In 1972, Kolchak: The Night Stalker transfixed audiences. The movie became the highest-rated TV movie in U.S. history and spawned the cult TV series starring Darren McGavin. The TV movie was written by horror legend and novelist Richard Matheson (I Am Legend) and based on an unpublished novel by Jeff Rice, which ended up being published the following year. 

Now, Bloody Disgusting has learned that Bram Stoker Award-winning editor and writer James Aquilone and Monstrous Books have acquired the print rights to Kolchak and will be releasing a limited edition of Jeff Rice’s original, cult novel. The new, deluxe hardcover edition will feature a new foreword by writer and actor David Dastmalchian (Count Crowley; Late Night with the Devil), an all-new afterword by writer and producer Rodney Barnes (Killadelphia), and a cover and spot illustrations by Russ Braun (The Boys).

The Monstrous Books deluxe hardcover edition of Kolchak: The Night Stalker will be funded via a Kickstarter campaign, with a limited print run of 1973 copies. Sign up now to be notified when the Kickstarter campaign launches, and exclusively check out the cover art below!

In the Kolchak: The Night Stalker novel, the corpses of young women – many of whom are working night jobs – are discovered, drained of blood, with unusual puncture marks on their necks.

“Kolchak and the world created by Jeff Rice has been such a huge inspiration to the person and storyteller that I have become,” said David Dastmalchian. “From my comic, Count Crowley, to the characters, films and series I love creating, there is always a glow of the ghost of our loveable pain-in-the-neck reporter. Grateful that James and the Monstrous Books team are doing such amazing work in their effort to bring this fantastic narrative to people around the world.”

“Kolchak the Nightstalker was one of the early inspirations in my writing career,” said Rodney Barnes. “The opportunity to be a part of Kolchak’s 50th anniversary was truly an honor. And the beautiful collection of stories James Aquilone assembled is the perfect statement of appreciation for this iconic character.”

“Reporter Carl Kolchak was television’s first paranormal investigator and his determined search for the truth directly influenced a generation of seminal TV shows including Twin Peaks, The X-Files, Supernatural, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” said Aquilone. “Jeff Rice was a Las Vegas-based journalist by day and a novelist by night and his original novel is set on the streets of the country’s gambling mecca. It’s a thrilling, pulpy read and our plan is that this new edition of the original novel will usher in a new era for Kolchak books.”

The limited-edition will come as a hardcover with painted edges and a sewn-in bookmark.