Illustration

Folk-Inspired Illustrations Tell the Tales of Murders (and Beyond)

Murder ballad illustration by Katy Horan

The Bloody Gar­den­er (mur­der ballad) 

Have you ever heard a mur­der bal­lad? It’s a song that nar­rates, as the name sug­gests, a mur­der. Grue­some, yes, but it’s a long musi­cal tra­di­tion. Mur­der bal­lads pre­date stan­dard music nota­tion and date back to the Mid­dle Ages; 17th cen­tu­ry Europe saw them print­ed and sold on broad­sheets. Artist and illus­tra­tor Katy Horan imag­ined two of these clas­sic tunes called The Dread­ful Wind and Rain and The Bloody Gar­den­er. In each image, she uses her folk-inspired style and expert use of inky tones to pro­duce a moody scene that’s dark yet not grue­some. This same aes­thet­ic is present beyond the mur­der bal­lads, from her Lit­er­ary Witch­es to char­ac­ters from the likes of clas­sic literature.

Katy has recent­ly reopened her online shop with prints, cards, and orig­i­nal works of art. Check it out and look for updates on her Insta­gram!

Murder ballad illustration by Katy Horan

The Dread­ful Wind and Rain (mur­der ballad) 

Katy Horan creates beautifully dark folk-inspired illustrations that often focus on classic literature.

Folk inspired illustration by Katy Horan

Cin­derel­la

Folk inspired illustration by Katy Horan

Folk inspired illustration by Katy Horan

Folk inspired illustration by Katy Horan

Folk inspired illustration by Katy Horan

Folk inspired illustration by Katy Horan

Folk inspired illustration by Katy Horan

She has recently re-opened her online shop, and it includes prints, cards, and original art.

Folk inspired illustration by Katy Horan

Por­trait of Lucy West­en­ra from Bram Stok­er’s Drac­u­la. (As a Hal­loween card!)

Folk inspired illustration by Katy Horan

Folk inspired illustration by Katy Horan

Folk inspired illustration by Katy Horan

Folk inspired illustration by Katy Horan

Folk inspired illustration by Katy Horan

Folk inspired illustration by Katy Horan

Folk inspired illustration by Katy Horan