It all started when artist Patric Bates posted a watercolor painting to Bluesky entitled “Ghost Theater,” depicting several ghosts going to see a movie called The Witch and the Pendulum. I had already been following Patric for some time, after becoming enamored with his art almost immediately upon seeing it, and I was struck by the evocative movie title, which called to mind Roger Corman’s Technicolor Poe adaptations.

I replied to Patric something to the effect that I needed to write a story using that title, and this began a back-and-forth during which he revealed that he had used the made-up title (along with a few others) several times in his various paintings, and had actually created a fictional double-bill of The Witch and the Pendulum and Terror Aquarium, even going so far as to draft up a flyer for the imaginary program.

In the course of the conversation, we both struck upon an idea. What if I wrote both “films” as short stories, and then combined them together with a brief framing story about watching the films in his proposed double-feature. Then, we could release the whole thing as a zine, accompanied by some of his wonderful watercolor illustrations, and split the profits.

Inspiration can be a hell of a thing, and it was all finished faster than I think either of us imagined. The result is the Starlight Theater Halloween Double-feature, a brand-new zine released just in time for Halloween, written by yours truly and illustrated by Patric Bates.

The zine features two entirely new short stories by me, each of which can be read as standalones, along with a framing story about two girls who meet at the eponymous double-feature – for what may be the last time.

At the time of this writing, the Starlight Theater Halloween Double-feature is the only place you can get any of these stories, which are all brand-new to this zine. It’s available in an initial print run of only 50 numbered copies, and they’re already going fast. Also, if you order this weekend (September 27-28) you’ll get a treat bag filled with Halloween goodies along with your order!

We’re not ruling out future printings, but we’re not guaranteeing them, either, and this will be the only numbered, first-edition print run. Along with two full stories by me that are available nowhere else and a framing story, you’ll get several wonderful and seasonal paintings by Patric Bates which, I promise, are worth the price of admission by themselves.

I’m so excited about this project. I’ve really been inspired by Patric’s paintings and I’m thrilled to be collaborating with him on this. I think my readers will love it, and I’m very proud of the stories I’ve put together for the Starlight Theater Halloween Double-feature. I can’t wait for you to read them!

If you’ve always wanted to go to a theater full of masked weirdos to watch a perfectly Halloween-y double-bill, you can’t get much closer to that than this new zine. But the initial print run is selling fast, and you’ll want to order soon, anyway, so you can get it in time for Halloween!