Chasing the Boogeyman Quiz: 20 Questions on the True-Crime Novel

Questions

Plot and Sequence (8 Questions)

1. What is the correct order of the four main murders in Chasing the Boogeyman?
   A) Kacey Robinson, Natasha Gallagher, Madeline Wilcox, Cassidy Burch
   B) Natasha Gallagher, Kacey Robinson, Madeline Wilcox, Cassidy Burch
   C) Madeline Wilcox, Natasha Gallagher, Cassidy Burch, Kacey Robinson
   D) Cassidy Burch, Madeline Wilcox, Kacey Robinson, Natasha Gallagher

2. Where was Kacey Robinson’s body discovered?
   A) In the woods behind her house
   B) Under Ricker’s Bridge
   C) At a playground slide
   D) In a cemetery

3. Which victim disappeared on Halloween night?
   A) Natasha Gallagher
   B) Kacey Robinson
   C) Madeline Wilcox
   D) Cassidy Burch

4. What did Carly and Richard discover hidden in the memorial photographs?
   A) The killer’s name carved into a tree
   B) Small drawings left by the killer
   C) A footprint in the mud
   D) A torn piece of cloth

5. When was the Boogeyman finally caught?
   A) 1989
   B) 1993
   C) 2001
   D) 2019

6. Who was revealed as the killer?
   A) Detective Lyle Harper
   B) Joshua Gallagher
   C) Russell Gallagher
   D) Aaron Unger

7. What was the significance of the hopscotch grid with the number three found at the first murder scene?

   • Short answer: __________________________________________

8. Which event caused the town of Edgewood to cancel its carnival?
   A) A false confession
   B) The murder of Natasha Gallagher
   C) A neighborhood watch accident
   D) A snowstorm

Character Motivation (5 Questions)

1. Why did narrator Richard Chizmar become obsessed with the case?
   A) He was related to one of the victims
   B) He had known Natasha Gallagher briefly as a child
   C) He was hired by the police to write a report
   D) He witnessed one of the murders

2. Why did Detective Harper warn Richard and Carly to stop investigating?
   A) He thought they were wasting police resources
   B) They were interfering with the active investigation and putting themselves at risk
   C) He suspected Richard was the killer
   D) They were violating a court order

3. Why did Annie Riggs survive her attack?
   A) The killer lost his mask
   B) She fought the attacker with pepper spray and ran for help
   C) A police officer arrived just in time
   D) The killer chose to let her go

4. Why did Joshua Gallagher confess to the murders?
   A) He was offered a plea deal
   B) He felt guilty after his father’s suicide
   C) DNA evidence linked him to the crime scene
   D) Carly Albright tricked him into a confession

5. Why did Carly Albright experience paranoia and nightmares during the investigation?
   A) The killer left a chalk drawing of 666 on her porch and a boot print under her window
   B) She saw the killer’s face in a dream
   C) Her parents blamed her for the media attention
   D) She was fired from her job

Theme and Symbol (4 Questions)

1. What does the Boogeyman symbolically represent in the novel?
   A) The power of community unity
   B) The hidden evil lurking in a small town
   C) The unreliability of memory
   D) The justice system’s flaws

2. What is the significance of the killer’s ear cuttings?
   A) They were a message for the police
   B) They were a trophy or signature that dehumanized the victims
   C) They were meant to match a folklore ritual
   D) They were random and meaningless

3. How does the theme of community hysteria manifest in the story?
   A) Residents hold candlelight vigils
   B) Gun sales soar, women cut their hair, and neighbors suspect one another
   C) The town creates a neighborhood watch
   D) The newspaper publishes special editions

4. What role does memory and nostalgia play in the narrative?

   • Short answer: __________________________________________

Synthesis (3 Questions)

1. How does Richard Chizmar blend fiction and reality in the novel?

   • Short answer: __________________________________________

2. Compare the killer’s motivations with the community’s response. What does this suggest about fear?

   • Short answer: __________________________________________

3. What might the author be suggesting about the nature of evil through the character of Joshua Gallagher?

   • Short answer: __________________________________________

Answer Key

Plot and Sequence

1. B) Natasha Gallagher, Kacey Robinson, Madeline Wilcox, Cassidy Burch – This matches the chronological murders described in the outline, starting with Natasha in Chapter Two and ending with Cassidy in Chapter Nine.

2. C) At a playground slide – Kacey Robinson’s body was posed at a playground slide, as detailed in Chapter Three.

3. D) Cassidy Burch – She disappeared on Halloween night and was later found in a cemetery, as explained in Chapter Nine.

4. B) Small drawings left by the killer – In Chapter Eleven, Carly and Richard identify hidden signatures: a hopscotch grid, a missing-dog sign, five pennies, and a pumpkin with six eyes.

5. D) 2019 – The Afterword reveals the killer was caught in September 2019 through DNA evidence.

6. B) Joshua Gallagher – Joshua, the adopted brother of victim Natasha Gallagher, confessed to the murders.

7. Short answer: The hopscotch grid with the number three was a signature left by the killer at Natasha Gallagher’s crime scene. Its meaning remained unknown to the police and public for years.

8. B) The murder of Natasha Gallagher – After Natasha’s murder, the town canceled the carnival and considered canceling the Fourth of July parade (Chapter Four).

Character Motivation

1. B) He had known Natasha Gallagher briefly as a child – Richard recalls four brief encounters with her, which creates a personal connection that fuels his obsession (Chapter Two).

2. B) They were interfering with the active investigation and putting themselves at risk – Detective Harper scolds Richard and Carly for meddling, especially after her home is targeted (Chapter Eight).

3. B) She fought the attacker with pepper spray and ran for help – Annie Riggs used pepper spray against the masked assailant and escaped to a nearby house (Chapter Eight).

4. C) DNA evidence linked him to the crime scene – Joshua Gallagher’s DNA was found at Cassidy Burch’s crime scene, leading to his arrest and confession (Afterword).

5. A) The killer left a chalk drawing of 666 on her porch and a boot print under her window – This direct targeting caused Carly immense fear (Chapter Eight).

Theme and Symbol

1. B) The hidden evil lurking in a small town – The Boogeyman represents the darkness that exists beneath the peaceful surface of Edgewood, a recurring theme in the novel.

2. B) They were a trophy or signature that dehumanized the victims – The killer severed the left ear of each victim, marking them as his own and demonstrating his need for control.

3. B) Gun sales soar, women cut their hair, and neighbors suspect one another – These behaviors are described in Chapter Seven and Chapter Eight as the community panics after the murders.

4. Short answer: Richard’s childhood memories of Edgewood—playing with friends, family dinners—create a contrast with the horror, showing how nostalgia can be both comforting and painful when violence shatters that innocence.

Synthesis

1. Short answer: Chizmar uses his own name and family, real Edgewood locations, and a true-crime format, while inventing the murders, the killer, and characters like Carly and Harper. He includes commissioned photographs to mimic real crime documentation, as stated in the Author’s Note.

2. Short answer: The killer’s compulsive urges drive him to commit violent acts for power and gratification, while the community’s paranoid response—arming themselves, suspecting innocents, and accidentally shooting a neighbor—shows that fear can cause as much harm as evil itself.

3. Short answer: By revealing that the killer was a seemingly normal adopted son living in the victim’s own family, Chizmar suggests that evil can exist in the most ordinary places, often unrecognized until it is too late. Evil is not always a monstrous stranger; it can be someone close.