The first solo novel by Cemetery Danceeditor Richard Chizmar was this unique account of crime and detection, which blends autobiography and crime fiction. JJ: Finally, let’s do a quick lightening round: If you were stranded on a desert island, what three items would you take with you? I’d had frequent nightmares about that tower when I was little, but I was older and braver now, and all alone on the hill, my friends having gone home a short time earlier for dinner. After dinner, my father and I shrugged on our heavy winter coats, ski caps, gloves, and boots, and headed outside.

the Boogeyman | Book by Richard Chizmar | Official Becoming the Boogeyman | Book by Richard Chizmar | Official

Curious by nature and interested in true crime, Richard fully immerses himself in the case, much to the frustration of the real detective, Lyle Harper. Other times, we’d practice responsible gun safety by pointing at each other’s shoes and yelling, “Jump! Chasing the Boogeyman perfectly captures the feeling of growing up in a small town facing an existential threat from real evil.The overflow of new residents, coupled with the completion of Route 40, a four-lane highway cutting through Edgewood, spurred further economic development.

CHASING THE BOOGEYMAN | The Bedlam Files CHASING THE BOOGEYMAN | The Bedlam Files

A short distance down the tracks was the Magnolia Station, named for the lovely magnolia trees that flourished there. The coroner determined that the majority of her injuries most likely occurred during a prolonged struggle.Although the population of Edgewood was a mere three-dozen full-time residents in 1878, the railroad and neighboring countryside’s lush farmland contributed to eventual growth. In the summer of 1988, the mutilated bodies of several missing girls begin to turn up in a small Maryland town. Salma and Bilal are your typical British couple looking to move off the estate and into a quiet suburban neighborhood.

Chasing the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar | Goodreads

Chizmar’s Becoming the Boogeyman, a uniquely blended tale of fact and fiction, has you asking yourself, did this really happen? Before long, there was an abundance of new homes in the area, including a number of extravagant residences, many erected by businessmen commuting daily to Baltimore via train.A solid true crime facsimile, mixing background detail with action, suspense, and a compelling pace. I may be a wee bit jaded after reading so many murder stories, and horror (much like humor) can be subjective. A close and dependable friend of ours, Bob Eiring, swears to this day that he saw a group of white-robed scientists conducting an experiment on an honest-to-God alien when he snuck into an off-limits area on Edgewood Arsenal and peeked into a warehouse window.

Chasing the Boogeyman - SST Publications Chasing the Boogeyman - SST Publications

A water tower stood at the summit of the largest hill, and its long, spindly legs always filled my head with menacing images of rampaging aliens from one of my all-time favorite movies, The War of the Worlds.I also set up a card table on the sidewalk at the corner of Hanson and Tupelo and hawked waxed paper cups of ice-cold lemonade to passing drivers. RC: I wouldn’t say I prefer it, but I’ve done it fairly often and been fortunate enough to have enjoyed it each and every time. I imagined my mother preparing dinner in the kitchen, humming to a Christmas song on the radio, my father downstairs on the sofa, watching the news and playing a game of solitaire.