ABLAZE: What is your history with the Nosferatu character and his world? Is the character one you’ve had a personal interest in before this project?
MM: I’ve loved Nosferatu for as long as I can remember. The original movie is one of the most chilling, haunting stories ever captured on film. That era of German expressionism changed film, helped create it, and as a film buff, I’m obsessed with that period. It’s such a powerful, strange movie—almost like it’s a cursed object, in a way. Every time I watch it, it’s like a whole new experience. That’s how rich it is.
ABLAZE: There have been other iterations of Nosferatu over the years. Did you dig into any of these in researching for this story? Any other delving into vampire/monster lore?
MM: Not really, no. I want this story to be connected to Murnau’s vision and nothing more. I did look at some lore, specifically the lore within the movie’s text itself. We kinda take for granted that the film specifically references werewolves like it’s no big deal, not to mention all its allusions to the occult.
ABLAZE: Readers and viewers keep coming back to Nosferatu. What do you think is the appeal of the character?
MM: There’s something kind of primal about it, because it’s about more than a vampire. It’s about death, death as this plague-level force that is coming for you, relentlessly, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. That’s what Orlock is: He’s death. And in that, we find fascination. Sure, we’re frightened of it, and the figure of death, Orlock, is revolting. And yet we can’t look away, as we know we’ll all be staring at this truth sooner or later.
ABLAZE: Do you have any specific working practices? Do you need a specific routine/environment to help the workflow?
MM: Not really. I’m grizzled old vet, haha. I just sit down at my desk at 9 am and I write until around 3, when it’s time to get my kids.
ABLAZE: What are you reading at the moment (comics, prose)? Any favorites in general that you think readers should check out?
MM: I’m a film obsessive, so I’m always reading books about film. I just finished Nick De Semalyn’s Last Action Heroes, which was fantastic. If people want to read more about the period of history in which Nosferatu was made—this post-World War I era of film, specifically—I highly, highly recommend Wasteland by W. Scott Poole. It’s incredible, and it really shows how these cinematic nightmares were born and put on film.
ABLAZE: What have been your greatest creative influences?
MM: Too many to count!
ABLAZE: What can fans expect from the Book of Nosferatu?
MM: It’s not a cutesy, easter egg-laden slog, where I’m trying to reference the source material so much I can’t tell my own story (which is what so many IP stories do). It’s a slice out of Nosferatu’s life. A moment. He takes a woman, and her husband pursues her, coming closer to this darkness—this death—and seeing himself transform in the process. You can’t follow Orlock, you can’t be like him…without paying a price. That’s what this story is all about.
Michael Moreci is a screenwriter and bestselling comics author. His award-winning debut feature film, Revealer, premiered on Shudder in the summer of 2022. His second feature, Holiday Hold-Up, a crime comedy that Moreci co-directed/wrote, premiered on Peacock in 2024. In the comics space, Moreci is the creator of the acclaimed gothic horror series The Plot, the werewolf drama Curse, the existential space opera Wasted Space, and the smash-hit sword-and-sorcery series Barbaric,. He’s also written for numerous legendary characters and properties, including Star Wars, Rick and Morty, Batman, Stranger Things, and more, and he co-hosts The Filmographers Podcast.
