Children of the Night

Novel by John Blackburn (England) 1966.

A series of unfathomable but violent incidents has begun to plague the picturesque moorside village of Dunstonholme, none of which can be satisfactorily explained. The famed explorer, J Molden Mott, is staying in the village and is keen to investigate, especially after the Rev Ainger, a noted local historian, takes the time to fill him in on more detail. It seems that similar incidents have been going ever since a fanatical religious sect called the Children of Paul massacred the entire village before heading out to sea where they were presumed drowned. But Ainger believes otherwise, and Mott and the local doctor, Tom Allen, come to agree with his incredible theories that the sect actually stayed on the mainland and settled down Pounder's Hole, a deep local cave, where they still remain nearly 700 years later as mutated creatures, telepathic and extremely dangerous. They also agree on a plan of action to deal with the sect before they return to the surface to act out the Day of Judgement. However, Ainger's attempts to persuade his bishop backfires horribly, as he leads a thousand-strong crowd up onto the moors to greet the sect with love.

John Blackburn either spends a lot of time developing his plots or he's a natural storyteller. In Children of the Night, he creates a detailed local folklore, complete with logical explanations: there's nothing magical, fanciful or way-out about it; it's all rational and scientific and, yes, it's all just about possible: not particularly likely, granted, but certainly possible. Immortality, or at least longevity, is one of the oldest dreams of mankind, and Blackburn actually hands us a way of achieving a considerably longer life. How many people would consider living in an underground cave, living on raw carp and nourished by worm-like parasites writhing throughout their body, is open to discussion but the concept amazes. As usual his characterisation is almost flawless, and as usual there are character overlaps with other books. Here Mr Mott, the incredible egotistical guest-star of many books, gets his own book and is surprisingly less self-obsessed than usual. The bishop is a great character, as is the retired admiral, leader of men but slave to his wife. But enough praise: if you've read John Blackburn before, you'll know what to expect and you won't be disappointed; if you're new to his work, this is as good a place to start as any and you'll soon be hooked.