Boys in the Valley

Deep in a remote Pennsylvania valley, around 1900, stands St. Vincent's Orphanage. Thirty boys live there under a handful of strict priests, working the farm, praying, and rarely getting enough to eat. Sixteen-year-old Peter has settled into this life as best he can.

One stormy night, men bring in a wounded stranger whose body is carved with occult symbols. He dies inside the walls, and something ancient is released with him.

An evil begins to take hold of some of the boys. Cheerful kids turn spiteful and secretive, and the priests refuse to see what is happening. Peter and the people he loves have to pick a side in a fight over the orphanage and over their souls.

This is historical horror with a possession plot, and it reads as brutal and heavy with atmosphere. Think Lord of the Flies crossed with demonic possession. The fear builds from the cut-off setting and from the hard choices frightened children make when no adult will help them.