Paul Finch’s horror side gets its due in five sharp stories.
Paul Finch knows horror. He also knows crime fiction, and usually gets paid for that instead. In the Forest of the Night is his latest for Black Shuck Shadows, and it argues his horror side deserves just as much credit. The book collects four older stories, picked from what Finch calls his own lesser known work, plus one brand new tale. Across the five stories you get a haunted circus, an old hospital, a Highland cottage, a strange village and a hotel under siege. Each one is sharp.
Each one is different. Some lean into folklore. Some lean into pure violence. One leans hard into cosmic dread and never quite explains itself, which is part of the fun. The final story trades some of that horror for straight up action, and it will not land the same way for every reader. Even so, the standard barely dips across the whole set. This review goes story by story, weighing up what works, what does not, and why In the Forest of the Night earns a spot on any horror reader’s shelf.
Paul Finch’s horror side earns real credit. Five sharp stories move from cosmic folklore to gangster violence, and none of them lose their nerve. Two stand out, but nothing here falls flat.
Paul Finch’s In the Forest of the Night: A Black Shuck Shadows Review
So many of the names I now review are, I admit, friends (or friends of friends). Of course, I keep a sense of objectivity and judge the work as I would any other, although often it allows me an insight into the ticking and tocking of the author’s mind. But there are a special handful of authors who I’m honoured to know but whom I knew through their work first, before I even ventured to my first FantasyCon.
Paul Finch is such a one.
Unsurprisingly (at least to anyone who knows me), DOCTOR WHO offered me the first glimpse of his work. I’ve followed his work since, both as editor (his ‘Terror Tales’ series is a common high scorer on my end-of-year lists) and author (his ‘Season of Mist’ is one of my favourite horror novellas). For all crime fiction is his bread and butter, I maintain he’s best when letting loose his horror side, to which one of the latest Black Shuck Shadows – ‘In the Forest of the Night’ – is a lovely little addition, composed of 4 reprints selected from (in his own words) the “lesser-known section of [his] canon” and 1 new story.
‘In the Forest of the Night’ is also the name of the opening story and the plot follows two journalists sent to Shirdley Old Hall to investigate… well, shall we just say weird happenings that eventually involve a circus, a forest, and some horrors as distinct as they are under-your-skin. Because to say any more ruins the genuinely precise character work done here. Compared to most of Finch’s horrors, it’s an outwardly calmer affair, and instead evokes terror from firstly how far our gut instincts will (mis)lead us, and secondly the fact we still revel in the unknown, often with a cliffhanger at the end of such things.
‘Down in the Dying Rooms’ is the second story, and probably my favourite of those collected here. From the off, there’s a dark and yet cruelly realistic quality to each character scene, and this doesn’t shift as we pivot from gangsters interrogating someone for information to a visit to an abandoned hospital where a friend – and childhood terror – lurk in its lowest reaches.
There’s lots of attention paid to the grit and gristle of the setting here, described as you might expect a haunted house to be. One sequence, while maybe not the scariest thing Finch has ever written, nevertheless wrestles to inflict as many chills upon you as it can in so short a space of time and emerges as probably the bleakest thing I’ve read this year.
The characters are honed too, despite their overall brutal composure and general repugnance. They’re sort of the Mulder and Scully of the vengeful gangster world, and from them alone we get the same amount of shock, confusion, and emotional impact as you’d find in other short stories. Paired with the abandoned location and the childhood trauma, it’s a tale nicely simpatico with Matthew Holness’ story ‘Tearaways’ from last year’s ‘Unquiet Guests’ anthology edited by Dan Coxon. Although the characters here are far sharper-edged and it’s as much about the friction in the story as it is friction in the story’s past.
‘House of the Hag’ takes a turn for the folkloric then. A couple have gone into the middle of the Scottish Highlands for a break, dragged back into ruminations on their stubbornly wayward daughter, but their discovery of a tent housing three effigies results in some seriously nasty ramifications.
The folklore takes effect in the story’s second half mostly, but that doesn’t stop it gently touching on a vaguely cosmic ‘other’ throughout. You’re told the enemy of the tale is the Cailleach, however no matter how much you bear this in mind you’re somehow never quite sure the exact nature of it, except for the thrill and terror it leaves behind. And that’s to its benefit, as even just the image of three creepy effigies in a tent is enough to exude weirdness over the story until it can blossom into an ending straight out a shouty 70s drama in the vein of Nigel Kneale’s TV series, BEASTS.
‘Words’ is the final of the previously-published stories, and add a healthy soupçon of witchcraft to this micro-collection’s proceedings. A famous novelist goes to a village where a pillory stands where a cenotaph might and everything’s a little too quaint; except the ‘research’ he’s there for starts to cut a little deep, and once he continually sees a figure with a connection to his past – and then things start to unravel in more ways than one. The plot and overall feel is by far the most traditional story here, but it’s by no means the simplest or one of a lesser quality.
Having said this, it is hard to say why this one works. It’s full of familiar tropes, however you never reckon it’s just resorting to familiar tropes. The whole complexion seems to be that it’s one big allegory perfect for any connoisseur of Machen or Blackwood, except only it knows what it’s allegorising and instead is content to laugh as you try and decipher its deceptive simplicity. Infuriating to some perhaps, perfect for most though.
The original story, ‘Beyond the Sea of Pain’, bookends the tale and is Paul returning to his policing roots with a story that even THE BILL would’ve asked to be toned down: a retired copper goes to an out-of-the-way hotel in order to draw out a bunch of men who organise “Rape Parties” and deal with them first with a pitched gun battle. Except, maybe that’s not all at play?
The narrative is as though one sequence from later on in HARD BOILED has been transformed into a gritty and British action romp, the noir and gumption greater than the actual horror. This wasn’t always my cup of tea, since small parts did come off as an excuse for descriptions of guns and clever action sequences; yet it serves as a climactic end to the collection wondrously, and there’ll be many out there for whom the rush of adrenaline as you flick the pages makes this a must-read.
A quality arguably applicable to the whole collection. Aggressive, nihilistic, and beautifully under-your-skin, Finch takes a cynicism against life and warps it both into the eerie and the brutal. Two of the stories will, I expect, be clear favourites for most readers, however across the board it’s a terrific romp without any truly “weak” stories. Definitely it’s worthy of any reader of the horror genre.
Benjamin Kurt Unsworth is a British Fantasy Award finalist with a degree in Classics and an unhealthy obsession with Doctor Who under belt. He enjoys confusing all and sundry, writing short stories and reviews for various outlets, drinking copious cups of tea, knitting, and buying far too many waistcoats, bow ties, and velvet jackets. His TBR pile threatens to topple over and crush him any day now. His solo collection, Into Wrack and Ruin, is available from Phantasmagoria Magazine, and the collection he co-authored with his father, Uneasy Beginnings, from Black Shuck Books.
Ginger Nuts of Horror: The Heart and Soul of Horror Reviews
Every feature is designed to help sell your work, build your audience and connect your horror story with readers who are actively looking for their next frightening read. Our horror book reviews and features include backlinks to your website, publisher page or Amazon author page, a full synopsis, relevant author information and a universal purchasing link that directs readers to their local bookseller or preferred retailer.
All editorial coverage is provided completely free of charge. We do not charge authors, publishers, filmmakers or creators for reviews or features. Ginger Nuts of Horror exists to support the horror community and help great books, films and independent voices find the audiences they deserve.
With a large, engaged social following and an 18-year archive of trusted horror coverage, Ginger Nuts of Horror is a horror review website built to support authors, filmmakers and creators. Our coverage spans horror novels, indie horror, gothic fiction, folk horror, psychological horror, supernatural fiction, dark fantasy, horror films and the wider creative world surrounding the genre.
Whether you’re an established horror author, an indie filmmaker, a publisher, or a debut voice in indie horror, we offer opportunities to place your work in front of dedicated horror fans, readers, viewers and genre enthusiasts. A feature on Ginger Nuts of Horror can help improve discoverability, strengthen your online presence and give potential readers a clear route from discovering your work to finding out more or making a purchase.
Although our coverage is free, we do have a Ko-fi page for readers, authors and supporters who would like to help us continue promoting horror books, films and creators. All donations are entirely voluntary and greatly appreciated. Every contribution helps support the time, research and ongoing work involved in running an independent horror review website.
Explore our horror book reviews and horror movie reviews, discover the kind of horror coverage we publish, then get your horror book or film featured today.
