Cold Moon Over Babylon (Valancourt 20th Century Classics)

I've been reading horror before Stephen King was around and it seems to me that suspense, gore and shock can be well done with levels of quality and style but the most difficult thing may be the ability to evoke a creepy, nightmarish atmosphere. Find this book if you like the feeling of being lost in a claustraphobic, dreamlike state.

Michael McDowell had a truly great way of creating the creepiest tales in the simplest prose. Amidst all the genteel southern hospitality and bubbling personalities lies a dark undercurrent of murder, and revenge from beyond the grave. Nathan Redfield picked the wrong family to bully when he started in on the Larkins, a quiet and unobtrusive small family trying to eek out a living with a tiny blueberry crop. Nathan is an abusive controller over everyone he meets, especially his brother Ben, but he hides it behind his slick southern veneer of politeness. When he targets the Larkin farm, attempting to take it at whatever cost, he finally meets his match without ever realizing it.McDowell so skillfully takes the reader into this hot, humid, languid town that you actually feel you are there, and that you are part of this small town and know these peoples habits as well as they do. Superbly written and completely creepy, with frequent doses of terror and gore mixed with good ol' southern hospitality, you will find this book one of those "can't put it down" reads that leave you wishing for more.

The last reviewer asked what happen to Michael McDowell.His health betrayed him and after the screenplay for Thinner, he taught screenwriting at Boston University for a year before his body wouldn't allow him to continue even with that.He died recently, in 1999, I believe. He was a good guy and a fine writer.

I was probably 12 or 13 when I first read this, and although it's most likely lost up in the attic, it's still one of the best novels I've ever read (and re-read). McDowell's mastery at establishing a realistic, spine-tingling setting lifted this up above garden-variety horror novels. Overall, this is a superbly-written, creepy story of murder and supernatural retribution, and I wish its talented author would write some more material like it. Good luck finding a copy!

Michael McDowell is indeed one of the best horror fiction writers, and all fans of the genre should scour the used bookstores for any of his works. However, this is one of the best. I literally was too scared to turn out the lights reading this book, so I read it all in one night!!