Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins for letting me read this ARC. I DNFed this book, I really wanted to like it but it was very slow. I spent almost three weeks because it took me a while to get through it. I had to re-read previous passages a few times to understand what was happening in the story.

Clay McLeod Chapman expertly crafts a haunting narrative that blurs the line between fiction and reality. The novel thrives on its slow build, creating a pervasive sense of unease that lingers long after you’ve turned the final page. The interplay between horror fandom, personal trauma, and the dangers of chasing lost legends is handled with both nuance and dread. Chapman’s characters, especially Jorie, feel painfully real—flawed, vulnerable, and haunted in more ways than one.

While the middle portion of the book occasionally drags, the tension ultimately pays off. The horror is both cerebral and supernatural, evoking the fear of being trapped in someone else’s narrative—a film you can’t walk out of. Thank you for the ARC!

Unfortunately this was not it for me. The concept and idea is so great but the writing was so clunky it was hard to immerse yourself and sometimes even understand what was going on. This took me a while to get through.

I DNFed this book. I wanted to like this book so badly, but I’ve been trying to read it for weeks and I’m not even halfway through. The writing style isn’t bad, but the book is incredibly slow. There’s such a long buildup and I don’t really see when it’s going to get more interesting. I feel like a lot of people will enjoy the pace and style but personally it wasn’t for me. I didn’t feel connected to the characters at all. When I went back to read it after a week I forgot who everyone was because I didn’t care.

This is my first Wehunt, and it's a pretty damn solid horror novel. I will admit the character named after a major horror social media personality did draw me out of the happenings at times. However, the premise is overall solid and the way things build is incredibly well done. This maybe could've had a bit cut out of it, but the experience was a really fun ride. He also did a really good job using horror fandom as the way the haunting spreads. I think a lot of folks will like this.

I've been in awe of Michael's writing for a long, long time. "October Film Haunt: Under The House" was masterful (even though I am still mad that the dog dies, I swear I'll never forgive you, Michael), so when I found out that was the basis for the novel, I was STOKED. So beyond excited. I have been watching for news of the release since I heard of its eventual existence. Michael was kind enough to send it to me on NetGalley, because I literally could not wait to read this.

Now, I could probably extol Michael's writing talent for days. I have in my past reviews. His writing is crisp yet haunting, efficient yet lingering. Anything he writes is a master class in not just prose, but the emotion behind it. There were so many lines that knocked me off my feet. I'd recite some, but I wasn't able to highlight anything in my digital copy. Just trust me. It's immaculate.

The one thing that really shines in this book is the love for the horror genre--analog horror in specific. The references to the final girl and horror movie film structure is enough to make any horror fan cheer. Getting analog horror to work in a text based format defines Michael's mastery. When the general public thinks about analog horror, they may picture The Mandela Catalog, The Smile Tapes, Q, Gemini Home Entertainment, etc. Mark my words, people will be adding Michael Wehunt to that list. Analog horror elicits a feeling of eeriness and discomfort that few other mediums can elicit. The fact that Michael can capture that uncanny feeling without any actual images is quite honestly awe inspiring. Not only does he perfect this in literary format, but he is able to carry that feeling through a whole book. It's just perfection.

Thank you, Michael, for giving me a chance to read this early. You're the best. I hungrily await more of your writing. It can't come fast enough.

Give Frida kisses from me.

Really wanted to love this book but couldn't get into it. The narration and writing is very confusing and keeps jumping between different POV and timelines.

I was so grateful to be chosen to receive an ARC for this novel. Wehunt did a great job crafting a story that keeps readers intrigued. While there were parts that I felt might have been lacking, there were other parts that did make up for that. All in all, I thought it was a decent read!

Really great. About halfway through I felt like I was reading something brilliant. Wehunt is a very talented writer, and the details of the story seemed very of the current moment (as well as some recent moments in the backstory). I was here and there on the ending but, five stars for the quality of writing and the ambition and insights on display here.

About a third of the way through The October Film Haunt, I began to write a rather petulant review**. For the sake of posterity, it’s included at the bottom of this complete review. Feel free to have a look and then pop back up to here to read me eat crow because, as it turns out, I was entirely wrong. The introduction of new characters had huge emotional payoff, as did the occasionally tangential journeys into their lives. Not to spoil things, but this is a horror novel, and an exquisite one, so the stakes are life and death. As the death toll rose, I was biting my nails down to the quick and (more than once) weeping.

It is not a surprise to me that Michael Wehunt has mainly written short fiction before creating this dense, lyrical, and supremely satisfying full-length project. There are tableaus throughout The October Film Haunt that could be, in another world, short stories of aching human things like grief and isolation and regret. While the attention paid to the human condition in The October Film Haunt can, at times, feel tangential, everything comes viciously full circle at the end in a way that will have you connecting the dots retrospectively like the final survivor in a Saw movie while "Hello Zepp" thrums in the background.

I highly recommend The October Film Haunt for fans of the following novels: Experimental Film by Gemma Files, Last Days by Adam Nevill, We Eat Our Own by Kea Wilson, Mister Magic by Kiersten White, and Episode Thirteen by Craig DiLouie

I also highly recommend The October Film Haunt for fans of the following horror movies: The Ring (2002), The V/H/S Franchise, Resolution (2012), The Endless (2017), and Unfriended (2014).

Endless thanks to the St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the chance to get swept away in this deliciously frightful novel.

**The bones of The October Film Haunt are absolutely perfect for horror fans; timely, genre-aware without being too meta or self-referential: a maybe-real horror film that’s achieved (literal) cult status, a protagonist haunted by her past who knows all the mistakes characters in horror movies make and how to avoid them, and a requel/reboot that could have devastating consequences. I was enraptured and even a little spooked for the first nine chapters or so, after which point The October Film Haunt lost me a bit by breaking up the central plot with the introduction of new characters. This in itself isn’t a bad thing, but the weight of the same slightly overwrought language with each new perspective got wearying after a while. I never thought I’d complain about a horror novel being too literary, but the language, while lovely, does begin to distract from the plot, slowing the action down to a crawl just when I began to feel invested.

The ending is a masterful blend of intensity, emotion, and unease, culminating in a sense of inescapable doom that binds the horrors of the past and present. A flawed yet unforgettable horror novel that offers patient readers a richly terrifying experience.

*Huge thank you to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press and Michael Wehunt for the digital ARC of this!*

Like many readers, my first foray into Michael’s work was through his phenomenal debut collection, ‘Greener Pastures.’ And, like many readers, one of the stories in that collection that stood out most to me was ‘October Film Haunt: Under the House.’ Told through multiple POV’s and using a found-footage narrative, it was unsettling like few stories before.

Fast forward almost a decade from when ‘Greener Pastures’ was released and Wehunt is delivering his debut novel, ‘The October Film Haunt,’ which excitedly jumps from where that story led us and carries us is a wildly imaginative and creepy journey.

I was beyond excited when this was announced, as Michael’s work is stunning, but while reading it, I came to realize this was written on another level all-together. Even for Michael. I say that, because in my long life of reading, very few books have ever invaded my dreams. Sure, I’ve had a lot of crazy dreams – and if I’m being honest, 99% of all of my dreams are apocalyptic, so there’s that to discuss with someone one day – but typically, whatever it is I’m reading, I don’t dream about. But this novel was different.

The last time I had such vivid, waking dreams that invaded my brain and held me so tightly was during the four-year period when I was researching (and joined) a cult on the dark web. I saw things there that deeply disturbed me, changed my beliefs about everything out there and settled into my psyche and decayed. And I haven’t felt that since leaving that group behind.

Until I read this book.

What I liked: The story follows Jorie Stroud. She’s fled her abusive husband with her son to remote Vermont to start again, while still on a self-imposed exile from her past life as a film blogger. Her, along with her friends Beth and Colin, used to have a blog where they dissected horror films, but also went to various locations where they took place to discuss them in greater detail. After an incident where Jorie fictionalized one such stay, birthing an urban legend life to an unknown film’s demon, a teenage girl died, and she holds herself accountable.

Things are moving along in her life now, though. She’s got some editing clients. Has a decent job at a local grocery store and she’d doing the best that she can for her and her son.

Until odd things begin. Teaser trailers for a supposed sequel to ‘Proof of Demons,’ the movie that Jorie, Beth and Colin brought to a larger group, pop up online. And though Colin died years prior, Jorie feels the need to contact Beth and try and reconnect, to see if anything’s happening to her.

Wehunt sets the stage marvelously. We get some extra players – Coleman, an older man with terminal cancer who suddenly realizes what happened to his brother when they were kids is related to this new movie. We get Jorie’s neighbor, Mrs. Compton, who is there to help take care of her son, but wavers between standoffish and ecstatic. And we get Trevor Henderson, creator of Siren Head, who created the original Pine Arch Creature in Proof of Demons, who starts to see the same people in green sheets with cameras, just like the rest of them.

As each chapter unravels and more pieces to the puzzle are revealed, Wehunt does a magnificent job of elevation your heart rate. You suddenly wonder if things within the book are actually going viral online, in the real world. It has to do with the meta elements, but also a harkening back to the old days when we all watched The Blair Witch Project and wondered if it was just a movie… or a documentary.

I want to go on and on about more elements, but I fear those will fall into spoiler territory, but I have to mention that the elements carried forward from Under the House, but also the supernatural creep that happens, was fantastic and perhaps the most powerful element within.

The last few chapters were perfect and the ending – though jarring – was quite possibly the best non-jump scare, jump scare I’ve ever read.

What I didn’t like: Often times, books with multiple POV’s that are switched from chapter to chapter seem to slow any momentum, and I found that to be the case for the first quarter. It felt like every time we were were on the cusp of some new details, the chapter ended and the next one started out with no tension or revving of an engine. Once things get established, that faded, but in the beginning I definitely noticed it.

As well, I personally wasn’t a fan of the Trevor Henderson meta character. Because I interact with him, DM occasionally and he’s been super kind to my son, his introduction took me far out of the ‘fiction’ aspect of the book. It’s the same thing when you’re reading a fantasy book or a horror book and a character pops up named in ode to one of your author friends and it kind of breaks the fourth wall. Saying that, the Trevor angle was fantastic and I just told myself to get over it, ha!

Why you should buy this: This isn’t an easy read. No, it’s a heavy, weighted, cloud-covered story that sucks the air from the room and drops the temperature with ease. But such is the case with all Wehunt stories, no matter the length.

‘The October Film Haunt: A Novel’ does what few books ever do to me. It made me anxious and untrusting of random people on the street. It made me question whether this was ‘just a book,’ or was it part of a larger, meta, viral angle that has us all being played by Michael, who is sitting back with a grin on his face while moving the marionette strings.

Much like ‘The Blair Witch Project’ moved a generation of us moviegoers at the ends of the 90s, ‘The October Film Haunt’ is poised to usher in a similar movement for readers here in the mid 2020’s. I worry we may not be ready for it. But we should be.

The Pine Arch Creature is about to arrive.

The shadows are already moving.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Net Galley for the ARC, I greatly appreciate the honour of reading this book ahead of publication.

I enjoyed this book because the characters were recognizable and the unseen evil was palpable. It celebrates the voodoo that is the found footage movie genre and what is truly monstrous: the unseen horror or the people that feed it.
This book keeps you on edge as the protagonist is dragged back into her old life and old mistakes. I look forward to searching out more of Michael Wehunt's work because he displays a care for his art both on and off the page. A worthwhile writer is one who fully embraces his prose.

I’m so freaking tired of cancer as a sub plot in horror books. It’s unnecessary and immediately makes me stop the book. It’s exploiting people who have cancer and the family members that have to watch them die. ME INCLUDED. I hated this.

Thank you so much to Michael Wehunt and St. Martin's Press for this copy to read and review. I really, really liked the premise and story in this book. It was spooky and very tense during the reading, which I love in a book. I do think that it could have been shortened a lot. I can't quite put my finger on what it was, but I definitely felt the want to skip over some parts to just get to the meat of the chapters. I did like the characters a lot, and I felt like there was more to them than I could tell at first. I really think this could have been a great read, but it sorta dragged on a bit. I would def give it another shot with other books by this author because the base of the book was phenomenal, the execution just lacked a bit. I'm glad I had the chance to get introduced to the author though and will for sure give him another chance in the future. Thank you!

I was so graciously given an ARC of this title.

I LOVED the idea of the book, but I felt like the book kinda dragged, and the pace wasn't consistent. It probably could have cut out some filler, which would have helped with those issues. Book felt a little long.

3.75 Stars rounded to 4 – A Slow-Burn Horror with Cult Classic Vibes

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of The October Film Haunt. This one is definitely not for readers looking for a fast-paced thriller—but in this case, I found the slow pace worked in its favor. The tension simmers just beneath the surface, creating an eerie, unsettling atmosphere that lingers long after each chapter.

Reading this felt like diving into a cult classic—there’s something nostalgic and unsettling about the tone that really worked for me. The premise itself felt fresh and intriguing, especially with the added layer of how quickly things can spread and escalate in the age of the internet. That modern twist gave the story a bit of urgency, even as the plot unfolded gradually.

That said, I did find parts of the story a bit predictable, which slightly undercut the uniqueness of the concept. Still, I enjoyed the ride. It was immersive, creepy, and had moments that stuck with me.

Overall, if you’re willing to sit with a story that takes its time building dread, The October Film Haunt is worth the read.

First, I would like to thank Netgalley and St. Martins Press for offering me an advanced digital copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.
This book was very tough for me to even get to the half way point and I forced myself to read that far. The book was extremely slow and confusing.

I think the concept was a great idea. I love found footage horror films and the nostalgia horror films. Sadly the execution didn't work for me. I was often bored trying to get through what i did read. Some parts were intriguing, but I can’t say I recommend this one.

The October Film Haunt has a killer premise, if you're a fan of books like "Experimental Film" by Gemma Files - its main character is desperately trying to keep her horrifying past buried, but her relationship to a strange indie film of yesteryear is illuminated when a mysterious video tape arrives. There are aspects of this book that work very well - it's deeply unsettling and truly frightening, in parts - but a stronger edit could have brought out the plot more: its pacing veers back and forth between "atmospheric and appropriately slow" to "glacial".

First off, I would like to thank Netgalley and St. Martins Press for offering me an advanced digital copy of this title in exchange for an honest review. Also, I appreciate all of the hard work that the author poured into this story.

That being said, I have to admit that this book was not enjoyable for me. There were moments when I thought to myself, “ok...it’s gaining traction, I’ll stick with it”, but it always seemed to just putter out. It felt like the author was grasping at straws by trying to incorporate so many different types of horror elements or name dropping, neither of which leant much to the narrative. There was a constant jumping back and forth between characters and timelines which led me to general confusion. I was hoping all of it was a ploy of the author to lend a surprise a-ha ending, but no. To be honest, I’m still confused as to what I read. This was apparently adapted from a short story of Wehunt’s, and I’m thinking it either should have been left alone or more time should have been dedicated to it to ensure it was more well-rounded and thought out.

My experience with this book made me want to give up reading for a bit; it was truly exhausting. If it wasn’t for the fact that I wanted to give it a fair review I would have DNF’d towards the beginning.