Aethon Books has acquired a majority interest in horror book publisher Wicked House Publishing, which will become an imprint of Aethon operating under the Wicked House banner.
Wicked House has published more than 50 titles, among them Blain Daigle's The Broken Places and Duncan Ralston's Puzzle House. Aethon said it will use a group approach to running Wicked House, with different Aethon teams leading the imprint along with Vault Comics CEO Damian Wassel, Fright Night Audio founder Joe Hempel, and longtime horror editor and author Andrew Najberg.
Wicked House founder Patrick Reumen, who is stepping down, said he was pleased to find an owner who will “honor the legacy of what I built.”
Aethon CEO Rhett Bruno said the goal of the acquisition is to use the resources of Aethon to build on what Reumen created and to continue to publish “gripping horror tales.” Aethon president Steve Beaulieu noted the addition of Wicked House complements the niche Aethon has created in the horror field through its partnership with Vault Comics.
The purchase by Aethon will also provide Wicked House authors the chance to move into digital audiobooks under the leadership of Hempel.
New Wicked House titles already in the pipeline for 2026 include Summer Camp, Slasher Series, Vol. 1, by Jeff Strand, The Glitched House, Vol. 1, by Ben Farthing, Dear Nancy by Matt Shaw, Woke Up A Final Girl by John Durgin, Planet Slaughter by Daniel J Volpe, and Tormenta by Debra Castaneda.
The Wicked House acquisition follows Aethon's purchase, earlier this year, of a majority interest in Vault Comics and a subsequent agreement with Vault to publish print editions of dozens of titles that have appeared only in digital formats.
