A short life of the author
Davis Grubb (1919–1980) was an American novelist born in Moundsville, West Virginia, along the Ohio River. His first novel, The Night of the Hunter (1953, Harper & Brothers), tells the story of two children fleeing a terrifying itinerant preacher, Harry Powell, who has “LOVE” and “HATE” tattooed on his knuckles and is hunting the money their dead father hid. The novel draws on Depression-era West Virginia folklore and real criminal cases, and its mix of menace, innocence, and river landscape creates one of the most distinctive atmospheres in American fiction.
Charles Laughton’s 1955 film adaptation — with Robert Mitchum as Powell and Lillian Gish as the protective river woman — was a commercial failure on release but has since been recognised as one of the greatest American films ever made. The novel and the film are now inseparably linked in the cultural imagination.
Grubb published several more novels — A Dream of Kings (1955), The Watchman (1961), Fools’ Parade (1969) — but none achieved the same recognition.
Collecting Grubb
The Night of the Hunter (1953, Harper & Brothers) is the key collectible. Fine first editions with the original dust jacket bring $300–$800. The jacket art — depicting the preacher’s tattooed hands — is iconic and its condition significantly affects value. Signed copies are rare. Later novels are affordable at $20–$60 in first edition.