DARKER THAN NIGHT By Owl Goingback
Signet, $6.50, pb orig

When horror writer Mike Anthony moves his family back to his grandmother's home, now his, it's because of his sudden fear of the streets of New York after a friend's murder. But Anthony has no idea what awaits them in the rural home, the inner walls of which his grandmother painted dark green and then riddled with bullet holes. Though he spent a year with her as a child after being orphaned, only gradually does he remember how the locals thought she was crazy and how the teenagers harassed her. But, certain his family can now start a new life in a quiet place where he can continue to write his Stephen King-style fare, Mike Anthony stubbornly refuses to let memories come into focus. If he did, one of them would remind him that the current sheriff was one of his grandmother's harassers; and when strange things start to happen in the Anthony household, there's not a whole lot of sympathy from the sheriff. 

Someone keeps drawing ugly, near-human faces on the new kitchen floor. A family pet is murdered. Strange shadows follow the kids around. Indian statues on the shelves seem to change directions magically. And Sam Tochi, an old Indian the whole town ignores, holds the key to what's happening on the property. The only problem is, no one listens or believes. Using the familiar "can't go home" theme with surgical precision, Owl Goingback makes the most of his first-hand knowledge of Native American myths and legends, crafting a tale of haunting that's powerful especially because of its eeriness. Goingback stretches out the tension and suspense to near-breaking, never letting us quite see what's happening and almost never letting the Anthonys react in an illogical way. 

One exception - a minor flaw, if you will - comes when Holly Anthony goes out of her way to learn from Tochi, appears convinced, but then completely ignores his warning. Other than this slip, Bram Stoker Award winner Owl Goingback (Crota) puts the chill back in chiller, proving that so-called "quiet" horror can indeed be effective when handled so carefully and lovingly. You'll want to keep the lights on when you read this, despite yourself.