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Step inside the library some late afternoon or gray evening, and you’ll encounter Norm Partridge, the night circulation manager, generously assisting sleepy yet inquisitive students. With his super friendly personality, Partridge, who’s been on duty for more than 20 years, no doubt knows just the book each student needs and where to find it. But there’s something a little spooky that you might not know about the gregarious Partridge: He is an award-winning author of mystery and horror books—one of which, Dark Harvest (2006) may soon show up on a movie screen near you.

“I’m an Evening Circulation Supervisor,” says Partridge with a chuckle. “I’m the night guy.”

MGM has begun filming Dark Harvest, which stars Casey Likes (The Birch, Krampus: Origins) and E’myri Crutchfield (Fargo, True Detective). The film will be directed by American Gods and Hannibal executive producer and director David Slade. In the film, a small town’s male teenagers go into battle with a supernatural presence known as October Boy, a specter that rises each year from the cornfields. One boy seeks to uncover the truth behind the specter.

“The novel is a window into an annual rite in a strange little town,” Partridge said of the book. “And the kid who brings down the October Boy is the only one who gets to leave.”

Partridge also wrote Slippin Into Darkness (1994), Johnny Halloween: Tales of the Dark Season (2010), and Wildest Dreams (2011). His stories have been featured in numerous anthologies and magazines. And, he is a three-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award from the Horror Writers Association, including one for Dark Harvest. He said of the award: “It’s a haunted house designed by the cartoonist Gahan Wilson, and it definitely looks like the Addams Family could live inside.”

In addition, Dark Harvest was chosen as one of Publishers Weekly’s 100 Best Books of 2006 and—a feat for any author—and was recently optioned by MGM through an agent at UTA. 

“I’ve had movie interest in Dark Harvest over the years,” Partridge continued. “When I sat down to write it, I was remembering summer nights when my dad would tell ghost stories in the backyard. I wanted to try to capture that experience in a novel. Basically, Dark Harvest is the longest campfire story ever told. People who know me say they hear me in their heads when they read it.”

“I’m drawn to horror because it’s operatic,” Partridge explained. “In other words, I’m more interested in someone trying to steal your soul than steal your wallet. Plus, Dark Harvest let me take some chances as a writer. There’s one section where a group of teenagers are driving out to a cornfield, hunting the October Boy. I hit that spot and thought: I’m just going to have Rod Sterling step out of the corn and explain what’s going on, just the way he would on The Twilight Zone. That’s literally the most fun I’ve ever had as a writer.”  

Partridge enjoys working the night shift at the library, which leaves him time each day to spend with his young daughter—and write. Sharpening his keen writer’s skills, he’s always listening on the job: “Finals at the library are like a zombie movie. They keep coming! And when it comes to ghosts, I’ve also heard doors slam upstairs [when no one’s there]; and the elevator will run by itself.”

Next up? Partridge’s agent is recommending he write a sequel. He has a few novellas due out next year (including a piece in Ellen Datlow’s forthcoming Screams from the Dark), and is shopping around a new short story collection.

“I feel like I’ve had that lottery ticket in my pocket for a long time,” Partridge said of his movie deal. “And I’m really excited about the creative team that will be bringing Dark Harvest to the screen.”

Saint Mary's College Museum of Art held a reading with Norm Partridge, which you can find on its Museum from the Home page and Youtube channel .