Kevin Christopher McFadden (born November 12, 1955), known by his
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...
Christopher Pike, is an
American author of
children's
A child () is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The term may also refer to an unborn human being. In English-speaking countries, the legal definition of ''child ...
fiction and for
mystery-thrillers and
supernatural
Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...
horror fiction, mainly for
young adult
In medicine and the social sciences, a young adult is generally a person in the years following adolescence, sometimes with some overlap. Definitions and opinions on what qualifies as a young adult vary, with works such as Erik Erikson's stages ...
s though he has also published adult fiction.
Biography
McFadden was born in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
in 1955, but grew up in
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. He attended college briefly before quitting and working various jobs such as house painting and computer programming. He initially tried writing
science fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
and adult
mystery, but later began writing teen thrillers due to an editor's suggestion.
His first novel, ''Slumber Party'', was written initially as a supernatural thriller containing a character with
pyrokinesis
Pyrokinesis is a List of psychic abilities, psychic ability allowing a person to create and control fire with the mind. As with other parapsychological phenomena, there is no conclusive evidence in support of the actual existence of pyrokinesis. ...
(psychic ability to start and control fire), which he later eliminated upon the request of his editor. The book was then re-written as a mystery thriller about a group of teenagers who encounter bizarre and violent events during a skiing weekend. His editor sold the book to Scholastic Press, which released it in 1985. Pike's next novel, ''Weekend'', was also published through Scholastic. He would later publish one more novel through Scholastic, the 1986 ''Chain Letter'', after which he engaged mainly with Simon and Schuster.
Pike continued to write several young adult novels, and also juvenile novels comprising the series ''
Spooksville'', as well as several adult novels such as his 1990 book, ''
Sati''. Spooksville was adapted into a television series in 2013 for the Hub network (now known as
Discovery Family
Discovery Family (known on-air as Discovery Family Channel and abbreviated as DFC) is an American Specialty channel, cable television channel co-owned by The Cartoon Network, Inc. and Hasbro Entertainment, which are divisions of Warner Bros. Di ...
).
Adaptations
On November 25, 1996, Pike's novel ''Fall Into Darkness'' was adapted into a
television movie
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...
of the same name, produced by his company Christopher Pike Productions. His novels ''The Midnight Club'' and ''The Season of Passage'' have both been optioned, for a television series and movie, by movie-maker
Mike Flanagan for
Netflix
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
. ''
The Midnight Club'' was released on
Netflix
Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...
on October 7, 2022. Two days after the series' release, on October 9, Flanagan confirmed that Netflix had in fact optioned "28 books" of Pike's, and that he had advocated ''The Midnight Club'' television series as "''The Midnight Club'' — but the stories the kids tell
ach otherwill be other Christopher Pike books", with a plan for the series to last multiple seasons.
However in December 2022 it was announced the series had been cancelled after only one season.
Works
Young adult fiction
*
Slumber Party' (1985)
*
Weekend' (1986)
*
The Tachyon Web' (1986)
*
Last Act' (1988)
*
Spellbound' (1988)
*
Gimme a Kiss' (1988)
*
Remember Me' (1989)
*
Scavenger Hunt' (1989)
*
Fall into Darkness' (1990)
*
See You Later' (1990)
*
Witch' (1990)
*
Whisper of Death' (1991)
*
Die Softly' (1991)
*
Bury Me Deep' (1991)
*
Master of Murder' (1992)
*
Monster' (1992)
*
Road to Nowhere' (1993)
*
The Eternal Enemy' (1993)
*
The Immortal' (1993)
*
The Wicked Heart' (1993)
*
The Midnight Club' (1994)
*
The Lost Mind' (1995)
*
The Visitor' (1995)
*
The Starlight Crystal' (1996)
*
The Star Group' (1997)
*
Execution of Innocence' (1997)
*
Hollow Skull' (1998)
*
Magic Fire' (1999)
*
The Grave' (1999)
*
The Secret of Ka' (2010)
*''To Die For'' – Omnibus collects ''Slumber Party'' and ''Weekend'' (2010)
*''Bound to You'' – Omnibus collects ''Spellbound'' and ''See You Later'' (2012)
*
Witch World' (2012)
*''Black Knight'' -
'Witch World 2''(2014)
*
Strange Girl' (2015)
Series
;''Cheerleaders''
*
Cheerleaders #2: Getting Even' (1985)
(Christopher Pike only wrote one book of this forty-seven book series. Other writers of this series include
Caroline B. Cooney and
Diane Hoh.)
;''Chain Letter''
*
Chain Letter' (1986)
*
Chain Letter 2: The Ancient Evil' (1992)
*''Chained Together'' – Omnibus, collects ''Chain Letter'' 1 and 2. (1994)
;''Final Friends''
*
Final Friends 1: The Party' (1988)
*
Final Friends 2: The Dance' (1988)
*
Final Friends 3: The Graduation' (1989)
*''Final Friends Trilogy'' – Omnibus, collects ''Final Friends'' 1, 2 and 3 (1999)
*''Until the End'' – Omnibus, collects ''Final Friends'' 1, 2 and 3 (2011)
;''
Remember Me''
*
Remember Me' (1989)
*
Remember Me 2: The Return' (1994)
*
Remember Me 3: The Last Story' (1995)
*''Remember Me'' – Omnibus, collects ''Remember Me'' 1, 2 and 3 (2010)
;''
The Last Vampire/Thirst''
*
The Last Vampire' (1994)
*
The Last Vampire 2: Black Blood' (1994)
*
The Last Vampire 3: Red Dice' (1995)
*
The Last Vampire 4: Phantom' (1996)
*
The Last Vampire 5: Evil Thirst' (1996)
*
The Last Vampire 6: Creatures of Forever' (1996)
*
Thirst No. 1' – Omnibus collects ''The Last Vampire'' 1, 2 and 3. (2009)
*
Thirst No. 2' – Omnibus collects ''The Last Vampire'' 4, 5 and 6. (2010)
*
Thirst No. 3: The Eternal Dawn' (2010)
*
Thirst No. 4: The Shadow of Death' (2011)
Thirst– Boxed set collects ''Thirst'' No. 1, 2, and 3 (2013)
*
Thirst No. 5: The Sacred Veil' (2013)
;''
Spooksville''
*''Spooksville'' – series of 24 children's books (1995–1998)
;''
Alosha''
*
Alosha' (2004) (An animated movie version was in development, according to Pike's Facebook page.)
*
The Shaktra' (2005)
*
The Yanti' (2006)
Short stories
*
Tales of Terror' – Six original short stories, includes a ''Master of Murder'' sequel: ''The Fan from Hell'' (1997)
*
Tales of Terror #2' – Five original short stories, includes a ''Master of Murder'' sequel: ''The Burning Witch'' (1998)
Anthologies
*
Thirteen: 13 Tales of Horror by 13 Masters of Horror' – ed. T. Pines; contains Pike's stories ''Collect Call'' and ''Collect Call 2: The Black Walker'' (1991)
*
666: The Number of the Beast' – contains Pike's story ''Saving Face'' (2007)
Adult fiction
*''
Sati'' (1990)
*
The Season of Passage' (1992)
*
The Listeners' (1995)
*
The Cold One' (1995)
*
The Blind Mirror' (2003)
*
Falling' (2007)
See also
*
R. L. Stine
References
External links
* (fan page)
*
*
Christopher Pike's Official Profileon
Wattpad
Wattpad is a website for reading and publishing originally written fiction and connecting with fellow writers and readers. Its most popular genres are romance, teen fiction, and fan fiction. As of November 2021, Wattpad had more than 90 mill ...
Christopher Pike's archived workson the
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pike, Christopher
1954 births
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American novelists
20th-century American short story writers
21st-century American male writers
21st-century American novelists
21st-century American short story writers
American children's writers
American horror writers
American male novelists
American male short story writers
American writers of young adult literature
Ghost story writers
Living people
Novelists from New York (state)
Writers from New York City
Writers from Santa Barbara, California
Novelists from California