Summary
Overview
Richard Chizmar joins Morbid for an engaging conversation about his Boogeyman trilogy, writing process, and career. They discuss the conclusion of the series with 'Killing the Boogeyman' (releasing October 6th), his collaboration with Stephen King, the art of blending fiction with memoir, and the creative choices behind making his books feel like true crime. Chizmar shares intimate stories about his family, childhood, cancer survival, and the deep gratitude he feels for his career. The conversation is filled with humor, vulnerability, and deep insights into the horror writing craft.
The Boogeyman Trilogy and Series Completion
Richard discusses the completion of his Boogeyman trilogy and how the series evolved organically from a standalone book. He explains how 'Becoming the Boogeyman' was never planned, but came to him while mowing the lawn. His editor pushed for a trilogy structure, and Richard shares his emotional journey of seeing all three books together and reflecting on a series that was never supposed to exist beyond the first installment.
- Richard never planned to write a second Boogeyman book after the first one
- The idea for 'Becoming the Boogeyman' came while mowing the lawn in a five-minute span
- The first chapter of book two had a twist that connected strongly to the first book
- His editor convinced him it needed to be a trilogy
" Writing about myself for one book was enough. I actually remember telling my editor and my agent, I'm like, that's it. That's it. It's all gone again. "
" I just knew that chapter was good, and it ended on that twist that connected so strongly to the first book. So I remember thinking, if anyone can read that first chapter and not, you know, if they're standing in the store reading it and they read it and they don't take it up to the register, I'll be shocked. "
Blurring Fiction and Reality: The Blair Witch Approach
Richard reveals his original ambitious plan to completely Blair Witch the audience by presenting 'Chasing the Boogeyman' as real true crime, including fake websites, newspaper articles, and podcasts. Legal concerns prevented this, but he still managed to create an incredibly authentic feel through photos, formatting, and storytelling techniques. The photos at the end of each chapter, featuring real friends posing as characters, became one of the book's most compelling features.
- Richard's original plan was to completely blur the lines between fiction and reality like Blair Witch
- Legal concerns from the publisher prevented the full Blair Witch marketing approach
- Photos were strategically placed at the end of each chapter rather than grouped in the middle
- Many readers googled to verify if the story was real despite knowing it was fiction
" The original idea for Chasing the Boogeyman was to Blair Witch the audience completely. "
" I had all this stuff planned. And what's funny is, is ultimately I wanted to script like a three-part podcast. And have someone... And, you know, I would be one of the guests. And, you know, the detective would be a guest. And some of my friends. And I'm just like, that would be fun. "
" I knew I wanted photos and I knew I wanted to put them at the end of each chapter. Because that's exactly how I am. I end up like flipping through and being like, what is this person? I'm like, okay, I'm going to go back. "
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