Premee Mohamed and Richard Van Camp release new horror books in time for Halloween

Fall is settling in, sunset comes early and the trees are bare, which makes it a good season for a scary read. Two Edmonton authors have new horror releases out this Halloween season.

Premee Mohamed's new book, From the Library of Jurgen Leitner, is out at the end of October. It is her first release with Penguin Random House and a tie-in to the British horror podcast The Magnus Archives, which follows employees of The Magnus Institute as they interview people who have witnessed strange events. Mohamed worked with show creator Jonathan Sims to build out the back story of Leitner, a side character who appears only briefly in the podcast and whose library of dangerous books can take over a person's mind, force compulsions such as incessant scratching, or kill anyone who glances at their pages. The book follows two library employees confronted with that horror. "A lot of the really horrifying incidents happen at the institute and the employees have to just scramble for their lives," Mohamed said. Mohamed will have a book launch at Audreys on Nov. 4 at 7 p.m.

Richard Van Camp, a Tłı̨chǫ Dene author who grew up in Fort Smith, NWT, and now lives in Edmonton, has released Wheetago War Stories, a collection of seven previously published poems and short stories spanning the last 12 years. The stories centre on the Wheetago, creatures from Tłı̨chǫ Dene mythology, returning because of humanity's greed in the oilsands. Illustrator Christopher Shy contributed artwork between the entries. The collection was published by Renegade Arts Entertainment of Canmore. "I hope this is a call for climate, you know, climate protection," Van Camp said. "I'm just really proud that this is my chance to show what Fort Smith and Tłı̨chǫ horror looks and feels like." His first graphic novel in the series, Wheetago War: Roth, was published in 2024, and the next installment, Wheetago War: Ross, is expected next fall.