Richard Chizmar – författare

King and Chizmar join forces again with a powerful stand-alone novel that is also the final chapter in the Gwendy trilogy.When Gwendy Peterson was twelve, a stranger named Richard Farris gave her a mysterious box for safekeeping. It offered treats and vintage coins, but it was dangerous. Pushing any of its seven coloured buttons promised death and destruction.Years later, the button box re-entered Gwendy's life. A successful novelist and a rising political star, she was once more forced to deal with the temptations that the box represented - an amazing sense of wellbeing, balanced by a terrifyingly dark urge towards disaster.With the passing of time, the box has grown ever stronger and evil forces are striving to possess it. Once again, it is up to Gwendy Peterson, now a United States Senator battling the early symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease, to keep it from them. At all costs. But where can you hide something from such powerful entities?Gwendy's Final Task is a wildly suspenseful and at the same time deeply moving novel in which 'horror giants' (Publishers Weekly) Stephen King and Richard Chizmar take us on a journey from Castle Rock to another famous cursed Maine city to the MF-1 space station, where Gwendy must execute a secret mission to save the world. And, maybe, all worlds.

King and Chizmar join forces again with a powerful stand-alone novel that is also the final chapter in the Gwendy trilogy.When Gwendy Peterson was twelve, a stranger named Richard Farris gave her a mysterious box for safekeeping. It offered treats and vintage coins, but it was dangerous. Pushing any of its seven coloured buttons promised death and destruction.Years later, the button box re-entered Gwendy's life. A successful novelist and a rising political star, she was once more forced to deal with the temptations that the box represented - an amazing sense of wellbeing, balanced by a terrifyingly dark urge towards disaster.With the passing of time, the box has grown ever stronger and evil forces are striving to possess it. Once again, it is up to Gwendy Peterson, now a United States Senator battling the early symptoms of Alzheimer's Disease, to keep it from them. At all costs. But where can you hide something from such powerful entities?Gwendy's Final Task is a wildly suspenseful and at the same time deeply moving novel in which 'horror giants' (Publishers Weekly) Stephen King and Richard Chizmar take us on a journey from Castle Rock to another famous cursed Maine city to the MF-1 space station, where Gwendy must execute a secret mission to save the world. And, maybe, all worlds.

'A worthy and frightening sequel to Chizmar's Chasing the Boogeyman. Terrific storytelling' - Stephen KingBack in the summer of 1988, a young Richard Chizmar was catapulted into the centre of a living nightmare as the serial killer Joshua Gallagher - dubbed by the media as 'The Boogeyman' - stalked his tranquil Maryland town.These days, Chizmar enjoys a certain level of notoriety himself as he is the only person to whom Josh Gallagher will talk, on or off the record. Chizmar likes to visit Gallagher in prison, as there are plenty of other nameless victims out there and Gallagher's confession would bring closure to grieving loved ones. But when a masked figure leaves a horrifying calling card in the front of his home, Chizmar finds there is a price for dancing with the devil. It's clear that there is a new player controlled by the Boogeyman. A riveting, haunting sequel to Chasing the Boogeyman, this is a tale of obsession and the adulation of evil, exploring modern society's true-crime infatuation with unflinching honesty, sparing no one from the glare of the spotlight.

'Terrific storytelling' STEPHEN KING'Masterfully blends reality and imagination to deliver something wholly original and totally gripping from start to finish. Don't miss this edge-of-your-seat chiller that will keep you guessing - and guessing again' LISA UNGER'I WASN'T WORRIED ABOUT THE MYSTERIOUS BLACK BAG THAT MORNING... NO BIG DEAL. UNTIL I GOT CLOSER - AND THEN I KNEW BETTER.'Back in the Summer of 1988, a young Richard Chizmar was catapulted into the centre of a living nightmare as the serial killer Joshua Gallagher - dubbed by the media as The Boogeyman - stalked his tranquil Maryland town.These days, Chizmar enjoys a certain level of notoriety himself as he is the only person to whom Josh Gallagher will talk, on or off the record. Chizmar likes to visit Gallagher in prison, as there are plenty of other nameless victims out there and Gallagher's confession would bring closure to grieving loved ones.But when a masked figure leaves a horrifying calling card in the front of his home, Chizmar finds there is a price for dancing with the devil. It's clear that there is a new player in the game which The Boogeyman controls . . .Both a riveting tale of obsession and an unflinchingly honest exploration of modern society's true-crime infatuation, Becoming the Boogeyman spares no one from the glare of the spotlight.

Don't venture into the Appalachian woods after dark. Never leave the marked trail. And if you hear voices . . . Run.1983: Three students from a small college embark on a week-long road trip to film a documentary on roadside memorials for their American Studies class. The project starts out as a fun adventure with long stretches of empty road and nightly campfires where they begin to open up with one another.But as they venture deeper into the Appalachian backwoods, the atmosphere begins to darken. They notice more and more of the memorials feature a strange, unsettling symbol hinting at a sinister secret. Paranoia sets in when it appears they are being followed. Their vehicle is tampered with overnight and some of the locals appear to be anything but welcoming. Before long, the students can't help but wonder if these roadside deaths were really random accidents...or is something terrifying at work here?

Never be in the Appalachian woods after dark. Never leave the marked trail. And if you hear the voices . . . Run.1983: Three students from a small college embark on a week-long road trip to film a documentary on roadside memorials for their American Studies class. The project starts out as a fun adventure with long stretches of empty road and nightly campfires where they begin to open up with one another.But as they venture deeper into the Appalachian backwoods, the atmosphere begins to darken. They notice more and more of the memorials feature a strange, unsettling symbol hinting at a sinister secret. Paranoia sets in when it appears they are being followed. Their vehicle is tampered with overnight and some of the locals appear to be anything but welcoming. Before long, the students can't help but wonder if these roadside deaths were really random accidents...or is something terrifying at work here?

'This is a bad place. I don't think people are meant to live here.'Longtime residents of Harper's Cove believe that something is wrong with the Widow's Point Lighthouse. Some say it's cursed. Others claim it's haunted.Originally built in 1838, three workers were killed during the lighthouse's construction, including one who mysteriously plunged to his death from the catwalk. That tragic accident was never explained, and it was just the beginning of the terror. In the decades that followed, nearly two dozen additional deaths occurred in or around the lighthouse including cold-blooded murder, suicide, unexplained accidents and disappearances, the slaughter of an entire family, and the inexplicable death of a Hollywood starlet who was filming a movie on the grounds.The lighthouse was finally shuttered tight in 1988 and a security fence was erected around the property. No one has been inside since. Until now.Told across two harrowing incidents from 2017 and 2025, those who enter the Widow's Point Lighthouse searching for supernatural proof and the next big thing find themselves cut off from the outside world. And although no one has recently stepped foot inside the structure, they are not alone.In this remarkable collaboration, father and son writing team, Richard and W.H. Chizmar combine forces to tell a terrifying ghost story that will make you think twice about what's waiting for you in the dark.

'This is a bad place. I don't think people are meant to live here.'Longtime residents of Harper's Cove believe that something is wrong with the Widow's Point Lighthouse. Some say it's cursed. Others claim it's haunted.Originally built in 1838, three workers were killed during the lighthouse's construction, including one who mysteriously plunged to his death from the catwalk. That tragic accident was never explained, and it was just the beginning of the terror. In the decades that followed, nearly two dozen additional deaths occurred in or around the lighthouse including cold-blooded murder, suicide, unexplained accidents and disappearances, the slaughter of an entire family, and the inexplicable death of a Hollywood starlet who was filming a movie on the grounds.The lighthouse was finally shuttered tight in 1988 and a security fence was erected around the property. No one has been inside since. Until now.Told across two harrowing incidents from 2017 and 2025, those who enter the Widow's Point Lighthouse searching for supernatural proof and the next big thing find themselves cut off from the outside world. And although no one has recently stepped foot inside the structure, they are not alone.In this remarkable collaboration, father and son writing team, Richard and W.H. Chizmar combine forces to tell a terrifying ghost story that will make you think twice about what's waiting for you in the dark.

'A resonant novella set in one of King's signature locales: the small town of Castle Rock, Maine' Washington PostThe small town of Castle Rock, Maine, has witnessed some strange events and unusual visitors over the years, but there is one story that has never been told...until now.There are three ways up to Castle View from the town of Castle Rock: Route 117, Pleasant Road, and the Suicide Stairs. Every day in the summer of 1974 twelve-year-old Gwendy Peterson takes the stairs, which are held by strong (if time-rusted) iron bolts and zig-zag up the cliffside.One day, while Gwendy catches her breath and listens to the shouts of the kids on the playground and the chink of an aluminium bat hitting a baseball, a stranger calls out to her.On a bench in the shade sits a man in a small, neat black hat. He offers Gwendy a mahogany box with coloured buttons. The buttons will produce gifts, such as chocolate which can make you slimmer. But he warns her that the gifts will be 'small recompense for the responsibility.'Journey back to Castle Rock in this chilling new novella by Stephen King, bestselling author of The Bazaar of Bad Dreams, and Richard Chizmar, award-winning author of A Long December

A CASTLE ROCK NOVEL WITH A FOREWORD BY STEPHEN KINGPREPARE TO RETURN AGAIN TO STEPHEN KING'S CASTLE ROCK, THE SLEEPY LITTLE TOWN BUILT ON A BEDROCK OF DEEP, DARK SECRETS, JUST AS IT'S ABOUT TO AWAKEN FROM ITS QUIET SLUMBER ONCE MORE.Something evil has swept into the small Maine town of Castle Rock on the heels of the latest winter storm. Sheriff Norris Ridgewick and his team are desperately searching for two missing girls.In Washington D.C., thirty-seven-year-old Gwendy Peterson couldn't be more different from the self-conscious teenaged girl who once spent a summer running up Castle Rock's Suicide Stairs. That same summer, she was entrusted - or cursed - with the extraordinary button box by a mysterious stranger in a black suit. Gwendy has never told a soul about the box - not even her husband. But one day it shows up again. Inspired by the curious appearance of the box and the troubling disappearances in her hometown, Gwendy returns to Castle Rock, where time is running out for the girls as a dangerous man is preparing the unthinkable . . .

The New York Times bestselling coauthor of Gwendy's Button Box brings his signature 'thrilling, page-turning' (Michael Koryta, author of How It Happened) prose to this story of small-town evil that combines the storytelling of Stephen King with the true-crime suspense of Michelle McNamara.In the summer of 1988, the mutilated bodies of several missing girls begin to turn up in a small Maryland town. The grisly evidence leads police to the terrifying assumption that a serial killer is on the loose in the quiet suburb. But soon a rumor begins to spread that the evil stalking local teens is not entirely human. Law enforcement, as well as members of the FBI are certain that the killer is a living, breathing madman-and he's playing games with them. For a once peaceful community trapped in the depths of paranoia and suspicion, it feels like a nightmare that will never end.Recent college graduate Richard Chizmar returns to his hometown just as a curfew is enacted and a neighborhood watch is formed. In the midst of preparing for his wedding and embarking on a writing career, he soon finds himself thrust into the real-life horror story. Inspired by the terrifying events, Richard writes a personal account of the serial killer's reign of terror, unaware that these events will continue to haunt him for years to come.A clever, terrifying, and heartrending work of metafiction, 'Chasing the Boogeyman does what true crime so often cannot: it offers both chills and a satisfying conclusion' (Stephen King). Chizmar's 'brilliant . . . absolutely fascinating, totally compelling, and immediately poignant' (C.J. Tudor, New York Times bestselling author) writing is on full display in this truly unique novel that will haunt you long after you turn the final page.

The acclaimed NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY bestselling novel of small-town evil that 'is genuinely chilling and something brand-new and exciting' (Stephen King) and 'unforgettable' (Harlan Coben).Summer 1988: the mutilated bodies of several missing girls are discovered in a small Maryland town.Rumour spreads that the evil stalking local teens is not entirely human. But law enforcement and members of the FBI are sure a serial killer is playing games with them.Now recent college graduate Richard Chizmar returns to his hometown to write a personal account of the killer's reign. And what he discovers will haunt him for years to come . . .'Chasing the Boogeyman does what true crime so often cannot: it offers both chills and a satisfying conclusion' - Stephen King'Brilliant . . . absolutely fascinating, totally compelling and immensely poignant. I dare you not to finish it in one sitting. This one will stay with me!' - C. J. Tudor'Unforgettable' - Harlan Coben