Fredericton's creepy factor is about to get a shot in the arm, thanks to a local filmmaker and the so-called "King of Horror."

Fredericton native filmmaker Jon Mann is shooting an adaptation of Stephen King's short story Popsy in the city starting in October.

The filmmaker, now based in Halifax, got the film rights for the short story for a princely sum of $1 through a program of King's which matches up and coming filmmakers with some of his works.

"What he does is called his 'Dollar Babies Club,' and he gives filmmakers the opportunity ... to purchase the rights to his short stories for a dollar [and] to have the rights for a year," said Mann.

Mann had heard about the program, but thought it was a tall tale - like the rest of Stephen's works.

"I always just thought it was like folklore ... why would any writer want to do that kind of thing?" said Mann.

"But then Stephen King, being [the] cool guy that he is, actually does it."

'Popsy'

The short story Mann's film will be based on was published by King in his 1993 short story compilation Nightmares & Dreamscapes.

The story is about a gambling addict that abducts children to pay off his gambling debts to a mobster.

Needless to say, the story has a horrific and bloody ending.

Mann said his mother read the story to him when he was a boy, and the story made quite an impression on him.

"My mom showed me this story at a very young age and she introduced me to Stephen King at a very young age," said Mann.

"When she started to show me his short stories this is always one that she really liked."

Work quickly

After Mann's proposal was accepted by King's representatives and he sent them his $1, he was only given one year to complete the film.

That includes all aspects of film making, from pre- to post-production.

"It's a full sprint trying to pull together logistics and where to film and how to cast it and who you're going to cast," said Mann

Mann chose to shoot the film in Fredericton because of the similarities to small-town Maine. He took inspiration from the look of other films based on King's stories.

"There's [definitely] a lot of similarities in stories like The Body, which is famously known as Stand By Me, the movie. Just a lot of similarities to me and my buddies getting into trouble when we're that age," said Mann.

"Just like a lot of the landscapes are very similar. Halifax also has beautiful landscapes which [are] more skewed to the ocean, where I just felt like the woods and the river in Fredericton obviously made the decision a no-brainer."

Mann said filming will begin Oct. 12.