In the horror world, Philip Fracassi has already built a reputation for delivering deeply human stories that aren’t afraid to push into the grotesque, the uncanny, and the emotionally raw. With The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre, his latest novel, he does something bold, unexpected, and wholly refreshing: he asks the reader, What happens when the Final Girl collects a pension?
Instead of teenagers screaming through moonlit woods or university dorms, Fracassi’s newest book centres on a far less likely setting — the beige-walled corridors and bingo rooms of a retirement home. But don’t let the sedate location fool you. What unfolds is a taut, violent, and darkly funny yet oftentimes moving whodunit, wrapped in the blood-streaked DNA of classic slasher cinema.
At the centre is Rose DuBois — independent, no-nonsense, and fully aware of the creeping realities of old age. When residents at Autumn Springs start dying in suspicious ways, Rose and her fellow sleuth Miller take matters into their own hands. What follows is a clever, claustrophobic murder mystery with all the tension of classic slashers — just with more walkers, whiskey, and wit.
To celebrate the release of the book, CinemaChords’ Howard Gorman sat down with Fracassi to dive into the themes of this disturbing yet often funny story — one that’s also a meditation on ageing, vulnerability, and the systems — both personal and institutional — we rely on in our later years. They also discuss how the novel explores what it means to grow old in a world that often forgets its elders, and how, even in the face of that forgetfulness, people fight to maintain their agency, their voice, and their place in the world.
Themes of isolation, community, regret, and resilience run deep through the story, all sharpened by Fracassi’s signature wit and razor-sharp prose. The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre is, ultimately, a slasher with soul — and proof that the twilight years can still burn bright with rebellion, mystery, and more than a little blood.
The Autumn Springs Residential Home Massacre releases on September 30th through Tor NightFire in the US and Orbit in the UK.
