Michael Wehunt’s The October Film Haunt is an eerie, emotionally resonant blend of supernatural horror and psychological suspense that digs into the parasitic nature of internet obsession, grief, and truth itself. Anchored by a compelling lead in Jorie Stroud, the novel explores the long tail of a viral moment gone wrong, weaving her past with the chilling resurgence of a cult horror film that refuses to stay fictional. The atmosphere is razor-sharp, the dread slow-building and deeply human, and the way Wehunt handles paranoia in the digital age feels both timely and deeply unsettling. The prose is clean, evocative, and often quietly devastating.

One minor suggestion: a slightly quicker entry into the central supernatural conflict could tighten the pacing in the early chapters. But once it finds its rhythm, the story grips you and unnerves you in the best way.

I desperately wanted to like this book. As a longtime, active member of so many different horror film websites and subreddits, a massive fan of the genre in all its permutations, this sounded like it was going to be right up my alley. Alas, it wasn't meant to be. Mostly the story of Beth and Jorie, who years before helped run the titular October Film Haunt, Michael Wehunt's new novel is a laborious slow burn that fails to ever ignite.

I was shocked to find out it was only 336 pages -- I never look at page count when I'm reading on my Kindle, but I'd have guessed it was over 500 pages. That's how slow the pace is. The descriptions of the film 'Proof of Demons' at the center of the story are almost always vague to the point of filler. The scares simply never arrive in the film, the discussion of the events surrounding the film, or the fallout of a bad experience involving the film years earlier. Like I said, I'm a big time horror film fanatic and unfortunately no part of Wehunt's descriptions of movies or movie blogs ever rang true for me.

So many conversations felt dragged out or inconsequential, as well. One like that stood out to me in a bad way: "But wouldn't you agree this tape is too--too SOMETHING, or not something enough?" There are so many empty sentences like that along the way.

Wehunt's a good author, this one just wasn't for me. Perhaps I'm too close to the genre trappings at its core.

Very interesting story. I enjoyed it, and would recommend it to a friend. I even entered a Goodreads giveaway for a print copy!

3 stars--I liked the book.

There are so many things I loved here--one of my favorite genres is horror novels about movies. I loved the mysterious cult movie director. The movie monster that may be (becoming?) real. The strange rituals. The missing boy from the past, the occult-seeking actor, etc.

But I only liked this, didn't love it. I found it a slow read. I thought the main character(s) wasn't freaked out enough. And I disliked the fictionalization of a real person (specifically Trevor Henderson. It felt too twee for a horror book). And the ending fell flat for me.

Still, I'm glad I read it. I received this review copy from the publisher on NetGalley. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review; I appreciate it!

**Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC of this title!!**

I ended up picking up a physical copy of this at Stokercon (yayyyy) and will be posting closer to pub date. Placeholder rating as 5 stars, will update with review and posts once read!

TW/CW: Language, scary scenes, domestic abuse, physical abuse, toxic relationships, cancer, drug addiction, drug overdose, death by suicide (mention), grieving

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:
Ten years ago, Jorie Stroud was the rising star of the October Film Haunt – a trio of horror enthusiasts who camped out at the filming locations of their favorite scary movies, sharing their love through their popular blog. But after a night in the graveyard from Proof of Demons – perhaps the most chilling cult film ever made, directed by the enigmatic Hélène Enriquez – everything unraveled.

Now, Jorie has built an isolated life with her young son in Vermont. In the devastating wake of her viral, truth-stretching Proof of Demons blog entry — hysteria, internet backlash, and the death of a young woman — Jorie has put it all, along with her intense love for the horror genre, behind her.

Until a videotape arrives in the mail. Jorie fears someone might be filming her. And the “Rickies” – Enriquez obsessives who would do anything for the reclusive director – begin to cross lines in shocking ways. It seems Hélène Enriquez is making a new kind of sequel…and Jorie is her final girl.

As the dangers grow even more unexpected and strange, Jorie must search for answers before the Proof of the movie’s title finds her and takes everything she loves.
Release Date: September 30th, 2025
Genre: Horror
Pages: 336
Rating: negative 5 stars

What I Liked:
1. Weird dislocated atmospheric locations
2. The mystery of this movie cult
3. Scary scenes felt creepy
4. Kept me wanting to know the end

What I Didn't Like:
1. Some parts came off very confusing
2. Sentances that make little to no sense
3. Feels too much like a rip off of another book I read
4. Confusing confusing confusing
5. Book switches people's names back and forth even mid sentence;
• Officer Willard to Ryan
• Mrs. Compton to Leah
6. The ending

Overall Thoughts:
{{Disclaimer: I write my review as I read}}
In the Wikipedia plot it says that Jackson was stabbed but then on the next page it says Jackson is arrested after being seen in the church near a murder weapon and sheet, so what happened with him being stabbed? Did nothing go on there?

It's wild to me that Jorie puts a USB that she was just sent into her laptop having no idea what's even on it.

This cemetery scene is actually pretty creepy. I do not need to be reading this before bed and imagining people watching me.

Trying to understand why if Jorie gets this weird VHS sent to her a odd scene from a movie and then feels like she is being stalked she would go to the cemetery alone to find the scene from the movie? She says she is weirded out by the movie showing up and that she feels as though someone is following her but she puts herself in danger. Maybe I missed the why but I don't get it.

The scene with Jorie thinking her son is hitting the wall is creepy especially when she realizes he isn't even home. I'd be so scared and weirded out.

From what I understand so far there is a surge of people filming funerals now to summon the demon; Pine Arch Creature to come back so they can have a second movie. People are dressing up in the green sheets to get others to believe too. I'm 100 pages in the book and I wish I understood more of what was even happening. It all is very confusing at times. So far my questions I have currently;
A. Why was Coleman stabbed?
B. How did they know about his cancer?
C. How is Trevor so important to the PAC killer that he is mentioned in reddit posts?
D. Why is Jorie scared of things happening again but then putting herself right in the middle of it again?
E. What even really happened???

I currently feel as though I understand 80% of what is happening in every chapter but then it starts getting gibberish and rambles about things and characters I don't know that are relevant to them. I almost feel like as though I'm at a party and I keep walking up on a secret joke between two friends so I laugh but I don't really know what's so funny.

I'm still confused why people are "haunting and stalking The October Film Haunt since they were just a group of film lovers that traveled around seeing old sites of horror movies. How could they help in even getting the movie made now? I don't get how Jorie would be important to the Rickies since she liked the movie after it was already made.

Beth is so annoying. I'm really trying to understand her. She leaves the grocery store to go back to the cabin to investigate what is happening. A Rickie is there and attacks her then she has a choice to go to the car but the driver side is the side where the Rickie is so rather than just get in the passenger seat and climb over to leave she throws herself onto the driver's side to have a confrontation with the other man. Of course she gets cut and has to run to the woods

I don't get it these women know horror so they know the rules. Why do they keep going back to this isolated cabin in the middle of the Woods? They already know that the Rickies know that they are there and have set up cameras but they continue to return to this location. Why are they being so dumb? I just think someone with this amount of knowledge into the cliches of horror movies could not possibly be this dumb.

Maybe it was irony also that while I was reading this book I had also went to a funeral.

Jorie is under attack by the Rickies. They are at her house. She has a cop out front. She tries to call him - twice but he doesn't answer. She then decides rather than calling the police department to tell them what she saw and that the officer stationed at her house isn't answering she hides her son and gets a knife. She also decides she is going to check on the police officer herself putting herself outside and leaving the house door wide open with her son alone in it! Why? Call the police department so they can start coming to the house and then you can defend yourself. You can not convince me these people were into horror movies because they make all the mistakes the characters make in the movies. Ahhhhhh!

I am on page 214 and still have no idea how Jorie's blog is responsible for Hannah's death. Everytime it's brought up no one says anything deeper than her being to blame for the death.

Author keeps giving us these random news updates between some chapters just telling us about things we already read about before.

Every second I spend with this book feels like a new root canal I'm starting. I think I'm in hell myself.

So now I get why Coleman was in this book (finally). The director found him through Coleman's website where he wrote about his brother, which before this was never mentioned at all. Felt so random. Anyways, Coleman is becoming the demon in exchange for him no longer having cancer.

The sentences in this book are absolutely terrible and they start off gibberish.
“It’s a lot of your house on the tape,” Willard says"

We get so many sentences like this. I'm ripping my hair out trying to know what the author means or is saying.

The whole thing with Mrs. Compton is suspicious. The call gets dropped right at the time when Jorie asks to talk to him and when she calls back it's ignored. Mrs. Compton has her son over and he has his kids that are coming over too. She calls Mrs. Compton the next morning and wakes her up but later when she calls there's no answer. Jorie you are not getting your kid back.... Mrs. Compton is dead and now Oli is with the Rickies. A part of me still wonders if she was working for the director.

Page 267 we get a random character po thrown in! We are 60 pages from the end! Why????

So I guess we never thought to put up cameras. She keeps having to tell the police what's going on but if she put up cameras from the beginning maybe it would have made a difference.

Omg I only have 20 pages left... Thank God!

We just keep touching down on this Hannah thing and we still have very little to go on with it.

Mrs. Compton is a part of what's going on. She is actually the elusive director.

What a dumb ending. It ends on a cliffhanger. You don't know what's really real. There were these weird cut scenes but in the ending for some reason Jorie thought she got out but now she has to fight her way out.

I'm going to have to assume the thing with Hannah is that she was doing a challenge while wearing the shirt of Jorie's blog on it because Jorie made up a legend of the Pine Creature and being buried, but she died from lack of oxygen. Who knows though.

For the love of me I just can't understand what made Jorie so important to Leah/Mrs. Compton to have this odd parasocial relationship with her. That she says she is behind making the sequel. *throws up hands*

Final Thoughts:
God, some parts in this book made it absolutely difficult to read in the dark on my kindle. The parts were so scary that I started imagining it happening to me and then I couldn't sleep.

So there is Paul Tremblay praising this book on the cover and back for being unique but I felt as though this is an almost exact copy of his book Horror Movie.

This book was such a hard one to finish. The writing style just felt like it rambled at times. There would be paragraphs with 7 sentences in it and I would understand 2 of them because the author almost made zero sense in what they were saying. I'd say the writing style had so much to do with me not liking this book. It took me a month to get through it and when I had to pick it up I dreaded it. I'd read 10-20 pages and sigh to myself. I will say that I did want to finish this book because the premise of the book kept me hooked and wanting to know what was happening. It's so weird and odd that something grabbed me to want to know the ending.

This book reminded me of the weirdness of a Panos Cosmatos movie (Mandy), a fever dream, and if sludge metal was doing the soundtrack.

Don't buy me a ticket because I don't want to see this movie. I seriously can not believe I pushed myself to finish this book. What a waste of time...

This is the kind of book you can't skim when you are bored and just want to know how it ends because it is so odd and crazy that you either quit it or finish it. I wanted to quit this book 200 pages ago but I knew I'd never know the ending if I did.

IG | Blog

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the advanced copy of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Book: October Film Haunt
Author: Michael Wehunt
Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
Publication Date: September 30, 2025
Capone’s Rating: 5 of 5 ⭐s

This book is ambitious, first and foremost, and it works.

Jorie Stroud was a member of the October Film Haunt team, a three-person investigative crew who made their podcast living checking out the shooting locations and real-life settings of horror films. When we pick up the story, years have passed, and Jorie has been in hiding. Why hide? Well, things went bad when the trio followed Proof of Demons to its origin and reported from the scene of the Pine Arch Monster. Something went wrong during that haunt. Jorie and Co. were pilloried online, threatened, and forced underground. Since then, Jorie has put the horror life behind her. The novel’s inciting incident is the arrival on her doorstep of a videotape. Proof of Demons… is it getting a sequel? Fanatics who were so threatening toward her in the past are back, and they’re outside her Vermont hideaway. Jorie doesn’t want to be a part of the new horror film, but she might not have a choice. Things escalate quite a bit from there, and I was drawn into the fray.

The elements that work about this story are easy to spot. Breadcrumbs are laid masterfully. Characters about whom we care are put in actual danger. Blood and guts do erupt, but to great effect—at no point do we get the sense they’re sacrificed for plot purposes alone. The convolutions are surprising without being absurd. The tone is just serious enough.

The theme, according at least to this reader, is worth your time, too: Wanting to belong is dangerous, and the need to belong affects the most vulnerable among us.

And the book is scary. I don’t often say this. I read some 80-100 horror books per year, and the last one that really left me feeling spooked to any extent was Malerman’s Incidents Around the House. This book hit the same notes of discomfort for me. (I don’t diss books that don’t scare me; in fact, those of you who read my reviews might already know I don’t actually like to be scared—but truly, if a horror writer is able to scare me, it’s impressive, given the sheer amount of horror content I consume on a daily, weekly, yearly basis.)

For fans of the meta-horror and close-third perspective of Stephen Graham Jones’ Indian Lake Trilogy, this book feels like a bit of that vibe mixed with a bit of Paul Tremblay’s Horror Movie and Grady Hendrix’s Final Girl Support Group. This book ticks all the boxes for this reader.

I'll be using bits of this for my Horror Literature class, for sure.

Five stars. Would recommend.

***Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this upcoming book***
A very interesting premise for a horror novel that is well written and has loads of genuinely creepy moments. I was a little confused by the ending and what exactly was going on but overall I enjoyed this one and would recommend it to any horror fans looking to be creeped out. Give it a read!

Color me haunted. And while we've got the crayons out, color me impressed. The October Film Haunt is the most creepy, freaky, scary book I've read in a long, long while, and that is a thing of both beauty and immense pleasure, for books are magic, and the magic in this one is electric.


The October Film Haunt is "the breach in the wall between what is real and what is made up."


So step on up horror fans. The haunt is waiting. Are you ready to see into hell? Do you belong?

Jorie Stroud, a rising star in the popular online group called the October Film Haunt, joined her partners Beth and Colin in visiting some popular film haunts. Things were going well for them and their careers were taking off due to their popularity among horror enthusiasts. But that all changed when they visited the graveyard location where the cult classic film “Proof of Demons” was filmed. Years later, Jorie lives a reclusive life with her son Oli, putting her past behind her until a mysterious VHS tape arrives in the mail with connection to that fateful night. Jorie knows that she must confront the past to save her family.

This review is a little harder for me, because there’s a lot that I enjoyed, but plenty that, unfortunately, didn’t work for me. First of all, I enjoyed the creepy, unsettling atmosphere that Wehunt created. Mixing in the found footage, notes, and Wikipedia excerpts to the story was a very creative and interesting addition, which made this story stand out a bit more to me. However, the book moves far too slowly and there were plenty of times where I found my attention waning. Some of that could have been due to a few of the POVs that I just didn’t find that captivating.

The October Film Haunt is an entertaining, experimental horror story. If you like found footage horror stories, or those that deal with occult themes you’ll enjoy this one. Overall, this one sadly didn’t quite work for me. It certainly wasn’t a bad read, but not a memorable one either.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Michael Wehunt, and Netgalley for the advanced review copy.

The October Film Haunt is easily one of my favorite books of the year. Hell, it's an all-time favorite. This book hooked its claws in me and absolutely would not let go. When I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it. It combined all of my favorite elements—founs footage, analog horror, cults, copypasta, cultural demons, folk horror. It has some scenes that felt a little kids-on-bikes, but in a Hocus Pocus, autumnal way.
The prose is engaging, the characters feel real. Sometimes they make some dumb decisions, but it's believable. Some parts absolutely tore my heart out, and I was wavering between crying and being absolutely freaked out.
While the ending was a let down, to put it lightly, I loved the rest of the book so much that it didn't change how I feel about it.
This book is will be a modern classic. I'm certain of it.

Excellent premise, though it didn't fully pull me in. The pacing seemed a bit slow and info the characters felt flat for me. Not a bad book by any means, just hard to get into it.

“Will you believe in what you made?”

This is certainly unlike any book I’ve read. It draws you in with a “haunted media” revenge premise and then expands that beyond what you think a conventional narrative might look like. This is a metafictional work that considers not only horror as a medium, but the fanfare and influence that surrounds it.

To put a point on it, I would liken this novel to maybe String Follow by Simon Jacobs and Negative Space by B.R. Yeager. I truly enjoyed the majority of this book, and think that the discourse surrounding it once it launches will be interesting.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC.

This book started very slowly, but I had hopes that it would pick up and be a great read. Unfortunately it never really got there.

I really appreciated how much the book felt like a love letter to horror and horror fans, but that was unfortunately the only great thing about this book for me.

I felt bored during most of this book and a lot of it was just a bit too experimental for me. It felt a bit more like reading a creepy pasta than reading a real published book.

This gave me major found footage vibes I liked the alt chapters or that's what kindle called it they were like epistolary chapters and I do love a book with epistolary elements. Gave me a little blair witch meets the book horror movie by Paul tremblay.

I am a sucker for found footage/cursed media, and keep looking for the thrill and creep factor movies like The Ring gave me. And that's usually where the genre fails in book form, because seeing is usually more impactful than describing when it comes to cursed media, I guess? But I loved the sound of the premise of The October Film Haunt... a cult film with tragic ties coming back to "haunt"(pun intended!) a horror movie enthusiast. Sadly, I could not get in to the story past the plot description. Like others have said, it moves very slooooow. And it was a little hard to follow what was going on, or feel invested in anything. So sadly this title was not for me.

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.

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.