If you enjoy serious analog horror like Magical World of Ania or more tongue in cheek analog horror like My Milwaukee, then Richard Littler’s Scarfolk is definitely for you. If you enjoy the eeriness of those old Public Service Messages from 1970s Canada or Great Britain that are so beloved on the internet then you’ll probably hate yourself if you still haven’t gotten into Scarfolk.
Part haunted town, part 70s dystopia, Scarfolk refers to Littler’s fictional British town which is by turns nightmarish and hilarious. There are even undertones of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy type of humor in the town’s faux “reference material” and “artifacts”.
Around 2012 Richard Littler began mocking up some fake 1970s public health posters and government pamphlets for schools and general consumption. He presented them with an enjoyably twisted slant that perfectly captured the vaguely menacing, often insulting approach of such material.
Littler took to posting them on his Facebook account, where positive feedback encouraged him to start a blog devoted to his dark-humored artifacts of the nonexistent town of Scarfolk, “a town in North West England which is just west of northern England” as the author describes it.
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Regular readers of Balladeer’s Blog know how interested I am in the various ARGs, Analog Horror projects and other forms of “Unfiction” that play out on the internet. Earlier this year I had fun looking back on completed projects like
Previously here at Balladeer’s Blog I covered YT Channels that featured what I considered the very best of the emerging subgenre of Analog Horror or “Unfiction” as a lot of people have labeled it. Those descriptive terms have been coined to help keep these creative efforts distinct from pure ARGs (Alternate Reality Games).
(If you’re in the mood for Analog Horror which does NOT back away from pandemic and lockdown lore, check out
Balladeer’s Blog’s love of quality horror ARGs (Alternate Reality Games) has been well established. In the past I’ve examined productions like Local 58, Claridryl and Jack Torrance (NOT the character from The Shining.)
The eerie storyline revolves around the disappearance of a beautiful young Polish woman named Ania Slowinska and the dark, seemingly supernatural forces behind it. As the tale unfolds it becomes apparent other women have fallen victim to the same forces, with one having had all her teeth removed after being murdered.
Organs and limbs seem to be stolen for transplant use and replaced with porcelain or papier mache substitutes. This practice extends even to the heads of the victims … sometimes while they’re still alive. Obviously this is for adults only.
Here at Balladeer’s Blog I’ve made clear my love of myths and folklore and ARG’s (Alternate Reality Games). I enjoy the way truth, fiction, pretended truth and pretended fiction can intermingle, especially like the Orion/ Elvis Presley situation or in the participatory manner of ARGs, Adult Swim and CreepyPastas.
In the fashion of the H.P. Lovecraft Fictional Universe, largely centered around the Miskatonic Valley, the Necronomicon and Miskatonic University, Kris’ shared fictional universe largely centers around the nonexistent towns of Ichor Falls, Broodhollow, Edenvale and Lasker City. The towns are located in the real-life Mason County, WV.
Regular readers of Balladeer’s Blog often ask me why I make so many references to ARGs (Alternate Reality Games) and feature tie-ins to some of them in my blog posts. It’s because they are a terrific example of modern day myths relayed through technology. 
Whatever! I just wanted to weigh in on this since conspiracy kooks were going nuts over this b.s. These online conspiracy deals are fun up to a point, I guess, but at least this one (or these two) doesn’t (or don’t) feature Slenderman … yet. It’s interesting to wonder what Aleister Crowley might have done with internet memes.