Goddamn Graveyard Zombies

by Lucas Mangum

Splatterpunk Award winner Lucas Mangum is back with a brand-new novella of fast-paced, gory horror.

Villano and Iyana want their wedding to be special, something that fits their unique personalities. That's why they chose their town's historical Lazarus Cemetery as the venue. But their special ceremony has some uninvited guests.

When toxic ooze spills into a nearby well, the dead rise to crash the wedding with an insatiable hunger for brains.

Now, the young lovers and their friends must fight for survival in a struggle that leads them below the cemetery where the town's dark secrets await them.

Goddamn Graveyard Zombies is an old-school romp through the cemetery infused with twenty-first century nihilism.

212 pages, Paperback

Published May 21, 2025

About the author

Lucas Mangum is an author currently living in Austin, TX.

Reviews

[Veronica ☠️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Villano and Iyana are getting ready for their dream gothic wedding. Set in the Lazarus Cemetery, everything seems to be going according to plan. Suddenly, a bunch of strange, uninvited guests start to crash the wedding. They don't look normal and are trying to eat their brains.

While the wedding is taking place, something else is taking place just under their feet. A secret has spilled over and the dead are coming back to life. Around the cemetery, lies even darker secrets and they will all be revealed once the dead come to feast on brains.

If you're a fan of the Return Of The Living Dead films then you will love this book! This has that feel of old school zombies who feast on brains. So many characters that you will care for and fall in love with. The zombies were very well described! Nasty, strong, hungry for brain matter, and resilient! This is more than a gothic wedding and when everything going on finally connects, it's so great! The ending gut punched me. I had hope! Such a great read! Mangum's writing is just fantastic and this was a lot of fun!

[Steph's_Creepy _Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first Lucas Mangum book AND my first zombie read.
I'm not a big monster/zombie fan in horror but when Lucas asked if I'd like to read this, of course I said yes.
The descriptions of the zombies in here were brilliant and I enjoyed the pace of the story.
Lucas writes with a certain fluidity that is making me pick up more of his work.

[Asher Dark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was everything I wanted and didn't even know I wanted it. As always Lucas blows me away with his vivid details that make you feel like you are standing right there with his characters seeing it all.
Finally we get some old school zombies who crave brains.

A Gothic wedding in a graveyard sounds like a dream come true until it turns into a nightmare.

[Corrina Morse · Rating 4 out of 5]

A graveyard wedding, in full, glorious, goth attire, with beautiful scenery, a group of long-time friends, and a caretaker who holds a dark, deadly secret.

A wedding with a difference, and one that won't be forgotten in a hurry, if, that is, anyone survives it….

This story was exciting, exhilarating, beautifully captivating, enchanting and descriptive. It was also delightfully gory and gruesome. A ton of fast-paced, gnarly fun! 🖤💚🖤

[Milt Theo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whoah - NOT your typical zombie novel! It does start as a "graveyard zombies" story, but at some point, it tuns into a different, but equally riveting, kind of tale: with a nod to the author's "Gods of the Dark Web" (there's gotta be other Easter Eggs I didn't catch), it brings into the picture additional cast, an occasion for even more fighting, ripping apart, and running around! I'd say there are three different plotlines here, perhaps even four, in order of diminishing importance: zombies, serial killers, crazy science, and black ops - all four brilliantly interwoven, with plenty of twists and turns that kept me guessing till the (horribly nihilistic) ending. I really liked how each character had their own reactions to what was going on; I also loved the unexpected vignettes focusing on different people dealing with the zombie attack. Plus, these zombies don't stay down when you expect them to - this made the situations far darker and more harrowing than usual. Great fun, I heartily recommend it!

[Alenna Burleson · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this story we follow a couple getting ready to get married in a graveyard, surrounded by their friends. When other guests show up, ones that aren’t breathing mind you, things start to take a turn for the worst.

This was such a good classic zombie book, it’s been a while where i’ve seen a to it’s core brain eating zombie in media, i’m very happy that’s the route this book went. A lot of good and fun characters for you to pick which one you’ll be most upset at their deaths lol, very gothic and fun read by Lucas!

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love zombie stories. This one starts out with a goth wedding in a cemetery at night. Teenage me loved that idea. What follows is bloodshed and chaos. Loved it.

I took off one star for narration because of a few mispronounced words and slightly muffled parts. It was otherwise well performed.

[Grant Wamack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lucas Mangum is one of the most underrated splatterpunk authors out and Goddamn Graveyard Zombies is a great entry point for anyone wanting to try out his books. This is one of those pulpy, nasty zombie novels that feels like a B-movie that never made it to the big screen. It’s full of groaning zombies, great dialogue, and fleshed-out characters. Tense, cinematic, fun, and oozing with a love for the genre, Goddamn Graveyard Zombies is a breath of fresh air.

[Lisa Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bibliophilia Templum review
https://bibliophiliatemplum.wordpress.com/2025/05/27/goddamn-graveyard-zombies/
Lucas Mangum’s Goddamn Graveyard Zombies is a refreshing return to old-school zombies that hunger for brains. But Mangum has added a unique and chilling twist to these undead that will have you exclaim out loud.

This is an absolutely riveting story. I read the first half in one uninterrupted sitting, only stopping when life demanded. Of course, that was due in no small part to Lucas Mangum’s immersive writing. The characters are fantastically vivid and engaging, and they really drive the story. But there’s also the persistent suspense (it’s maddeningly unpredictable) and grisly action (because zombies). A solid plot and multidimensional story arc build this amazing zombie tale brilliantly, making for a great reading experience.

Goddamn Graveyard Zombies is one part a story about people, including some gut-clenching social mirroring, and one part wicked, twisted, brutal zombie story. The combination of nostalgic brain-eating zombies, classic horror movies set up, and unique twists make this an absolute must-read!

[Jamie Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goddamn Graveyard Zombies! Lucas is a favorite of mine, and I was over the moon when he asked to send me a copy, thank you so much Lucas.

Zombies are a trope I have never been into. Whether it is in books, movies or TV shows, it is just not my thing. The ONLY zombie movies I actually like are the ones like in this book where things are taking place in a graveyard, and they truly yearn for one thing: BRAINS. This book has a fun gothic cemetery wedding, a town full of secrets, a toxic ooze spilling out and such a nice amount of gore! Lucas is one of those writers who is atmospheric no matter what the topic is and you will find yourself feeling immersed in the story. This is fast paced and fun! Keep 'em coming Mr. Mangum!

[Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book goes hard from page one. It’s fast, filthy, and has that perfect VHS-era energy, like Return of the Living Dead meets Night of the Demons, but with Mangum’s signature voice and heart underneath the chaos.

You’re not just following one story, there are multiple threads that weave together expertly.

Lucas Mangum gets what makes horror fun, and he brings it to the page like someone who grew up watching all the best tapes way past bedtime. This is a perfect summer horror read.

[Kiki Marie Bookish Wh0r3 · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 stars

There were just too many people to keep up with which is why I rated it 3 stars and not 4.
Narration of audiobook by Carietta Dorsch which was a good performance however I was following along on ebook and there were times where what she was reading and what I was reading didn’t match so it kinda threw me out of the story a bit when that would happen .
Overall the story was a fun one with plenty of gore and shocking death scenes.
Thank you Lucas Mangum for the free audible copy to listen to!!

[ChanaReadsHorror · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who is not a big zombie person, this book was a lot of fun. I did the audiobook and as always Carietta Dorsch does an amazing job. This book felt so much like a popcorn zombie movie in all the right ways. I loved all the characters and the way they were all dealing with this zombie outbreak. This is one of those books that you can just sit back and enjoy because its so much fun.

[Danielle Muething · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a good old fashioned zombie brain eating bloodbath, and this book gave me that in spades. Lucas Mangum writes great settings, interesting characters, and disgusting deaths.

I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed Carrietta Dorsch’s performance. Her accent fit the story well, and her deadpan reading and fun character voices, especially Terry, brought the story to life.

[Evillllllyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was AWESOME! Such a great extreme horror zombie story and the ending had me shook.

[Lucille Bransfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

Old school brain eating zombies. Fun wedding turned not so fun. Book left me wondering if we will see more zombies in Lucas’s future. I’d read more for sure.