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Half Moon Down
IT CAME FROM THE SKY
The ominous vibrations. The driving sheets of rain. The wind that swirled into a demonic cacophony of screams and shrieks. The thick bank of clouds twisting into a black funnel that swept through the little Alabama town of Half Moon with rage of darkness — splintering, shattering, crushing, killing …
IT CAME FROM HELL
Ronnie sensed the presence of Satan. He had watched his home destroyed, his parents perish, as he cowered in his tree house. Now the old schoolhouse seemed a haven, a hiding place, for a badly frightened little boy. But the very timbers of the school held darkness, held horror. And though it lured him with childhood dreams, soon it would torment him with unimaginable nightmares. For the evil unleashed by the tornado had only just begun its reign of terror …
The ominous vibrations. The driving sheets of rain. The wind that swirled into a demonic cacophony of screams and shrieks. The thick bank of clouds twisting into a black funnel that swept through the little Alabama town of Half Moon with rage of darkness — splintering, shattering, crushing, killing …
IT CAME FROM HELL
Ronnie sensed the presence of Satan. He had watched his home destroyed, his parents perish, as he cowered in his tree house. Now the old schoolhouse seemed a haven, a hiding place, for a badly frightened little boy. But the very timbers of the school held darkness, held horror. And though it lured him with childhood dreams, soon it would torment him with unimaginable nightmares. For the evil unleashed by the tornado had only just begun its reign of terror …
- GenresHorror
284 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 1985
1 person is currently reading
84 people want to read
About the author
Stephen Gresham
33 books35 followersSuspense, supernatural, and young adult fiction writer Stephen Gresham (1947- ) has been intrigued by the gothic tradition of the South since moving to Auburn, Lee County, in 1975 to take a teaching position at Auburn University. This area of Alabama provides the backdrop for his novel The Fraternity (2004) and imbues works such as Rockabye Baby (1984) with the horror and fantasy elements of the southern magic genre that guide him as he writes of supernatural creatures and forces.
Gresham was born in Halstead, Kansas, on September 23, 1947, to Chester Gresham, a building contractor, and Helen Kennedy, housewife and wartime riveter. He was raised with five brothers. Gresham's literary passion was sparked by listening to his grandmother read him everything from comic books to Edgar Allan Poe and watching 1940s B movies by horror film producer Val Lewton. Gresham studied journalism for two years at Wichita State University, where he began his professional writing career as a freelance sports reporter at the Wichita Eagle. He then transferred to Kansas State Teachers College (present-day Emporia State University) to earn a bachelor's and a master's degree. In 1975, he completed a Ph.D. in English Renaissance literature at the University of Missouri. While in Missouri, Gresham married Linda Duffy in 1969, and the couple had their only child, Aaron, in 1974.
In 1975, Gresham joined the English Department at Auburn University as a professor of creative writing. By the later 1970s, he had published several pieces of short fiction with two small presses. Gresham is drawn to the mythical South and has described east Alabama as an inspirational place. Moon Lake, Gresham's first novel, uses such a backdrop to tell the tale of two honeymooners who encounter evil hidden in the water hyacinths on Moon Lake.
Gresham's novels have aimed to mesh the supernatural world of ghosts, magic, and witchcraft with the real horrors of places like his boyhood Kansas, with its tornados, polio scares, and threats of nuclear war. The most distinctive aspect of his writing is the centrality of unrequited love and the unexpected yet powerful bonds formed by his characters. When Teddy, the teenage hero of Haunted Ground, battles ghosts at a neighboring farm, he must also come to terms with his adolescence and the wrath of his dysfunctional family. This focus on the destructive innerworkings of families is balanced by a respect for what Gresham refers to as "soul" families, those united not necessarily by blood but by heart or circumstance. Even after Teddy is assaulted by his own brother and neglected by his psychologically unfit mother, he is able to find solace with his cousin Judith, the black sheep of his extended family.
Another characteristic of Gresham's books is his attention to research and historical settings. In the 1990 novel Blood Wings, Gresham researched the field of cryptozoology to create the massive batlike creature from which the novel gets its title. In The Fraternity (2004), two warring vampire fraternities battle against the backdrop of Depression-era America where the only threat greater than the crumbled economy of the Hoover years is the risk of being kidnapped by rival vampires.
In addition to the many novels he has published under his own name, Gresham has also written under two pennames to establish a distinct identity between his suspense thrillers and his young adult fiction. For the 1994 suspense/thriller Primal Instinct, he adopted the name John Newland from the 1950s television series "One Step Beyond." The next year, he paid homage to director Val Lewton when he published two novels, Just Pretend and Called to Darkness, under the name J. V. Lewton. Gresham's best selling novel to date has been Midnight Boy (1987), and Haunted Ground (2003) has garnered the most favorable response from readers. Reception from readers, especially young ones, has been largely favorable, and he continues to publish thrillers.
Gres
Gresham was born in Halstead, Kansas, on September 23, 1947, to Chester Gresham, a building contractor, and Helen Kennedy, housewife and wartime riveter. He was raised with five brothers. Gresham's literary passion was sparked by listening to his grandmother read him everything from comic books to Edgar Allan Poe and watching 1940s B movies by horror film producer Val Lewton. Gresham studied journalism for two years at Wichita State University, where he began his professional writing career as a freelance sports reporter at the Wichita Eagle. He then transferred to Kansas State Teachers College (present-day Emporia State University) to earn a bachelor's and a master's degree. In 1975, he completed a Ph.D. in English Renaissance literature at the University of Missouri. While in Missouri, Gresham married Linda Duffy in 1969, and the couple had their only child, Aaron, in 1974.
In 1975, Gresham joined the English Department at Auburn University as a professor of creative writing. By the later 1970s, he had published several pieces of short fiction with two small presses. Gresham is drawn to the mythical South and has described east Alabama as an inspirational place. Moon Lake, Gresham's first novel, uses such a backdrop to tell the tale of two honeymooners who encounter evil hidden in the water hyacinths on Moon Lake.
Gresham's novels have aimed to mesh the supernatural world of ghosts, magic, and witchcraft with the real horrors of places like his boyhood Kansas, with its tornados, polio scares, and threats of nuclear war. The most distinctive aspect of his writing is the centrality of unrequited love and the unexpected yet powerful bonds formed by his characters. When Teddy, the teenage hero of Haunted Ground, battles ghosts at a neighboring farm, he must also come to terms with his adolescence and the wrath of his dysfunctional family. This focus on the destructive innerworkings of families is balanced by a respect for what Gresham refers to as "soul" families, those united not necessarily by blood but by heart or circumstance. Even after Teddy is assaulted by his own brother and neglected by his psychologically unfit mother, he is able to find solace with his cousin Judith, the black sheep of his extended family.
Another characteristic of Gresham's books is his attention to research and historical settings. In the 1990 novel Blood Wings, Gresham researched the field of cryptozoology to create the massive batlike creature from which the novel gets its title. In The Fraternity (2004), two warring vampire fraternities battle against the backdrop of Depression-era America where the only threat greater than the crumbled economy of the Hoover years is the risk of being kidnapped by rival vampires.
In addition to the many novels he has published under his own name, Gresham has also written under two pennames to establish a distinct identity between his suspense thrillers and his young adult fiction. For the 1994 suspense/thriller Primal Instinct, he adopted the name John Newland from the 1950s television series "One Step Beyond." The next year, he paid homage to director Val Lewton when he published two novels, Just Pretend and Called to Darkness, under the name J. V. Lewton. Gresham's best selling novel to date has been Midnight Boy (1987), and Haunted Ground (2003) has garnered the most favorable response from readers. Reception from readers, especially young ones, has been largely favorable, and he continues to publish thrillers.
Gres
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 18, 2023
Gresham was a solid mid-lister for Zebra back in the 80s and 90s and Half Moon Down fits the bill as a decent Zebra horror story. Half Moon is the name of a small town in Alabama that, historically, wrapped around a huge old oak tree that was revered/feared by the local Indians. Whilst going by many native names, the one that stuck was Windkiller as storms and such always went around the massive oak. Legend had it that as long as the tree stood, the 'spirit' of Windkiller would be tamed, but if the tree was felled, Windkiller would have its vengeance.
Well, the tree was felled in the 1920s and a school built upon its remains. Flash forward to the early 80s and out of the blue two massive tornadoes devastated Half Moon (the emergency calls noted that 'Half Moon is down'). The tornadoes killed half the people of the town and strange things kept happening when people tried to rebuild, so now, a year later, it sits as a ghost town.
Our main protagonist is little Ronnie, whose parents were killed in the storms, but he survived and now lives with his granny about 12 miles away in another small town. Ronnie keeps hearing voices telling him to go back to Half Moon and one day he runs away to return. Meanwhile, the sole inhabitant of Half Moon still 'dreams' that her husband will return (he was lost in the storm) with her three lit-tul doggies. Some other survivors of the town return as they are now employed with the county to suss out investment opportunities.
Gresham gets more than a little surreal here as the people in Half Moon are beset by visions that often are more real than not. Is the Windkiller playing cat and mouse with its victims? It seems it can read their minds and make their nightmares come true. And we only have a rag tag group, led by little Ronnie, who can stop the Windkiller...
Overall, a fun read, but it really drags in spots; pacing was never Gresham's forte. Lots of imagination involved, but the scares were few. How many horror stories from this era featured a plucky young kid aged 10 or so? Although Gresham leads us on a rather tropey path, this one has it moments. 2.5 stars, rounding up!
Well, the tree was felled in the 1920s and a school built upon its remains. Flash forward to the early 80s and out of the blue two massive tornadoes devastated Half Moon (the emergency calls noted that 'Half Moon is down'). The tornadoes killed half the people of the town and strange things kept happening when people tried to rebuild, so now, a year later, it sits as a ghost town.
Our main protagonist is little Ronnie, whose parents were killed in the storms, but he survived and now lives with his granny about 12 miles away in another small town. Ronnie keeps hearing voices telling him to go back to Half Moon and one day he runs away to return. Meanwhile, the sole inhabitant of Half Moon still 'dreams' that her husband will return (he was lost in the storm) with her three lit-tul doggies. Some other survivors of the town return as they are now employed with the county to suss out investment opportunities.
Gresham gets more than a little surreal here as the people in Half Moon are beset by visions that often are more real than not. Is the Windkiller playing cat and mouse with its victims? It seems it can read their minds and make their nightmares come true. And we only have a rag tag group, led by little Ronnie, who can stop the Windkiller...
Overall, a fun read, but it really drags in spots; pacing was never Gresham's forte. Lots of imagination involved, but the scares were few. How many horror stories from this era featured a plucky young kid aged 10 or so? Although Gresham leads us on a rather tropey path, this one has it moments. 2.5 stars, rounding up!
July 14, 2022
Sadly, just didn’t do it for me. I usually really enjoy Gresham’s work, too. Not terrible, just meh.
May 2, 2023
Half Moon is a ghost town, destroyed in a tornado a year earlier, but now a few former residents (and one who never left) find themselves drawn back. Among the ruins, they are haunted by ghosts of their past, and something else, a spirit known as the Windkiller, which destroyed the town and now lurks in the old schoolhouse, one of the few buildings that still stands.
Although it's not particularly scary, and could almost pass for a YA novel, something about this managed to win me over, hence the 3 stars.
Although it's not particularly scary, and could almost pass for a YA novel, something about this managed to win me over, hence the 3 stars.
January 21, 2023
This is one of the first horror novels I read. As a middle schooler, it terrified me. I loved it.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews