Deep in the jungles of Malaysia, the captain of the river boat ''Ellen G'' was chartered by a man named Van Horn to travel upriver to his plantation to collect a cargo. The native crew were fearful of going towards Van Horn's plantation, but the Captain and his first mate Steve ignored their warnings.

That night, the native fears proved justified when Van Horn revealed himself to be a vampire. He slew the wheel man, and revealed his "cargo" was in fact a horde of zombies he intended to take down river to search for new prey. The Captain, his daughter Ellen, and Steve jumped into the river to avoid the monsters, but Van Horn captured Ellen, intending to make her his bride.

The Captain returned to the ship to prepare for their getaway, while Steve tried to rescue Ellen. Steve fought Van Horn on a wooden raft, and was able to shove a broken pole into Van Horn's heart, slaying him. Returning to the ship, the the zombies continued to pursue them on rafts, Steve and the Captain released oil on the river, and burned the zombies when they set it on fire.

Van Horn showed several abilities common to vampires. He drank blood, and he could transform into a giant bat (though the bat possessed a human face.) When in human form, he had a pair of giant bat wings coming out of his back. He didn't show any weakness to sunlight, being able to walk out in daytime.

His most powerful ability was to create and control zombies. The zombies were distinctly different from vampires like Van Horn. They were were clearly decayed corpses, and Van Horn described them as "dull witted. spiritless slaves." How exactly he created these zombies was not clearly explained.

*Out of the Night #5
Category:Vampire Characters
Category:Richard E. Hughes-Creator
Category:ACG Characters
Category:Villains
Category:Comic Book Characters
Category:Male Characters
Category:Dead Characters
Category:1952 Debuts
Category:Characters with transformation powers
Category:Flying Characters
Category:George Wilhelms - Creator