Horror doesn't necessarily always have to have that same old dark and menacing milieu. It's refreshing to see when someone explores the genre from another angle, and Harrow County has the kind of artwork that elevates the story to another level.

The use of watercolors accentuates the linework in all the right places and makes for moody and eerie - but also simultaneously kind of ethereal and beautiful - visuals. The gloomy color tones are amazing, creating interesting textures. The landscapes are like paintings and the people are drawn in this very simplistic style, almost in the style of some children's books. All the fire stuff, like the flaming haints at the cemetery, glows brightly on the pages looking exactly what they are, like from another world of nightmares and hell fire. All this matches the horror elements, because the contrast is interesting and definitely unexpected.

In a way, a simple and traditional story like this needs that extra something to feel like worth the time, because witches and curses have been explored so many times that it's difficult to see what new the topic might offer. However, Harrow County isn't necessarily what it seems to be at first glance, especially regarding the decision of Emmy when she finds out how she's connected to the past events. The plot just never seems to take the usual turns and avoids enough clichés to keep the story flowing in an engaging way.

There's a boy's skin that speaks, a spooky tree, an ancient creature living in the woods, idiotic townsfolk, and lots and lots of whimsical, dark, and dreamlike atmosphere, but in a more subtle package than you'd expect. Despite the highly traditional approach, Harrow County still feels fresh. A good ol' Southern Gothic creepy tale to read by the fire on an Autumn evening.