Book Review: Behind the Shadows by Ray Van Horn, Jr

Behind The Shadows is the title of Ray Van Horn, Jr.’s latest book, a horror compilation released at the back end of 2024.

Behind the Shadows delivers 10 stories and reads like a bit of a love letter to the 80’s and 90’s where the author’s love of music, movies, 80’s horror and comics shines through in every story. An anthology that delivers 10 clever stories with plenty of attitude, plenty of scares and characters we can believe and buy in to.

Ray Van Horn, Jr. is also the author of Coming of Rage and Revolution Calling and his career as a music and film journalist, concert photographer for 16 years, a press release writer and more has certainly influenced his writing and character choice. As a fan of rock and metal, I really enjoy reading stories with characters that I can relate to, who listen to bands I listen to, and here with Ray Van Horn Jr., they have a home.

There just may be some evil truths to a real-time haunted covered bridge in Kingsville, Maryland.  Count Dracula is dead, and one of his cavern-bound brides is following in his dastardly footsteps, prowling Victorian London in search of a coven of her own.  Young Jessica and her Vietnam-surviving father share a sordid secret; little does Jessica’s dad know she has one more that’s about to root its ugly head.

There’s something about that carnelian-colored guitar pick which turns the average player into a fret god, but is the cost of its power worth murder?  The Death of Superman is all the rage of 1992 and Hell is about to rain from the skies upon geeks in line for second print comic books. Professional baseball player Jake Puzzella committed a crime in the name of love; the paycheck’s come due in the bottom of the sixth.  Music junkie Evan is at the end of the rope in his marriage; in the heat of passion, he fails to heed David Bowie’s caveat about Lady Grinning Soul being one’s living end.

These are some of the frights skulking inside Ray Van Horn, Jr.’s new horror collection, Behind the Shadows. Stephen King, EC horror comics, Saturday night ghost hosts, Bram Stoker, The Twilight Zone, ’80s splatter films, all of the beloved genre elements thrown into the meat grinder of Van Horn’s 10 tales of terror with some contemporary twists and packing neat cover art by comic art master, Matt Slay.

One of the many things that impressed me across Ray Van Horn’s collection here is the wide variety on offer across the 10 stories. We have haunted locations, possessed items, apocalyptic events, vampires, cannibalism and much more yet even with such wide-reaching stories, each one is written in a style that shows they all belong clearly to a single story teller. There are elements within every story that highlight specifics that you can come to expect from this talented author. One of the most impressive, for me, being the believability of the characters.

They are very real, often relatable and mostly living lives that we live, or know someone to be living. With short stories, character development can sometimes be diluted, but not here. Every story, aside perhaps from the one pager, Deepfake fully fleshes put the characters even in few pages giving them full backstories and making it feel a little more real.

On stories like the excellent The Darkest Side of Jericho, the way that Taylor and Noah interact with each other feels so real, that you find yourself smiling along with their back and forth. The back and forth between ex band mates Roderick and Seth in The Carnelian Pick is interesting and equally sad.

In my favourite story across the collection, Secrets, the relationship between Jessica and her father pulls on my heartstrings as both characters  are so relatable. I adore how their story is handled with class and subtlety too. Internal monologue from Jessica’s standpoint often giving us the feeling of admiration and respect between the two of them. Even Evan, our love starved and struck in a slowing marriage guy and his need to be wanted is understandable.

So then, when you are sucked in, and care for, or dislike, or admire a character enough, the horror element crashes into us and has tenfold the meaning it would have if you didn’t care.

The shocking and brilliant twist through perspective in The Darkest Side of Jericho excites and inspires. The unexplained and unexplainable destruction Death of the “S” rains upon all characters. The terribly sad ending to Secrets and even more heart wrenching story of Behind the Shadows. Even the terribly sad and unfair end to Backdoor Breaker.

Reel them in, make them care and then break their hearts – that makes for great reading.

All the believability aside, the horror element is strong and creative. One of the less real, purposely, is Vladana’s Daughters. Telling the tale of Vladana, one of Dracula’s brides and her existence after the Counts death in Victorian London as she looks to cement her place in this ever-changing society and create a family of her own. I really liked reading this story especially using some quite poetic, almost Cradle of Filth like, vocabulary.

The coming to life of the Superman/Doomsday comic arc, demonic guitar picks, guys who have less than savoury lunch habits. There is so much here to get stuck into and enjoy, and it genuinely is a collection for anyone and everyone. It just wouldn’t be possible to be a fan of horror and not find something in Behind the Shadows for you.

Overall this is a fantastic collection of horror story with exceptional characters and perspectives that you buy into and that bring you in to the story. My personal favourites are the title story, Behind the Shadows, The Darkest Side of Jericho, Secrets and Lunch Break but there is quality throughout every story here and something for everyone. Ray Van Horn Jr. is a writer of exceptional talent and really demonstrates admirable qualities with marvellous characters and an ability to develop them fully, even in very short stories. The perspectives are quite unique and while there is a nostalgic tint to some of the stories, they often come packing modern and believable skins so we get the best of the past, but for today. Behind the Shadows is a wonderful read that will scare a lot, emotionally touch you at times and always make you think.

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