“One reason tragedy exists is to teach us how to help others, help others learn how to find a way through their own dark time, through a journey of growth.”
When it comes to the horror genre, I have a lot to catch up on and learn about the pace, tropes, and many other aspects. I share this with you because even though I am new to the genre, I know and recognize a BANGER when I read one. The novel, “Boys in The Valley” by Philip Fracassi, brings an abundance of themes, main and secondary characters that I wasn’t sure to love or hate, and an authentically gothic feel throughout the story. Setting truly gave an aesthetic unlike any books I have ever read. The setting is a Catholic Orphanage called, “St. Vincent’s Orphanage for Boys”!
The setting made “Boys in The Valley” by Philip Fracassi is a Catholic Orphanage called, “St. Vincent’s Orphanage for Boys”, in the middle of a harsh winter at the turn of the 20th Century. I love the eerie, gothic feeling Philip Fracassi gave me from page one. The snowy landscape brings a nostalgic, yet dystopian-like, situation creating questions to ponder from the very beginning. On top of a harsh winter, food is scarce, and the priests can be overly-strict and cruel to the boys who live in the orphanage. At St. Vincent’s Orphanage for Boys, there is a church, as well, which gave me a feeling of extreme claustrophobia. All-In-All, I had an incredible vacation in this wintery, gothic, and harsh setting laid down as the foundation of this story.
Unlike most novels I’ve read, the secondary characters play an equal role in how this story begins to show depth, as well as comparing/contrasting the boys with one another alongside the two main characters, Peter and David. I also love Brother Johnson being that he is troubled, but wants to do the right thing, yet something is “off” making him hard to love or hate. The main characters, Peter Barlow and David, are easy to empathize with, care about, and to root for as they have a true friendship and will to do good. The contrasting themes between the main and secondary characters make this story what it is.
Philip Fracassi’s prose is magical in a few wonderful ways. His ability to create tension when nothing is happening and Philip Fracassi’s prose is to blame. The moments of terror are spectacular due to how subtle, yet horrific, certain scenes are, the ways certain characters act, and times when the boys are being punished. The punishments are something I will leave for you to read, being that it created a manic experience.
The positives are abundant, but a few I will highlight are how eerie the possessions made me feel, the dichotomy between trying to figure who are the good guys and who are the bad guys, and outstanding prose. The negatives are hard to put my finger on because of how much I truly loved this novel, but I will still name a couple. One, I would have loved to have spent more time with the characters before this story takes place, as well as a longer book. However, I wouldn’t change a single thing.
If you are a fan of Stephen King, Richard Chizmar, or Cassandra Ward you will absolutely love “Boys in The Valley” by Philip Fracassi. In fact, Stephen King has the front cover with his blurb for “Boys in The Valley”, which is truly amazing. Philip Fracassi’s prose impressed me and it’s the first of its kind for me. I will immediately be starting another Philip Fracassi novel or short story collection, very soon! All in all, my experience was an eerie, chilling, manic, and beautifully horrific experience. I love stories with possessions and a good vs. evil theme at its core. Philip Fracassi also writes short stories, one of which, called “Altar”, is being made into a movie for the BIG SCREEN.I hope you all will give this book a read.
