BOOK REVIEW: GHOST EATERS BY CLAY MCLEOD CHAPMAN

5/9/2022

Ghost Eaters expertly plucks at the raw nerves of the grieving process and hints at the bleakest afterlife imaginable.

Ghost Eaters: by Clay Chapman

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Quirk Books (20 Sept. 2022)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1683692179
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1683692171

A Book Review by Tony Jones

A powerful new drug ‘ghost’ allows users to see the dead

In recent years Clay McLeod Chapman has been on a fine run of form, his latest Ghost Eaters following the excellent The Remaking (2019) and the even better, Whisper Down the Lane (2021) which was one of the literary highlights of last year. All three are terrific books in their own right, but what particularly impresses are the widely varying plots with Chapman quietly building a truly impressive back-catalogue, being equally comfortable writing about the real-life horror of the Satanic Panic era as he is supernatural curses or life after death.

Ghost Eaters cleverly revolves around the theme of addiction in a physical, allegorical and supernatural sense via a drug which allows the users to see ghosts. Before we arrive at the supernatural element of the story, it is clear that main character Erin is in many ways just as addicted to Silas whom she has had an on-off relationship with through college and slightly beyond, as any other substance. The four main characters are of the age when studying is in the taillights behind them and they should be targeting their first professional jobs in the big bad world. However, things have not worked out that way for drug addicted Silas who regularly uses Erin as his safety net as he repeatedly flunks out of rehab for the umpteenth time. Much of Erin’s thought process is connected to Silas and what he is doing, with the novel beautifully capturing how directionless those in their early twenties often feel, but at the same time think they know everything and feel invincible (whilst still sponging from their parents).

Erin narrates the novel and although some readers might find her dependency and lack of boundaries regarding Silas to be frustrating, but it is pivotal to the direction the plot takes. Early in the novel the young woman, like any drug addict, swears off Silas for what she believes to be the final time, only for him to die from an overdose just as she is about to start a new job. Wracked with guilt and pain she misses the funeral, only for things to take a much darker turn when she meets up with her two other old mutual friends with Silas, Tobias and Amara.

There are significant levels of pain and guilt rippling through Ghost Eaters which is an incredibly dark book and a druggie juiced up spin on the age-old horror trope of attempting to bring a loved one back to life (even though you know you really shouldn’t, as no good can ever come out of it). Toby tells Erin that Silas discovered a drug which allowed him to see the dead, although she does not really believe him, agrees to a séance where the four take the remainder of the substance. This was a terrific sequence which was equally trippy and freaky, with Erin believing she has contacted Silas. Toby explains they need to exercise caution, but Erin wants more (spot the addict) and the plot begins to shift through the gears, taking some very clever directions.

In a roundabout way the book asks the reader how far they would go in order to get the ultimate kick or high? If heroin or ecstasy does not do the job then the drug on offer in this novel provides something more surreal than even the strongest acid could do. And what if lots of people started to take it? I also loved the clever direction the plot moves into when the use of the drug ‘ghost’ expands beyond the close circle of friends and becoming ‘haunted’ is the new high.

Ghost Eaters is a fine example of Southern Gothic horror literature, which throws in a fair wedge of graphic body horror and includes haunting sequences which are a million miles away from Ghostbusters although it does feature its own yucky version of ectoplasm. However, these sequences are also very sad as the ghost are searching for something they do not have, which becomes apparent as the plot moves on. The location of Richmond Virginia was also significant and key to the story, as due to the Civil War and the city’s Confederate history there were more ghosts around than many other places. The sequence when Erin has her first day at her new job (not long after taking the drug) was an absolute beauty as the office was littered with ghosts. Freaking out, her new colleagues thought it was first day jitters!

The manner in which events spiralled was very nicely managed, even if things came together slightly too neatly in the end, it was still a first rate read. Ghost Eaters expertly plucks at the raw nerves of the grieving process and hints at the bleakest afterlife imaginable. Remember kids, if offered drugs JUST SAY NO (especially ones which offer glimpses of what lies beyond the veil). Combined with the quality of his previous two novels the buzz (natural ‘highs’ only please!) surrounding Clay McLeod Chapman is bound to attract many new readers and he should not need a dose of ‘ghost’ to sucker them into his product to do it!

Tony Jones

Ghost Eaters:
by Clay Chapman

“A Gothic-punk graveyard tale about what haunts history and what haunts the human soul. An addicting read that draws you into its descent from the first page.”—Chuck Wendig, New York Times best-selling author of The Book of Accidents

From the acclaimed author of The Remaking and Whisper Down the Lane, this terrifying supernatural page-turner will make you think twice about opening doors to the unknown.

Erin hasn’t been able to set a single boundary with her charismatic but reckless college ex-boyfriend, Silas. When he asks her to bail him out of rehab—again—she knows she needs to cut him off. But days after he gets out, Silas turns up dead of an overdose in their hometown of Richmond, Virginia, and Erin’s world falls apart.

Then a friend tells her about Ghost, a new drug that allows users to see the dead. Wanna get haunted? he asks. Grieving and desperate for closure with Silas, Erin agrees to a pill-popping “séance.” But the drug has unfathomable side effects—and once you take it, you can never go back.