IN A DARK DREAM

by Charles L. Grant ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 28, 1988

With the spectacular success of the Nightmare on Elm Street films, it was inevitable that a horror writer would adopt that series' premise of nightmares impinging on everyday reality. Fortunately, the writer who's done so is Grant (The Pet, Fear of the Night, etc.)--one of the genre's more literate practitioners--and the result is this nifty little exercise in surreal spookiness. It's in the small town of Hunter Lake, N.J., that nightmares become real--but not before Grant, always a careful scene-setter, devotes many pages to depicting early summer town-life, especially that of the Erskines: town sheriff Glenn and real-estate agent Marjory, son Bern, teen daughters Nancy and Dory, and youngster Cheryl. As with most families, the Erskines' love is tested lightly and often: Glenn and Marjory quarrel over her plan to develop the town's wetlands; bored Bern aches for college in the fall; Nancy pines for a car she can't afford; Dory and Cheryl bicker. Other, more disturbing events point to a deeper malaise in Hunter Lake--a rash of robberies, the firing of Nancy by her lecherous boss, the nightmares that plague Dory's sleep (""Daddy, something bad's coming"")--but real trouble doesn't start until Glenn learns that the town's legendary boogeyman, Jimmy Hale, who raped his mom and then slew her and his dad, has been set loose from jail. News of Hale's likely return coincides with a wave of weird happenings: the town's new preacher appears and vanishes at blinks of an eye; Nancy makes a date with a boy who turns out to be dead; Marjory's sister comes to town and turns into a--ghoul? Finally--as Hale turns up, is shot dead, rises up, kills, and is shot dead again--Glenn realizes that Dory's nightmares are now the stuff of reality. Can he keep them from destroying her as well as the town? As usual, Grant eschews gore for more subtle chills; overall, a satisfyingly eerie, rather old-fashioned horror novel--perhaps too quiet for some tastes but well crafted, with a sharp family portrait at its core and occasional emotional weight: one of Grant's best.

Pub Date: Feb. 28, 1988

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Tor--dist. by St. Martin's

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1988

Categories: FICTION