Author: Christian Francis

From Echo On Publications, the new book, officially titled Spookies: Twisted Souls, will be published in time for Halloween 2026 in hardcover, paperback, and eBook formats, and is an adapted version of the film’s original screenplay, Twisted Souls which conceived and shot by the movie’s creative team, rather than the re-edited, producer-assembled cut that reached audiences in 1986.

Originally shot in 1984 under the title Twisted Souls by Brendan Faulkner and Thomas Doran with producer/co-writer Frank Farel, the film became Spookies after creative and legal disputes led the financier to commission newly shot material and a radical re-edit by Eugenie “Genie” Joseph… a production saga that has fueled the film’s legend for decades.

The 1982 horror/mystery DEADLY GAMES will be a novel soon; Penning the adaptation is dark fiction writer Cat Voleur, who’s also the co-host of The Nic F’n Woo Cage Cast. Written and directed by Scott Mansfield, DEADLY GAMES stars Jo Ann Harris, Sam Groom, Steve Railsback, Jere Lea Rae, Saul Sindell, Denise Galik and Dick Butkus.

The synopsis: “A masked maniac with a penchant for a horror-themed board game is playing his own twisted game with the women of a small American town. Each time the dice is rolled, another victim meets a grisly end. Returning home to mourn the death of her murdered sister, Keegan [Jo Ann Harris] befriends local cop Roger [Groom] and oddball cinema projectionist Billy [Railsback] and reunites with her old friend Sooty Lane [Rae]. But as the killer’s game continues, Keegan realizes that she and those closest to her may be the next pieces to fall.”

“DEADLY GAMES is one of my favorite films to come out of the 1980s,” Voleur says. “It is such an honor to be tasked with bringing this strange, sinister story from the screen and into the hands of readers.”

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We gave Rue Morgue the scoop that one of the novelizations we have in the works for next year is an adaptation of 2003’s terror-in-the-woods favorite Wrong Turn.

It will be written by Christian Francis based on Alan B. McElroy’s original screenplay, featuring scenes that go deeper and darker than what wound up in the film.

“I have always loved Wrong Turn, and have long dreamt of adapting it into prose,” Francis says. “And when Alan shared with me the original draft of the script…the full and uncensored story straight from his twisted mind…I knew this book was going to be something extra special, and something fans will absolutely adore!”

Adds McElroy, “I am very excited for fans to read this novelization of my original unabridged screenplay of Wrong Turn. I thank Christian for being open to adapting my script with all its original bloody intensity.”

We revealed to RUE MORGUE that we have a new slate of novelizations on the way in Q1 2026, joining the MANIAC COP trilogy, SESSION 9 and the upcoming IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS, THE GATE, etc.

But that’s not all, there are so many more to come we cant wait to tell you about!

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Joining the lengthy list of official novelizations he’s putting out via his Echo On Publications, author Christian Francis gave RUE MORGUE the scoop that he’s adapting Kevin Tenney’s 1986 cult fave WITCHBOARD. He also recently announced that he’s working on a tie-in book for Jake West’s 2009 horror/comedy DOGHOUSE, and gave us a few words on both.

WITCHBOARD, in which a college student (Tawny Kitaen) falls under the supernatural sway of the titular totem while her current and former boyfriends try to save her, joins the likes of the MANIAC COP trilogy, THE FIRST POWER, STRANGELAND, THE GATE, BENEATH PERFECTION (based on the original script for TREMORS) and others on Francis and Echo On’s slate. (It’s a big year for spinoffs of Tenney’s original, as Chuck Russell’s remake is coming to theaters August 15.) “WITCHBOARD is one of those underappreciated gems I keep coming back to,” the author tells us. “There’s a genuine eeriness to it that sticks with you. The mix of supernatural horror, Ouija paranoia and melodrama gives it a weirdly compelling charm that’s lacking in so many films. There’s something delightfully earnest about how seriously it takes itself, even when things get ridiculous. It’s not trying to be ironic or meta; it just fully commits, and I love writing that!”

In DOGHOUSE, a group of friends on a guys’ weekend trip to an isolated town wind up fighting for their lives against the local women, who have become crazed cannibals. “DOGHOUSE has always been one of my favorite horror/comedies,” Francis says, “along with AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, BRAINDEAD/DEAD ALIVE, THE FINAL GIRLS, FIDO and LITTLE MONSTERS. I was never much of a SHAUN OF THE DEAD fan; I’ve always found it too self-aware and a bit smug for my taste. DOGHOUSE, on the other hand, just goes all-in, and is way more in line with my tastes. It’s nastier, funnier and doesn’t try to soften the edges. Totally more my vibe. And Stephen Graham alongside Danny Dyer? Come on–absolute perfection. Writing their characters, hearing them speak the lines in my head, just keeps making me laugh out loud.”

A huge thank you to Michael Gingold and Fangoria for the awesome interview about our releases!

EXCERPT: Amidst the current wave of nostalgia novelizations, author Christian Francis stands apart. Not only has he made it his mission to bring cult faves of the past to the printed page, he formed his own outfit, Echo On Publishing, to do so. Debuting last fall with the adaptation of Brad Anderson’s acclaimed Session 9, Echo On has since issued Francis’ book versions of The First Power and the Maniac Cop trilogy. Coming up are The Gate, Night of the Comet, Strangeland, In the Mouth of Madness (credited to the film’s fictitious author Sutter Cane), Beneath Perfection (based on the original screenplay for Tremors) and, just in time for Christmas, 3615 Dial Code Santa Claus.

A horror fan since childhood, Francis first fell in love with fright-film paperbacks while attending a British school in Paris during the 1980s. “Going to the cinema was tricky,” he recalls, “since all films at the nearby cinemas were dubbed into French without subtitles, and video stores weren’t exactly bursting with original-language options. So I was stuck with only being able to see what could be recorded from TV, or bought when I returned to the UK with a meager amount of pocket money.

“I was already an avid horror book reader by then,” he continues, “and it was around 1986 that I discovered novelizations, the perfect solution to not being able to experience newer or unavailable films. Suddenly, bookstores became my cinemas, pages my screen. Gremlins, Aliens, The Lost Boys, The Goonies, The Blob—I experienced them all through words long before I saw the films themselves. When done well, novelizations aren’t just substitutes; they’re sublime experiences in their own right, so I began to seek them out. And in the subsequent years, even if I could see the films, I would try to read the novelization first.”

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Echo On Publications proudly announces the latest addition to the official novelization lineup: Doghouse. The wickedly hilarious cult classic. While other zombie comedies have tried to walk the line between scares and satire, Doghouse stomps across it half-pissed, with a lager in hand.

Set in the quaint village of Moodley, the story follows a group of lads whose weekend escape turns into a blood-splattered literal battle of the sexes when the local women are transformed into the ravenous undead.

The novelization will relish in the laughs and full-throttle carnage that made the film such a classic.

“I’m thrilled to bring Doghouse to book form,” said Christian Francis, Editor-in-Chief at Echo On Publications. “For me, this film is simply one of the greatest horror comedies of all time—standing shoulder to shoulder with the likes of An American Werewolf in London and Braindead. I’m eternally grateful to Andrew Loveday of Carnaby International and Dan Schaffer for the privilege of adapting it.”

Doghouse will be released in hardcover, paperback, and eBook formats on 28th September.