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✂︎ Human sacrifice represents one of the most extreme expressions of folk belief in horror cinema. As a trope, it embodies the tension between individual rights and communal needs, modern values and ancient practices. The ritualistic killing of humans for the perceived benefit of the community appears consistently across folk horror from different cultures and eras.

Functions of Sacrifice in Folk Horror

Fertility and Prosperity

Many folk horror films link human sacrifice to agricultural fertility or community prosperity:

• The Wicker Man (1972, UK)
• Midsommar (2019, US/Sweden)

These sacrifices are typically performed to ensure good harvests or end periods of hardship.

Appeasement of Supernatural Forces

Sacrifice as a means to placate gods, spirits, or monsters:

• Blood on Satan's Claw (1971, UK)
• Tumbbad (2018, India)
• The Ritual (2017, UK)

These narratives often involve entities that demand regular tributes in exchange for leaving the community in peace.

Purification

Sacrifice as a means of cleansing the community of perceived impurity:

• Witchfinder General (1968, UK)

These films often reflect historical witch hunts and moral panics.

Choice of Victims

The selection of sacrificial victims in folk horror follows several patterns:

The Outsider

The most common sacrificial victim is the outsider who has entered the community:

• The Wicker Man (1972, UK)
• Apostle (2018, US)
• Midsommar (2019, US/Sweden)

Using outsiders as victims reinforces the community's boundaries and cohesion.

The Lottery

Some films depict randomized selection processes:

• The Lottery (1969, US), based on Shirley Jackson's story

These systems distribute the burden of sacrifice across the community.

The Volunteer

Willing sacrifices appear in some folk horror narratives:

• The Vigil (2019, US)
• Lamb (2021, Iceland)

These characters often sacrifice themselves to protect others or fulfill perceived duties.

Cultural Context

Human sacrifice in folk horror draws on both historical practices and colonial misrepresentations of indigenous cultures. While ritualistic killing has existed in many ancient societies, colonial powers often exaggerated or fabricated accounts of sacrifice to justify conquest and conversion efforts.

Modern folk horror frequently engages with this complex history, sometimes reproducing problematic stereotypes but increasingly offering more nuanced perspectives that examine the colonial gaze itself.

Narrative Function

Beyond its plot significance, human sacrifice in folk horror serves several narrative functions:

1. Climactic revelation - Often reserved for the film's climax, revealing the true nature of the community
2. Moral confrontation - Forces characters (and audiences) to confront different value systems
3. Metaphorical commentary - Can represent broader social critiques about how societies sacrifice individuals
4. Violation of taboo - Creates horror through the transgression of fundamental moral boundaries

This note is part of a series exploring folk horror in cinema. Return to the main Folk Horror overview to explore other tropes.