Richard Chizmar knows how to write a banger of a scary horror story. This one was difficult to read at night, and I don't scare easy! Terrible things have happened at this lighthouse, a beacon of death and darkness. I highly enjoyed the use of mixed media to assist in telling the story from others' POVs. I feel like found footage is either spectacular or a flop, and this was far from a failure. I loved it and will absolutely continue to read Richard Chizmar, and now I will be looking into his son's work!

This was one of the better written horror novels I’ve read. Chizmar was able to incorporate the suspense of the real versus the psychological in Widow’s Point. Told from the unique point of view of found footage, it delivers a sense of unease exceptionally well. From the first section told from 2017, Thomas Livingston is a ghost enthusiast set to film his stay in Widow’s Point lighthouse. Things start to go terribly wrong and he is never heard from again. Now set in 2025, group of YouTubers set to uncover what really happened. They get more than they bargain for. Excellent read for the aficionado of all things horror.

Creepy, immersive, unsettling… this story will keep you turning pages with the lights on! 💡 I really enjoyed how the story used found footage, audio clips, and online forums to create a fresh, modern twist on horror.

“Widow’s Point” is a collection of short stories and a novella told in “found media” format that focuses on Widow’s Point, a severely haunted light house. The book is made up of fictional news articles and video transcripts, following various figures who attempt to stay at this lighthouse and outlast the ghosts that haunt it. I was a fan of the format, and found that it made the reading experience very entertaining. I thought the book was pretty spooky, and felt that the found media format aided in its scary factor. I liked the idea of the story, but the ending left me with a lot of questions. I wish that Chizmar had devoted some more time to uncovering the root of the hauntings, and how they manifested in metaphysical ways. With that being said, the ending was pretty confusing to read. I didn’t get a clear picture of what exactly was going on (especially during the prehistoric part?), and the ending was so abrupt and left a lot of plot threads that never got explained. Chizmar also has a historical inaccuracy when describing tooth artifacts left behind from a woman burned at the stake in Salem (no victims were burned alive at the Salem Witch Trials).

Horror at its finest! I loved the collaboration between Richard Chizmar W.H Chizmar.

I don’t think I’ve ever read something with “found footage” before but i really enjoyed this. I also really liked all of the mixed media throughout.

This book was absolutely terrifying and I loved it.

Perfect for spooky season, so add it to your TBR!

Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

‘In this remarkable collaboration, father and son writing team, Richard and W.H. Chizmar combine forces to tell a terrifying ghost story that will make you think twice about what’s waiting for you in the dark.’

If Blair Witch were a book….
Creepy & daunting… I just wish I weren’t left with so many questions.

Thanks to Gallery Books for this arc in exchange for review.

Pub: 09.30.2025.

Found footage in a book? That’s always an immediate yes for me. Widows Point was extremely addictive and starts off with a bang. I kept finding myself reading it anytime that I could. How it’s written makes it easily digestible. The characters were all nicely fleshed out and the lore of the lighthouse was amazing. It did get a little slow for me in the middle however. Overall though, this book is a great time, creepy as heck, perfect for the holiday season and those who love found footage like I do.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this ARC. 

I love lighthouses and I love spooky stories, so this book was right up my alley! 

The story is told in a found footage style which can be hit or miss, but it worked for me here. 

I loved the spooky atmosphere in this story and the cursed lighthouse! 

I never read the original short story, so I can't compare it to that, but I really enjoyed the finished book.

Another typical haunted lighthouse spooky tale written in the "found footage" style
• A detailed new book based on a past novella by the same author and title
• Same ole tropes-spooky shadows, missing people, past tales of mysterious murders, missing people, locked doors, people keeping secrets, people left alone
• Storyline picked up at the 80% mark, but in the end left this reader un-intrigued, somewhat confused and disappointed, and never scared
• Not on the same level as the author's
Boogeyman series

Wow… let’s just start with that word… This book is a doozy. As you real you just feel yourself plunging downward into the haunted spiral. Absolutely haunting and I loved every page of hit! I will definitely be buying a hard copy of this book for my personal collection.

This book was another hit from the author. Filled with his signature mix of horror and suspense. A good storyline and good character development made this a must read. I would recommend this to all who are fans of a good horror/mystery adventure.

✨Ever since CHASING THE BOOGEYMAN in 2021, I’m always on the lookout for Richard Chizmar’s next book. I was so intrigued when I found out his latest would be a collaboration with his son, and I’m here to tell you it did not disappoint.

✨I’m going to start with the ending in mind (spoiler-free) by giving you some tea from the author’s note. This book was originally a short story written for a maritime horror anthology. The authors felt there was still more story to tell, so it expanded into a novella. They still couldn’t leave it alone, and here we are at the full-length novel encompassing the entire story.

✨I loved that the storytelling was delivered entirely in a found footage format using all manner of mixed media including audio and video transcripts, news clippings, Reddit, twitch streams and more.

✨This one is set in the days leading up to Halloween, and the timing is perfect since it releases on September 30. Put this one on your spooky season TBR for sure.

✨Stephen King called it “The perfect scary story for a dark and stormy night…as long as the lights don’t go out.” Hear, hear, Stephen King. 👏🏼

🌿Read if you like:
✨Gothic horror
✨Found footage storytelling
✨Mixed media formats
✨October/Halloween settings
✨Smalltown coastal culture
✨Local folklore
✨Paranormal/ghost hunter reality shows
✨Haunted locations
✨The Blair Witch Project

The father-son duo, Richard Chizmar and W.H. Chizmar, capture the feeling of found-footage horror in their novel Widow's Point: The Complete Haunting. The chilling and atmospheric tale of a haunted lighthouse had me gripped from the very start, leaving me utterly unsettled.

Longtime residents of Harper’s Cove believe that something is wrong with the Widow’s Point Lighthouse. Some say it’s cursed. Others claim it’s haunted.

Originally built in 1838, three workers were killed during the lighthouse’s construction, including one who mysteriously plunged to his death from the catwalk. That tragic accident was never explained, and it was just the beginning of the terror. In the decades that followed, nearly two dozen additional deaths occurred in or around the lighthouse including cold-blooded murder, suicide, unexplained accidents and disappearances, the slaughter of an entire family, and the inexplicable death of a Hollywood starlet who was filming a movie on the grounds.

The lighthouse was finally shuttered tight in 1988 and a security fence was erected around the property. No one has been inside since. Until now.

Told across two harrowing incidents from 2017 and 2025, those who enter the Widow’s Point Lighthouse searching for supernatural proof and the next big thing find themselves cut off from the outside world. And although no one has recently stepped foot inside the structure, they are not alone.

It was only recently that I fell in love with found-footage style horror films, I thought the less polished look for these films would take me out of the experience, but I discovered it only enhanced the eerie and terrifying aspects of the films. Somehow, Richard and W.H. Chizmar managed to capture this vibe in book format with Widow's Point: The Complete Haunting—and it works incredibly well.

For me, living in Maine—where lighthouses are huge part of our shorelines—added to the connection and authenticity. The story is set in an abandoned lighthouse in Nova Scotia—also not far me—which brings a familiar yet haunting quality to the book. The Widow's Point Lighthouse doesn't isn't just a setting, but truly emerges as the most compelling character of the story. Steeped in mystery and soaked in atmosphere, the lighthouse is an eerie supernatural force. Richard and W.H. Chizmar thoughtfully weave claustrophobia and dread into this tale, leaving me gasping for air at every turn.

Widow's Point's slow and deliberate pacing works so well, pulling me deeper into the mystery. By the time the climax is on us, it's so effective that I literally gasped out loud—at the dismay of my wife. That is the kind of payoff I dream of when picking up a horror novel. For me, the experience was heightened by reading this novel during the first nights of living in a century-old home as you're still adjusting to its creaks and quirks after recently purchasing it. Trust me when I say Widow's Point: The Complete Haunting should be read with the lights on and your back against the wall.

Richard and W.H. Chizmar have crafted a story that captures the essence of a found-footage horror flick in a way that I didn't think possible in book form. The father-son duo deliver the same atmospheric tension and jump scares one would expect from these types of films. Widow's Point: The Complete Haunting is a must-read horror tale.

3 stars

A slightly disjointed horror book (if you read the Afterword you’ll understand why, I think) written by Chizmar and his son. I LOVED the “Boogeyman” books and enjoyed MEMORIALS so I was really looking forward to this new book.

The fishing village of Harper’s Cove in Nova Scotia is home to Widow’s Point Lighthouse. Many terrible things have befallen people who lived, worked or visited there, starting with its construction in the 1800s and all those stories are part of local lore. In 2017 a ghost hunter attempted to spend a weekend locked in the lighthouse; when the owner came to release him, he had vanished.

Now an internet star has purchased the property and he, some coworkers and some paranormal investigators plan to stay at the lighthouse for a week. They have the audio recordings from 2017 and the diary of a young girl who died at the lighthouse. The group will record and investigate everything and find out the truth once and for all.

So, the book was fine. Fairly typical haunted lighthouse story. And while I love books that are mixed media (and lived the format again here) I was just hoping for more since I like Chizmar so much. Here you had your usual….you know, people are keeping secrets, people are left alone, etc. Nothing really innovative. So, three stars.