If you are looking for a horror series to binge watch, you could easily find new or recent content on Netflix. But why not try something different?–something with less gloss but more period interest and loads of heart. Take a trip back to 1977, when the pants were tight and the collars wide; and get ready to enjoy a season of folk horror greatness, the classic British series Children of the Stones (1977). You can watch all seven episodes for free on Youtube.

Here’s a quick summary: Astrophysicist Adam and his son, Matthew, arrive in the small town of Millbury, where they plan to study the ancient standing stones that surround the village. Soon after settling in, they notice that the residents are happy. Too happy. Only a few relative newcomers–a doctor, farmer, and museum curator–seem normal, which is to say mildly depressed, paranoid, and intolerant of other people’s joy. Before long, Adam and Matthew suspect that the villagers’ unusual cheerfulness is linked to the stones; and together with the curator and her daughter, they set about exploring the connection. But the small group’s investigation jeopardizes their safety and puts them at odds with the community which seems to have mysterious plans for them.  

With its focus on ancient standing stones and small town weirdness, the series often comes up in discussions of British folk horror. It fascinated young viewers across the UK, many of whom continue to remember it fondly in podcasts and columns. Still, despite these golden-hued endorsements from commentators I trust, I’ve ignored the show until very recently because, in general, I don’t enjoy programming intended for children. I’m glad I gave it a chance, though, because, in terms of character, plot, and even music, this show, while totally suitable for kids, is anything but childish. 

Whether young or old, the characters are mature and interesting. Matthew is a small adult who is smart, skeptical, and responsible. His father treats him as a peer, an equal partner in the investigation of the stones. And there’s very little of the marked power dynamic that characterizes traditional parent/child relationships in life and on TV, where it often serves as a source of comedy or drama. All of that tension and potential material is absent here, and it’s to the benefit of the story, which is about something much more frightening than the struggles of being a teenager. There’s also romance between Adam and the curator as well as plenty of other adult characters with storylines significant enough to fully engage old and ossified creatures like myself.

The series also has a surprisingly complicated plot. I struggled to follow dialogue about black holes, Fourier Transforms, and atomic clocks until I remembered that the jargon being tossed around by Adam and Matt is pseudoscience and isn’t supposed to make sense. At first, I tried to collate their statements with reality and felt a little frustrated when I couldn’t. But I was taking the wrong approach. To enjoy this series, I needed to let the language of physics, astronomy, and mathematics wash over me and be content with identifying the larger sweeps of the narrative. Like lots of sci-fi–though I’m not confining it to that category–the show won’t actually stimulate your mind to the point of explosion; it just has a frosting of intellectual complexity that makes it seem that way. And if you can resist overintellectualizing it, you’ll have a lot of fun!

So far, I’ve talked about the show’s characters and pseudoscientific themes, but what about the fear factor? If you’re a horror fan, will Children of the Stones satisfy your need to be scared? I think so. Like all good folk horror, the series plays up the creepy insularity of small towns and the alienating foreignness of their ancient traditions. Even more unsettling though, it exploits the perennially effective binary of us versus them, fostering a sense of paranoia that’s reminiscent of Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1955). Who can Adam and Matthew trust? No one. While the villagers seem friendly and–for the most part–normal, they’re actually plotters participating in a conspiracy that threatens our protagonists and has implications that go well beyond the boundaries of their small town. Juxtaposing the small and the large, the local and the cosmic, Children of the Stones evokes a Lovecraftian sublimity that horror fans will appreciate.  

Lovers of the strange and macabre will know they’re in the right place when they hear the theme music. It’s incredible and unlike anything you’d hear on American television whether for adults or children. The chanting and singing is so primitive and orgiastic that it feels vaguely obscene. It made me blush while raising the hairs on the back of my neck, a discordant response that, in its confusion, pairs perfectly with horror. 

Thousands of emotionally scarred Brits can’t be wrong: Children of the Stones is warped in the best possible way. And now, thanks to YouTube, American audiences can share the experience. Happy Day!