Set against the beautifully bleak landscapes of rural Wales, Lucie McKnight Hardy’s Night Babies is a lesson in powerfully written folklore that follows artist Astrid Aspden, on the verge of a personal crisis which draws her into an environment heavy with buried history and plenty of emotional baggage. As we follow Aspen’s journey to rescue her art exhibition after a flood, the line between psychological turmoil and the supernatural are quickly blurred; you find yourself in a constant struggle with whether you like or dislike the main players of the story.
Indeed, the relationships between all the characters are fraught on some level lending an extra air of mistrust. The horror, as good as it is, is something that consistently looms in the background unfolding gradually, but to often disturbing effect, but the question remains whether this is something supernatural, or psychological, happening to Aspen.
McKnight Hardy is quick to establish a mood for her story, with vivid descriptions of locations that both soothe and unease the reader in equal measure. The blending of the upcoming terror in with its surroundings often renders the scenery a threat in itself. But what makes this story tick is the attention to detail given to every character, with each given ample space to breathe as well as a healthy backstory. A slow, brooding and immensely rewarding beast, Night Babies is folk horror at its atmospheric best.
