I liked The Twisted Ones quite a bit, but I think the version of this book I liked the most was the one where I had absolutely no idea what was waiting in the woods. That uncertainty is where T. Kingfisher is at her best. A strange journal. Unsettling figures standing among the trees. A…
Tag: horror
SBP Podcast Episode 24: The Skunk Ape – Bigfoot in the Swamp
Florida is already a place where the strange can feel completely believable. Alligators disappear beneath black water. Panthers move through forests without most people ever seeing them. Wild monkeys live in parts of the state. Burmese pythons have established themselves in the Everglades. And once you get far enough into places like Big Cypress, the…
Southern Reads: The Elementals
There are plenty of horror novels that try to make you afraid of the dark. The Elementals does something much more interesting: it makes broad daylight feel dangerous. Michael McDowell’s 1981 Southern Gothic novel takes the things that should feel familiar and almost comforting about a summer on the Gulf Coast—the beach, the heat, old…
The Swamp Has a Soul: The Strange History of Marvel’s Man-Thing
There are places in the South where you do not need much imagination to believe that something might be watching you. The Florida Everglades certainly qualify. It is a landscape of sawgrass and cypress, black water and mangroves, alligators disappearing beneath the surface and narrow trails vanishing into places that look almost untouched by time….
SBP Podcast Episode 23: Marie Laveau: The Voodoo Queen
Few people in Southern history have become as inseparable from a city as Marie Laveau is from New Orleans. She was real—a free woman of color born in New Orleans in 1801 who became one of the most famous figures associated with New Orleans Voudou. She was also a practicing Catholic, a mother, a healer,…
Southern Reads: Wolf Worm
I enjoyed Wolf Worm, but I’m not going to pretend it didn’t test my patience. There were several points while I was reading it — especially when I looked down and realized I was somewhere around page 170 — when I found myself thinking, all right, we need to get going here. Normally, that’s about…
The 13 Most Haunted Places in the South — Where History Still Walks at Night
From bayou mansions and lighthouse towers to decaying jails and Civil War homes, these places hum with the echoes of what came before. Whether you believe in ghosts or not, there’s something undeniable about standing in a space where tragedy once unfolded, and where whispers linger long after the living have gone. These are thirteen…
Introducing the Hidden Pine Lodge: A New Chapter of the Southern Blueprint
Since launching The Southern Blueprint, my goal has always been the same: to tell stories that matter, explore Southern culture and history in new ways, and build something meaningful—something that lasts. Now, I’m taking the next step. Why I’m Doing This What started as a creative outlet has grown into something much more meaningful. I’ve…
In the Murk of the Bayou: The Definitive History of Swamp Thing in Comics, Film, and TV
The Ultimate Guide to Swamp Thing in Comics, Film, and Television Some monsters exist for pure terror, some for cheap thrills. Swamp Thing is something else. Rooted in the murky depths of Southern Gothic horror, Swamp Thing is a tragic figure—a scientist murdered, resurrected, and forever bound to the Swamp. He has been a hero,…
Southern Reads: Witchcraft for Wayward Girls
Grady Hendrix’s Witchcraft for Wayward Girls isn’t your typical horror romp—it’s an experience that challenges you to lean into discomfort and examine your expectations. The premise sets the stage for something atmospheric and unsettling: a group of young women in a 1970s unwed mothers’ home, navigating not only their oppressive circumstances but the unexpected discovery…