Issue 291: The Cullenoscopy Presents Horror Hosts
Nightmare Fuel is the official newsletter for fans of my work. Thank you for subscribing. Please share it with others if you think they might be interested!
A new episode of The Cullenoscopy has dropped! This time, we’re talking about horror hosts! So, click the link, hit the like button, subscribe, and share this with everyone you know!
Welcome back to Nightmare Fuel! I’m your host, Cullen Bunn, and I’m glad you’re here!
Halloween 2025 has come to an end. To tell the truth, I don’t feel like this Halloween… or this October, really… was worth a damn. I hope yours was amazing, but mine can kick bricks. Will November be any better? I’m not sure. The past 12 months have been cursed every step of the way. It’s like I’m walking through a realm of darkness and despair… but the only way out is to go through it!
Cindy and I continue to deal with some health issues. We thought we had things figured out. We thought we knew our course of action. That has changed, though, and we may not have a clear strategy until next week. In the meantime, we’ve been taking a lot of trips to St. Louis.
Writing has been going all right. I’ve finished some scripts. I’ve worked on some of the “Omega Mutant Projects” I’ve been tinkering with. I’ve pitched my next prose novel.
There have been a few other glimmers of hope and happiness along the way.
For example, I was lucky enough to hang out with Grady Hendrix and Becky Spratford last week. They were in town to discuss Why I Love Horror, a really cool collection of essays from some of the best writers in the biz. I’ve read a couple of the essays so far, and they’re great. As you know if you’ve followed this newsletter for a while, I’m a huge fan of Grady’s work. We Sold Our Souls is my personal favorite.
I missed trivia on Thursday, but only because my son had a performance with the Springfield Symphony. As much as I love spooky trivia, there was no way I would miss my son playing as long as it was within by power to be there.
On Halloween, Cindy and I continued our annual tradition of grabbing some Mexican food at one of our favorite places. This year, we were joined by some good friends, including Josh, who recently returned home from St. Louis after his surgery. He’s doing great!
That night, some friends came over to help us pass out candy. We didn’t get many trick-or-treaters this year, but we still had a fun time hanging out.
The day after Halloween, my pal Dakota celebrated the one-year anniversary of his business The Threads Collab, where you can get some cool Cullen Bunn merch.
Bones of Our Stars, Blood of Our World comes out next week! If you haven’t pre-ordered it from your favorite bookseller, now is a great time to do so! I don’t want you to miss out!
Here are a few other recent reviews
“A smorgasbord of horrors and surprises. It’s a slasher, it’s cosmic, it’s an ‘animal attacks’ horror, it’s a creature feature, it’s a floor wax and a dessert topping… A crystal-clear distillation of Bunn’s love for the horror genre and a reminder of how fun and rewarding horror can be when it’s busy doing way more than we ask of it… I feel like we’ve been long overdue an adult prose horror novel from Bunn and now he’s spoiled us with all these riches in one singular story.”
—Michael Hicks, FanFiAddict
“BONES OF OUR STARS, BLOOD OF OUR WORLD drew me in with its well-drawn characters and familiar small-town setting...and then it pounced on me in the dark and ambushed my sleep for several nights. Cullen Bunn has a knack for finding the soft spot of terror and driving the knife in deep. I finished reading this unforgettable chiller with blurry eyes and a pounding heart.”
—Richard Chizmar, New York Times bestselling author of Widow’s Point: The Complete Haunting and Chasing the Boogeyman
Bunn’s (Invasive) cinematic, visceral, and epic small-town horror novel takes readers to an island off the coast of North Carolina on a Monday evening, opening with this chilling line: “For so many, this is the last week on earth.” But readers have no idea what is coming and just how bad it is going to be. A hungry ancient evil has been awakened, and its meat-puppet agents have been mobilized, forcing the residents of the town to fight for their survival over the course of one bloody week. Featuring a huge cast of characters, an episodic and brisk storytelling style, and solid character development, this is horror filled with terror, gore, and a high body count, but it also packs plenty of heart.
—Becky Spratford, Library Journal
And here’s an interview I did about the book. Beware! There’s a warning, but there are some significant spoilers in the later parts of the discussion!
If you’re in the area next week (November 14) you should join me at Where House Bar in Springfield MO for a book launch party of epic proportions!
For some reason, I decided to drag a shoebox full of trading cards out of the closet and start looking through it. In the box were several cards that I had signed 30 years ago at Gen Con. I put the cards in a binder, and let nostalgia wash over me. Now I can’t stop thinking that I need MORE autographed trading cards to put in even MORE binders! I know I have boxes and boxes of trading cards around here someplace. It’s just a matter of finding them and digging through them for treasures!
Here we have some cards signed by Larry Elmore, Keith Parkinson, Brom. Clyde Caldwell, Boris Vallejo, and Julie Bell.
Here’s a quick rundown of upcoming convention appearances, signings, and other events. Keep in mind, all appearances are subject to changes and cancellations.
November 14, 2025 - Cullen’s Book Launch Party, Where House Bar, Springfield MO
November 16, 2025 - Signing, Barnes & Noble, Springfield MO
February 7, 2026 - Art Con, Neosho MO
May 29 - June 1, 2026 - Tremendicon, Springfield MO
LINKTREE - Links! Links! Links! This will get you everywhere worth visiting!
PATREON - Here, I post a serialized novel, a serialized comic book, short stories, and other cool materials.
THE CULLEN BUNN DISCORD SERVER - A place for fans to hang out and talk about comics, books, movies, games, collecting, and whatever else strikes their fancy.
MY AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE - Listen. You should always shop at your local comic and bookstore first, but if they don’t carry the books you want, you might be able to get them here. And, if nothing else, leave some reviews of the books you love!
It hard to enjoy Halloween when the world is on fire. Seems like you got to do a lot of cool stuff this past month. Enjoy the signing for the book! I know sometimes it’s easy to not smell the roses, but do it you earned it!