After Dark is the second novel of Silver John by Manly Wade Wellman. Silver John is a wandering bard in mid-twentieth century Appalachia. He also is a frequent combatant against supernatural evil of all kinds, which he once again crosses paths with in this book.
In this case, John and a few friends are facing off against the Shonokin, a clan of creatures who aren't quite human and claim to predate humanity. Using intimidation and witchcraft, they have slowly driven out the inhabitants of a small town, replacing the town with something creepy and entirely alien. In this book, their goal is to take the land (and daughter) of Ben Grey in a bid to further increase their sorcerous power.
Over the course of the book, John and Ben Grey must face down not just the monstrous Shonokins, but the cowardly and greedy human neighbors willing to collaborate with monsters for just a little profit. The last half of the book is John and his friends besieged overnight by the Shonokins and their witchcraft, facing them down with guts, guns, and a few bits of spellcraft of their own.
It's a distinctly small-scale, local story with possible implications for the whole world, which is a pretty good way to create real emotional stakes, in my opinion. No one fights to "save the world" because no one actually knows "the world." People fight to save this house, this town, this family of their own. Connecting that to a greater catastrophe down the line is fine, but the real story, the real fight, is the fight for your own home that you know and love.
Manly Wade Wellman continues to impress. Go get a copy for yourself and enjoy this tale.
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