THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (1953), the remarkable first novel by Davis Grubb (1919–1980), served as the basis for one of the great noir suspense films of all time. Invited to write the screenplay, Grubb instead wrote in-depth character sketches of the principal roles, allowing interpretation by the director, Charles Laughton, and the starring actor, Robert Mitchum. James Agee is listed as the writer of the screenplay but it was Laughton, with Grubb’s profiles in hand, who deserves credit.
The novel, about a thief who finds widows in “lonely hearts” ads in newspapers, seduces them, and murders them and their children, was based on a true-life serial killer in Grubb’s hometown of Moundsville, West Virginia, where the murderer was a member of one of the town’s most prominent families. The Night of the Hunter was a finalist for the National Book Award.
Prior to the publication of his first novel, Grubb had been a painter but, afflicted with color blindness, he turned to writing for radio while producing numerous short stories for major magazines. Many of these stories later were adapted for television by Alfred Hitchcock for Alfred Hitchcock Hour and by Rod Sterling for Night Gallery.
Grubb wrote nine additional novels, none of which approached the success of The Night of the Hunter, but his crime drama, Fools’ Parade (1969), was also filmed, starring James Stewart, George Kennedy, Kurt Russell, and Strother Martin.
“The Brown Recluse” was originally published in Shadows 3, edited by Charles L. Grant (New York, Doubleday, 1980).