This spooky season Paramount+ is treating viewers to a new and enticing horror series, titled The Burning Girls. The British original stars Samantha Morton and Ruby Stokes, who find themselves dealing with terrifying hauntings and small-town superstitions in rural England. But eager viewers will be interested to find out if this troubling tale is actually based on a true story.
This article will explore the origins of the series and detail everything we know about the show so far.
Is The Burning Girls based on a true story?
Yes, The Burning Girls is actually based on true events, focusing on a real place in England and a real story from Britain’s haunting past. It seems people were indeed burned as martyrs throughout the British countryside in the 1500s. This chilling truth was revealed in interviews by C.J. Tudor, the author of the book on which this series is based.
It is true that people in Sussex, England were burned at the stake around 500 years ago. These religious victims were known as the Sussex Martyrs, and their story inspired writer C.J. Tudor (The Chalk Man) to create a modern account of that horrifying historical event, exploring the superstitions it has left behind.
To this day, villagers are said to commemorate the martyrs with memorials and plaques across Sussex. C.J. Tudor saw one of these aforementioned memorials, centering on the deaths at Lewes in 1577, which became the inspiration for her next novel.
The Burning Girls TV Show plot explained
The Burning Girls is a six-part series by Hans Rosenfeldt (Marcella) about Reverend Jack Brooks (Morton) and her daughter Flo (Stokes), who move to the quiet Sussex village of Chapel Croft, which they soon discover has its own sinister past. In 1556, two young girls were burnt at the stake in the village and the place has never recovered ever since.
RELATED: Where was The Burning Girls filmed?
As they get acquainted with the village, more of its horrid secrets start to reveal themselves. Jack finds out that the former vicar had hanged himself in the chapel, after being haunted by the ghosts of the burning girls. And it isn’t long before Jack is suffering from a similar fate, seeing strange goings on in the chapel itself.
Jack digs deeper into the village’s troubling past and discovers that Chapel Croft has a sinister history of girls disappearing. Five separate individuals have all but vanished from the village without any follow-up in recent years. Jack and Flo launch their own investigation, uncovering even more fresh horrors.
What book is The Burning Girls based on?
The Burning Girls is based on the 2021 book of the same name written by C.J. Tudor. The best-selling author is probably most famous for writing The Chalk Man, but this is her first television adaptation, one that is sure to frighten viewers this October. One of her other novels, The Drift, is also currently in production. This is definitely a writer to keep an eye on in the future.
The six-part series will be debuting on Paramount+ on October 19th, with all the first season’s episodes being released in one go on the streaming service. The Burning Girls has received positive reviews to date and is available to stream right now.
