For fans of Bela Lugosi, I would assume this is going to be a must for their libraries. I’m still on the fence, maybe due to the $150 price tag for the low-end edition (unless you go with the PDF format, which is only $50), but I have to say, it does look incredibly detailed and something that will only go up in value.

Set to be out in May of 2024, this special edition book from Clover Press, will feature not only over 700, but will include “many unseen documents and photos from the Lugosi family’s collection, rare stills, Béla’s personal correspondence and poetry, and artifacts from his professional career.” But it is not just a book of photos. According to the Kickstarter page, “This meticulously researched biography by Robert Cremer is not just another account of Lugosi’s career; it’s a deep dive into the man behind the legend. Through exclusive interviews, rare photographs, and intimate anecdotes from those who knew him best, he unveils the layers of this complex man.”

It will include exclusive interviews with Lugosi’s wife of 20 years, Lillian Lugosi Donlevy, some of Bela’s closest Hungarian relatives and friends, giving us stories from his early days in his home country, his political activism in Hungary, coming to the U.S., and his struggles to become a star of the stage and screen once he arrived. It also goes to the end of his career, and his work with Edward D. Wood Jr., as well as his dependence on drugs. While it is true of his struggles with this problem, there seems to be a lot of misleading, or flat out lies about Lugosi in the press, and even from Lugosi himself. This book includes exclusive interviews with not only his wife Lillian about it, but Dr. Nicholas Langer, the doctor who treated Bela at the Metropolitan State Hospital.

They already have met their goal on the Kickstarter page so it will happen. If you’re interested in ordering your copy, just click HERE. As I said, if you are a huge Lugosi fan, then I can’t see this even being something to think about. While I’m more of a Karloff fan, what this book is about seems pretty damn enticing, especially for a collector of horror reference books!