Salem the cat, who pawed his way into horror in 2022, is returning to the genre this fall for The Nine Lives of Salem. Sabrina the Teenage Witch’s familiar will star in a tale of demons, dueling warlocks, and magic. The horror one-shot is written by Cullen Bunn with art by Dan Schoening and Ben Galvan.

“It brings me so much sick joy to return to the dark, twisted, and paws-itively riveting world of Salem,” Archie Comics Senior Director of Editorial Jamie L. Rotante said. “It makes me even giddier to return to that world with the same team that brought us the first Salem one-shot. Cullen and Dan have worked perfectly together to craft classic style horror that not only spotlights Salem, but expands his world and those within it. Nine Lives of Salem explores Salem confronting sins of his past as a warlock, and how he handles them now, as an apex predator.”

In The Nine Lives of Salem, he will face other creatures in magical battles that will forever change the feline. Unable to escape the sins of his past, Salem will be confronted by those seeking revenge and may use more than a few of his nine lives in his attempt to survive. It features colors by Matt Herms, letters by Jack Morelli, and a variant cover by Robert Hack.

“We’re setting our fiendish feline up as an occult investigator of sorts, the John Constantine of the Archie Universe. And, make no mistake, even with a cat as the protagonist, these standalone stories are dark and horror filled. You can grab a copy and delight in the terror we’re unleashing in these pages,” Bunn said.

“I’m grateful to be back in the world of Archie Horror, and to sink my teeth into this terrifying story penned by the amazing mind of Cullen Bunn,” Schoening said. “This time around, I’ll be working on designs and layouts, then passing along finishing duties to the sublime hand of Ben Galvan. We’ve also whipped up some never before seen gruesome characters for this issue that you won’t want to miss.”

The Nine Lives of Salem arrives in comic shops on October 16, 2024.