#Story

What is the Ghost Light?

You’ve seen it. We’ve all seen it. That strange glow out there, deep in the woods. Late in the night. Up on an empty stage in a dark theater. That flash out of the corner of your eye, something bright and fleeting, flickering in the reflection of a mirror.

But I hear what you’re asking. What is it? What is the Ghost Light? That’s what you really want to know. Need to know.

It’s an afternoon thunderstorm. It’s a creaky floorboard in an otherwise empty house. It’s the reason the attic light is burning that dull orange, way up there at the top of those stairs and you don’t remember ever pulling the cord to turn it on.

Very nice, you say. Dramatic, all that. But, c’mon. Tell me what it is.

Fine. Lean in. Listen closely. And don’t tell anyone.

It’s where the stories come from. Not all of them, of course. But the lasting ones. The scary ones. The ones that stick with you long after you’ve closed your eyes. Or tried to, at least.

Because there’s nothing better than a scary story, right? Depends on who you ask, maybe. Personally, the only thing better than one scary story is a whole bunch of scary stories.

Growing up, I’d spend special days hunting bookstore and library shelves for short story collections of creepy, weird, uncanny tales, followed by magical nights hiding under the covers and reading until one of two things happened. One, I fell asleep. Two, morning came.

GHOST LIGHT TALES takes the anthology a number of steps further and combines all the best things: Comic books (like those old House of Mystery issues where you didn’t know if you were gonna get a werewolf story or one about aliens invading some unassuming small town!); creepy illustrations (Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, anyone?); and Choose Your Own Adventure (but with comics and screenplays and stage plays! I always thought my ending to that unsettling little story set on the train to nowhere was way scarier, anyway).

We also add in an educational component, thanks to Franco’s teaching background and Alex’s current job as director of programs at a 5-star library in Connecticut.

#Preview

#Bios

Gwendolyn Kiste is the three-time Bram Stoker Award–winning author of The Rust Maidens, Reluctant Immortals, Boneset & Feathers, Pretty Marys All in a Row, and The Haunting of Velkwood. Her short fiction and nonfiction have appeared in outlets including LitHub, Nightmare Magazine, Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy, Vastarien, Tor’s Nightfire, The Lineup, and The Dark. She’s a Lambda Literary Award winner, and her fiction has also received the This Is Horror Award for Novel of the Year as well as nominations for the Premios Kelvin, Ignotus, and Dragon Awards. Originally from Ohio, she now resides on an abandoned horse farm outside of Pittsburgh with her husband, their excitable calico cat, and not nearly enough ghosts. Find her online at GwendolynKiste.com.

Christa Carmen is the Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Daughters of Block Island, Something Borrowed, Something Blood-Soaked, and the forthcoming Beneath the Poet’s House. Additional work can be found in Vastarien, Nightmare, Orphans of Bliss, Year’s Best Hardcore Horror, and the Stoker-nominated anthologies, Not All Monsters and The Streaming of Hill House. She has a BA from the University of Pennsylvania, an MA from Boston College, and an MFA from the University of Southern Maine. Christa lives in Rhode Island with her husband, daughter, and bloodhound-golden retriever mix.

Cody Daigle-Orians (they/them) is a writer and asexuality educator living in Columbus, Ohio. They are the creator of Ace Dad Advice, a social media-based asexuality education project designed to support people exploring asexuality or questioning their sexual orientation. They are the author of the young adult books I AM ACE: ADVICE ON LIVING YOUR BEST ASEXUAL LIFE and THE ACE AND ARO RELATIONSHIP GUIDE, and they are a contributor to the 2024 Lambda Literary Award finalist anthology BEING ACE. They are a 2024 Lambda Literary Fellow, and they were nominated for a 2023 British LGBTQ Award for Online Influencer. They are queer, ace, and agender.

Federico Mele is a comic artist, illustrator, storyteller, and art teacher based in Rome. He is currently working for Todd Mcfarlane Productions and IMAGE Comics.

Sabin Arditty

Nick Palazzo

Sara Richard is an Eisner and Ringo Award–nominated artist from New Hampshire whose artwork has been printed in Vanity Fair, British Vogue, and WIRED and shown in galleries all over the world. She has worked on multiple projects for Simon & Schuster (Midnight Magic: A Tarot Deck of Mushrooms, The Green Witch series, Greek Mythology, Women of Myth) as well as IDW (My Little Pony, Jem, and G.I Joe) , Oni (Rick & Morty), DC (Deadman Tells The Spooky Tales, The Justice League Tarot Set), and Marvel (Deadpool). She is also the creator of The Dead Hand Book (Source Point Press) and the Illustrator of "The Ghost, The Owl," an entirely handpainted original graphic novel written by Franco! Her art is inspired by Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Victorian-era funerary imagery, and the natural (and magical) world. Sara donates her time to cleaning forgotten cemeteries and preserving possibly haunted curiosities from the 19th century. Her online gallery can be found at SaraRichard.com.

Franco and his forehead have traveled the world. He writes, draws stuff and throws paint on canvas. Franco is the co-creator of Patrick the Wolf Boy and AW YEAH COMICS! Franco created the DINO-MIKE book series and worked for various Comic properties including critically the acclaimed SUPERMAN FAMILY ADVENTURES, YOUNG JUSTICE, BILLY BATSON and the MAGIC of SHAZAM, SUPERPOWERS, ARKHAMANIACS and the New York Times bestseller, multi-Eisner award and Harvey award winning series TINY TITANS for DC Comics! GRIMISS ISLAND and Eisner Award winning ITTY BITTY HELLBOY with Dark Horse Comics and Little ARCHIE for Archie Comics. His latest work include DEADMAN TELLS THE SPOOKY TALES (DC Comics) and his original graphic novels THE GHOST, THE OWL (Ringo Award Nominated) and FAE AND THE MOON (Little Bee) His new book TEEN TITANS GO to the LIBRARY is out now! Franco was also a High School teacher for 24 years. X Twitter/Instagram: @awyeahfranco / blindwolfstudios.com

Alex Giannini is the author of several non-fiction titles for kids, an award-winning children's book (Sarah Faire and the House at the End of the World), and he’s had short stories published in a number of anthologies. Alex has written for WWE's scripted YouTube series and won an award for an explainer video that's been viewed nearly 2 million times. He currently works as director of programs and events at a 5-star library and is the co-creator of the largest literary festival in Connecticut. He can be found online at www.alexjgiannini.com

Jaime Carrillo has been illustrating professionally for almost 20 years and has done work for Lucasfilm, Acme Archives, StormKing Comics, Famous Monsters of Filmland, and many other clients. He achieved his bucket list when he was able to do illustrations for Dungeons and Dragons, the metal band Iron Maiden, and Star Wars, so now he needs a new bucket. He mostly works in traditional media but can be forced to enter the digital age if necessary. He hopes one day for his art to look the way it does in his head and his greatest ambition is to live among the lowland gorillas in their natural habitat. Until then, he can be found easiest on Instagram @jaimecarrillostudios.

Sabin Arditty is a designer and illustrator living in Bellingham Washington. While his design work is done digitally, his illustrations are accomplished traditionally. Works are primarily done using pen and ink as a base. He specializes in portraiture and his subjects are often referenced from pop culture. His finished pieces tend to be loose and high-contrast while trying to capture an energetic feel. When not illustrating he loves spending time outdoors with his wife and son.

Nick Palazzo creates imaginative illustrations and paintings bringing mythical creatures and original characters to life. Using neon color and stark contrast, his artwork provides a window into fantastical worlds.

#Stretch Goals

$5,000: Add a page in the book with a thank you to each backer

$7,500: Franco and Alex will add a brand new 5-page story to the book

$10,000: We will do a Zoop exclusive cover!

#Timeline

We are nearly 100 percent complete with art; we are waiting on the final 1 page from one artist and two small spot illustrations from another. But we are essentially ready to go to print.