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Children of the Night

A sick orphan thrives after the wrong blood transfusion, drawing immunologist Kate Neuman to a possible medical breakthrough. When vampire agents kidnap him, Kate returns to Romania.

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An evil legacy comes to life in this classic and ultimately human novel about believable vampires, featuring a brand-new introduction by Dan Simmons. Children of the Night will take you to a place that no one knows―yet all of us fear.

"Simmons writes like a hot-rodding angel." –Stephen King

In a desolate orphanage in post-Communist Romania, a desperately ill infant is given the wrong blood transfusion―and flourishes rather than dies. For immunologist Kate Neuman, the infant's immune system may hold the key to cure cancer and AIDS. Kate adopts the baby and takes him home to the States. But baby Joshua holds a link to an ancient clan and their legendary leader―Vlad Tsepes, the original Dracula – whose agents kidnap the child. Against impossible odds and vicious enemies– both human and vampire – Kate and her ally, Father Mike O'Rourke, steal into Romania to get her baby back.

"A mesmerizing tour through the ghostly, gray tatters of Romania." – Publishers Weekly

First published: 1992
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Pages: 464
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Book tags

Content warnings

Child Harm

Missing warnings do not mean other content is absent.

Horror profile

Scary: Not rated
Creepy: Not rated
Gore: Not rated
Disturbing: Not rated
Weird: Not rated

How we calculate this

These are editorial estimates of intensity, informed by reading and review evidence, then checked before publication. They aren't star ratings, reader-vote averages or a measure of quality.

Each dimension runs from 1 (low) to 5 (exceptionally intense). A 5 is reserved for strongly consistent evidence. People experience horror differently.

Scary: Fear, tension and immediate threat.
Creepy: Unease, dread and an uncanny atmosphere.
Gore: Graphic injury, blood and bodily detail.
Disturbing: Upsetting ideas and lingering psychological impact.
Weird: Surreal, strange and reality-bending elements.

We draw a filled profile only when all five scores have been reviewed. Unrated does not mean mild. Missing scores are not estimated from genre tags or your saved taste. This profile isn't a complete content-warning guide.