The Hockessin Book Shelf recently hosted a launch party for the latest supernatural thriller by renowned Chadds Ford author J.E. Fishman, writes Shawn Weigel for the Hockessin Community News.

The Prisoner of Hell Gate, penned under Fishman’s pseudonym Dana I. Wolff, focuses on a group of friends as they explore North Brother Island in New York, where the infamous “Typhoid Mary” Mallon was incarcerated.

In an interview with the Hockessin Community News, Fishman discussed his inspiration and research.

According to Fishman, the idea began to take form after he read an article about abandoned islands, including North Brother Island where Typhoid Mary once lived in forced quarantine. He figured that the story of Mary Mallon was a novelist’s dream.

“I sought out more pictures, which showed the ruins of Riverside Hospital, choked by vines, falling into dust,” he said. “And I thought: This would be a pretty good place to set a horror tale.”

Read more about Fishman’s new book in the Hockessin Community News by clicking here.