Morbid Book Club: Killing The Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar

Episode of Morbid · September 25, 2026 · 2 h 11 min

Morbid hosts Ash Kelley and Alaina Urquhart talk with horror author Richard Chizmar about his Boogeyman trilogy finale, Killing the Boogeyman, and collaborating with Stephen King.

Summary

In this sponsored Morbid Book Club bonus episode, Ash Kelley and Alaina Urquhart interviewed horror author Richard Chizmar about Killing the Boogeyman, the final book in his trilogy that began with Chasing the Boogeyman and Becoming the Boogeyman. Chizmar explained that no sequel was originally planned, that the idea for the second book came to him while mowing the lawn, and that his editor Ed Schlesinger pushed for a trilogy and devised most of the titles. He described writing the first book in the style of a true crime memoir, staging fake photographs with his son and friends, and his abandoned plan to market it Blair Witch-style, which his publisher's legal department rejected.

Chizmar discussed blending memoir with fiction: using his real name, family, friends, hometown of Edgewood and his actual house, with only the murders invented. He described vulnerable scenes drawn from real memories, his wife Kara's discomfort at being written about, fans who drive by his home, and his view that the books resonated because readers related to shared childhood experiences. He said the third book deliberately pushed readers toward the edge of whether the killer Joshua Gallagher might be supernatural, and that he prefers leaving some mysteries unexplained, as real cases rarely resolve neatly.

The conversation also covered his writing and editing process, co-writing Widow's Point with his son Billy, the limits of fiction compared with real crime, and Ann Rule's The Stranger Beside Me as a formative book. Chizmar recounted how Stephen King sent a story to his magazine Cemetery Dance in 1991, how their friendship developed, and how King invited him to finish Gwendy's Button Box. He also spoke about being a two-time cancer survivor and his philosophy of gratitude. The episode closed with a round of horror- and writing-themed would-you-rather questions.

Chapters

0:41
Welcome and the trilogy's origins
The hosts welcome Richard Chizmar, who explains that the Boogeyman series was never meant to have a sequel.
3:59
Fake photos and abandoned Blair Witch marketing
Chizmar describes staging true-crime-style photographs and his plan for an immersive hoax campaign that legal vetoed.
13:50
A lifelong relationship with the boogeyman
Chizmar discusses his childhood fears, his haunted 250-year-old house and his belief in the paranormal.
19:52
Memoir, family and small-town innocence
Chizmar explains which parts of the books are real, how his wife reacts to being written about, and why murder in a small town is so unsettling.
32:03
Reading order, titles and relatable nostalgia
Chizmar addresses whether to read the series in order, how the titles were chosen and why readers connected to his childhood stories.
50:24
Writing with Billy and handling edits
Chizmar recounts co-writing with his son and his emotional stages when receiving editorial notes.
57:44
Vulnerability and real life on the page
Chizmar describes scenes drawn from private memories and fans visiting his real house.
1:10:45
Supernatural ambiguity and unanswered mysteries
Chizmar explains blurring whether the killer is human and why he leaves some questions unresolved.
1:19:11
Disturbing scenes and fiction versus true crime
The group discusses the mannequin scenes, a real local murder, and why real crime exceeds anything fiction invents.
1:29:20
Collaborating with Stephen King
Chizmar tells how Cemetery Dance led to friendship with Stephen King and to finishing Gwendy's Button Box, and reflects on gratitude.
1:46:46
Killing the boogeyman and Halloween
Chizmar gives a noncommittal answer about the ending and explains why Halloween defines him as a storyteller.
1:48:27
Would you rather
Chizmar answers morbid, writing-themed and Boogeyman-themed hypothetical questions.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

Richard Chizmar
Chizmar says the first Boogeyman book was never intended to have a sequel.
“Especially because there was never supposed to be a second book”
Listen from 1:35 · Chasing the Boogeyman
Richard Chizmar
Chizmar says he deliberately placed photographs at the end of each chapter rather than in a central insert as true crime books do.
“So I knew I wanted photos and I knew I wanted to put them at the end of each chapter”
Listen from 4:51 · Chasing the Boogeyman
Richard Chizmar
Chizmar says he originally wanted to market Chasing the Boogeyman as a Blair Witch-style hoax, but the publisher's legal department refused.
“Well, the original idea for Chasing the Boogeyman was to Blair Witch the audience completely”
Listen from 6:22 · The Blair Witch Project
Alaina Urquhart
Urquhart argues that the original Blair Witch marketing campaign was unmatched and could not be replicated in today's internet.
“That was the best marketing. And we'll never get that kind of marketing back”
Listen from 7:48 · The Blair Witch Project
Richard Chizmar
Chizmar says the first book used real names of his friends and parents and functioned largely as a memoir, with only the murders invented.
“everyone's names are all my true friends' names. I like my parents' names. It was just, it was a memoir in a lot of ways”
Listen from 20:17 · Chasing the Boogeyman
Richard Chizmar
Chizmar says he learned the book's success came from readers relating their own childhoods to it rather than from interest in him.
“it was never about me in the first place. It was about how they related to it”
Listen from 46:48 · Chasing the Boogeyman
Richard Chizmar
Chizmar says he wanted the third book to push readers right to the edge of believing the killer might be supernatural.
“I wanted to push them just to the, right to the edge of that blurry line”
Listen from 1:11:08 · Killing the Boogeyman
Linked moment · 1:15:36Skip to 1:15:36 using a listen link in the info box.
Richard Chizmar
Chizmar says he leaves some mysteries unexplained because real serial cases, as shown in true crime books, rarely resolve neatly.
“it's never usually super neat with a bow tie on the end, no matter how good the detectives are or the police”
Listen from 1:15:36 · Horror fiction versus true crime
Richard Chizmar
Chizmar describes himself as a non-outliner who lets the story's momentum carry him.
“I'm not a big outliner. So I always just say, I honestly, you know, I let the story gain momentum”
Listen from 1:16:53 · Fiction writing and editing process
Alaina Urquhart
Urquhart says she and Kelley delayed covering the Gabby Petito case because it felt too close, though they intend to tell her story eventually.
“Like we will eventually just to make sure that her story is told”
Listen from 1:22:34
Alaina Urquhart
Urquhart recounts working for years in a morgue performing autopsies and says cases involving children affected her deeply.
“I worked in the morgue for like years. So I did autopsies”
Listen from 1:25:50 · Horror fiction versus true crime
Richard Chizmar
Chizmar names Ann Rule's The Stranger Beside Me as long the scariest book he had read, citing its vivid details as an inspiration to write.
“my answer to the scariest book I've ever read for a long time was, uh, and rules the stranger beside”
Listen from 1:27:31 · The Stranger Beside Me
Richard Chizmar
Chizmar recounts that after years of sending issues of Cemetery Dance to King's office, King sent him an original story in 1991.
“In 91, Stephen King sent me an original story, Chattery Teeth”
Listen from 1:30:05 · Cemetery Dance
Richard Chizmar
Chizmar says Stephen King rejected his original ending for Gwendy's Button Box as too dark, which he later agreed made the sequels possible.
“I wrote the original ending. He actually wrote back and said, Rich, this is too dark”
Listen from 1:36:32 · Gwendy's Button Box
Richard Chizmar
Chizmar relays King's explanation that he chose Chizmar to finish Gwendy because of how he writes ordinary people.
“he does everyday people so well in everyday settings. And I thought if anyone could finish Gwendy, it would be him”
Listen from 1:44:56 · Gwendy's Button Box
Richard Chizmar
Chizmar says Halloween defines his storytelling approach of showing little while occasionally delivering a scare.
“I'm going to try to show you as little as possible to scare you, but every once in a while, I'm going to jump you”
Listen from 1:47:43 · Halloween (1978 film)
Richard Chizmar
Chizmar considers Chasing the Boogeyman closer to a thriller than a traditional horror novel.
“I still think Chasing the Boogeyman in a lot of ways is more of a thriller than it is a traditional horror novel”
Listen from 1:57:36 · Chasing the Boogeyman

People

In the conversation

Alaina UrquhartCo-host of Morbid, autopsy technician and author of the Butcher novels
Ash KelleyCo-host of the true crime podcast Morbid
Richard ChizmarAmerican horror author and founder of Cemetery Dance Publications, author of the Boogeyman trilogy

Discussed

Stephen KingAmerican horror novelist and Chizmar's collaborator on the Gwendy books
Ed SchlesingerChizmar's editor at Gallery Books
Billy ChizmarRichard Chizmar's elder son, writer and filmmaker, co-author of Widow's Point
Kara ChizmarRichard Chizmar's wife, portrayed as a character in the Boogeyman books
Ann RuleTrue crime author of The Stranger Beside Me
Harlan CobenAmerican thriller novelist
Ted BundyAmerican serial killer newly linked by DNA to a 1974 Utah victim
Devon SawaActor from Casper who publicly praised Chasing the Boogeyman
Patricia CornwellCrime novelist and creator of the Kay Scarpetta series
Gabby PetitoYoung woman murdered by her fiancé in 2021 whose case drew national attention

Topics

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Morbid · Oct 1, 2026 · 46 min
Morbid hosts Ash Kelley and Alaina Urquhart recount the 1870s Vermont mediums William and Horatio Eddy, their Spiritualist fame, fraud allegations, and their haunted former tavern.

From the publisher

Weirdos! We are stoked to bring you this special Bonus MORBID BOOK CLUB episode, #sponsored by our friends at @ashleyofficial ! This month we are joined by the incredible Richard Chizmar to chat about his upcoming release, Killing the Boogeyman available everywhere on 10/6/2026! Richard takes us behind the scenes of the writing process of this series that blends memoir and horror, talks about ticking of not one- BUT TWO dream collaborations off of his bucket list, and what it’s like to spend YEARS willingly inviting the Boogeyman into your brain! #ashleypartner Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022) Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023) Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 28, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: Books·True Crime