Tibbits to Host Book Signing with Michigan Horror Author J.C. Vande Zande During Monster Fest

COLDWATER – Michigan-based horror author J.C. Vande Zande will be at Tibbits Opera House for a book signing during the annual Monster Fest event on Saturday, October 24.
J.C. Vande Zande recently published the final book in his gothic horror series, the Orphan Island Trilogy. The trilogy, set against the haunting backdrops of Northern Michigan’s wilderness and isolated islands, follows a family’s fight against both literal monsters and internal demons. All three books of the trilogy will be available for purchase at Monster Fest.
J.C. Vande Zande teaches English and Creative Writing at Delta College near Saginaw, MI. He has written seven novels. In 2013, his novel “American Poet” won a Michigan Notable Book Award from the Library of Michigan. Vande Zande’s most recent works are the Michigan-based gothic horror novels in the Orphan Island Trilogy, “The Dance of Rotten Sticks,” “Blood of the Witness Tree” and “Coven of the Worm Moon.” Mathias Clasen, co-director of the Recreational Fear Lab and author of “Why Horror Seduces” wrote of the books, “They are a haunting meditation on family, loss, and the pull of place. Equal parts character-driven and deeply uncanny, ‘The Dance of Rotten Sticks’ and ‘Blood of the Witness Tree’ are horror rooted in dark and fertile American soil.”
Monster Fest has been a Halloween tradition at Tibbits, with live music kicking off the evening followed by a film screening that’s sometimes fun, sometimes scary and sometimes a little bit of both! The night begins at 8pm with a performance by Coldwater-based punk band Sissy SpaceX, followed by a screening of Director Peter Jackson’s 1996 film, “The Frighteners,” starring Michael J. Fox. Battle Creek-based artist Lanessa Miller will be at the event, selling “Live on Location” paintings done during Sissy SpaceX’s performance.
Doors will open for this double-feature event at 7:00pm, with seating beginning at 7:30pm. Tickets are $10, including fees. Concessions, including alcoholic beverages, will be available for purchase. No outside food or drink is allowed inside the theatre. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit Tibbits.org, call 517-278-6029, or stop by the Tibbits office at 93 W. Chicago St., Coldwater, MI 49036 during business hours. “The Frighteners” is rated R for terror and moderate violence/gore. Monster Fest 2026 is sponsored by Matthew C. Christopher, DDS, PC.








