When I read Devil’s Creek by Todd Keisling last year for SFFWorld’s 2024 Countdown to Hallowe’en, I was blown away. The novel forced itself into a top tier horror novel for me and put me on notice: I need to read more from this writer. When The Sundowner’s Dance was announced, I was excited and made the quick trip across the Delaware River to a Todd Keisling book signing. Jerry Campbell is a widower looking to move into a smaller house so when he finds the retirement community of Fairview Acres in the Pennsylvania Poconos, he decides to move. It isn’t long before strange things begin to happen.
Jerry Campbell just wants to be left alone. Grief-stricken over the death of his wife Abigail, the elderly widower and recent retiree is desperate for a change of scenery. When his realtor suggests a new home in Fairview Acres, a retirement community in the Poconos, Jerry figures it will be a nice place to spend the rest of his days in solitude.
Until he moves in.
Weird neighbors. Nightly block parties. Strange noises across his rooftop at all hours. Worst of all is Arthur Peterson, chairman of the Fairview Acres Community Association, who seems obsessed with coaxing Jerry into participating in these neighborhood activities.
At first, Jerry shrugs off the incidents and eccentricities, telling himself he doesn’t want to be the guy who complains about everything—but that all changes one evening when Katherine Dunnally appears on his doorstep with an ominous warning: “You need to leave. The worms…they dance at nightfall…”
His neighbors all say Katherine suffers from a form of dementia called Sundowner’s Syndrome, but as the weeks progress and the strangeness mounts, Jerry begins to suspect there is something else going on in his neighborhood. Something that has to do with the huge stone in the community park…
Heartfelt and unsettling, Todd Keisling’s latest novel, The Sundowner’s Dance, propels readers through a terrifying exploration of grief, dementia, and perhaps the greatest horror of all: growing old.
The community is very welcoming and very friendly. On the day Jerry looks at what will be his new home, neighbors are happy to see him and have Jerry as part of their community. Jerry; however, is very much an introvert, he just wants to be left alone. His grief is overwhelming, his wife Abby was his whole life. Jerry often recounts how Abby is the one who encouraged him to be more social. So without her, he turns ever more inward.
The elderly residents of Fairview tend to party late and loud, which irritates Jerry. Again, he wanted peace and quiet. He hears strange noises and disturbances on his roof at night and when a shambling woman arrives on his doorstep and seemingly dies after giving a warning about worms, that sought-after peace is shattered to an even greater degree.
Days later, that thought-to-be dead woman Katherine is alive and well. Things start adding up for Jerry and the eeriness is only compounded by Arthur Peterson, the head of the Fairview Acres Community association. Arthur is pleasantly aggressive – continually pushing Jerry to be part of the community, involved, and joining in the midnight parties.
Jerry’s hears Abby’s voice and thoughts in his head, encouraging him to be part of the society so he does, Jerry attends one of the midnight parties. At this party, he connects very strongly with Katherine, the two find themselves very drawn to each other, both have lost their significant others. Also at this party, Jerry has a little too much do drink, including a “potion” Arthur gives him. Jerry starts to see things that frighten him. His only solace is the burgeoning relationship with Katherine.
Wow.
Keisling layers in the horrific and terrifying elements. I think getting older is a natural human fear, losing faculties, being alone, being taken advantage-of. Those three human fears are very much on display. Sundowner’s Syndrome is a real thing and it seems to make Alzheimer’s Disease tame. While I’m not near the age of Jerry, I’m closer to that age than I’d like to be and I won’t lie – I have thoughts about what my life will be like in 20-25 years. (Just writing that gave me a chill).
At one point, The ‘Burbs (Joe Dante’s cult 80s movie featuring Tom Hanks and Bruce Dern) is called out and it feels pretty appropriate, even if the events in The Sundowner’s Dance eventually worms its way into my consciousness as a much more creepy-crawler horror novel.
Let’s just get it out of the way – The Sundowner’s Dance has elements of cosmic horror and cult horror deeply entrenched in the narrative. Smartly, Keisling slowly introduces these elements, at least the creepiest graphic elements, but because this is a horror novel, hints are right there from the start. The overly cheerful neighbors, the vibe of the community that comes through are mildly unsettling until the true nature of the Fairview Acres Community is hinted and eventually revealed. The growing sense of dread from the very beginning of the novel because of these “welcoming neighbors” is…I can only think of the word delicious to describe it. I loved it and what that growing dread portended. Keisling layers a lot into this tightly packed novel, I’m not going to reveal much more of it, though. You’ll need to visit Fairview Acres yourself to get the feel of things.
There aren’t many horror novels featuring elderly protagonists or even primary characters. Keisling proves how powerful stories featuring characters in this age group can be.
The Sundowner’s Dance is a powerful, heart-wrenching, horrific novel. It pulled at my heartstrings, nearly brought me to tears, and creeped me out in the best way possible. Between this and Devil’s Creek, Todd Keisling is carving out a spot for himself as an absolute master of cosmic/cosmic-cult horror.
Highly recommended
© 2025 Rob H. Bedford
Hardcover | April 2025
https://www.toddkeisling.com/
https://www.toddkeisling.com/works/sundowners-dance
https://shortwavepublishing.com/catalog/the-sundowners-dance-todd-keisling
Review copy purchased
This sounds right up my alley, thanks! I like the “no, actually we think that’s how his face froze when he died” kind of horror