by Stephen Gresham
1984 Zebra Books
Stephen Gresham writes contemporary swamp magic fantasies under the cover of horror. Rockabye Baby has more horror than most, but even here it feels like there's just enough to barely justify the cover.
We learn in the opening that an abled man pretends to be disabled during the day and pretends to be a woman while killing children. He calls himself the Bloofer Lady, which is a reference to Lucy Westenra in Dracula. A boy learns to harness the Darkness to give him the power to stop him, while a big city detective questions the locals.
The book ends with a long enough epilogue as to make the bit about the serial killer a minor subplot - as much as I'd like to see Grehsam do full-throated horror, I prefer Dew Claws where he doesn't even bother.
There's a bit about the kid's bookshelf filled with adventure fiction, including the Powers of Matthew Star, which sent me on a wild goose hunt to see if there was a novelization or even a comic book adaptation. Guess this goes down with the Necronomicon or The King in Yellow as a classic mythical book.
Available in ebook from Amazon
