The Country Dwellers is a virtual reality film which traces the connections between Appalachian folk magic and the rise of Neo-Paganism. It traces the throughline from herbalist healer “granny women” in the rural South to the Witch as a reclaimed archetype of feminist empowerment and social justice. Conversations about Paganism proliferate in online spaces like TikTok, aka WitchTok and have been fueled by young women. These contradictions and connections have inspired this film.
Extensive archival research for the film has been conducted throughout the Southeast including research in the archives of the FoxFire Institute in Rabun Gap, Georgia.
