Chapter 24: Author’s Note – Summary & Analysis

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

In the Author’s Note, Richard Chizmar (the author-narrator) explains that after finishing Chasing the Boogeyman in early 2021, he had no plans for a sequel. The story felt complete: Joshua Gallagher was captured, the victims’ families were healing, and Edgewood had moved on. But in the summer of 2022, while mowing his lawn, a new idea struck him: thirty-five years after Gallagher’s killing spree, a monster emerges to finish what Gallagher started, beginning with the sole survivor, Annie Riggs. Chizmar immediately knew this should be a novel and that the Annie Riggs reveal would be the opening chapter’s shocking conclusion. He also decided to again present the story as if it were real, just as he had with the first book—only this time the stakes were higher because he now had a family and a career to risk.

Chizmar then describes the overwhelming reader response to Chasing the Boogeyman. Readers from around the world contacted him via email, social media, and letters. Many praised the book, noting how it reminded them of their own small-town childhoods (popping tar bubbles, jumping bike ramps, throwing dirt clods). Some called it the scariest book they’d ever read. A remarkable number believed the story was based on actual events, despite its fictional nature. When they discovered the Author’s Note revealing it was fiction, they were shocked. Some readers even Googled names and places mid-read to check their reality. For a writer who grew up obsessed with Orson Welles’s War of the Worlds and The Blair Witch Project, this was a dream come true.

The author then invites the reader behind the curtain. He confirms that much of the book is drawn from his actual life: his wife Kara, his sons, friends, neighbors, dogs, and the house with two front doors all exist and are accurately portrayed. The nostalgic passages from Edgewood: Looking Back are largely true memories. Specific landmarks—the house on Hanson Road, the water tower, the bridge at Winter’s Run with his and Kara’s initials—are real. The Meyers House, with its twin gabled peaks, still stands. However, beyond these truths, memory and imagination blur. Kara is indeed as smart and tough as depicted. Carly Albright is not a real person but an amalgam of several spirited women in his life.

Chizmar reveals the origins of the photographs. Most were taken by him and his oldest son, Billy, using friends, neighbors, and local actors as subjects. Annie Riggs is played by their next-door neighbor Molly Keele. Peyton Bair and Mallory Tucker are portrayed by teenage daughters of longtime friends. The man in the mask on Southampton Road is his childhood friend Bill Caughron. Billy himself balanced on rotting firewood for the mask behind the springhouse. Most memorably, the author himself lay under a white sheet with a fence post duct-taped across his shoulders to portray Mallory Tucker’s dead body, sweating and cursing until Billy finished the photo. He hints at more secrets he is not yet ready to reveal, and closes by stating that the Boogeyman isn’t finished and invites readers to join him for the rest of the journey.

Key Events

Chizmar finishes Chasing the Boogeyman in early 2021 without sequel plans.
In summer 2022, while mowing the lawn, he conceives the sequel’s premise: a monster targeting Gallagher’s sole survivor, Annie Riggs.
He decides to present the sequel as nonfiction, raising personal stakes.
Massive reader response to the first book: many believe it is true; some Google names.
He admits that much of the personal detail (family, home, landmarks) is real.
He clarifies that Carly Albright is fictional, an amalgam of real women.
He describes the photographic production: son Billy as photographer, himself as Mallory Tucker’s corpse, neighbors as victims.
He declines to reveal all secrets but confirms more stories will follow.

Character Development

Although this is an Author’s Note, the chapter develops the author-narrator as a character. He is shown as a storyteller obsessed with authenticity and audience immersion, willing to physically sacrifice (lying under a sheet with a fence post) for the sake of the illusion. His wife Kara is reaffirmed as a resilient and intelligent partner. The supporting “cast” of real-life neighbors and friends (Molly Keele, Bill Caughron, Billy Chizmar) are acknowledged as contributors to the fiction, blending their real identities with fictional roles. The chapter also deepens the reader’s understanding of the author’s creative vulnerability—how much he risks personally and professionally.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Blurring reality and fiction: The central theme of the entire book is that the line between truth and invention is deliberately obscured. The Author’s Note openly discusses this blur, celebrating reader confusion.
Authenticity as a narrative device: Chizmar explains that using real-life details (house, family, landmarks) makes the fiction more convincing—a meta-commentary on the true-crime format.
The storyteller’s sacrifice: The author’s willingness to become part of the fiction (acting as a corpse, crawling into a storm drain) symbolizes how far creators go to make stories feel real.
Memory vs. imagination: The note admits that after a point, “it becomes increasingly difficult to decipher memory from imagination,” a motif that runs through the book.
The power of photography: The photographs are presented as evidence, but the Author’s Note reveals they are staged, subverting the reader’s trust in visual proof.

Why This Chapter Matters

This Author’s Note is crucial because it unveils the deliberate metafictional architecture of Becoming the Boogeyman. Without it, readers might continue accepting the story as pure nonfiction. By revealing the real people, the staged photography, and the author’s creative process, Chizmar transforms the reading experience into a conversation about truth, memory, and storytelling. It also serves as a bridge to potential future installments, confirming that the Boogeyman story is ongoing. The chapter cements the author’s role as both narrator and character, deepening the immersion even as it lifts the curtain.

Study Questions and Answers

1. What specific event sparked the idea for the sequel to Chasing the Boogeyman?
While mowing his lawn in summer 2022, listening to Bob Seger, Chizmar was struck by the idea of a monster emerging thirty-five years later to handle Joshua Gallagher’s unfinished business, starting with the sole survivor, Annie Riggs.

2. How did readers of Chasing the Boogeyman react to the true-crime format?
Many readers believed the book was based on actual events because of its personal tone and the photographic evidence. Some were shocked to learn it was fiction, and others Googled names and places mid-read to verify their reality.

3. What does Chizmar reveal about the photograph of Mallory Tucker’s dead body under a white sheet?
He reveals that he himself was the model for that photograph: he lay beneath a white sheet with a six-foot fence post duct-taped across his shoulders, sweating and cursing while his son Billy hurried to take the picture.