The Silver Scream 2: Welcome to Horrorwood

by Roy Merkin

This is a forbidden chronicle ripped from the controversial manuscript of District Attorney Marcie Kent, the very woman who put Spencer Charnas on trial, and then put him in the ground.

Spencer Charnas is dead. That's the bold claim deatiled by Roy Merkin in Welcome to Horrorwood, written in the maverick journalist's courageous and virile prose. The people and organizations who want the world to believe that the person, thing, or artificial intelligence masquerading as Spencer at concerts, conventions, and correctional facilities around the globe is the real deal have fought mercilessly to keep this book from publication. Welcome to Horrorwood unpacks the trial of the century with a first-person view as Merkin's razor-sharp annotations guide readers through Kent's obsessive psyche to reveal deep layers of conspiracy, collusion, and cavalier con jobs. Welcome to Horrorwood is the book they don't want you to read. Coverage you can count on, from the Merkin you trust.

Welcome to Horrorwood is a dark, satirical "true crime" novel chronicling the trial of Spencer Charnas_frontman of Ice Nine Kills–through the razor-sharp annotations of journalist Roy Merkin and the obsessive psyche of DA Marcie Kent. Conspiracies, collusion, and cover-ups collide in a narrative "they" don't want you to read. Equal parts horror, satire, and forbidden document, this book is positioned to be a cultural event for INK fans and horror readers alike.

220 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 17, 2026

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since for those of you who are not familiar with Ice Nine Kills, they plan their music videos with extra story to make almost a full length movie. With each album being a movie style there had to be a movie tie in book. When the Silver Scream came out I bought the special edition; a hardcover signed by Spencer Charnas, and a Vinyl record with select chapters from the book read by Tony Todd. I happened to review that book to if you’d like to read that review.



Here we are with a second album and a second book. I love how this is written like a true crime novel. I read a lot of true crime when I was getting my undergrad in Forensic Science so I’m familiar with the format of how true crime novels work and this takes advantage of all the tropes.


Welcome to Horrorwood follows the investigation into the murder of Spencer’s fiancé, Nadia, with Spencer as the prime suspect. The evidence in the case is the music videos from INK’s album taken as a confession of Spencer’s guilt. Detective Harris is like a dog with a bone and insistent on putting Spencer behind bars at any cost.
The intro from author “Roy Merkin” who has read the text from the book being published by the prosecutor, District Attorney Kent, in Spencer’s trial. Merkin, who had previously condemned Spencer for the murder if his fiancé, is now on board with what we as fans see now. These videos are just an homage to the horror genre.

The book chapters are titled the same as the songs on the album and in the same order. This book has such a cool feature where as you read, where the video fits, is marked with a QR Code that takes you right to the video on YouTube.


The music videos were in a slightly different order as they were released thank how they were on the album but this book does a great job of bringing the story together.

I wish I could have gotten the Deluxe edition but due to everything costing way more the cost almost doubled. I was gifted an Audiobook ARC by NetGalley and RBMedia for a a review. That being said I did pre-order the hard cover that I got shortly after the release date of Feb 17.

This is a fun read and for any fan of INK I highly recommend this. 🥃🥃🥃🥃 and a half. Since I did get the hard cover I will leave you with the author photo and a very impressive photo of Spencer on the back of the dust jacket.


Allow me to leave you with my favorite video from this book:

(See full post at https://brunnersbar.blog/2026/02/26/t...

[Tabitha jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a fan girl for anything ice nine kills related 🤣 some fun!

[Katie Alyx · Rating 3 out of 5]

★★★☆☆

I liked this one more than the first book, but unfortunately, it still landed at three stars for me.

My biggest issue was that it dragged on too long without enough character development to make some of the major plot points feel believable. The district attorney deciding to murder Spencer and essentially run a cult should have been an absolutely wild reveal, but instead I mostly found myself wondering how we got here. I understand that we're hearing much of the story from her perspective and writings, but I still needed more groundwork for her motivations and descent into what she ultimately becomes.

Although, calling it a reveal might be generous considering the book description literally tells you she killed him.

The trial also didn't work for me. There simply didn't seem to be enough evidence for the case to have progressed the way it did, and by that point my suspension of disbelief had been stretched beyond its limits.

I also wish the descriptions of the videos had been more immersive. They often felt like descriptions of someone telling a story rather than actually pulling me into that story, which made sections that should have been some of the most interesting parts of the book feel surprisingly distant.

This is especially disappointing because the album this book is based around is my favorite Ice Nine Kills album. I love the music and videos, so I really wanted the book to capture that same energy, theatricality, and insanity. For me, it just didn't.

There are fun ideas here, and I did enjoy it more than the first book, but I needed tighter pacing, significantly more character development, and at least a little more plausibility to buy into the story.

Also, completely unrelated to my rating: please, someone fix "detailed" in the book description. It's driving me insane.

[Beccy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me listen early!

As an avid Ice Nine Kills fan this was a must-read and the audiobook was very well performed. I really love how the lore INK build around them a band and how their music videos tell a story were woven into this.
I liked the fast-paced storytelling and true crime character (though ofc it’s fiction).
Yet I felt loosing interest pretty quickly as events got more and more unrealistic. Some parts were just too flimsy for my taste.
I think it’s a fun, quick read as long as you don’t expect a fully thought through thriller. The ending was what finally tipped me off the edge, like come one! But again: don’t take it too serious and you’ll have a great time.

[Holly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really interesting and was a different take than what I'm used to reading so I really enjoyed that. It reads almost like a court case or true crime kind of podcast thing, and I love true crime so it was right up my alley personally. I listened to the audio book, and the narrator was the author. He did a great job. His pace was a bit slow for me, but luckily I know how to change the speed and so it wasn't an issue. He has a nice tone, great instincts when it comes to inflection and had a nice accent, so this was pleasant to listen to overall. This was a great sequel and very creative story telling.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

District Attorney Marcie Kent is the right woman for the case. Hearing her deposition against Spencer definitely had me intrigued. I was captivated by this whole story.

I listened to the audio version of this book. If you get the chance to listen to the audiobook, do so. The audio version is narrated by the author.

Listening to the audiobook is like listening to a true crime podcast. I like how the story did not gloss over the crime, motive for the crime, all of the players, investigation, and sentencing. Even through no detail was missed, I did not feel like the story dragged on either. I liked this story and do want to check out more books by the author.

[Alyssa Alvarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Welcome to Horrorwood is the book they don't want you to read. Coverage you can count on, from the Merkin you trust.”

I received this audiobook early on Netgalley and let me tell ya, I could not focus on anything else this story had me that hooked. This book had me questioning everything I knew about Ice Nine Kills, I went back and forth in my head questioning whether this actually was fiction because it was so well written at some times you could not tell. This was my favorite audiobook of 2026 so far! The knife sound effects had me actually shivering lol.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ice Nine Kills are a band that blends the horrific with a storyline. The videos are like short films full of strong characters and stories.
Spencer, the lead singer, is on trial for killing his girlfriend in such a way as one of his videos. But did he do it?
I loved that the story flower in such a way to follow along. This book is for a hard core horror fan willing to check on the lines of reality and story.
I will definitely check out more of Roy Merkin's work.

[Shannon]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy to review!


I know theres an audience for this somehwere, but it wasn't me. I had a hard timing staying invested in the story. None of the reveals felt shocking, the humor didn’t land, and the characters are incredibly one dimensional.

[Horror.Hussy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Look I’ve got no idea about the band- didn’t even realise this was a sequel and yet ….had a goddamn blast! I still know nothing but this is creative- horns up.

The audio book was really fun and kept me entertained and engaged- kinda wish more bands did books with album releases