Morbid Forest is a horror anthology of standalone tales tied together the park ranger who has a morbid way of keeping lost and panicked park visitors calm, through the time-honored tradition of a spooky campfire tale.
In the case of this park ranger though, her spooky stories are particularly vivid, even graphic and terrorizing. Her menacing laugh which accompanies her intros is appropriate. These are not your typical family friendly campfire tale—they are often far more sinister.
The first two episodes “Dear Diary” and “I Am Not Dead” are particularly chilling with a mix of psychological horror and detailed body horror.
Episode one “Dear Diary” in particular is very well written and acted with a format shift (diary entry to voice recording) and a character shift (average teenage girl to surgical female killer).
However it was a bit too much for me when the first harrowing body horror episode was followed by a second one of a similar nature, this time by alien surgeons operating on a human.
But I listened on and was relieved when the following episodes 3-11 of season one shifted away from the body horror genre into tales of the supernatural (shape shifters), paranormal (ghosts), local legends as well as ordinary crime of troubled marriages and children, and finally an apocalyptic themed season finale.
I appreciated that different types of horror was explored from the slasher kind to the quietly eerie, such as the slow horror of the lost and lonely.
The soundtrack was complementary throughout with thoughtful selections of piano or other instruments.
The acting was a mix of professionals and rougher voices that still had warmth and charm, that were easy to listen to if not always right on the mark.
Overall I enjoyed the first season despite a rough start, being someone who likes body horror in smaller doses. Recommend!
**This podcast is for mature audiences.**
