'John Blackburn is today's master of horror, and this latest novel, about a village gripped by the culmination of ancient vileness, induces proper shivers.' - Times Literary Supplement 'He is certainly the best British novelist in his field and deserves the widest recognition.' - Penguin Encyclopedia of Horror and the Supernatural

'[A] stylish, genuinely chilling author . . . undoubtedly one of England's best practicing novelists in the tradition of the thriller novel.' - St. James Guide to Crime & Mystery Writers

For centuries, the small English village of Dunstonholme has been the scene of mysterious tragedies. Local lore traces these strange events back to the year 1300, when a sect of Christian heretics known as the Children of Paul were involved in a bloody massacre. Since that time, there have been railway disasters, mining accidents, shipwrecks, and other terrible happenings. Now a wave of suspicious deaths has the locals on edge and looking for explanations. Dr. Tom Allen and adventurer J. Moldon Mott think they know what is behind the killings: an ancient evil, dating back seven hundred years, lies hidden underground . . . and it is preparing to emerge to the surface . . .

John Blackburn (1923-1993), the author of twenty-eight bestselling thrillers, has been hailed by The Times Literary Supplement as 'today's master of horror.' In his classic Children of the Night (1966), reprinted here for the first time in 40 years, Blackburn updates medieval legends and folklore to create a bone-chilling tale of modern-day horror that is among his very best.