descriptions and a feeling of authenticity to the period detail. Much in the tradition of the best Stephen King, Blackwell draws you in and gets you comfortable with his well-realized characters, all while already building suspense and seeding the mystery, before unleashing the nightmare. Gotta feed that devil!
Folk horror with a dash of noir...Captures the rural postwar setting with rich, emersive descriptions and a feeling of authenticity to the period detail. Much in the tradition of the best Stephen King, Blackwell draws you in and gets you comfortable with his well-realized characters, all while already building suspense and seeding the mystery, before unleashing the nightmare. Gotta feed that devil!
August 31, 2022
It’s no secret C.W. Blackwell is a Renaissance man when it comes to writing. His short dark fiction has appeared in genre anthologies highlighting a broad range of horror, including psychological, folk, and gothic. His flash fiction “Memories of Fire” snagged a 2021 Derringer, a prestigious award named for the pistol, bestowed by the Short Mystery Fiction Society. It’s no surprise, then, that his latest release, Song of the Red Squire, should both straddle the line between genres and simultaneously shine in both of them.
Part crime fiction noir, part folk horror, Squire follows Charlie Danwitter... Read the rest on Ginger Nuts of Horror!
Part crime fiction noir, part folk horror, Squire follows Charlie Danwitter... Read the rest on Ginger Nuts of Horror!
December 16, 2022
So good. Yes, you could predict what would happen to a certain extent but that only pulls you more into the story, makes you feel it more, want to shout 'stop', 'don't do it', 'remember the Scrivener'! Excellent story telling.
September 14, 2022
CW Blackwell came on my radar a couple years ago when I noticed his name appearing in multiple horror/noir anthologies being released by well-known indie publishers. My first thought was “How does he put out so many stories?”; my second thought, after reading the third or fourth flawless entry, was “Damn, this guy is good.”
This was the first novella-length tale I’ve read by Mr. Blackwell, and despite his impressive back-catalog, it exceeded all expectations.
Song of the Red Squire is an immaculately dark tale set in the rural mountains of North Carolina in the mid-20th century, and when it comes to folk horror, it doesn’t get much better or grittier than this. Well-drawn characters, authentic dialog. A unique mythos with enough terror and mystery to drag you along even when you think you’d rather shut the book for a few minutes and catch your breath. The narrative style pulls you in and holds you close and whispers in your ear until your guard is down, and only when the whispers turn to screams do you realize the mistake you made. But of course; by then, it’s too late.
Loved every minute of it, but you won’t catch me walking through any apple orchards at night.
This was the first novella-length tale I’ve read by Mr. Blackwell, and despite his impressive back-catalog, it exceeded all expectations.
Song of the Red Squire is an immaculately dark tale set in the rural mountains of North Carolina in the mid-20th century, and when it comes to folk horror, it doesn’t get much better or grittier than this. Well-drawn characters, authentic dialog. A unique mythos with enough terror and mystery to drag you along even when you think you’d rather shut the book for a few minutes and catch your breath. The narrative style pulls you in and holds you close and whispers in your ear until your guard is down, and only when the whispers turn to screams do you realize the mistake you made. But of course; by then, it’s too late.
Loved every minute of it, but you won’t catch me walking through any apple orchards at night.
April 12, 2023
Fascinating premise, immersive world and compelling characters!
This was a slow burn but fast read with a unique and interesting premise. I enjoyed the thoughtful and descriptive writing style—several of the sentences I paused to read again, always a good sign. Recommend!
This was a slow burn but fast read with a unique and interesting premise. I enjoyed the thoughtful and descriptive writing style—several of the sentences I paused to read again, always a good sign. Recommend!
September 30, 2022
Outstanding folk horror tale from C.W. Blackwell. In 1949, World War II vet Charlie Danwitter is plying his new trade as an agricultural inspector for the USDA in Western North Carolina. He’s specifically looking to catalog different apple varieties before they go extinct. This assignment has led him to Ashe County and inhospitable farmers wary of government intrusion of any kind. More than once a loaded shotgun or hostile dog escorted him off the premises in a rush. He’s failing at a job he desperately needs. But Charlie’s affable ways lead him to a possible rare discovery of an apple never recorded before. The Red Squire. These orchards are harvested by a clannish group of hill folk that follows an odd traditional way of life.
Blackwell weaves a story that will entangle you with its deceptive pacing. Every character is three-dimensional and rich enough to make you wonder about their past and future. The gripping nature of this book caught me off-guard and I almost finished reading it in one night once I got into the first couple of chapters. I highly recommend this book for any lover of dark fiction.
Blackwell weaves a story that will entangle you with its deceptive pacing. Every character is three-dimensional and rich enough to make you wonder about their past and future. The gripping nature of this book caught me off-guard and I almost finished reading it in one night once I got into the first couple of chapters. I highly recommend this book for any lover of dark fiction.
September 30, 2022
Review to come.
August 13, 2022
“From the sea of fog rose a strange ethereal figure. A wraithlike face with moon eyes and a great void mouth. The head twisted and bore its nightmare eyes on the train.”*
Charlie, a war veteran who suffers from PTSD, works for the department of agriculture. His latest assignment has him traveling to various family-owned apple orchards in North Carolina to document the different apple varieties found there. He encounters resistance as the owners distrust the government. Fearing losing his job, he goes on a quest to a secluded village which is known for it’s special Red Squire apples.
Charlie makes a great unreliable narrator with his drinking and drug use as well as the trauma he faced while serving in the military. Yet, even with his impairments, the suspicious farm owners and small town uncanniness suggest he is truly in danger. The townspeople themselves are super strange and have odd agendas from the religious pharmacist to the hotel attendant who warns him against patronizing the bar across the street.
Setting the story in 1949 provides the perfect touch of technology with automobiles and cameras while slowing down the transfer of information as Charlie must rely on pay phones and snail mail.
Charlie is relatable as a fish out of water character seeking connection with barmaid Cal, who struggles with her own demons. Blackwell does a magnificent job in creating a creepy atmosphere and keeping the reader invested in Charlie’s journey. The story evokes serious Midsommer vibes while being its own unique and wonderful tale. I’m a huge fan of epilogues and absolutely loved this one. Next time I go grocery shopping, I am sure to side eye the selection of apples.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thanks to Nosetouch Press for providing an Advance Reader Copy.
*Please note that my review is based on uncorrected text.
Charlie, a war veteran who suffers from PTSD, works for the department of agriculture. His latest assignment has him traveling to various family-owned apple orchards in North Carolina to document the different apple varieties found there. He encounters resistance as the owners distrust the government. Fearing losing his job, he goes on a quest to a secluded village which is known for it’s special Red Squire apples.
Charlie makes a great unreliable narrator with his drinking and drug use as well as the trauma he faced while serving in the military. Yet, even with his impairments, the suspicious farm owners and small town uncanniness suggest he is truly in danger. The townspeople themselves are super strange and have odd agendas from the religious pharmacist to the hotel attendant who warns him against patronizing the bar across the street.
Setting the story in 1949 provides the perfect touch of technology with automobiles and cameras while slowing down the transfer of information as Charlie must rely on pay phones and snail mail.
Charlie is relatable as a fish out of water character seeking connection with barmaid Cal, who struggles with her own demons. Blackwell does a magnificent job in creating a creepy atmosphere and keeping the reader invested in Charlie’s journey. The story evokes serious Midsommer vibes while being its own unique and wonderful tale. I’m a huge fan of epilogues and absolutely loved this one. Next time I go grocery shopping, I am sure to side eye the selection of apples.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Thanks to Nosetouch Press for providing an Advance Reader Copy.
*Please note that my review is based on uncorrected text.
May 3, 2024
Crime noir meets folk horror in 1949. Charlie Danwitter is a WWII veteran who suffers from PTSD. Now he’s an agricultural inspector for the US government and he’s sent to the backcountry of North Carolina to inspect apple orchards. After farmers keep running him off, he hears about an out of the way village and decides to head there. He discovers that the village has an incredibly old orchard and some very strange rituals.
Loved the prose, the dialogue, and the characters. As much as I liked the writing, the ending left me with questions and I’m not sure what to make of the epilogue.
Loved the prose, the dialogue, and the characters. As much as I liked the writing, the ending left me with questions and I’m not sure what to make of the epilogue.
October 23, 2022
I’ve been a fan of C.W. Blackwell’s short stories for years, so I was excited when he published this novella. And it is fantastic. Blackwell paints a pristine, evocative picture with his description, the characters are well-drawn, and setting unique and creepy.
You might think a story about a USDA apple inspector would be dull, and you’d be wrong. Right from the jump, something is amiss. And Blackwell slowly ratchets up the suspense and tension from there, making your skin itch in anticipation for what’s going to happen next.
Highly recommend. Buy this book.
You might think a story about a USDA apple inspector would be dull, and you’d be wrong. Right from the jump, something is amiss. And Blackwell slowly ratchets up the suspense and tension from there, making your skin itch in anticipation for what’s going to happen next.
Highly recommend. Buy this book.
September 5, 2025
Swell little folk horror tale set shortly after WWII. Loved the ever increasing dread and chef’s kiss for the ending.
Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys folk horror.
4.5 ⭐️
Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys folk horror.
4.5 ⭐️
April 30, 2022
Award winning author C. W. Blackwell’s long awaited debut novel Song of the Red Squire is a brilliantly written page turner reminiscent of early Stephen King and Clive Baker. Prepare to strap in for a supernatural thrill ride through hidden hills and forgotten hamlets with plenty of terrifying twist and turns along the way. You will be hooked from the first bite.
November 14, 2022
I preferred the noir to the horror in this noir/horror but really, both parts were well done. The first three quarters of the book introduce us to the strange town and characters and despite it only being a hundred page book they were all written to seem developed and authentic. Great dialouge. The world War two flashback was the best part of the book, it was some real world horror shit. Then the last quarter of the book gets into the folk horror and I'm not a big fan of folk horror generally but this story was so well put together that I ended up loving it too. It's different from the first three quarters but still great.
January 19, 2023
Song of the Red Squire just became one of my favorite horror novels of all time. It's short and tightly wound, with psychological folk horror thrills that linger long after it's over.
December 29, 2022
This is a really great fantastic folk-horror story that slowly builds to a horrifying conclusion. Blackwell leans into a bt pf psychological horror as the protagonist is still dealing with the horrors he experienced during World War II. What starts as a simple task of documenting heirloom apples, where the biggest challenge is letting the locals let him take a few photos and samples, soon becomes something much darker - where old rituals and older horrors lurk in the hills. Blackwell's writing is evocative and chilling, with hints of things that modern men has (perhaps deliberately) forgotten.
January 14, 2023
I picked this book up after a number of recommendations from readers and I was so glad I did.
The first thing to mention is the voice in which the story is told. I found myself reading the entire book with the southern lilt of the characters and narrator voice from the first page (apologies to real people from the American south for butchering it).
The voice is just the medium through which the story is told, though, and what a captivating story it is. Every character has a back story, life experiences hinted at to add depth to the events which befall them.
Tension is delivered in spades, hinted at in the protagonist's first encounter with a farmer, but continuing from there to the powerful crescendo. As good a folk horror novella as you'll read.
The first thing to mention is the voice in which the story is told. I found myself reading the entire book with the southern lilt of the characters and narrator voice from the first page (apologies to real people from the American south for butchering it).
The voice is just the medium through which the story is told, though, and what a captivating story it is. Every character has a back story, life experiences hinted at to add depth to the events which befall them.
Tension is delivered in spades, hinted at in the protagonist's first encounter with a farmer, but continuing from there to the powerful crescendo. As good a folk horror novella as you'll read.
November 1, 2022
Song of the Red Squire reminded me a lot of the movie Midsommar, and if you like one you’d probably like the other. Give this one a shot as it deserves more recognition.
September 10, 2025
Loved the small-town, post-WWII Appalachian setting and characters, but my interest waned a bit when it moved into well-worn folk horror territory in the second half. Regardless, the writing was delightful, the characters believable, and the mood haunting. Good stuff.
April 26, 2023
Great novella.
Song of the Red Squire is full of unexpected twists and brimming with so many wonderfully strange and fantastical setting details. C.W. Blackwell creates a fascinating and unique lore in this tense and darkly atmospheric folk horror.
Song of the Red Squire is full of unexpected twists and brimming with so many wonderfully strange and fantastical setting details. C.W. Blackwell creates a fascinating and unique lore in this tense and darkly atmospheric folk horror.
December 17, 2022
7/10 The beginning had me wondering if I was going to like the book but the ending left me feeling sick to my stomach and very flabbergasted. Didn’t expect that at all and has left me with a million questions. Interesting read.
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March 24, 2023C.W. Blackwell serves up a potent folk horror noir novella with "Song of the Red Squire" -- he digs deep into his fondness for crime fiction in his approach with 1940s Appalachia. The protagonist is Charlie Danwitter, an agricultural inspector and battle-haunted WWII veteran who is wrestling with building his postwar life in 1949. He's committed to his mission in an interesting way, in that he's not an FBI G-man, but he is still a federal agent, and he takes his work seriously.
This resolution puts him at odds with the locals whose crops he's investigating, who do not welcome outsiders and most definitely do not appreciate having a government agent poking around their orchards. In this setup, Blackwell nicely channels WICKER MAN-type folk horror motifs while putting a very American spin on it.
One of the strongest early elements of this novella is the snappy verbal interplay between the characters, which evocatively conjures up the retro vibe Blackwell's working with. Everybody's full of sass and moxie, and even Charlie, ostensibly the by-the-numbers hardcase surrounded by the rustic locals taunting him directly and indirectly, lobs a few well-placed zingers.
That gleeful, even playful use of crisp, tartly noir-flavored language serves as camouflage for the deeper, darker secrets lurking in those old Appalachian mountains. As Charlie enlists the aid of some friendlies in his quest (keeping mum to avoid spoilers), the folk horrific darkness starts to increasingly envelop Charlie, without him necessarily realizing the danger he's in. Blackwell nicely captures North Carolina, in setting and characterization -- that vibe itself is an unspoken character in the story, as much as the various colorful locals.
As Charlie's quest deepens, and he finds himself caught up in some decidedly insular, pagan high country festivities, the story sheds its crime fictional style in favor of a more lyrical, folk horrific, and even cosmic horrific style that throws Charlie's military experience, his government procedural finesse almost literally out the window, leaving him terribly isolated and vulnerable in what turns out to be a shattering experience (again, avoiding details for the sake of spoilers).
Suffice to say that what started out as a fairly straightforward fact-finding mission dissolves into a descent into near-madness in the bearing witness to the occult rituals and entities he encounters. Blackwell excels at maintaining Charlie's character even as he's consumed by things he cannot fully understand.
"Song of the Red Squire" delivers as a folk horror vehicle, firing on all of the necessary cylinders like a well-tooled old pickup truck wending its way down a lonely, well-worn country road coiling into an ancient mountain. The pacing is good, and, as a reader, I just wanted Charlie to get the hell out of where he was, even as he kept pushing himself deeper into jeopardy out of a sense of duty and obligation. I won't spoil the ending, but Charlie's never the same after this one, and nobody who reads this'll be the same, either! It does for apples what JAWS did for beaches! I honestly always think of the Red Squire any time I see apples!
This resolution puts him at odds with the locals whose crops he's investigating, who do not welcome outsiders and most definitely do not appreciate having a government agent poking around their orchards. In this setup, Blackwell nicely channels WICKER MAN-type folk horror motifs while putting a very American spin on it.
One of the strongest early elements of this novella is the snappy verbal interplay between the characters, which evocatively conjures up the retro vibe Blackwell's working with. Everybody's full of sass and moxie, and even Charlie, ostensibly the by-the-numbers hardcase surrounded by the rustic locals taunting him directly and indirectly, lobs a few well-placed zingers.
That gleeful, even playful use of crisp, tartly noir-flavored language serves as camouflage for the deeper, darker secrets lurking in those old Appalachian mountains. As Charlie enlists the aid of some friendlies in his quest (keeping mum to avoid spoilers), the folk horrific darkness starts to increasingly envelop Charlie, without him necessarily realizing the danger he's in. Blackwell nicely captures North Carolina, in setting and characterization -- that vibe itself is an unspoken character in the story, as much as the various colorful locals.
As Charlie's quest deepens, and he finds himself caught up in some decidedly insular, pagan high country festivities, the story sheds its crime fictional style in favor of a more lyrical, folk horrific, and even cosmic horrific style that throws Charlie's military experience, his government procedural finesse almost literally out the window, leaving him terribly isolated and vulnerable in what turns out to be a shattering experience (again, avoiding details for the sake of spoilers).
Suffice to say that what started out as a fairly straightforward fact-finding mission dissolves into a descent into near-madness in the bearing witness to the occult rituals and entities he encounters. Blackwell excels at maintaining Charlie's character even as he's consumed by things he cannot fully understand.
"Song of the Red Squire" delivers as a folk horror vehicle, firing on all of the necessary cylinders like a well-tooled old pickup truck wending its way down a lonely, well-worn country road coiling into an ancient mountain. The pacing is good, and, as a reader, I just wanted Charlie to get the hell out of where he was, even as he kept pushing himself deeper into jeopardy out of a sense of duty and obligation. I won't spoil the ending, but Charlie's never the same after this one, and nobody who reads this'll be the same, either! It does for apples what JAWS did for beaches! I honestly always think of the Red Squire any time I see apples!
September 6, 2022
i was looking forward to this all year :(
April 4, 2025
Loved it, can't get enough strange village books
January 1, 2025
In my opinion, C.W. Blackwell is among the best of the new generation of crime writers. He's got craft and style. In Song of the Red Squire, he puts his writing chops to work on a wonderful novella of folk horror set in the High Country of western North Carolina. Storyline, setting (time and place), and characters work well together to create a reading experience that -- to me -- vibes something like Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" and The Haunting of Hill House. To be honest, I don't read a lot of horror, but I might read more in the genre if I found more in the vein of Song of the Red Squire or if C.W. Blackwell writes it.
January 11, 2024
I will not look at apples the same way ever again ... What starts like a mundane (if slightly quirky) research trip by a USDA employee turns into a nightmare of pure folk terror. The remote locations, the suspicious locals and their dogs, the gorgeous orchards (what's in that soil that makes the trees so fruitful?), the ancient traditions that hint at mysterious sacrifices, all contribute to C.W. Blackwell's wondrous gothic tapestry. This is a great novella. Read it by the side of a crackling fire, maybe with a mug of cider.
January 8, 2025
A 3 star review is generous for this one. It is well written and the dialogue is clever and it has a surprisingly slow burn for such a short novel, but it left me wanting more. I went into this wanting to read folklore horror and ended up with noire novella with heavy use of plant jargon strewn about and gratuitous descriptions of landscapes and trees that took away from the immersion. A good novella. Just not for me.
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