The impact of Kolchak: Night Stalker—plus new books coming this year

TVBooksComics
Written By Chris Well

Celebrating the legacy—and future—of Carl Kolchak.

Investigator. Journalist. Monster Hunter. Legend.

Making its TV debut in the 1970s, Kolchak: The Night Stalker revolved around news Carl Kolchak (portrayed by actor Darren McGavin)—whose journalistic investigations keep coming across monsters and the like. Vampires. Zombies. Demons. Extraterrestrials. You know.

For a short-lived TV show from 1974—which only had 20 episodes—it’s amazing that Kolchak: The Night Stalker continues to make a huge impact on monster fiction. And now that Monstrous Books has recently got the license for the show, the publisher has some major books coming out this year! (More details below.)

“Kolchak is a huge influence in the horror genre, especially in television,” observes  Monstrous Books publisher by James Aquilone, while talking to Cemetery Dance. “It of course directly inspired The X-Files. Without Kolchak, you probably also wouldn’t have had Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Supernatural.”

“Kolchak: The Night Stalker didn’t follow the rules,” remarks the video from Film Noir. “It brought vampires to Chicago, werewolves to Los Angeles, and a rumpled reporter in a seersucker suit to primetime television. But behind the monsters and mayhem, nothing went according to plan. And the bonus, the show that died after 20 episodes became the blueprint for every supernatural series that followed.”

To celebrate how the show Kolchak: The Night Stalker continues to make us talk about it, I’ve posted several videos that discuss Kolchak and his impact. As well as info about the new titles from Monster Books—including some that are out now and some coming out later this year!

In this post:

  1. Looking back on Kolchak: The Nightstalker  

  2. Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974) 20 Weird Facts That You Didn’t Know About

  3. KOLCHAK: The Night KILLERS | What Happened To The Third Night Stalker Movie?

  4. Exhuming The BEST Episodes of Kolchak The Night Stalker!

  5. Kolchak’s Zombie Horror is Nightmare Fuel! Scariest TV Monsters!

  6. Whatever Happened to KOLCHAK The NIGHT STALKER?

  7. New Kolchak stories from Monstrous Books!

Monster Complex® sometimes uses affiliate links. (At no additional charge to you. Relax.)

Looking back on Kolchak: The Night Stalker

While the 1970s TV show Kolchak: The Night Stalker only had one season—1974-1975—the unusual history actually starts with wildly successful TV movies in 1972 and 1973. And, while the show was so short-lived, it’s impact actually continues to this day.

Kolchak made his first appearance in the 1972 TV movie The Night Stalker. The story followed Las Vegas newspaper reporter Carl Kolchak (already played by McGavin). The reporter investigates the ongoing case assumed to be a serial killer—but it turns out to be vampire.

The story was based on the then-unpublished novel The Kolchak Papers, written by Jeff Rice. The book was adapted by Richard Matheson for the TV movie.

For its time, the 1972 TV movie—which debuted on screen January 11, 1972—got the highest ratings of any television movie at that time.

And Matheson reportedly got a 1973 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best TV Feature or Miniseries Teleplay.

With the amazing success of that first TV movie, the team got to work on a second one. The Night Strangler (1973), written by Richard Matheson, also grabbed a bunch of eyeballs.

A script was written for a third TV movie—The Night Killers was going to show Kolchak dealing with android replicas. But the network decided that it instead wanted a weekly show.

Unfortunately, the short-lived series was troubled pretty much from the beginning. This included the star regularly fighting with the producer. And budget problems. As well as the show being stuck in a horrible time slot.

So, Kolchak: The Night Stalker only lasted like 20 episodes.

For most TV shows, that would be the end. But over the years, Kolchak: The Night Stalker has continued to exhibit its influence. In the years since, there have been novels, comic books, a TV reboot, and more. (Including a brand-new wave of stories—which we’ll talk about in a bit below.)

Most notably, X-Files creator Chris Carter has referenced Kolchak as a big influence for him creating The X-Files. Carter told Rolling Stone magazine: “The show that inspired The X-Files was called Kolchak: The Night Stalker. He was a reporter who investigated a monster of the week. But what was nice for me is that in the 20 years between Kolchak and The X-Files, a lot happened in science and technology.”

In fact, X-Files even included at least couple of on-screen tributes to Kolchak:

  • McGavin was invited to guest star as a veteran agent who was actually part of creating The X-Files office at the FBI.

  • In the show’s tenth season, the hilarious X-Files episode “Mulder and Scully Meet the Were-Monster” revolved around a character dressed just like Kolchak.

Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974) 20 Weird Facts That You Didn’t Know About | Film Noir

KOLCHAK: The Night KILLERS | What Happened To The Third Night Stalker Movie? | Horror Mike  

Exhuming The BEST Episodes of Kolchak The Night Stalker! | 𝙋𝙪𝙡𝙥 𝙑𝙞𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 📺  

Kolchak’s Zombie Horror is Nightmare Fuel! Scariest TV Monsters! | The Nerd Crypt  

Whatever Happened to KOLCHAK The NIGHT STALKER? | Dan Monroe / Movies, Music & Monsters

What Monstrous Books is doing

New Kolchak stories from Monstrous Books!

Not that long ago, Monstrous Books got the rights to publish all the new Kolchak books. They kicked off with a jam-packed new edition of the original novel that led to the first TV movie. And in the coming months, there will be new collections of stories and some very intriguing comic books. Details below!

The whole series is led by Bram Stoker Award-winning editor and writer James Aquilone. Who is quite excited about handling the legacy of the classic show.

“Kolchak is a huge influence in the horror genre, especially in television,” Aquilone told Cemetery Dance. “There had been nothing like it on TV before, and its huge ratings—the highest ever for a TV movie at the time—showed that viewers wanted horror shows. It of course directly inspired The X-Files, which itself inspired a ton of writers and artists over the last three decades. Without Kolchak, you probably also wouldn’t have had Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Supernatural."

Here are some of the new and upcoming titles…

Kolchak: The Night Stalker: Illustrated Edition

by Jeff Rice

This is the story behind the greatest manhunt in the history of Las Vegas…

In 1972, The Night Stalker took America by storm, becoming the highest-rated TV movie at the time and spawning a second movie and a cult series, all starring Darren McGavin. The story of a blood-sucking psycho on the loose in Sin City started with a then-unpublished novel by Las Vegas reporter Jeff Rice.

Now, after years of being out of print, Monstrous Books presents this restored and corrected version of the book that launched one of the beloved and influential characters in TV history.

This new edition of the original novel also features a foreword by David Dastmalchian (Late Night With the Devil, Count Crowley), an afterword by Rodney Barnes (Killadelphia), and a profile on Jeff Rice by Mark Dawidziak (The Kolchak Companion).

Print edition has illustrations by Russ Braun (The Boys).

 Another cool feature: The audiobook edition of Kolchak: The Night Stalker is narrated by actor William Katt (Greatest American Hero, Carrie, Perry Mason).

Get Kolchak: The Night Stalker online from

Kolchak Eras

A short story anthology edited by James Aquilone  

Carl Kolchak has faced more than his share of monsters throughout his infamous career. Now, Monstrous Books presents 13 short stories chronicling the intrepid reporter's exploits from his time in World War II until his semi-retirement in the 1990s.  

Kolchak’s luck runs out during World War II. Devils in the outfield stir up trouble in the ’50s. A road trip with editor Tony Vincenzo in the ’70s takes a turn for the worse. Lovecraftian horrors escape from the beyond in the ’80s. A dead cult leader threatens to return in the ’90s.

Stories by James Aquilone, David Avallone, Jim Beard, Simon Bestwick, Leverett Butts, James Chambers, Owl Goingback, Naching T. Kassa, Stephen Mark Rainey, Will McDermott, Lisa Morton, Bobby Nash, Charles R. Rutledge.  

The Kolchak Eras print edition features 13 black-and-white illustrations.

Get Kolchak Eras online from

Kolchak: The Night Stalker—50th Anniversary

A comic book anthology edited by James Aquilone

This title comes out July 14, 2026.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of The Night Stalker, Monstrous Books presents this special 188-page graphic novel anthology of 12 all-new stories featuring TV’ s greatest monster-hunting reporter, Carl Kolchak. Spanning his entire career, Kolchak: The Night Stalker—50th Anniversary chronicles the adventures of the intrepid investigator from the 1930s to the early 2000s.

Writers include David Avallone, Jonathan Maberry, Peter David, R.C. Matheson, Kim Newman, Gabriel Hardman, Steve Niles, Rodney Barnes, Tim Waggoner, James Aquilone, Nancy A. Collins, and James Chambers.

Artists include Julius Ohta, Zac Atkinson, Marco Finnegan, J.K. Woodward, Paul McCaffrey, Szymon Kudranski, Jonathan Marks Barravecchia, Clara Meath, Colton Worley, Warwick Cadwell-Johnson, Jerry Ordway, and Tom Napolitano.

Get Kolchak: The Night Stalker—50th Anniversary online from

Kolchak Meets the Classic Monsters

A comic book collection by various writers and artists.

This title comes out September 29, 2026

The Night Stalker returns—and this time, he’ s facing the legends of horror themselves.  

From the creators behind Killadelphia, Count Crowley, and 30 Days of Night comes a chilling new graphic novel from Monstrous. Hard-nosed reporter Carl Kolchak—monster hunter, skeptic, and midnight truth-seeker—finds himself caught in the crossfire of myth and nightmare as he uncovers the terrifying truth behind the world’ s most infamous creatures.

This deluxe edition collects Issues #1-3 of Kolchak Meets the Classic Monsters:

  • “Kolchak Meets the Werewolf and Count Crowley” by writer David Dastmalchian and artist Lukas Ketner

  • “Kolchak Meets Frankenstein” by writer Steve Niles and artist George Quadros

  • “Kolchak Meets Dracula” by writer Rodney Barnes and artist Justin Mason

  • Plus, an exclusive bonus story, “Kolchak Meets Konga” by writer James Aquilone and artist Zac Atkinson

Get Kolchak Meets the Classic Monsters online from

  • Monstrous Books

  • Bookshop.org (which also supports your local bookstore!)

  • B&N

  • BAM

  • Amazon

Chris Well

Chris Well been a writer pretty much his entire life. (Well, since his childhood.) Over the years, he has worked in newspapers, magazines, radio, and books. He now is the chief of the website Monster Complex, celebrating monster stories in lit and pop culture. He also writes horror comedy fiction that embraces Universal Monsters, 1960s sitcoms, 1980s action movies, and the X-Files.

https://chriswell.substack.com/
Next

How giant bug movie THEM! changed monster movies forever