The bestselling, National Book Award–finalist novel that inspired Charles Laughton’s expressionist horror classic starring Robert Mitchum and Shelley Winters. Two young children, Pearl and John Harper, are being raised alone by their mother in Cresap’s Landing, Ohio. Their father Ben has just been executed for killing two men in the course of an armed robbery. Ben never told anyone where he hid … where he hid the ten thousand dollars he stole; not his widow Willa, not his lawyer, nor his cell-mate Henry “Preacher” Powell. But Preacher, with his long history of charming his way into widows’ hearts and lives, has an inkling that Ben’s money could be within his reach. As soon as he is free, Preacher makes his way up the river to visit the Harper family where—he hopes—a little child shall lead him to the fortune that he seeks.
Foreword by JULIA KELLER
more
People in Cresap’s Landing are under the impression that when Ben Harper was about to be arrested for bank robbery and murder, he tossed the stolen money in the river. This is the legend. But Harry Powell, Ben’s former cellmate, knows better. Ben hid the money somewhere in his house.
After Harry arrives, he sets about charming the residents with a made-up story about being the prison chaplain who witnessed the death of Ben Harper. The reality is different. Powell was a prisoner himself and, after serving his time, he was released. Though Ben never admitted to him where the stolen money was, Preacher is confident he can find it. Even if it means terrorizing Willa’s children.
The only person who is not fooled by Preacher’s deception is John Harper, Willa’s son. He knows in his heart that the stranger is after the money. And because of a promise he made to his late father, he’ll never tell.
After John and Pearl escape downriver in a boat, a widow named Rachel Cooper discovers them and takes them in. “Miz Cooper” has devoted her life to looking after children who have no home. Rachel Cooper is a bright light in an otherwise cruel, dark world of greed and deceit.
In fact, when Harry Powell arrives at Rachel’s farm to take possession of “his” children, she sees right through him. She knows in her soul, this stranger is no man of God. He misquotes Scripture and tells stories that make no sense. So, she runs him off her property with a shotgun.
Rachel Cooper saves John and Pearl, as she has other children. And in doing so, she demonstrates that, in the end, evil can be defeated. It’s an old story. But in the hands of this author, it’s one that is masterfully told.
An unforgettable book about childhood and the Great Depression loosely based on an actual string of murders of widows by a con man named Harry Powers in Appalachia in the 30s. The real star of the book is 9-year-old John Harper who instantly realizes the danger posed by this man claiming to be a reverend who has come courting his recently widowed mother. But because he is nine, nobody will listen. The book dramatizes the year that John spends bogged in a nightmare in which he is trying to save the lives of his mother and little sister, Pearl, by somehow finding a way to outwit a murderous adult sociopath.
“It’s a hard world for little things.”
― Davis Grubb
Davis Grubb’s dark gem was published in 1953 and wasn’t even available in a legitimate American version until Vintage Books republished it in 2015. I suspect that like most people, I was familiar with the story through Charles Laughton’s 1955 excellent film adaptation, which I watched on the afternoon movie on TV as a child. When I finally got around to reading the novel, the plot was a little hazy, though I do recall Robert Mitchum’s portrayal of Harry Powell scaring the bejesus out of me!
The novel takes place in Depression-era West Virginia. Nine-year-old John Harper tries to protect his little sister Pearl and their widowed mother from Harry Powell, a snake in preacher’s clothes. Powel is a serial killer who has slain so many widows for their money that he’s lost count. Only John sees Preacher for what he is—a monstrous hunter who kills the small, weak things of the earth.
In tone and structure, the book is reminiscent of an Appalachian ballad, a sad tale of loss and longing that descends into nightmare. Through written in lyrical and dreamy prose, the story moves at a relentless pace. Once begun, I found it impossible to put down.
The Night of the Hunter is an American classic that had stood the test of time and deserves to be read.