Author: Nicholas Diak

Severin Films are known for various versions of their DVD and Blu-ray releases, ranging from slipcases to ornate boxsets with exclusive features and small doodads while always delivering on content proper: best prints possible, commentaries, and other supplements.

Perhaps their most ambitious release yet, Severin released a boxset of folk horror films called All the Haunts Be Ours: A Compendium of Folk Horror. The standard edition of this boxset houses fifteen discs along with a book and a soundtrack. Of course, for a few pennies more, one could have ordered The Witches’ Bundle of the release which contains a treasure trove of additional goodies. 

What follows is an unboxing of The Witches’ Bundle edition of All the Haunts Be Ours interspersed with interview segments with Howard David Ingham, a folk horror expert that has material in the release. 

The parcel that The Witches’ Bundle came in was huge. Wide and unwieldy, but at least not super heavy. The exterior was printed with the All The Haunts Be Ours artwork in gold. Very classy.

Of course, my kitty familiars are intrigued by the parcel and what treasure lie within.

When opened the contents are covered a healthy amount of packing peanuts. This is good for shipping, but it will be a nightmare to get them all back in the box and be able to close the lid.

The first object pulled forth from the parcel was a grimoire entitled Of Mud & Flame. A thick book, this tome will make for great reading later.

Next up are a set of three stickers with some fantastic art. It’s a shame that special editions like these only come with one set of stickers as folks need at least two: one set to keep pristine and the other to put on things. The top right sticker is a Hand of Glory (as seen in The Wicker Man). The one on the left with the sickle makes me think of the song “The Sickle and the Setting Sun” by Awen.

There was a wrapped packet that felt incredibly heavy.

Carefully unwrapping it one comes across a replica of the pendant from Alison’s Birthday. This pendant was heavy and quite large. 

And The Owl Service Melamine Plate! A bonafide plate! It’s a wee bit different than the advert (which shows a bumpy circumference while this one is a pure circle). 

Next up is a completely impractical keychain modeled from The Witchhhammer. This would not fare well to one’s leg if put into a front pocket.

A rolled scroll of incantations protected inside this tube perhaps?

Even better, a full sized movie poster of the documentary Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror. The art used on this poster (and subsequent packaging) is simply stunning. It will need to be kept safe inside its tube until a suitable frame can be procured.

Finally, the meat-and-potatoes of the whole package: the boxset of All Haunts Be Ours proper.

The boxset is housed in a sturdy box which allows the Blu-ray set and booklet to slip out easily.

The Blu-rays proper stored in an accordion-style package. Each page in the booklet houses a movie with corresponding artwork. 

One of the films in this set is the aforementioned Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched documentary (which Severin sells by itself). One of the experts interviewed in the documentary is Howard David Ingham, author of the Bram Stoker nominated book We Don’t Go Back: A Watcher’s Guide to Folk Horror.

How did you come to be involved in the Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched documentary? 

Back in 2018, Kier-La Janisse contacted me to ask if I’d be interviewed for a documentary about folk horror, and a very nice man named Neil Edwards came to ask me some questions. At the time the plan was to have it as a Blu-ray extra, but Kier-La’s project, unknown to me at the time, expanded in scope and became something bigger and more important. I thought no more about it until I saw my name on the Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched press release a couple of years later, and then suddenly I’m in a spectacular, award-winning documentary, which is pretty-mind-blowing, really. 

What are your impressions of the documentary and what do you think it uniquely accomplishes?

I think the film is stunning, beautifully put together, exhaustive and it taught me stuff. I think the very best and most groundbreaking parts are in the sections about American and international folk horror – parts I’m not in, I might add, but I don’t think they’re the best bits because of that – which stake a very solid claim to be the first real authoritative document on what folk horror means outside of the UK. 

Of all the movies presented in the All the Haunts Be Ours boxset, which is your personal favourite?

That’s a hard one to answer, because there are several I haven’t seen yet (and I don’t have my boxset yet!). Of the ones I have seen, I cannot recommend VIY enough. It’s a glorious, magical film and everyone should see it. 

For someone new to folk horror, what film in the set do you think they should start with to ease into the genre.

That’s a hard one. But if you want a grounding in British folk horror, Robin Redbreast, the original Pagan Village Conspiracy film, is essential. For Americans, I would suggest starting with Eyes of Fire. But again it’s hard, because there’s a bunch of rarities I haven’t seen yet! Honestly, it might be just as good for you to dive right in and pick whatever film looks the most exciting to you! 

If one needs assistance at grounding many of the folk horror films in the real world, The Witches’ Bundle comes with a map of folk horror!

The map is housed in a beautiful envelope depicting a sacrifice of a rabbit.

Housed inside is also a postcard with a floral stag. This reminds me of the song “The Wounded Stag” by Lux Interna.

The map proper is two sided. The front side shows Europe depicting where each folk horror film takes place. 

The front and the back also contain a description of each locale.

An example of the entry for The Wicker Man.

And finally, the last object in the whole bundle is a set of tarot cards. The exterior box is thick and sturdy.

Inside one will find a set of tarot cards with unique art and names along with a guide book with a hypnotic cover.

The tarot guide book was written by none other than Ingham!

You wrote the booklet for the Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched tarot card set. What was that experience like and how did you go about writing the interpretations for each card?

I’d done some work on Tarot and alternative Tarot interpretations before, so I had a familiarity with the Tarot as a thing, and in particular Tarot writing. It was a lot of fun to take those folk horror classics and draw fortunes from them, full of dread and poetry. 

Which card resonates the strongest with you?

Bagpuss, because I am saggy and loose at the seams, but I am nonetheless loved.

The Witches’ Bundle is an impressive and immersive release. Between the films, documentary, soundtrack, books, and other material, there’s literally weeks worth of subversive content to explore. Though The Witches’ Bundle has long sold out, the boxset of films proper is still available at the Severin website. For those who have only seen The Wicker Man or Midsommar, this release acts as a primer to get into the folk horror genre.

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Sincere thank you to Howard David Ingham for his answers. You can find him at his Room 207 Press website. 

If you liked this coverage of The Witches’ Bundle, check out my other Severin write ups: The Blood Island boxset in Exotica Moderne #3 and Horrors of Spider Island in Exotica Moderne #9. Next month Severin releases the Eurosleaze pepla films Caligula The Untold Story and Caligula and Messalina. I am extremely excited for both as I can put my sword and sandal scholarship to test! 

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If you enjoyed this unboxing article, check out these other ones:

• Ben-Hur 50th Anniversary Boxset
• Troy Director’s Cut Boxset

And also these DVD/Blu-ray write ups:

• Gold Ninja Video’s Fury of Achilles