Horror author Duncan P. Bradshaw is most known for his comedy horror novels, such as Don't Smell The Flowers! They Want To Steal Your Bones! and Mr. Sucky, but he has occasionally branched out into more serious horror. I had read his serious short story Q&A in the Trapped Within horror anthology but I have to admit that didn't really stick around in the mind. And the Night Did Claim Them is a ninety nine page horror novella that was apparently inspired by an image the author had brought, originally intending to use the image as the cover for a book about zombies and voodoo. I started reading the novella during the height of my second Covid infection and didn't get too far into it due to feeling rotten. I subsequently then read the book within two lunch breaks at my day job, and have to say I loved it.
The novella is written from a first person perspective of a barman as he works a shift in a local bar on a seemingly normal night. Hoping for an early finish, he instead learns that his boss has ok'd a lock-in, much to the barman's annoyance. At some point the relative tranquillity of another dull monotonous night at work is broken when he discovers that all doesn't appear right outside the pub. Inexplicably, the pub appears to exist within a black void, with there not being an 'outside' so to speak. The barman discovers that anyone who leaves the pub is swiftly and violently killed by an unknown force, something which bizarrely doesn't faze the regular bar flies. The only person who appears to have some clue as to what is happening is a mysterious stranger called Simon, who tells the barman that everyone there is fated to die, but that for some reason it is the barman with the power to decide in which order their lives are to end.
I really liked the idea for the story, I was expecting something grim, but I can't say I had expected a story that would captivate me so much. The mystery of what is happening is what kept me glued. There is of course a huge reveal as to the horror, but this actually came around two thirds into the story rather than as a final twist and revelation. It is an idea that has been done in horror plenty of times before, weirdly, it is the video game The Dark Pictures Presents: Switchback VR that most sprung to mind. There is a grotesque feeling at times due to all the characters with the exception of the barman being completely unfazed by the growing body count, the highlight of this being one character who is propelled violently back into the pub once he leaves, with his broken body jumbled up with the innards of a now broken jukebox, but despite being very visible, everyone carries on as normal.
Over the course of the novella we most come to know the barman, with him thinking back on past memories of what he deemed a wasted existence. The small number of bar patrons personalities are mainly shown from his perspective, but later developments reveal hidden depths to these characters. There was some neat development that nullifies the initial stereotypes you are presented with. While this is a serious novella, Bradshaw's humour shines through in dialogue characters have with each other. You could argue it is a slight cop-out having a character who exists mainly to be able to explain what is going on to the reader, but I liked the character of Simon, and in this context some sort of explanation was more satisfying than if it had all been left to the reader to piece together.
Over the course of the novella we most come to know the barman, with him thinking back on past memories of what he deemed a wasted existence. The small number of bar patrons personalities are mainly shown from his perspective, but later developments reveal hidden depths to these characters. There was some neat development that nullifies the initial stereotypes you are presented with. While this is a serious novella, Bradshaw's humour shines through in dialogue characters have with each other. You could argue it is a slight cop-out having a character who exists mainly to be able to explain what is going on to the reader, but I liked the character of Simon, and in this context some sort of explanation was more satisfying than if it had all been left to the reader to piece together.
The horror stays once it first appears, and the shorter length meant that this horror could be sustained. A novella was the perfect length, I think with a short story I would have wanted more, while I'm not convinced this would have worked as a full length novel. It was all written in an engaging way, with characters dialogue feeling believable, even with the unfolding insanity.
And the Night Did Claim Them was a novella that I enjoyed far more than I expected to, I'm not sure why my expectations was muted, perhaps due to only really knowing that the author excels with his comedy horror books. I should not of feared though, as this was a neat well written horror that had me struggling to put this down.
SCORE:
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