GHOST EATERS
One of Vulture’s Best Horror Novels of 2022 (So Far), 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.
One of Vulture’s Best Horror Novels of 2022 (So Far), 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.
- Quirk Books
- Paperback
- June 2023
- 304 Pages
- 9781683693789
Buy the Book
$16.99
About Clay McLeod Chapman
Clay McLeod Chapman is the creator of the storytelling session “The Pumpkin Pie Show” and the author of Rest Area, Nothing Untoward, and The Tribe trilogy. He is the co-author, with Nightmare Before Christmas director Henry Selick, of the middle grade novel Wendell and Wild. In the world of comics, Chapman’s work includes Lazaretto, Iron Fist: Phantom Limb, and Edge of Spiderverse. He also writes for the screen, including The Boy (SXSW 2015), Henley (Sundance 2012), and Late Bloomer (Sundance 2005).
Praise
One of Vulture’s Best Horror Novels of 2022
One of Paste’s Best Horror Books of 2022
One of Book Riot’s Best Horror Novels of 2022
One of CrimeReads’ Best Horror Fiction Books of 2022
One of Tor Nightfire’s Horror Books We’re Excited About in 2022
September 2022 LibraryReads Pick
An October 2022 Indie Next Pick
“Shades of Flatliners and addiction drama pepper this tale about a woman who learns her college sweetheart died of an overdose – from a drug that allows folks to see the dead.” —USA Today
“A legitimately terrifying ghost story and also a thoughtful and smart (if grim) exploration of how addiction destroys lives, Ghost Eaters should make Clay McLeod Chapman a star.” —Vulture
“A great choice for fans of A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay, Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and Orphans of Bliss, edited by Mark Matthews.” —Booklist, starred review
“A high anxiety, utterly original, and compelling contemplation of what it means to be haunted.” —Library Journal
“A terrifying meditation of the horrors of modern life and our collective fixation with death. Clay McLeod Chapman’s Ghost Eaters promises to fix what ails you, existentially speaking.” —Alma Katsu, author of The Fervor
“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
Discussion Questions
1. At the beginning of the book, readers are introduced to college friends Silas, Erin, Amara, and Tobias in a cemetery. What were your first impressions of the group? And how does it foreshadow future events?
2. After losing Silas to an overdose, Erin is dealing with booth guilt and grief. Which emotion do you think drives her to take a drug like Ghost?
3. The pill-popping séance that Erin, Amara, and Tobias have occurs in an unfinished and abandoned housing development. Why do you think the author chose this setting?
4. Erin experiences unfathomable side effects under the influence of ghost. Which side effect stuck with the you the most? And why do you think she kept going back for more?
5. Would you take a pill like Ghost for the opportunity to be reunited with a loved one?
6. The aftermath of addiction is horrifying. Did you find how addiction is depicted in this book relatable?
7. How do you think the use of the supernatural captured the real life horrors of addiction and America’s sordid history?
8. What do you imagine happens to Erin after the book ends?