Darklings

by Ray Garton

Are you safe in your house?

Look around you. Is your world familiar? Comfortable? Does it seem the same today as it was yesterday? It isn't. Something is loose in your world that wasn't there before. Something terrible.

It is born of the devil, nurtured in evil, and set loose to do its vile work. It moves its foul form with a sleek, sudden, malevolent grace. It comes, it touches, it takes over. Then the horror begins. An aging surgeon, a captured fugitive, a pregnant mother, an innocent hospital worker -- each is its victim, driven by a grotesque impulse to acts of murder, mayhem, nymphomania, infanticide, cannibalism.

Can it be stopped? Perhaps...

But the battle will be waged by a few brave, desperate souls on the edge of Hell, while Satan awaits the triumph of his cherished Darklings.

Genres: Horror, Fiction

309 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 1, 1985

About the author

Ray Garton is the author of several books, including horror novels such as LIVE GIRLS (which has a movie in the works), CRUCIFAX, E4 AUTUMN, and THE FOLKS; thrillers like TRADE SECRETS and SHACKLED; and numerous short stories and novellas. He's also written a number of movie and television tie-ins for young readers. He lives with his wife, Dawn, in California.

Reviews

[Karl]

This hardcover is copy 152 of 300 copies printed and is signed by Ray Garton.

[Graham P · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've had Garton on the pulp radar for years, and this novel surely moves all the components of the trash horror paperback, complete with tiresome dialogue and ridiculous revelations, beckoning the reader to ask themselves: why does everybody have to talk so fucking much in a horror novel? Yet there's something inherently and grotesquely innocent about this book, like finding fingernail cuttings in your bag of corn chips. It's EC Comics, small town horror, and some of Cronenberg's 'Shivers' (and clearly, this came out before the classic alien-worm-invasive-horror films 'Night of the Creeps' and 'The Hidden'). This isn't flash and filigree, but perhaps just guilty pleasure with as much subtlety as a steel cage match. However it's a definite inclusion in the 1980s horror novels that served as sex education manuals for countless teenagers who equated losing virginity with signing some deal with a devil in disguise.

Alternate title could have been 'The Black Worms of Christian Guilt'. Ridiculous pleasures in a Pinnacle paperback.

[DJMikeG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Garton's second novel is not as good as his later work, but when he hits a note right here, does he ever nail it. There are some truly frightening scenes in this book, but overall the characters, pacing and plot are not as impressive as his later stuff. Worth a gander for Garton fans.

[Gori Suture · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished the perfect scary novel to put me in the mood for Halloween! The 1985 classic Darklings by Ray Garton had been sitting on my book shelf collecting dust for ages, but I decided to give it a try. It reads like a cross between Kingdom Hospital and The Thing. It had everything I was looking for in a good horror novel: gore, scares, sacrilege, and a critical view of mankind. I highly recommend this book. It is a quick, fun read for the season, and you won’t be disappointed!

[Cassandra Glissadevil · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.9 stars!

“It was almost as if nature had sided with Tom Conrad and knew that to warm the air and uncover the blue of the sky would be to mock his tragedy. So she patiently held spring at bay for a while longer, quietly reflecting the dark, cold, seemingly endless dusk that his life had suddenly become. ”
― Ray Garton

Criminally underrated horror. Scared me stiff. Ray Garton's scariest novel. Need I say more?
Compulsory, essential edition to any serious horror collection.

[Ralph Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Third time I have read this book. Need I say more? Love Ray Garton's book no matter how many times I read them.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Darklings (1985) by Ray Garton: Zippy 1980's horror novel from Ray Garton seems to have been read by the makers of 1987's The Hidden. When a dying serial killer arrives in a California ER, he gives the hospital a bonus: an eruption of squiggly, wiggly worms that possess people and cause them to act on their basest impulses. Very, very basest.

A doctor, a nurse, and a lab technician team up to uncover the mystery behind the mind-worms -- and hopefully the source. Garton moves everything along briskly and entertainingly in this early novel. Characterization is deft, and the novel is rewardingly tight -- there's no bloat here. Scenes of graphic horror are not for the squeamish, but Garton's work never feels exploitative. It's the 1980's, so there's a whole lot of smoking and mustaches. Recommended.

[Wayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 to be fair. This book starts out pretty tepid. There is some damage done here and there, just not enough. The pregnant woman who slices up her two young boys, then turns the knife on herself, was a true stomach churner. There was a lot of dialog throughout this. Which would be fine with more mayhem thrown in.

The plot revolves around a serial killer who is brought in to a ER room after being hit by a car. On his death bed he spouts he is the Dark Christ. A black, living embodiment of evil slithers out his nose. Things start to happen after that. The doctor who treated him. His nurse girlfriend and a lab tech set out to stop the unholy beast. The ending is a nice plus for this type of story.

[Ms. Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Evil

It starts out as a single thought,
a single deed,
a simple compulsion,
a simple need.
It grows and festers,
and hides behind kind eyes.
Moving carelessly, recklessly,
promiscuously, through life.
Ready to create havoc and cause strife.

by Nikki

2 1/2 Stars (being generous)

It could have been more. It dragged on a little. It was interesting and I read it all so that stands for something, right?

An evil form has manifested from a boy whose father taught him about good and how powerful evil could be. Once the boy died, the evil was set free and once it was in a person their inhibitions flew right out the window.

[A.R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a great story, and it's definitely worth getting used to the small print (Kindle version). Creepy like few books are. In fact this may be the most diabolical plot of all time.

[Peggy Denton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book nearly impossible to put down. It is on the edge of your seat creepy, crawly fun! I loved this book so much that I can't wait to read it again (after my nerves have settled)!

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Darklings isn't a new book nor is it one that a lot of people remember, It was released during the horror boom of the eighties and what a time it was! So many classic novels were released and of course Stephen King was leading the charge with his middle finger raised high. I would spend the majority of my allowence on horror novels and shit, there were a lot to choose from. The covers on some of these were so good, and yes, even terrible but that was what grabbed my attention. If it had an interesting cover odds were I'd pick up the book just to see what it was about and odds were, I'd end up buying it. The problem was a lot of these writers were just looking to cash in on the horror boom so while you had a lot of great and even mid level horror novels you were also stuck with a lot of shit. Novels so had you ended up throwing the book across the room in disgust. Where does Darklings fit into all of this? It's in the range of pretty decent to almost classic. It fell through the crack which is a shame because I really enjoyed it. 

       Garton's novel is simple enough to follow and while it may start out slow, it does pick up a little momentum in the second half. Jeffery Collinson is hit by a car and is brought into the ER where he starts talking gibberish about dark Christs and how something is going to come now. What that is, is what drives the novel. When Hunt sees what looks like a worm escape from Jeff's nose we know that business is about to pick up. These worms burrow into the brains of their hosts and allows them to act upon their darkest thoughts. In one case a patient eats the arm of her room mate and a pregnant mother kills her two kids and then uses the knife on herself. Once these worms get inside your head, there's nothing you can do. It's up to Hunt and his gang to stop it. Of course no one believes him until it's too late. It's an interesting book that somehow fell through the cracks which is a bit sad because Darklings is good and falls into a couple of horor tropes. Good vs Evil being the main thing and of course the simple comcept of evil being unleashed onto the world. 

       Collinson was an evil, vile person who is the heart of the novel Through his beliefs evil has manifested itself as worms and burrows into the minds of its victims enabling them do unspeakable acts.  While the novel itself is a bit cheesy at times and taps into the satanic panic of the time but it's a well written book that isn't too gory or even graphic but the kill scenes are ones that do stick with you . It's the kind of book that could have been huge but somehow wasn't and I can see why. Garton's writing style is decent but the first half stumbles along slowly. When it does pick up in the second half we begin to see where Garton's going and the story begins to reveal itself and sure, it now feels dated, but it's a decent read despite its lackluster ending, The ending is anticlimatic but how else could it have ended? Darklings is a horror novel that sometimes doesn't make sense, but good horror doesn't have to. All it needs is a decent plot and characters you can believe in or even root for. When it comes to books like these I just want a great story, a story and Darklings has that. Not everyone will enjoy it and they'll probably roll their eyes a bit but let's be honest here and admit that not eveyrone is going to enjoy a book like this and that's okay. If you're a fan of horror and evil worms this is worth looking up.

[Michael P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an overall well-done pulp horror novel that satisfies even though it doesn't quite match some of Garton's later work. It describes the chaos caused by small creatures that escape the body of a dying serial killer and possess other people, leading them to act on their worst impulses. The novel offers all the violence and perversity you would expect of this genre and makes for a good, quick read. However, it telegraphs its plot developments all too often, and the ending feels rushed, as though Garton was up against a maximum word limit and had to compress events. Still, it is well worth reading.

[Johann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insane Ride

I could not put this down...I just had to get to the end.
Jeff Collinson was brought to an ER after a very bad car accident. Dr. Hunt was the doc that worked on him. Unfortunately Jeff was not a normal patient and after claiming that something is coming even after he dies, Dr. Hunt sees a black snail like creature crawl out of Jeff's nose after he dies and gets loose in the hospital..all hell breaks loose and it's only the beginning.
Highly recommend

[Ryan Sasek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another solid story by the great Ray Garton. Some disturbing scenes in this one. Although they are different, the black creatures in this story made me think of the movie Night of the Creeps. Fun book.

[Chris Stephens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anything by Garton is fun, if you enjoy a little blood, gore and creepy Christians behaving badly.

[Danny Welch · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been a while since I've last read a Ray Garton novel, which is surprising because I find his work to not only be very engaging but also really interesting and unique. "Seductions", his first novel, was a solid debut but had a couple of issues which, unsurprisingly, most debut novels suffer from. "Darklings" is his second novel and one I've been looking forward to for a while now.

When a serial killer's dying corpse finds itself in the emergency room, Dr. Hunt witnesses a terrifying worm-like creature escaping from the monster's nostrils and into the outside world. Nobody believes him, not even his girlfriend Julie. Only one other person saw it and Dr. Hunt needs their help to get others to believe him. An evil force unlike any other has arrived on Earth and its taking over people and gets them to commit evil desires they wouldn't otherwise do. What's going on and can they stop The Dark Christ from plunging the world into anarchy?

Ray Garton's second novel is incredible. It's a dark and gruesome story about a creature that takes over people and unlocks our darkest desires, forcing us to commit horrific crimes in the name of evil. It's a novel with an unsettling, a great cast of characters, lots of blood, sex and violence and an adrenalin pumping finale.

I'll add some trigger warnings here, because oh boy does this novel tackle some uncomfortable and disturbing themes: R*pe, incest, implications of bestiality, animal abuse, cat death, gruesome depictions of violence and gore, religious indoctrination, religious abuse and satanism.

Overall: It's an outstanding novel that's very well written, but it's also incredibly uncomfortable and disturbing. Consider yourself warned. 10/10

[David Stephens · Rating 3 out of 5]

In terms of 1980s horror, this is about as basic as it gets. After getting hit by a car, a deranged man is taken to the hospital where he babbles nonsense (that sounds oddly satanic) and just before dying, a large black worm wriggles out of his nose and quickly scurries off. Of course, no one believes the only doctor who saw this happen (especially not the hospital director who is only concerned with the hospital’s image), and, soon enough, more worms begin popping out of noses, causing people to unleash their ids and do the very worst that resides in their darkened psyches.

The book is a lot of fun, but there’s not a whole lot going on. There’s certainly nothing new here. Even the few plot twists that manage to be mildly surprising only briefly disrupt the comfort and familiarity a book like this provides. The characters are pretty thin with superficial insecurities and sexual proclivities that pass as characterization. Even after some pretty terrible things happen to them, they never respond with the emotions of real human beings.

This all might be fine if there were a little more bloodshed or unpredictability in terms of whose body the satanic worms might befoul next. But the violence seems muted. It’s present, but it lacks the chaotic nature and manic glee of a writer like James Herbert who would lean more into the lurid. And so we’re left with a formulaic story and formulaic violence, and the book never rises to the hellish conceits it aims to.

[Zachary Owen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this one. There are some truly horrific set-pieces. Garton keeps things interesting by constantly upping the ante and supplying a host of interesting characters as possible parasite fodder. Think Night of the Creeps or John Shirley's novel In Darkness Waiting. The characters were mostly intelligent, though seemed a bit unwilling to better prepare themselves to stave off the dangers of evil black worms which could probably sneak into almost anywhere undetected. But that small caveat didn't really deter my extreme enjoyment of this gooey '80s delight.

[Vultural · Rating 3 out of 5]

Garton, Ray - Darklings

Black, sluglike creatures emerge from a dying, homicidal maniac and slither into the nearest human hosts.
Everyone begins to succumb to their buried, horrible impulses.

Early Garton effort, reads like a bonfire at the beginning, drags at the middle.
Wastes time with character development. Who cares? Victims are only going to be meals!

Almost fun. Stupid, like most horror paperbacks that once filled the checkout lanes.

[Shell · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars - fun read, several typos.