Ghostbusters: The Return (also known as "Ghostbusters: Urban Legends") was a novel released in 2004 by ibooks and written by Sholly Fisch. The novel is not considered Movie Canon.

Main Characters

Minor Characters


  • Slimer (is a pet of the Ghostbusters)
  • Maniac with hook
  • Spectral Alligators




The story of Ghostbusters: The Return is set two years after the events of Ghostbusters II, but not in 1991. In a manner similar to that of the Ghostbusters 88MPH Studios Comics, the story's timeline was retconned by the author to take place in the book's present day of 2004. [1]

Series plans

The initial plan was for this to be the first in a series of Ghostbusters novels. However, sales of the novel were kept back by marketing decisions on the part of US bookseller Barnes & Noble, who at the time controlled a lot of the book market. Additionally, ibooks owner Byron Preiss passed away in 2006, and the company closed soon after. [2] [3] [4]

Canon Issues

Despite the accelerated timeline, at the time of release some fans thought of Ghostbusters: The Return as Movie Canon. In 2009 Ghostbusters: The Video Game was released. The video game took place in 1991, in the same "two years later" time period as The Return but without retconning the timeline. The game's narrative ignored the book's changes to the Ghostbusters storyline, and took the story in a different direction. The game was written with the support of Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis, featured performances by the films' main cast, and its story was deemed canon by Aykroyd himself. Aykroyd further speculated that any as-yet unproduced Ghostbusters III would continue on and draw from the game. [5] Thus, the game is now generally considered part of the movie canon while The Return is not.

Also See

External Link


  1. Proton Charging 9/2/2004
  2. Proton Charging 2/27/2006
  3. ICv2 2/24/2006
  4. Toy Legion forum Fisch interview
  5. IGN YouTube "Ghostbusters Mass Hysteria Video" 4 min. 3 sec. mark, 4/13/09

