Hello and welcome to the latest issue of The Ghoulish Times. My name is Max Booth and this is my free spooky newsletter for all things GHOULISH. Ghoulish being, of course, Ghoulish Books—the small publishing company I’ve co-operated since 2012, and also the indie bookstore I’ve co-operated since 2023. Nearly my entire adult life, which is weird and scary when you stop and think about it. So, uh, let’s not stop and think about it. Let’s move on immediately!

COSMIC DYKE PATROL

After a couple of unexpected delays, COSMIC DYKE PATROL will finally hit bookshelves February 10. Think GHOSTBUSTERS if the ghostbusters were all fucking each other, including Slimer.

Written by Lor Gislason. Cover by Val Hal. Pre-order HERE.

ANNOUNCING SUNNY MORAINE’S WITNESS MARKS

Attention, horny weirdos! We are publishing Sunny Moraine's WITNESS MARKS next year and we are very, very excited to finally have a reason to talk about exorcism bondage.

All webstore pre-orders come with a signed bookplate from the author. Get it HERE.

LATE NIGHT AT THE BOOKSTORE

TONIGHT! Come down to our bookshop after hours, from 7pm-10pm, for a fun, comfy ghouls’ night out. This is a FREE, non-ticketed event.

Most of our inventory will be 10% off, and any purchases above $50 will be gifted free swag bags and ARCs (advance reading copies) while supplies last. Any purchase $25+ will be entered in a raffle for a mystery prize. We will offer complimentary gift wrapping options for all purchases. Everybody is encouraged to wear pajamas.

GHOULISH BOOK CLUB – CANDY CAIN KILLS (DECEMBER 28)

Don’t forget that our next bookclub meeting is on December 28th! We’ll be discussing Candy Cain Kills. If you haven’t already read it, don’t worry! It’s a super quick fun read. You have plenty of time. More details here.

JOHNNY COMPTON SIGNING

Observers of our social media will already know this, but we had to reschedule this month’s signing with Johnny Compton. You can now find him at Ghoulish Books on Friday, January 2nd, signing copies of his new collection Midnight Somewhere along with his novels Devils Kill Devils and The Spite House. He will be camped out in the lobby with a pen from 5pm-7pm. At 7pm, we will take the event outside behind the shop and host a live reading with Johnny and two other writers TBA for a new edition of our First Friday Frights reading series.

MOTHER-EATING FEATURED IN PRINT MAGAZINE!

PRINT Magazine recently featured the cover for Jess Hagemann’s Mother-Eating on their “23 of the Best Book Covers for Fall 2025” article. They even interviewed the author, artist, and text designer for the piece. A true honor! Read it HERE. Buy the novel HERE.

ISSUES WITH AUTHORITY FEATURED ON THE LINEUP!

Over on The Lineup, author Gwendolyn Kiste published her Best Horror Books of 2025, and we’re stoked to see Nadia Bulkin’s Issues with Authority included:

Nadia Bulkin’s first collection, She Said Destroy, remains one of my favorite collections of the last ten years, and her follow-up, Issues with Authority, is absolutely a worthy successor. With a decisive flair for political horror, Bulkin’s work always manages to shed new light on old horrors, so expect to be pondering this one for a long time to come.

Read the article HERE. Buy the collection HERE.

Bookshop Confessions: “They’re nazi books”

Over on my blog, I wrote about a recent encounter I had with a guy trying to sell me nazi books. Read it HERE.

TAKING NEW EDITING CLIENTS

I just wanted to remind anyone interested that I am seeking a few new clients for my freelance editorial services. If you have a book that needs some work, hit me up!

Learn more HERE.

Okay I think that’s it for now. If you don’t hear from me again this year, don’t panic. Don’t freak out. I’m either dead or busy. Goodbye for now or perhaps forever. Find me at the bookstore or on the local news screaming about all of the atrocity in the world.

—max