Creepshow Writer Chris Killian Talks Spooky New Story for Halloween (Exclusive)

Horror icons like Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, and Freddy Krueger all seem to find their way back into the public zeitgeist at some point or another. Luckily, while horror anthology hosts like the Crypt Keeper might not gain the spotlight nearly as much, the ghoulish curators still have their place. In Creepshow, the Creep continues to rise from his grave thanks to Image’s recent comic book series, and writer Chris Killian was more than happy to chat with CanonBreak about his recent ghoulish tale.

Currently a host for ComicBook.com, Killian made waves in the comic book community with last year’s I Saw Santa: A Spawn Universe Christmas Story. While this two-issue tale might have focused on Kris Kringle, it was a horror story that saw Santa dealing with a homicidal madman focused on destroying the Christmas Icon. I Saw Spawn will release next month, a sequel to this story, though Killian was happy to branch out to create a new short story for Creepshow. Titled “The Storm,” Chris’ story takes place in a prison where a guard has found himself amongst the general population for his own crimes, which Killian hilariously refers to as his own “Shawshank Redemption fan fiction.”

Creeping Into Comics

“Skybound read I Saw Santa and wanted to do something in Creepshow,” Killian explained into how he entered the creepy universe, “which I was super excited about because I’ve always been a fan of Creepshow and Tales From The Crypt. When we were pitching ideas, I just love me some good old-fashioned ghost stories. I love those kinds of things, and I wanted to make a story with a character like Shawshank Redemption’s Byron Hadley (played by legendary actor Clancy Brown, who was such an ‘S.O.B.” We never really see what happens to him when he goes to prison, so there’s a little sprinkle of that.”

“A ghost story in an old prison just seems like such a cool idea. I love this idea of an inmate seeing an apparition in the cell with him where he cannot escape.” In this short story, “The Storm,” a doomed prison guard must struggle with the sins of his past and survive the living and the dead. “In horror, it’s good to have mysteries. A lot of folks see the apparition as one thing, whereas I see it as another. I loved the twist of it for a ten-page short story. It was also so fun to write such a despicable character.”

Killian also expressed the fun he had in writing dialogue for the Creep, “I read some issues of Creepshow where the writers are having a blast going ham on the puns, whereas others kind of undersell him. I really wanted to go all the way, so it was fun creating puns like ‘ride the lightning’ and ‘now that’s what I call a death sentence’ for him.”

Creepshow Volume 5, Issue 2 is currently available at retailers, with the trade paperback for I Saw Santa: A Spawn Universe Christmas Story also available. I Saw Spawn will be available on November 11th next month.