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If curling up with a spooky book is part of your regular Halloween tradition, you've probably heard the name Grady Hendrix. The author of horror hits such as The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, The Final Girl Support Group, and My Best Friend's Exorcism (now a feature film from Amazon Prime Video), Hendrix has covered all manner of macabre material - possession, hauntings, vampires, and more - but he's hardly done putting terrifying twists on familiar fright material. And thanks to a conversation Popverse had with him at New York Comic Con 2024, we now know what subject is next on Grady Hendrix's to-BOO! list.

Before we tell you what that is, though, let us clarify: when we talk about Hendrix's new book, we're talking about the one after the already announced Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, slated for release January of 2025. We already know the subject of Witchcraft for Wayward Girls (er, witchcraft), plus a few plot details released by publisher Penguin Random House. No, what we're talking about here is a yet-untiled new addition currently cooking in Hendrix's cranial cauldron.

"I imagine you can't talk a ton about future projects," Popverse said to Hendrix as we sat in the Skybox of the Javits Center, "But are there any settings or subject matter that you are really interested in right now?" Thankfully, Hendrix was willing to give us a peak.

"I'm trying to get the next book started," said the author, "and fortunately/unfortunately, it's spooky season, which means I'm doing a ton of press and stuff. It's hard because I really want to start the next book, and I just actually spent a week out in the woods camping, doing research for the next book. There's things in the trees for the next one."

Camping, you say? As any horror nerd will attest, you can't bring up that subject without getting us curious about a certain slasher subgenre, made most famous by a hockey-masked, machete-wielding killer whose victims are as unlucky as his favorite date. But Hendrix was quick to clarify, his upcoming book isn't of the Vorhees variety.

"No, no, no," he said, "[The book is] out in the woods. And just to throw in there: I was a Boy Scout for a very long time."

Now that is how you tease a horror novel! Will it be a Troop of Scouts encountering an Eldritch deity somewhere in the deep woods? Maybe a special, X-Files-tinged division of the Boy Scouts, dedicated to dealing with the paranormal? Only time will tell, but we can make you this guarantee  - like any good Boy Scout, we'll be prepared.

Grady Hendrix's Witchcraft for Wayward Girls comes to bookstores January 14, 2025. You can preorder it on Amazon right now, and keep your eyes peeled for Popverse's full interview with Hendrix. Until then, Happy Halloween.

In the immortal words of Danny Elfman, "Life's no fun without a good scare." We couldn't agree more, which is why we think you should check out horror aficionado Greg Silber's list of the best horror movies of all time. Or, if you've already seen those classics, check out our list of the most underrated horror movies from the past couple years. And if you've already seen all of those, Let us tell you what to look forward to (or dread) in Popverse's list of upcoming horror movies.