5 Appalachian Horror Films - United States of Horror

Appalachia is a region rich with tradition, history, and folklore. It’s also often misunderstood, and even feared, by outsiders. As a result, the area has long been ripe for horror literature and films, and here are some of the best:

5. The Descent (North Carolina)

Director Neil Marshall’s brilliant tale of a group of female friends spelunking, then attacked by creatures within the caves, is one of the scariest movies of the last decade. Though filmed on sets in Pinewood studios and on location in the UK, the movie takes place in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina. Marshall makes excellent use of the claustrophobic nature of caving in general to create tension, so that the viewer is on edge even before the flesh eating monsters show up. Once they do, the terror doesn’t let up until (literally) the final frame.

4. The Mothman Prophecies (West Virginia)

Based on true events, eye-witness paranormal accounts, and a best-selling book by UFOlogist John Keel, The Mothman Prophecies stars Richard Gere as newspaper columnist John Klein who becomes lost in the small West Virginia town of Point Pleasant. He is quickly embroiled in mysterious events, with townspeople telling tales of a strange winged creature and Klein receiving warnings of impending doom from someone calling himself Ingrid Cold. This all culminates in the collapse of the Silver Bridge (which actually happened in Point Pleasant in 1967). Creepy and atmospheric, Mothman is an oft-overlooked gem from the early 2000s.

3. Dawn of the Dead (Pennsylvania)

George Romero’s anti-consumerism masterpiece was mostly shot in the Monroeville Mall in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh. Despite what many people would think, even Pennsylvanians, this IS a part of Appalachia. Romero continued to build on the zombie universe he created in Night of the Living Dead, and teamed with horror effects maestro Tom Savini, he was able to bring on-screen gore to a whole new level, all in vivid color.

2. The Evil Dead (Tennessee)

If you’re a regular visitor to Bloody Good Horror, you probably know all there is to know about The Evil Dead, its sequels, and you’ve most likely watched the first few episodes of Ash vs. Evil Dead multiple times by now. Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell practically invented the ‘cabin in the woods’ trope with this low budget splatter classic about a group of college kids attacked by Deadites during a vacation in the hills of Tennessee. One of the rare horror movies beloved by both critics and horror fans (it currently has a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes), it features some truly frightening scenes, and introduced the world to one of the all-time great horror protagonists. 

1. The Blair Witch Project (Maryland)

Among the first films to truly utilize the internet to generate hype, The Blair Witch Project featured a previously little-used gimmick, a cast of unknowns, and a made-up legend to become one of the most profitable independent films of all time. Set in and around the real Western Maryland town of Burkittsville, the marketing for Blair Witch was so successful, people actually believed the story of a group of college kids lost in the woods was a documentary. Found footage is commonplace today, but it was brand new to mainstream audiences in 1999 (especially considering most Americans had never seen Cannibal Holocaust), and this very low budget movie scared the hell out of millions.