Abraham's Boys

by Joe Hill

From the New York Times bestselling author of NOS4A2 and Horns comes this e-short story—from Joe Hill’s award-winning collection 20th Century Ghosts.

Imogene is young and beautiful. She kisses like a movie star and knows everything about every film ever made. She's also dead and waiting in the Rosebud Theater for Alec Sheldon one afternoon in 1945. . . .

Arthur Roth is a lonely kid with big ideas and a gift for attracting abuse. It isn't easy to make friends when you're the only inflatable boy in town. . . .

Francis is unhappy. Francis was human once, but that was then. Now he's an eight-foot-tall locust and everyone in Calliphora will tremble when they hear him sing. . . .

John Finney is locked in a basement that's stained with the blood of half a dozen other murdered children. In the cellar with him is an antique telephone, long since disconnected, but which rings at night with calls from the dead. . . .

 

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Vampires, Fiction, Adult, Audiobook, Fantasy

33 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 16, 2007

About the author

Joe Hill's debut, Heart-Shaped Box, won the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel. His second, Horns, was made into a film freakfest starring Daniel Radcliffe. His other novels include NOS4A2, and his #1 New York Times Best-Seller, The Fireman... which was also the winner of a 2016 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Horror Novel.

He writes short stories too. Some of them were gathered together in his prize-winning collection, 20th Century Ghosts.

He won the Eisner Award for Best Writer for his long running comic book series, Locke & Key, co-created with illustrator and art wizard Gabriel Rodriguez.

He lives in New Hampshire with a corgi named McMurtry after a certain beloved writer of cowboy tales. His next book, Strange Weather, a collection of novellas, storms into bookstores in October of 2017.

Reviews

[Andrew Lennon · Rating 5 out of 5]

That was a great little story!
What's it like growing up as a Van Helsing? Bet you never wondered did you? Well now I've asked you will wonder and this story will tell you!
I really enjoyed this and it was brilliant in the way it showed how easily people can confuse fantasy and reality.
Was Van Helsing a vampire hunter? Or was he just a deranged murderer who saw monsters in the faces of his victims?

All reviews can be found at http://lennonslair.blogspot.co.uk

[Sherwell Anil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story of Abraham Van Helsing, and his two sons, Max Van Helsing and Rudolf Van Helsing.
Highly recommended.

[Michael Sorbello · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting spinoff of Dracula that explores the mentality of Abraham Van Helsing. It portrays him as a senile old man that has trouble distinguishing reality from fiction. He drags a woman into his basement believing that she is a vampire when she’s really just an ordinary woman in extremely poor condition.

It makes you think. Were the people he killed in his past really monsters or were they just normal people that were disfigured by poor health conditions? Sickness and mental health were treated very harshly in the past so it wouldn’t be out of the question. Perhaps he’s not such an honorable hero after all, just another ignorant man that was possessed by an irrational paranoia for things he didn’t understand.

[Marnie (Enchanted Bibliophile) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4½ ✨
On my new Vampire kick, I'm looking back on some Vampire stories and seeing them in a new light.

Previously, I didn't know Abraham Van Helsing, so this short story was just a horrific tale of an abusive father and two scared boys.

Now I see this masterful reimagining of what could have been.
Is Van Helsing a monster hunter just trying to protect and teach his offspring, or is he a senile old man, seeing things that never were?

Loved the twist at the end.

[Maggie Leroy · Rating 5 out of 5]

To me, one of his best stories! The only thing that bothered me is that it breathes German instead of Dutch. No Dutchmen says Nuh? Germans do. In my imagination I could hear them speak with German accents... Also little affiliation for Dutch people with vampires. Germans however do love vampire stories and you can find lots of German vampire stories. It's been in their folklore for ever. And how do I know this? I'm half Dutch

[Kaitlyn (ktxx22) Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this, but then again I am very partial to vampire stories! The ending was a surprise but also delightfully horrifying.

[Nganka · Rating 3 out of 5]

engaging story and decent characters but ends rather abruptly . This should've been expanded to a novella.

[Jonathan Echevarria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a little conflicted with Abraham's Boys, because I am not a fan of vampire mythology but I do love the majority of Joe Hill's work as a author. That being said almost all of the vampire lore was lost on me, with my only real exposure to vampires being the two 90's film adaptions of Interview with the Vampire and Dracula. However I was able to connect to the older son's strained relationship with his father. Being a older sibling his tough, especially when it comes to being protective of your younger sibling. Also I found the lack of confidence in Max and the over confidence in Rudy very endearing.

Coming from a large family himself I am sure Joe Hill channeled a lot of his own feelings about living with brothers and sisters. It definitely shows and pays off in this story about a father who is just a little too strict with his two sons. Also.... The other aspect I loved about this novella is that we are never clearly shown whether the vampires the father is terrified of are real or imaginary. I would like to think is father is just crazy, but that is left up to the read to decide! The ending to this short story was also something that made me smile with glee! (I am a bit sadistic when it comes to my horror stories.

I give this book a solid 3.5 stars out of 5! I vaguely remember being told that this piece appeared in The Many Faces of Van Helsing, however since I don't own that collection I can't say for certainty that it does.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was in the same vein (pun intended) as Frailty--two brothers are the sons of a man who hunts supernatural creatures. The protagonist of this story was the son of Abraham Van Helsing, the famous vampire hunter from Dracula. He was characterized very much like the original novel and I feel Hill captured that voice well. The sons made me think this was a metaphor for his relationship with King--like King is Van Helsing and Hill and his brother Owen are Max and Rudolf. The thing I thought was kinda brilliant about this was the question of were vampires real or not; was Van Helsing a great heroic vampire hunter or a delusional serial killer? The ending leaves it ambiguous which makes it an even more interesting take on Van Helsing.

[Benjamin Stahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great, guesome Dracula spin-off. I loved Ven Helsing so I did not enjoy him being so horrible in this but then it kind of makes sense that he would be. Ultimately he is just looking out for his children as he knows what dangers they are in. Loved the ending as well. Along with Best New Horror this is my favourite of Hill's stories so far.

[Dylan Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5

[Sean Brennan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A rather pleasant or unpleasant(depending on your literary inclination)to spend an hour!

[Сибин Майналовски · Rating 4 out of 5]

Симпатично! :) Мина, Джонатан Харкър и доктор Ван Хелсинг... да ви напомнят нещо? :) Тук вече започва да си личи зачатъкът на талант у Малък Кинг...

[Jessica Pratt · Rating 5 out of 5]

only thing I didn't like was it was to short. Joe Hill is becoming one of my favorite authors.

[Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only bad thing is how short it is.

[Some Guy Who Writes · Rating 5 out of 5]

In honour of the upcoming film adaptation, I decided to crack open my copy of 20th Century Ghosts and read the short story that inspired the upcoming feature written and directed by Natasha Kermani (as I had previously done for Scott Dericksen's adaptation of The Black Phone). And? Well, I actually think this is one of the strongest pieces Hill has written. Maybe it's because it's the only one without any overt supernatural elements, focusing more on the horrors of illness, ignorance and human violence. Don't get me wrong, he knows how to write a very effective and atmospheric supernatural story (his novel Heart-Shaped Box is one of the scariest haunted house novels I've ever read), but it was interesting to see him dabble in a different genre, with this being more of a period thriller where a lot of the things are more open to interpretation. In about 30 or so pages, he manages to wonderfully convey not just the bleakness of rural early 1900s America, but also themes of identity, of not belonging in not just your enviroment, but also your skin, as well as general topics of violence and abuse. I'm pretty sure that the film will take a LOT of liberties given how it's a feature length title, but, here's to hoping they atleast try to stick to the original themes of the story, which is a geniuenly amazing read.

[Nick Katenkamp · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story though I think that a more conclusive ending would have been more rewarding. The plot is great, and quite reminiscent of one of my favorite movies Frailty. Frailty explores very similar themes but greatly benefits from giving the viewer a concrete answer as to the father's sanity. Here, the sanity and work of Van Helsing is left unknown, though I can understand why some might jive with the conclusion. People who have read/watched and enjoyed Dracula will enjoy this story more than those unfamiliar.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I originally read this story in 20th Century Ghosts in 2015, but re-read it today after watching the film last night. It really carries this dark sense of dread throughout as we take a peek into the lives of Abraham Van Helsing and his two sons. It’s a very quick read, but it’s chilling to think about what Van Helsing has become… let’s your mind wander more about the events that took place in Dracula and what the modern world sees vs. what Van Helsing, Mina, and crew dealt with. Super interesting story (one that I wish the movie held onto more of the details from…)

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was between texts when this short-story was suggested by a friend. The plot is based on the aging and grumpy Dutch-Roman Catholic Vampire slayer Abraham Van Helsing and his two sons Max and Rudolf (Rudy). The sons are both unaware of their fathe’s illustrious past as well as not that given to the Vampire lore, when the events of a bleak and cold night unfold. Give this spin-off a try. Won’t take long. But the memories of this story would stay with you for a long time. Trust me.

[Allegra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel annoyed that I'm giving this such a low star count (really I give this about 2.5 stars) but I really think it could've gone deeper with it's story and scares. It was an interesting concept but I found it to be easily forgettable. Maybe the scariest implication is that there aren't any vampires, just a man murdering women.

[Andrew kutz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know I know I gave this one four stars but not because of the story because it was a really good story just because I had a hard time thinking that Abraham and Helsing would be like this but as I am looking at it more, I’m more thinking that it’s someone that is crazyand thinks of himself as then Helsing, but other than that one little hiccup, it was great.

[Whitley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this spin-on Dracula and Van Helsing. It was unique enough to see what it was like for the boys to be raised by the infamous Van Helsing. But I really hated the "accent" that was used in the dialogue. I get that was Hill's way of showing the broken english and accent, but it really pulled me out of the story and was more annoying than anything.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want to know what happened to Abraham Van Helsing after his episode with Dracula you should pick this one up. He never left his trade mark business hunting down business and thought to teach his sons well. But something in his educational program went different. Nice twist at the end and good follow up to Dracula. Liked the uncanny moments with the photographies. Really recommended!

[Mayumi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Abraham's boys é a fanfic de Dracula do Joe Hill. Depois de escapar dos eventos de Dracula de Bram Stoker, van Helsing foge dos vampiros, pois as criaturas ainda o perseguem. Ou é o que ele pensa. Seu objetivo agora é preparar os filhos para essas ameaças sobrenaturais enquanto o maior perigo para as crianças não vem de fora, mas dele próprio. A dualidade da cena final seu filho mais velho o empalando com uma estaca no coração enquanto ele age exatamente como ele disse que vampiros agiriam: com gritos, palavras profanas e de baixo calão nos mostra a força trágica da história. O abismo olhou de volta para van Helsing e, agora, abismo e van Helsing, andam juntos.

[Jose · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm listening to horror short stories in celebration of Halloween. Also because I can't read at the moment from a major migraine so I'm just listening which doesn't cause me pain. This was a great short story I'm interested on more of the author's books I liked his writing style

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting short story spinoff of Abraham Van Helsing. I thought the writing was really great and the characters were easily relatable. I'm typically a big fan of vampire stories so I enjoyed the atmosphere of this quite a bit.

[Aryanna Tunstall · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting take on normal vampire lore. These boys find out that their father is a vampire hunter only for him to forcefully throw them into the world without gaining their respect first.

[Call me Jeeves · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is brutal in many ways. The brutality of teaching children to do a man’s work and the brutality of the killing of the vampire. Also it is a great addition to the story of Dracula. Mina who had to die and her children still longing.

[Giordan Jade · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story and the characters of Max and Rudy. I now wonder whether their mother died of natural causes or at the hands of their father. It’s hard to tell if the father really did hunt vampires or was just a murderer.

[Mr John A Whalley]

Worth 10 minutes of your time but unremarkable.

This wasn't at all what I was expecting: no sign of the Count, or any other vampire but it had some value nevertheless. Van Helsing certainly had some madness about him and it is explored briefly here. Worth reading.