Why We Keep Returning to Horror at the Age We First Felt It

There’s been a noticeable resurgence in storytelling that places teenagers at the center of horror—stories where young people face impossible odds, ancient evils, and forces far beyond their understanding. From Netflix’s Stranger Things to HBO’s IT: Welcome to Derry, audiences continue to gravitate toward narratives that blend mystery, lore, and terror with the raw intensity of coming of age.

That resurgence isn’t accidental. It reflects something fundamental about fear, identity, and memory—about the moment in our lives when the world first reveals its teeth.

The Towpath, and the growing universe surrounding it—including the companion novella The Lost Diary of Gil Stanford—sits squarely within this tradition.