PITTSBURG, Kan. — Just in time for Halloween, gothic horror writer Ito Romo appeared at Pittsburg State University Thursday evening.

Romo was the first author in the Distinguished Visiting Writers Series of the Fall 2026 semester. He read from his book “Filth Eaters,” which blends historical fiction with horror and science fiction. The story follows the thousand-year lineage of vampires from 1099 in the Indus River Delta to the Muslim Spanish empire of the 1400s to a flooded cyberpunk New York City of the future in 2069.

Romo said he spent 10 years writing the 148-page book as it required intensive research.

“Filth Eaters” is available at store.deepvellum.org/products/filth-eaters.

Romo is a former professor of English Language and Literature at St. Mary’s in Texas, and he was named one of Texas Monthly’s “Ten Writers to Watch.” He was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters in 2019. In addition to “Filth Eaters,” published by Deep Vellum, his books include “The Border Is Burning” and “El Puente / The Bridge,” both published by the University of New Mexico Press. He lives in San Antonio.

This reporting is made possible, in part, by the Support Local Journalism Project Fund. Learn more at: southeastkansas.org/Localnews.