The story is almost legend now for horror fans. A vampire turns up in Las Vegas, and reporter Carl Kolchak ultimately tracks him to his lair. That’s after battling his editor, Tony Vincenzo, and local cops and politicians who won’t believe the truth or have a tourist season to think about.
Kolchak sprang from the mind of real life Vegas reporter Jeff Rice, and in sort of reverse order his unpublished novel was picked up by Hollywood for adaptation by the great Richard Matheson (I Am Legend). The Night Stalker became the most-watched TV movie of the times. Darren McGavin, who brought Kolchak to life starred in the adaptation. He would later become beloved as The Old Man in A Christmas Story.
Rice’s novel, The Kolchak Papers, saw publication in a Pocket Books paperback a while later, now bearing The Night Stalker title. That saw multiple printings. The TV series Kolchak: The Night Stalker followed a second TV movie, The Night Strangler, and a lasting pop-culture phenomenon ensued, especially when the show went into late-night reruns.
A subsequent edition of the novel came along, but Bram Stoker Award-winning editor and writer James Aquilone and Monstrous Books have acquired the print rights to Kolchak anew.
Monstrous will be releasing a hardcover limited edition of the cult novel. It’s a mission to restore portions left out of some editions and to create a volume fans will look forward to placing on their bookshelves. A Kickstarter will allow people to back the project and earn some fun Kolchak swag, as well.
Wicked Horror posed a few questions to James recently to get more details on the volume and the extras.
WH: First and foremost, what’s your Kolchak origin story? When did you first discover Carl Kolchak overall, and when did you first read the novel?
James Aquilone: I first saw Kolchak in reruns on cable TV back in the 1990s when it was having a bit of a renaissance because of The X-Files, which was inspired by the series.
I didn’t read the novel until a few years ago, when I was doing research for the 50th anniversary graphic novel that I put together—and I was very happy that the novel was just as good as the TV movie.
WH: What led to the decision to put out this new edition of Kolchak: The Night Stalker Novel, Deluxe, Limited Edition?
James Aquilone: I felt that the book hadn’t been given its due. The original was a paperback-only edition. The previous reprint was filled with typos and had portions of the original manuscript deleted. I love Kolchak and I thought it deserved an edition worthy of a work that’s inspired so many writers and artists. Without Kolchak, we probably wouldn’t have The X-Files or Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Supernatural.
WH: You noted recently on Twitter or X that you’re carefully reviewing the original paperback for this new edition. For those who may not know the specifics, tell us a little about the extra research notes and material from Carl that Jeff Rice put in the original book.
James Aquilone: The novel goes into much more detail on two fronts—we get a pretty thorough look at a reporter’s life back in the 1970s and there’s a lot more material on the vampire Janos Skorzeny.
But the biggest difference between the book and the TV movie is that in the novel, Jeff Rice is a character. The conceit is that Jeff met Carl, who then gives the real-life Vegas reporter his notes about the greatest manhunt in Las Vegas history. And throughout the book Jeff chimes in with notes and comments.
And as I said before, previous editions, including the original, had many typos. We’ve put back the portions of the manuscript that had been removed in the last reprint, including Carl’s bibliography, which is a list of books he supposedly used in his research.
WH: You’ve worked with several Kolchak experts to provide a broad picture of Jeff Rice and the Kolchak world. Can you give us a taste of some of the perspective they provide on Rice.
James Aquilone: James Chambers edited the new edition of the novel. He’s written several Kolchak stories and is an expert. He did an amazing job making sure we restored the original manuscript and fixed a number of mistakes.
Mark Dawidziak is the foremost authority on Kolchak and he’ll be writing a profile on his friend, Jeff Rice. Jeff led a very interesting life as a Vegas reporter who wound up in Hollywood and then was basically blacklisted from Hollywood. Kolchak is very much a stand-in for Jeff.
WH: What about the Kolchak phenomenon? Do any thoughts emerge on the enduring love for Carl and the series.
James Aquilone: Kolchak fandom is definitely growing. Wherever I go, people only want to talk to me about Kolchak. He really resonates with fans and is beloved among horror fans. I think the fact that MeTV airs Kolchak every Saturday has helped. Kolchak is just a fantastic hero, the underdog who always saves the day but never gets his due. Despite that, Kolchak never gives up. It’s not in his DNA.
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WH: What stands out for you about Janos Skorzeny in the book? He’s certainly an interesting vampire, and Rice slipped in some interesting details from him.
James Aquilone: The novel gives a pretty detailed biography of Skorzeny, something you don’t get in the TV movie. Fans wanting more insight into the mysterious vampire should definitely check out the book. Also Skorzeny speaks in the book, whereas he’s silent on the screen.
WH: How much do you think Kolchak’s battle with his boss and with Las Vegas bureaucracy contribute to the tension in the story? That’s probably territory Rice knew well as a journalist in Nevada.
James Aquilone: The novel is probably more about bureaucracy and the coverup than anything else. Rice was very much writing about his own experiences with corruption in Las Vegas, and after the novel was published he was persona non grata in Sin City, much like Kolchak at the end of The Night Stalker.
WH: Tell us about the cover art and also what fans will get when they back the Kickstarter for the new Kolchak: The Night Stalker Novel Deluxe, Limited Edition.
WH: I knew Russ Braun was a big Kolchak and that he once put him in a Swamp Thing comic written by Nancy A. Collins back in the day. He had done an amazing Morlock cover for Monstrous #2, my comic book magazine, so it was a no-brainer to ask him to do the art for this project.
Anyone who backs the print book will get a free Kolchak fan club membership, and on the flipside is a Kolchak press card.
We’ll also have prints of the interior illustrations.
And the book has a foreword by David Dastmalchian (Late Night With the Devil) and an afterword by Rodney Barnes, both Kolchak superfans.
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