Short Story: Red Shadows

Overview

"Red Shadows" introduces Solomon Kane, a grim, austere Puritan wanderer whose rigid moral code drives him to seek out and punish cruelty, injustice, and supernatural evil. Set against a late Renaissance backdrop of dark taverns, frontier outposts, and ruined chapels, the story marries swashbuckling action with Gothic dread. Robert E. Howard casts Kane as a relentlessly driven avenger: austere in faith, fearless in combat, and utterly uncompromising when confronting malign forces.
The tale establishes Kane's persona, stoic, ascetic, and haunted by a sense of divine purpose, while plunging him into an episode of occult menace. The title's "red shadows" evokes both literal blood and the creeping, unnatural darkness that Howard uses to animate landscapes and dread, making the world itself feel hostile and morally corrupt until Kane intervenes.

Plot

Kane arrives in a small coastal region marked by a series of brutal, inexplicable crimes and a spreading sense of terror. Locals whisper about a malevolent presence that moves like smoke and stains everything it touches with a sanguine hue. As the bodies mount and fear tightens its grip, Kane's Puritan conscience compels him to investigate rather than turn away. His inquiries reveal signs of sorcery, sacrilegious rites, and a malign intelligence that feeds on violence and fear.
Following a trail of clues and survivors' accounts, Kane confronts the heart of the evil in a ruined stronghold where superstition and human depravity have combined to call forth something otherworldly. Howard stages a series of tense encounters, night-time skulks, sudden ambushes, and desperate fights in shadowed corridors, culminating in a direct clash between Kane's iron will and the uncanny force behind the murders. Using both blade and faith, Kane dismantles the sorcery that animates the "red shadows, " exposing the human agents and occult instruments that sustained the terror.
The resolution is stark rather than triumphant. Kane defeats the immediate threat, but the story closes with the understanding that darkness is never fully vanquished; his duty to roam remains. He departs immediately, a lone sentinel moving on to the next place where evil has taken root.

Themes and Tone

Howard blends moral absolutism with pulpy action and supernatural horror. The central theme revolves around the idea of righteous violence: Kane does not relish killing, but accepts it as a grim necessity in a sinful world. The protagonist's Puritanism is portrayed as both his moral compass and an isolating force that leaves him constantly at odds with a corrupt society. Howard's prose emphasizes stark contrasts, light and shadow, law and chaos, human frailty and unyielding resolve, creating a tone that is brooding, urgent, and relentless.
Atmosphere plays a crucial role; Howard uses setting as an extension of menace. The "red shadows" themselves function as a symbol of pollution, moral and physical, spreading through people and places until a single, uncompromising will stands against them. The story's brevity heightens its intensity, driving events forward with little respite and leaving readers with a lingering sense of unease.

Legacy

As Solomon Kane's debut, "Red Shadows" laid the groundwork for a series of tales that would define Howard's darker, more supernatural work. The story established the archetype of the solitary avenger who walks a narrow line between zeal and fanaticism while battling forces beyond ordinary men. Its mix of swordplay, bleak moral vision, and uncanny horror influenced later pulp and fantasy writers and helped cement Kane as one of Howard's enduring creations. The final image of a lone figure vanishing into the night to confront the next outbreak of evil remains a potent emblem of the character's lasting appeal.