Scratch Moss

by David Barnett

It's bad when the heart is ripped out of a community... it's worse when it loses its soul.


1865. There is coal under the fields of Scratch Moss Manor and Sir Henry Brody is determined to get at it. But there is something else in the ground as well, something dark and evil

1905. A more Godless set of people the Reverend George Ackman has never known than the people of the northern town of Scratch Moss. But if not God, what do they believe in?

1945. Arthur works for the Coal Commission, visiting privately-owned pits ahead of their nationalisation. But something is amiss in Scratch Moss, with a disturbing number of deaths at the mine and children going missing in the tunnels.

1985. The miners have lost. Thatcher reigns supreme. And in the shattered community of Scratch Moss, rumours resurface about Red Clogs, a terrible presence in the land below.

2025: Divorced, fifty-something writer Joe returns to the former mining community of Scratch Moss where he grew up, for the funeral of his father. Soon the memories of Joe's teenage years, and the horror that blighted the community, come flooding back.

A devastating, five-timeline tale centred on a community first invigorated, then devastated by the coal mining industry in the most original folk horror novel of the year.

Genres: Horror

Kindle Edition

Expected publication September 1, 2026

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Reviews

[Dutchie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creeptastic! Scratch Moss is one town that I will be taking a hard pass at visiting.

Joe hasn’t set foot in his childhood town of Scratch Moss in years, only to return home after his father dies to help his mother with the arrangements. The town itself was once a prosperous mining town, but in 1985 the mine shut down leaving everyone struggling for work. Nothing much has changed since then. Joe was hoping to get things squared away and head back to London. Unfortunately, his mom begins to act strange, and Joe’s memories start to resurface that cause him to start looking into his past. The story then shifts to 1985 during Joe’s childhood and keeps moving backwards all the way to 1865 when the mine was being built. Let’s just say it’s imperative to make sure you know where you’re digging your mine. There’s a ton of folklore attributed to the town of Scratch Moss specifically one that involves missing children.

I really enjoyed how the timelines went backwards to see where it all began. I liked that I was shown how everything progressed as opposed to just told. The timeline jumps all felt fluid and seamless.

This is my third Barnett novel and it did not disappoint. The book does fall in the same universe as Withered Hill and Scuttler’s Cove but can be read as a standalone. I absolutely can’t wait for the next one to come out.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advanced copy and exchange for an honest review

[Horror Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scratch Moss is a fantastic folk horror novel told through several timelines and features something ancient and horrific deep in the ground below an old coal mine.

The town of Scratch Moss seems prosperous enough to outsiders. But when Joe goes back for the funeral of his father we'll soon discover that this is no ordinary town and the secrets it holds are kept by the people there.

Joe's father kicked a man to death and went to prison, refusing pardons and eventually died there. But to the citizens of the town, he was a hero.

The mystery deepens when a tragic and terrifying death sends Joe reeling even further. Through several decades and centuries even, we'll find out about the town, the mine, the deals which were made for prosperity, and the terrifying rituals needed to sate the hunger of a creature older than the earth itself which lives trapped at the bottom of the coal mine.

There's also a surprise if you liked his other books since they all take place in the same universe. I've loved all three and if you like folk horror, you'll love this one. Highly recommend

I received an ARC of this book through Netgalley. This review is voluntary and is my own personal opinion.

[Steph's_Creepy _Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars 🌟
I adored the folklore concept from this story and the peculiar inhabitants of the town. The hushed rumours about the history of the place, Scratch Moss, and how it managed to hold it's ground for so long.
I just didn't feel like I really had anyone to solidly cheer for with this story. Yes we have the main character Joe, but by his own admission, had not been an active member of the community of Scratch Moss or his parents lives for a long time. We don't really get to know him all that well either before we are transported through different timelines, getting numerous new characters and theories.
I wasn't shocked or upset by the ending as it had been pretty obviously hinted at halfway through the book what needed to be done. It just hasn't been done by the ancestors.
I am a little disappointed with this story.

[Dave Musson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This blasted little Lancashire town of Scratch Moss won’t be leaving my head any time soon thanks to this fantastic bit of folk horror.

Within a couple of chapters of this one, I was hooked and burned through the entire story in just a couple of days. The pacing was spot on, the dread and the horror and the intrigue kept building, and I found I simply couldn’t put it down.

It’s not all that surprising I got hooked early, given how bleak and death-filled the opening of this one is. Death is the reason our man character Joe has come home to Scratch Moss, and seeing the body of a man hanging from a tree from his taxi ride back to his childhood home isn’t the last of it.

I loved the iconography that fills this story. Not only the ghoulish Red Clogs, and the straw effigies, but the magpies that won’t leave these pages alone. Why is there a magpie carved onto every tombstone in this town? Why isn’t the church in use? Why does everything feel different here? And just why does one child see to go missing every year?

I was also really impressed with the way we learned the Scratch Moss story by going back in time and visiting different key moments. It kept things moving and showed how meticulously plotted and well-thought-out this novel was. Like I said already, I was hooked.

In many ways this felt something like a Lancastrian version of It. Stories spanning generations, a town where those lucky enough to leave soon forget, and, of course, missing kids…not to mention an unimaginable underground horror.

This was terrific, a thoroughly enjoyable and chilling bit of British folk horror that I had a blast with. I will definitely be checking out the author’s other two books from this world - hopefully before his next one comes out!

Huge thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.

[Catherine McCarthy]

I adore folk horror, especially when set in the UK because it's so easy to make a strong connection to the land and characters. This was no exception, as hailing from a coal mining town myself and also being able to vividly remember the devastating strike back in the 80s meant that Scratch Moss felt like coming home. So many little details tweaked such vivid memories, and that's always a bonus.
Scratch Moss has a few time changes and also several POV changes, but that didn't disrupt the flow as far as I was concerned.
Overall, I would describe this as solid folk horror genre fiction, and would definitely recommend it to those who enjoy that particular genre.

[Alicia Maskley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of Scratch Moss via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.7 stars, rounded up to 4.

I really loved the timeline structure of this book. The multi-thread approach was creative, and it kept me reading to see how everything would come together. Of all the timelines, Terry and Arthur’s were easily my favourites. The horror, too, absolutely delivered. Some of the gore caught me off guard, and it was true to its folkloric genre.

I struggled with Joe Collier’s timeline, only because I found Joe as a character somewhat grating. And while I appreciated what his arc was trying to do, it ended up being my least favourite part to read. The story felt repetitive at times, especially early on, so I'd encourage readers who might struggle with that to just push through because it does get more layered the deeper you go (pin intended).

Another minor thing, I found elements of the romance off-putting... not necessarily bad, but misaligned with what I personally wanted from the story.

About halfway through, it became fairly clear where things were heading, so the ending didn’t really surprise me. Still, the execution was solid. Overall, Scratch Moss was a good folkloric horror. I’m genuinely curious to see how the author’s other books connect within this shared universe.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Scratch Moss really delivers on the folk horror vibes. It’s set in a former English mining village where there is a darkness associated with the coal mine that is only mentioned in whispers. The village has a long history of looking the other way when children disappear, though it has been 40 years since the last disappearance.

I liked the multiple nested timelines and how they slowly revealed the truth and history of Scratch Moss and its mine. The folklore elements were well done, and the atmosphere was properly ominous. I personally did not love the writing style; it felt a bit wooden at times, and there were a few too many passages repeated for emphasis. However, it was overall an interesting and creepy story, and well worth the read if you’re into English folk horror.

Thank you to NetGalley and Canelo for the ARC.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was great, I’m a big fan of folk horror and it delivered. Although in the same universe it was a completely different vibe from Withered Hill and Scuttlers Cove, with the mining village setting. I really felt sorry for some of the characters and lore building was very well done.

I really enjoyed this and I can’t wait get my hands on the next one!

Thank you NetGalley and Canelo for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Faye Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of David Barnett's folk horror novels, so I'm slightly biased here, but Scratch Moss was another incredibly easy 5 star for me. I loved both Withered Hill and Scuttler's Cove, and seeing a connection between those two books and this upcoming one at the end of Scuttler's Cove made me extra excited to read Scratch Moss. You can definitely read them all as standalones though, but as soon as I read one of them, I wanted to read all the books in this connected universe!

Having loved those two books so much, I had high expectations and Scratch Moss definitely didn't disappoint! The book starts with Joe Collier in the present day, coming back home to Scratch Moss for his father's funeral. The tension is high from the start, and then each Part of the book goes back in time to a different point of Scratch Moss's history. This really cleverly pieces together the whole story for us as readers, before moving forwards through the time periods again until we get back to the present day. It made for a really addictive story, full of suspense, and I just didn’t want to put the book down! 

And after the incredible ending, I got to the Afterword, which teases the next book. It left me very excited for that one. I can't wait to see what happens next in this connected world!

Disclaimer: I received an Advance Reader Copy from NetGalley but this is my voluntary and honest review.

[tash · Rating 5 out of 5]

thank you to netgalley and canelo for providing me with this arc of david barnett’s scratch moss

i thoroughly enjoyed this!

the book sees the history of a fictional town called scratch moss (which is based on ince, in wigan) and how a spirit can bring the people of the town together through multiple generations

the way barnett writes this is amazing, and i really connected with the characters and the different time periods. specifically with the time periods used within the book and the historical links (e.g. the coal mine in scratch moss and margaret thatcher closing down the coal mines when she was prime minister), i think that it shows how much not only the area of scratch moss but the entirety of manchester/the north was affected by history. also, the way that each time period, one particular person had interacted with red clogs in some form made the story really flow, and i loved it!

[Zarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Scratch Moss is a story about the titular town and its secrets. The story starts with Joe Collier, a formerly successful writer who was born in Scratch Moss and sent away to Leeds as a child after his father murdered one of the other townspeople, returning home for his father’s funeral. He struggles to remember the events of the night that led to his father’s act of violence and the strangeness surrounding Scratch Moss. We follow many different perspectives through five timelines and learn about the secret behind Scratch Moss’s previously thriving mine.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. I intended to read about 10% of the book per day but ended up reading the whole thing in 2 days mostly because I was so curious about Scratch Moss’s history and why Joe’s father murdered someone. The beginning of the book is especially strong. Scratch Moss itself does not initially appear threatening but you know something must be wrong with it because no one wants to go there and the people who live there act as if they have some collective secret. Without giving too many spoilers, I found the horror/supernatural element of this book satisfyingly creepy, specifically in Part 1 before you learn too much about it. I was genuinely creeped out when Joe first goes to the Little Woods with Shep; the author does a good job of building tension in that particular scene. However, when you find out more about the horror aspect, the danger feels a little less dire. [Major Spoilers] The direct threat is human, targets a specific group of people and only one per year, and seems so easily delt with (e.g. two Red Clogs simply leaving Scratch Moss with little to no fanfare and the Red Clogs have no superhuman abilities – two of them are beaten to death with bare hands, two of them kill themselves with household objects, two of them die in fires).

[Minor Spoilers] I appreciated that the horror was so easily dealt with in some ways because the solution required one person to be selfless to, at the very least, temporarily keep the town safe. Arthur, for example, talked a big game about how wrong the townspeople were for “letting” things happen, but he was just as complicit as they were once he decided to stay in Scratch Moss. [Major Spoilers] Terry is also complicit until his son is taken to the mine and the mine is shut down, at which point there isn’t necessarily anything to gain from child sacrifice. No one was willing to sacrifice potential profit to put an end to the terror and I would have been interested in learning more about how Brody convinced the townspeople to accept this burden. In my opinion, although this was a major theme in the story, the townspeople’s’ complicity in the horror was not well developed or explored, specifically why they, collectively, would agree to this in the first place despite it bringing prosperity to mainly one family.
Aside from the horror aspect, two characters stood out to me as well characterized: Terry, Joe’s father, and George, a bishop from Scratch Moss’s past. Terry is someone who seems tired from having to work in the mines and yet it is the only livelihood he has ever known so when the mine closes, he has no choice but to fight. He is one of the few characters who goes from resigned and complicit to selfless and determined. George is one of the more interesting characters; he is someone who truly feels like an outsider in Scratch Moss even though there are other outsiders throughout the story. The narrative does not necessarily tell you how to feel about him but he is one of the few characters who is determined and willing to go to extreme lengths to do what he believes is morally right, unlike the residents of Scratch Moss. As someone who is not religious, I found him to be hypocritical and reprehensible. He is horrified by the lack of Christianity in Scratch Moss and thinks of its people as backwards before he even encounters the horror aspect. [Minor Spoiler] It was unclear to me if the author intended for his disgust toward the people of Scratch Moss to be ironic [Major Spoiler] considering the Abrahamic god has also demanded human sacrifices. Despite his hypocrisy, George does try to resolve the conflict of the story [Major Spoilers] but he also fails miserably. I would be interested to know how readers who are Christian perceived him.

The book has the same timeline structure as Cloud Atlas but instead of going from the past to the future and then back to the past, it goes from the present to the past and then back to the present. In my opinion, this does not work very well because you already know the fate of most of the past characters from the previous section(s). I was engaged for the most part going from present to past because you are given information about what is happening in Scratch Moss, but on the way back to the present, you basically already know or have enough information to guess everything that will happen. Even though the last half of the book is predictable, I was still actively engaged, hoping to learn more about the entity under Scratch Moss.

In my opinion, this book suffers from poor characterization aside from the two aforementioned characters and somewhat repetitive, simplistic writing. The story is told in third person limited (such that you are basically reading in first person with knowledge of the character’s feelings and thoughts) with alternating POVs. The major POV shifts occur in each part and each character differs in time period, age, and education. Despite this, there is no shift in narrative voice. This is most obvious between Arthur, Terry, and Joe (grandfather, father, son) who all have different backgrounds and personalities. Joe is supposed to be a somewhat successful writer and yet his inner syntax and vocabulary do not differ from his father’s, who is and has only ever been a miner, nor grandfather’s.

Joe is probably one of the more poorly written characters in the book aside from the women. He struck me as a self-insert character due to his utter lack of personality traits and flaws. He basically does nothing the whole story until the end except ask people questions. Otherwise, he is defined by inaction. He has a crush on a girl named Ellen in childhood and says nothing about it to her, which is fine. However, he gets passive aggressive toward her when he thinks she is seeing other boys and because he likes her this is presented as understandable. Despite not having seen each other in 40 years and having no chemistry, they begin a relationship (which Ellen initiates). [Major Spoilers] His mother demands Shep be put down and he does nothing, even after she dies a few hours or less (the next page) later. He doesn’t even call the vet to see if Shep is still alive. He essentially has no reaction to his mother’s gruesome suicide at any point during the story. Joe basically takes no action, seems to have no strong feelings, nor have any conviction throughout the entire story. We are not shown at any point how strong his determination and will are. [Major Spoilers] And yet, he manages to go all the way to London, live there for a period of several days or weeks, and not commit suicide as Red Clogs. Terry and George, who are both driven by strong conviction and characterized as having steel wills, are barely able to resist the voice in their heads. Terry has to be put on suicide watch in jail. George feels compelled to kill by the god. Joe simply goes to London. Sure, there is a voice in his head saying “Kill yourself,” but the narrative does a poor job of describing that he feels he should do so. He simply resists the voice and conveniently wakes up from the god’s control before he can actually go through with suicide. I found this unbelievable given his previous lack of any personality.

I found the “romance” aspect of this book a bit grating since it does not add anything to the characters or the story. Both Ellen and Nora are 2D characters who are indistinguishable from each other and are only present to 1) provide information to the POV character and 2) act as a poor romantic interest for the POV character. The relationships are instantaneous and not at all developed and the story would have been better without them.

The writing style did not quite work for me; I thought the word choice and syntax were a bit juvenile for lack of a better word and many descriptions of Scratch Moss and the mine are repeated between different characters. Sometimes the same adjectives are used in two adjacent sentences to describe the same thing. Several times, characters’ feelings, reactions, and thoughts are over-explained. For example, characters will remark to themselves that “something” is wrong with Scratch Moss or they “don’t know why” or “what” something is unnecessarily. You either already think something is wrong with Scratch Moss because of how other characters behave or because you already know from reading a good portion of the story.

[Spoilers] There were several aspects of what happened throughout this book I struggled to understand.
First, why wouldn’t the townspeople just imprison Red Clogs in a jail cell each time it’s chosen and prevent it from killing itself? I may have missed it, but does the quality of the coal suffer if a child isn’t killed?
At the end of the book, Joes thinks his mother must have killed herself to prevent herself from causing harm to the community and at the funeral, Elsa makes a comment that Mary was selfless when she realized she was Red Clogs and thus killed herself. But Mary knew about Red Clogs and that someone else would become it if she killed herself which doesn’t seem very selfless. It seems like she could have just told someone who knew about Red Clogs and asked them to keep her locked up especially since the mine was closed so there’s no detriment to the local economy if a child isn’t sacrificed. Otherwise, if Red Clogs willed her to kill herself, that doesn’t make much sense to me considering she wasn’t trying to leave Scratch Moss.
Speaking of Red Clogs and suicide, it doesn’t make much sense for the god in the mine to compel the Red Clogs to kill themselves if they try to leave Scratch Moss. Why wouldn’t he just compel them to stay in Scratch Moss?

Despite my issues with this book, I found it enjoyable for the most part. I would recommend this to anyone that enjoys the horror aspects of books like The Fisherman by John Langan and Nowhere by Allison Gunn.

[Chewable Orb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scratch Moss by David Barnett
5 🔮🔮🔮🔮🔮orbs
Est. Pub. Date: March 5, 2026
Canelo Publishing

Flying through the smog of withered ash….

💡 Orbs Prologue: An iridescent sheen glistens off my wings as I sit perched high above Scratch Moss’ long-abandoned mine. Humans often think I am a bringer of bad luck, but fortunately for me, the folks of Scratch Moss view me as a lending hand to those recently deceased. My likeness is stamped on their gravestones with hopes of guiding deceased family members' safe passage in the nether realms of the unknown. Sweeping my wings with a graceful force, I glide towards the mine, inspecting… From the shadows of century-old trees, a man walks solemnly towards this area. Joe Collier, I presume. A man, an author, who escaped this town, and yet now he is back, mourning the death of his father, Terry Collier, a hometown hero. They often say that people can never truly leave Scratch Moss, for the century-old superstitions act as an invisible barrier to the outside world. Cocking my head towards a patch of undergrowth, I witness the concerning look that sits squarely on Joe’s tired face. He is contemplative in remembrance of a time of his youth, when the evil child-snatcher known as Red Clogs haunted the children of Scratch Moss.

🧐 A small glimpse: An author past his prime reenters a world that he left far behind in the small mining community of Scratch Moss. An air of uncomfortableness greets Joe Collier, one that speaks of unfinished business and undiscovered lore. In David Barnett’s latest folklore masterpiece, readers will dive headfirst into the deep end of a pool filled with quicksand, unable to escape the realities of the peculiarity of those who call Scratch Moss home. Barnett transforms the pages into a time-traveling machine, offering centuries-old backstory as to the history that haunts Scratch Moss. This is no ordinary town. A flux of wealth and stability has been blessed upon its residents, but at what cost? What evil lies beneath the surface?

👍 Orbs Pros: The prose! Wow! I am firmly convinced that David Barnett is simply a master of the folklore horror genre. Barnett’s innate ability to conjure the creepiest of vibes while maintaining emotional depth in the characters is awe-inspiring. The story draws on an unabashed primality, centuries-old horror macerated in a brine of seafoam, or the smells of the dankness of an underground cave. Barnett’s use of the environment always succeeds in making me feel truly invested in the time and place…as if I am a resident as well, succumbing to the demands of ritualistic behavior to provide a safety blanket for generations to come. Creepy! While there are elements of downright splattertastic horror sprinkled within the pages, Barnett employs a more subtle tactic of an unknown god or entity not to be trifled with. For what is scarier than a myth of sorts? The terror of something we cannot actively see or touch adds another complex layer of panic.

👎 Orbs Cons: None, I think Barnett nailed this one!

Must Read! This is fantastic! Terrific job by David Barnett. For fans of the horror genre, this is one not to be missed.

💡 Orbs Epilogue: Flapping my feathery wings, I descend deep within the dimness of the tunnels. I am in search of a worm to abate my insatiable hunger. Further down, I swoop close to the brownish-black coal-coated walls, often sensing lifetimes of sweat and blood left by the men of Scratch Moss. Landing abruptly, I come upon some glowing torches that have illuminated a blocked-off passageway that plunges further downward. Strange dolls made of cornhusks line the area, adding a sense of foreboding. In my birdlike mind, I can’t help but think these poppets are placed to confuse or placate whatever lies beneath the soil. My beady eyes stare into the void, and I hop yet closer, crunching upon small bones lining the entryway. Bones of what? From the mouth of this forbidden tunnel, a thunderous wave of hot, steamy air rises through the shaft and attacks my beak, clearly a warning for me to turn back. A tilt of my head changes my periphery slightly, and I recognize a pair of clogs, coated in a wine-red hue. Blood? Worn by whom? Riding a nauseating wave of stench through which I entered, I spot Joe at the lip of the entrance. My guttural cawing reaches a frenzied pace in my attempt to warn him, yet to no avail. Joe starts his methodical descent… and one must wonder if I will ever see him again…

Many thanks to Canelo for the ARC through NetGalley. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion.

[Callum Gracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received an ARC from netgalley for this. (minor spoilers)

A bit of preamble to this. Firstly; I'm a big fan of the BLU (Barnett Literary Universe) and enjoy the push of regional folk horror that's happening right now.

Secondly; the more I read this, the more I started to notice things from my own childhood. Rabbit Rocks? Why, I grew up playing on those rocks, and going down Deep Pit. Hindleshaw was surely a placeholder for Hindley and Bickershaw, and Platt Fields was sure Platt Bridge. Between that and the mentions of Wigan, it came as less of a surprise when I got to the Afterword and saw that Mr Barnett grew up in the same area as me! Ince. And so it's a complicated relationship I have with this, because it's not a slice of life that's often portrayed in literature - certainly there aren't that many books about mining communities, and those books that cover the Northern Working class tend to either be unbearably grim, or we're the comic relief. This, I can say with 100% authority on the matter, was a very realistic portrayal of working class life in this region, and that is another positive mark for this. I found it touching, warm and funny. I grew up in a coal mining community, lived in pit houses on cobbled roads all my life, and married a coal miners daughter.

Onto the novel itself - its very much in Barnett's wheelhouse here, we've got ancient evils, buried deep, long hidden mysteries and the like, told through a sort of Russian doll/nested narrative (I suppose a bit similar to Cloud Atlas) only it runs from current day to ... a long, long time ago. It tells the story of a town blessed with coal, and cursed for that abundance, and how it impacts its residents through the generation.

The folk horror elements and the story itself is enjoyable and unsettling. I couldn't help feel that it actually needed to be longer (which I suppose is no criticism) but the plot honesty RATTLES along. So much happens within the first ten pages it caused whiplash, and it doesn't really let up from there. Whilst this can be good, for me it left some of the characters feeling a bit two-dimensional or samey, effectively becoming vessels to tell the nested narrative of this towns history rather than feeling like fully fleshed characters (in some instances).

I also couldn't help but feel that there was a missed opportunity here. Each segment throughout history is written in largely the same narrative style - despite being told from different voices - and I honestly think you could skip to any segment and you wouldn't really be able to tell when it was set by the narrative alone, and so for that it lacks some of the atmosphere and descriptive power that Barnett has shown in his previous works.

The horror, whilst effective, does become a bit repetitive really. There are a lot of opportunities and great ghost stories and local legends, however the narrative does start to tell more of a "chain" event throughout, without ever really expanding or exploring beyond that, and so it becomes a bit of an explanation of the continuity of this ancient evil, with characters and setting falling second to that. Overall, enjoyable, and David B is an instant read for me now (and nice to see an Incer publish), but I would have loved this one to slow down a bit, be a bit more indulgent, and explore some characters who, at times, really resonated with me.

[Craig Matthews · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book marks the return of David Barnett's shared-universe folk horror series. Having previously taken us to the Lancashire village of Withered Hill, we return to the North of England – after a detour to the Cornish fishing town of Scuttler's Cove – to visit Scratch Moss. Loosely based on Barnett's own hometown of Ince in Wigan, here we get a look at the desolation of a once thriving coal mining community in post-Thatcher Britain. But while we may expect to see poverty and despair, Scratch Moss seems to provide enough for the people who live there to get by – but something lurks under the ground on which they walk, and the price the residents pay to appease it and reap the benefits is a high one...

While Withered Hill had a very traditional British folk horror feel to its story, I really enjoyed the way in which Scuttler's Cove branched out as a follow-up, using the mythology of Cornwall and of the surrounding ocean to excellent effect. While it didn't hurt that the setting was near to where I've lived my entire life, I mostly enjoyed seeing a different side of the country's folklore explored, and I'm very pleased that Scratch Moss carried that on in another direction. The post-industrial landscape and the way in which the centrepiece of communities was removed overnight, and how a town picks up and carries on once the main employer closes almost overnight, is a rich vein that horror rarely explores. You can feel Barnett's personal experience of the environment shine through, and he deftly folds in elements of religious, ancient and almost Lovecraftian horror into it. It feels like a unique area to explore, and I hope it continues into future entities of the series, as they hopefully begin to tie together more and more.

The history of Scratch Moss is explored through different sections, flashing back at first to the 80s and the protagonist's teenage years before moving further back – one part of the book taking us back to 85 AD. I found this nesting format of different timelines compelling, but I can see why some readers may have an issue with it. After all, it means we spend a sizeable section moving further away from the main narrative and characters we've grown to know. What I would say to those people is please, stick with it. The past sets the ultimate climax of the story up well, and these chapters make for some excellent mini-tales within the main story.

I've avoided saying too much about the plot itself here, or even about the main character Joe Collier, a once-famous but now struggling author who is travelling from London home to Scratch Moss, following the passing of his father. There are a lot of surprises and secrets around characters and even the town itself, and I'd hate to spoil it for anyone. If you enjoyed the previous books in the series, or even if you're a folk horror fan who hasn't read them – this will function just as well as a standalone book – I'm confident in saying you'll likely find much to love here as well. The release of book four, Twisted Pike, can't come fast enough for me.

[W.M. Parslow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first heard about Scratch Moss when I was at an author event with David Barnett in Oxford. He was discussing Scuttler’s Cove, which I had recently finished, with Elizabeth Garner, daughter of Alan Garner. I thought that the idea of a folk horror in a post-industrial landscape was a really intriguing one and, as a recent discoverer of David Barnett’s folk horror through both Scuttler’s Cove and Withered Hill it immediately gained a spot on my ‘books to look forward to’ list. Now, being a fan brings with it certain worries every time a new title is released, namely ‘what if it’s not very good?’. Thankfully, Scratch Moss is very, very good indeed.

Set in the eponymous ex-mining village, Scratch Moss moves its folklore from the more typically arable and rural settings that Barnett has used in previous books (farming and the forests in Withered Hill, fishing communities in Scuttler’s Cove). Here, the entity is one born of darkness, smoke and fire. It lives among the coal, and I did appreciate Barnett’s link between this particular force of nature and the physical origins of coal itself.

Another key aspect to the narrative of Scratch Moss is rooted in 20th-century history. Anyone who reads the book and is unfamiliar with the battles that were waged between the mining communities and Margaret Thatcher’s government in the 1980s may miss out on some of the details, but Barnett’s world-building and storytelling is strong enough to account for this. As with every other town and community that was built around a coal mine or colliery in the north of Britain, Scratch Moss has suffered. That said it has not suffered as much as others, but there are reasons for that which unfold as the book does and which I will not spoil here.

Another facet of the story is generational or shared history, and trauma. Our key narrator is Joe Collier, who escaped the town as a child and is returning to bury his father. As soon as he has arrived however, things start taking a dark turn (again, I’m not spoiling things here but one scene in particular had the same effect on me as the loaves in Withered Hill). We get to experience this thread of familial shadow through the novel’s structure. Multiple timelines is not uncommon in Barnett’s work, but in Scratch Moss he employs what I’m going to call a boomerang structure. We travel back through time, but then we return.

Overall, Scratch Moss is a darkly atmospheric and creepy slice of English folk horror for the 21st-century. I devoured the second half in one late night sitting and now I’m hungry for more. If you like feeling goosebumps shiver up and down your arms as you read of an evening, you need to get hold of this title when it comes out in March.

I was given a free copy of this book via NetGalley. This review is my own, honest opinion of the book.

[Simon Langley-Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

Over the last few years I’ve read a great deal of horror and have come to see how messy a genre it can be, in every sense of the word. A few novels stand out for the way they rework British folklore to striking effect — Andrew Michael Hurley’s work springs to mind. David Barnett’s 2024 novel Withered Hill was one such book, and one I greatly enjoyed, so I was pleased to receive this ARC of Scratch Moss from NetGalley.

Scratch Moss settles quickly and confidently into a folk-horror pattern and is written in a style that keeps the pages turning. However, it doesn’t quite reach the level of its predecessor. The reactions of the minor characters, Joe Collier’s gullibility, his mother’s strange behaviour, and the recurring magpies feel overemphasised and over-explained. There are moments of unnecessary repetition in the everyday detail, and some stretches of dialogue sound wooden — as though the speaker is addressing the reader to advance the plot rather than speaking naturally to another character. There is also some notably clumsy sex writing (‘penetrated’ is not a word that evokes erotic memory so much as anatomy) and small but jarring errors, such as a vicar “holding a sermon” rather than a service. The village never feels quite as unsettling or isolated as it needs to be; Scratch Moss itself lacks the claustrophobic menace that would allow the central idea to take full hold.

There are plotting errors here. The things Arthur reads in the vicar’s notebook, for example, are not confined to the vicar’s point of view and therefore could not be reported there. This irritated me.

That said, I did enjoy parts of the book. It is a solid and often compelling horror novel, drawing much of its power from suggestion rather than gore. The structure is particularly engaging, especially the gradual movement back through different eras as events echo and repeat within the village. This was handled smoothly, though it might have been interesting to see the narrative voice shift more markedly with each step back in time.

There is genuine atmosphere here, and Barnett clearly understands the enduring appeal of setting such tales in small, slightly insular English villages. We recognise these places — where locals eye strangers with suspicion, where conversation in the pub falters when a newcomer steps inside, and where curtains twitch as you pass. It is always intriguing to wonder what lies beneath that surface, and what secrets such communities might be keeping.

[Si · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘There are older gods’, said Mrs Maxwell. ‘Especially in Scratch Moss. Darker gods. Dirty gods.’
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When Joe returns to his home town of Scratch Moss for his father’s funeral, the mining town seems much the same as when he left, same faces he knew as a kid, same routines with the same rituals. When he steps foot back into the town he feels the presence of the place wash over him and old memories long forgotten come to the surface. Memories of murder and monsters that have come back to haunt him.
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I know I only read David Barnett’s first two books in his folk horror universe late last year but I’ve been itching with coal dust and anticipation since finding out the third was well on its way, and even more itchy when I found out there was a chance of getting an early copy with Net Galley and so with the helps of the old gods and the new, this review copy landed in my inbox. *I must remember to sacrifice a local charva later*.
And I can happily say this was phenomenal, think Stephen Kings IT but in a mining town version of Summerisle, where the only thing creepier than the creatures of old are the locals who would sacrifice you if it meant next years harvest will be a bountiful one.
Told through several timelines, starting off in the modern day then jumping back generationally and culturally hundreds of years. This works well for the folk horror genre as the origins slowly peel away like the layers of an onion, adding tension and apprehension as you go, before making your way back to the modern day and facing the repercussions of the sins of our fathers. Fantastic story telling.
And most of all I love how these stories so far are interlinked, even if it is just with a mention of a place name, or a cameo of a character that we met in a previous book and I look forward to where this leads in the future because you can feel it in your bones that it’s building to something juicy and feral.

[Sam Ashurst · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sold as a new kind of folk horror, shifting from rural to post-industrial with a coal-black creep, Scratch Moss travels back in time before lurching forward again, pulling strings across five different timelines. Gone are the usual woodland rituals, replaced by suburban secrets - ancient promises buried deep beneath profitable soil.

Okay, so this one is special - earning a locked-in place in my 2026 Top 10, which is pretty exciting this early in the year. Scratch Moss is gripping from sentence to sentence, with Barnett’s structural control ensuring that even the timeline jumps don’t kick you out of the story, with characters to care for, and nightmarish set-pieces to survive in every section.

Compelling, layered heroes, disturbing, despicable villains, and lore that feels like it's been uncovered as opposed to made-up, it’s an almost perfect folk horror experience. HOWEVER…

This is my first David Barnett book, and I read the whole thing excited to immediately stack his other tomes onto my TBR pile - until a completely unnecessary epilogue operated like one of those MCU post-credit scenes, bringing a surviving character from a different book into the narrative, to vaguely set-up separate sequel. I understand that Barnett has a following, but this book is so good it’ll bring new readers in, so it seems pretty bonkers that the editors would include such a big spoiler for an entire back catalog book!

Don’t do what I did, read everything Barnett's written before this one (I don’t want to be specific, as that’ll just spoil things further) - and Scratch Moss is out in March, so you’ve got time!

Epilogue aside, this is still a masterpiece - an essential read for every horror fan. Loved it!

[Stella · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Jersey Devil. The Headless Horseman. The old witch who lives in the middle of nowhere. The strange old man near the golf course who never leaves his house.

Folklore lives everywhere.

David Barnett has done it again with Scratch Moss, another masterfully told folklore tale. Like Withered Hill and Scuttler’s Cove before it, Scratch Moss is a town bound to a single story and a single industry. Coal. The town survives because of it. And no one ever really leaves.

Joe returns to Scratch Moss after his father’s death, decades after being sent away to live with his aunt when his father was imprisoned. Now in his fifties, he plans to tie up loose ends and leave for good. But then his first love re-enters his life, and Joe is pulled back into the dark heart of Scratch Moss and into secrets that ensure he may never leave at all.

I love the worlds David Barnett creates. His settings are so vivid you can practically smell the damp air of the town and the mines beneath it. The story moves effortlessly from the present day, back through generations, all the way to the town’s dark beginnings—before snapping back to now, revealing just how deep and enduring the evil truly is.

And as always, Barnett leaves me wanting more. With a tantalizing tease of what’s next in his folklore universe, I’m officially on tenterhooks waiting for the next installment.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book. And thank you to David Barnett for continuing to absolutely kick ass.

[Summer R Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and David Barnett for the ARC. I leave this review voluntarily and happily. Also thank you publishers for your hard work!

Even though it took me some time to read this book, it was absolutely phenomenal. Another fantastic book from this author and the lore is always so good. The change of the years going through time so we can better understand what's going on in just absolutely loved it, pacing is great and I wasent bored. The characters definitely loved them even the bad ones. The descriptions definitely had me cringing time to time as it was disgusting and graphic at times. There is child death mentions, death, and a fee other things involved in this book. Even so its still a fantastic read.

This authors imagination i dont know where he gets it from but it has made amazing storylines. Each book so very different from one another and the lore! The lore is what brings me back to these books. Not only that the strangeness that is the entities in these books. They are unique and so different and I cant wait to see what the next one is going to be.

There is darkness, hope, and need in this book. Very emotional and it just grips you the whole time. The characters you can very much feel how they feel and it makes you want nothing more to help them. I can just go on and on but this author has definitely become one of my favorites.

[Cher Van Der Woude · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC Review: Scratch Moss by David Barnett
4.25⭐️

Scratch Moss is a folk‑horror novel, a genre I don’t read very often, but one I genuinely enjoy when it’s done well, and this book reminded me why. It’s eerie, atmospheric, and quietly unsettling in all the right ways.

The story moves between different time periods, shifting from the present day back into the past and then forward again. Those transitions are one of the book’s strongest elements. Each era feels vivid and distinct, and with every jump in time the tension builds a little more. I found myself fully hooked in each period, definitely feeling the atmosphere shift and the unease deepen.

More than once I caught myself thinking, oh dear, what am I reading now, and how is this happening? Always in a positive way, though: intrigued, surprised, and eager to keep going.

It did take me a little while to settle into the story, but around the 30% mark something clicked. From that point on, I didn’t want to put the book down. The pacing tightens, the mystery sharpens, and the folk‑horror elements become more pronounced as the threads across time start to connect.

Overall, Scratch Moss is a suspenseful and original read, and full of slow‑burn tension. I really enjoyed it.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Hoarding Wyrm | Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A big thanks to Netgalley and Canelo for this eARC! 4,5/5⭐️

What would you be willing to do to keep your community safe and thriving? Would you follow in your ancestors’ footsteps? And what price would you be willing to pay for that kind of security?

Oh, how I love folklore. This was my first Barnett novel (even though Withered Hill has been patiently waiting on my shelves for ages (sorry about that)), and it absolutely didn’t disappoint.

As someone not from the UK, I had a general sense of the Thatcher era and its reforms, but I didn’t fully grasp just how deeply and painfully they reshaped certain communities and ways of life. This story captures that impact so clearly, while seamlessly weaving in a folkloric element that is genuinely mesmerising. The characters are messy and flawed, which, to me, makes them feel incredibly real.

There are a lot of timelines, and yes, that could have been confusing, but I actually found it strengthened the story. It broadens your perspective, deepens your understanding, and steadily pulls everything toward a final, desperate conclusion.

I did see the twist coming fairly early on — but did I mind? Not at all. The journey was compelling regardless, and I’ll definitely be picking up more of the author’s work, especially now that I know it all exists within the same universe.

[Katrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Upon the death of his father, after four decades away, failed writer Joe Collier returns to his hometown of Scratch Moss to help his mother with the funeral arrangements.

A former mining town, Scratch Moss’s glory days are long behind it. His vague childhood memories seem accurate, yet he immediately feels ill at ease as old familiar faces approach him offering their sincere condolences, despite his father having been in jail for murder.

To make matters worse, his mother begins to behave strangely, adding to the tension of an already painful situation. Slowly, however, Joe’s memories of the past start to come back, and the story truly begins.

Scratch Moss opens at full throttle with a grim, foreboding atmosphere, before easing into a measured pace that allows Barnett’s world-building to take centre stage.

The story unfolds across several different time periods, executed in a very clever way. You can see the ending coming, and that makes the climax feel a bit underwhelming, however, the middle sections are engaging enough to keep you reading.

I found Scratch Moss to be a very solid page turner, and I’m inclined to check out Barnett’s other novels on the back of it.

Worth a look.

With thanks to Canelo for the ARC.

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review is for an ARC copy received from the publisher through NetGalley.
A once successful author whose career is now floundering, Joe Collier is returning to the small town of Scratch Moss where he grew up because his father has just died; a father who spent decades in prison for murder. When he arrives in the former coal mining town, he's dismayed to see his mother acting strangely, and surprised that the locals call his father a hero. What's more, he sees them putting straw effigies of children in the nondenominational church as they worry about a local legend called Red Clogs coming back. Joe soon discovers there are deep seeded secrets in Scratch Moss even beyond the memories he's forgotten about for so long.
David Barnett may just be the new king of British folklore horror. This novel is carefully plotted, starting modern day but going back to various earlier time periods to unspool the important epochs of Scratch Moss's history. Though the story goes back in time, and then forward again, the mysteries of Scratch Moss and Red Clogs are revealed in a very organic and easily understood manner. And the epilogue brought such a smile to my face as it revealed just what greatness we can expect in the realm of Barnett's folk horror in the future.

[Alex E. · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5: Scratch Moss

The tight-nit community of Scratch Moss is reliant on its coal pit for their survival. If you don't work as a miner personally, then certainly your family members do. But the residents of Scratch Moss don't just need the mines for their paychecks, but also for the well being of their very souls.

Vibes:
-British Folk Horror
-a return to the world of Withered Hill and Scuttler's Cove (this is a read-alone, you do not need to have read the other two to enjoy this one)
-Cults & craziness
-Five different timelines (you start in modern day then work your way backwards; you don't flip flop back and forth between POVs so honestly it's easy to follow; I never felt lost or confused).

David Barnett has quickly become my favorite author for all things folk horror; I can't wait to read what he brings us next from the Withered Hill universe!
.......
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. All views expressed are my own.

[Kate Victoria RescueandReading · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably my favourite of Barnett’s folk horror stories. Love the little Gemini tie in also; I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen with them in future works.

In Scratch Moss you have a coal town with an unspoken, sordid history. For thousands of years children have been going missing. The townspeople do nothing to stop these tragedies. Something lurks within the dark earth and it hungers.
Following several perspectives in time, readers get to see the beginning and progression of the lore around Red Clogs.

David has included a fascinating Afterword section that I encourage you to check out as well. Loved hearing his inspiration for the tale, his experience growing up in an industrial town, his witnessing the closing of the mines in the 1900s, etc.

You can read this as a stand alone, but it’s well worth it to read “Withered Hill” and “Scuttler’s Cove” for the brief connections to each other, and since they are also awesome books in their own right.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Canelo for a copy!

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scratch Moss starts off strong, building the mood of the town of Scratch Moss. You quickly get that sense that something isn't right. The mystery builds and you are eager to find out what is happening in this town. Up until about half way through the book I didn't want to put it down.

The pace slows down for me rapidly when the multiple timelines are introduced. The writing is still excellent but I feel the story repeats itself often in order to introduce and explain the different timelines. This is great for readers who may have missed plot points or who are listening via audiobook. However, it felt overly repetitive for me.

I will continue to read books by David Barnett because his writing is atmospheric. I just hope he steers away from this 5 timeline format for the next one. 4 stars rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

[Amy A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

This was a wonderful folk horror novel!

It starts slow, not going to lie, but trust the process. Once the story finds its footing, it becomes gripping, creepy, and hard to put down. The buildup absolutely pays off by the end.
The multiple timelines are one of my favorite and best parts of the plot. They’re clear, purposeful, and incredibly satisfying as everything starts to click into place. The characters feel easy to connect with, the folklore is deliciously eerie, and the atmosphere nails that unsettling folk horror vibe without overdoing it.
The plot is smart and full of twists that actually work. The way the timelines come together is masterfully done. Everything feels earned, everything makes sense, and the ending absolutely lands.
As the third book in this world, this is hands down my favorite so far. I’ve already recommended it to multiple people, and I am absolutely reading the next one the second it drops.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Canelo for allowing me to read an ARC of this book!

Title: Scratch Moss
Author: David Barnett
Publisher: Canelo
Format: Kindle E-Book

[Lj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scratch Moss is the “Omelas Child” set in the world of The Wicker Man and blackened by coal dust.
Joe Collins is an aging writer who returns to his hometown of Scratch Moss. His father, serving a life sentence for kicking a man to death, has just died. Joe doesn’t remember much about his childhood, having been sent to life with his aunt after his father was arrested. Things in Scratch Moss are strange, townsfolk hold that Joe’s dad is a hero and there’s the sense that some unspeakable horror is about to hit the defunct mining town like an earthquake.

I enjoyed this dark tromp deep down into the Scratch Moss mines. The true breadth of this tale spans centuries and I hung on every word of lore. Industrial folk horror wasn’t something I knew I needed but this fresh take was as equally eerie as anything in Harvest Home.

[Natasha Aleksandrova · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a multi-timeline folk horror story set in the isolated town of Scratch Moss, famous for its rich coal, which turns out comes at a price.

This book is set in the same universe as Withered Hill and Scuttler’s Cove, but each can be read independently. Out of the three, this is my favorite. This book has so many unsettling / creepy scenes and some nice twists.

The story is told in a really unique way, with four or so timelines going from most recent to oldest, then back to the present in ascending order. This creates very layered storylines, slowly unpeeling everything and answering questions. I found it really effective and not distracting.

I know this is going to be one of my favorites this year. Fantastic read.

Also, good news: the author has a fourth book going back to Withered Hill coming out this year as well.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!