The Haunted Hillbilly

A comic book in words, episodic and eerie, The Haunted Hillbilly is a carnivalesque thrill-ride that reads both like a vintage 1950s issue of Tales from the Crypt and a 21st century re-imagining of Michael Ondaatje’s The Collected Works of Billy the Kid. The Haunted Hillbilly is an historical first-person narrative, told by Nudie ?The Carnival Couturier” (the name’s a twist on ?Nudie, the Rodeo Tailor”, a real-life figure perhaps best known for dressing Elvis Presley), a gay couturier who, in Derek McCormack’s spellbinding world, also happens to be a vampire. As the story evolves, with its magical poetic cadence, Nudie makes, then breaks, the career of country-and-western legend Hank Williams.

Derek McCormack is the author of two short story collections set in his hometown of Peterborough, Ontario: Dark Rides and Wish Book: A Catalogue of Stories. He is co-author of Wild Mouse, which was nominated for the 1999 Toronto Book Award. His short stories have appeared in numerous magazines, newspapers, and anthologies in Canada and the U.S.A. His non-fiction has appeared in the National Post, Saturday Night, Elm Street, and Blood & Aphorisms. In 2001, he received an Honorable Mention at the National Magazine Awards for "Boo! A Halloween ABC," which appeared in Saturday Night. Stargaze, a short movie based on his story of the same name, has appeared at numerous Canadian and international film festivals. Derek McCormack lives in Toronto.