The first episode of The Haunted Season, a festive new horror series from renowned author and filmmaker Kier-La Janisse (Severin Films, Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror, House of Psychotic Women), is set to hit Shudder just in time for Christmas.
The chilling short form horror tales will follow the classic tradition of telling ghost stories for Christmas, with different directors helming an episode each which will hit the streamer each December.
The first episode of The Haunted Season comes from director Sean Hogan, and is titled To Fire You Come at Last:
In rural 17th century England, a group of men gathers to carry a coffin to the graveyard for burial. Much ancient folklore and superstition surround the pathway to the church, and several members of the party are afraid to walk it after dark. The grieving father promises to double their wages if they make the frightening journey.
No stranger to folk horror, Janisse worked as executive producer on To Fire You Come at Last that stars James Swanton (Apartment 7A, Tarot, The First Omen, Host) and had a successful festival run last year.
In an interview with Spooky Isles, Hogan spoke of his own influences on To Fire You Come at Last, which include the long-running BBC Christmas horror series, A Ghost Story for Christmas:
I did look at [Jonathan Miller's] Whistle and I’ll Come to You again, specifically for the use of 16mm black and white and the eerie starkness of the landscapes, and there’s probably a bit of The Exorcism in there as well: the class politics, and the fact that the vengeful ghost gets to deliver a climactic monologue from beyond the grave!
The Haunted Season: To Fire You Come at Last premieres on Shudder on December 1. Don't miss it!
