Ms. Macabre Hosts Alphabetical Horror Show of Nightmarish Creatures
Enter the creatively creepy mind of local graphic novelist Adam Calfee
What began as some character sketches of an R.L. Stine-obsessed 12-year-old has grown into a multi-year effort – a 300-page graphic novel masterpiece of the macabre… Ms. Macabre, to be exact. Adam Calfee, local animator, illustrator, writer, co-founder of MoreFrames Animation, and 40 Under 40 alum, began creating the outline for his book Ms. Macabre's The ABCs of Nightmare Creatures in 2019. But more accurately, he shares, "I've been working on the project for as long as I can remember, only maybe I didn't realize it at the time."
The book follows a ghoul of a librarian (Ms. Macabre) who works in a middle school phantom library. As human students stumble upon a magical portal to this bizarre bookish realm, they are taught an alphabetical lesson consisting of 26 monsters, specters, haunted objects, and nightmarish beasts throughout the night – and subsequently scared out of their wits. Each letter gets a full character storyline – K is for Krump the Crepuscular Creep or D is for the Dapper but Dangerous Dugareedoo, for example. Ms. Macabre introduces the creature, in lesson-like form, sharing its history and development, and ranks it with a video-game style profile, listing its individual strengths and weaknesses. "I had the idea that it would be fun to tie the concept together using a horror-host-style framing device, like The Crypt Keeper in Tales From the Crypt, or Elvira – and so Ms. Macabre was born. She is the head librarian at the William H. Harrison Middle School branch of the Library of Shadows – which is the secret, pan-dimensional, unstuck-in-space-and-time library – a door to which appears each midnight in the floor of your middle school's library room," Calfee explains.
The art style varies from page to page. As the backstories of each creature are shared, the art morphs to match, taking on the look of comic book-style pop art, old-timey advertisements, propaganda-style posters, crayon drawings, handwritten letters, and noir scenes – and it is all tied together with Calfee's signature and impressively detailed art style.
Although this is technically an alphabet book, the target audience is those who, ideally, already know their ABCs. Calfee explains, "We did some product testing with an early draft and it was very encouraging and validating to see how well it resonated with the kids. I was fielding follow-up questions about Unchie Bunchie the Underwear Goblin and Icy-Bella the Chilly-Foot Phantom for days."
This is the kind of fearful fantasy that tween-aged children love: the idea that something commonplace, like your school's library, is actually a portal to an unknown spooky universe touches on a fascination common to middle-grade kids. "I wanted to create something that evokes in readers the same type of feeling that I had when I was young reading the Goosebumps series from R.L. Stine. The target demographic, therefore, is myself at 12 years old," Calfee laughs. "I wanted something middle-grade appropriate, equally spooky and funny, and even educational. I like to refer to Ms. Macabre's as Goosebumps by way of The Magic School Bus."
Calfee was able to get his book into full-color print thanks to support from a Kickstarter campaign started in October of 2025. "With the help of 94 backers (thank you, everyone!) I was able to successfully raise the funding necessary to cover the cost of an initial print run. A few local stores were gracious enough to stock copies," Calfee explains. Werner Books and Coffee currently has copies available, or readers can purchase a copy directly from Calfee's website, msmacabre.com.
Overall, Calfee says, "If you're a fan of secret, spooky, fun, fantastical things, Ms. Macabre's The ABCs of Nightmare Creatures has got it in spades. Whether you are or ever have been middle-school aged, this one's for you."
To learn more or order a copy, visit msmacabre.com. To read a serialized web-version of the book, visit webtoons.com
