I was fully expecting a traditional ghost story. Maybe a haunted house. Something that is tried-and-true in the ghost story genre. And I don't mean that as shade; I like ghost stories that follow a formula. They are still scary as F if they are written well. The creepy ethereality of gothic horror is my jam. And that's what I thought Ghost Eaters was going to deliver.

Was I wrong in the most deliciously skin-crawling way! Ghost Eaters reads like a mature Young Adult novel that merges the horror of fresh-out-of-college, emergence-from-the-chrysalis loss with the ghostly supernatural. Chapman's prose fits the YA genre; this novel borders on YA and contemporary adult horror. It feels like YA to me because, well, I'm not in my early twenties like the characters are. But the events and themes in the novel are better suited for an adult (if young adult) audience. There are mature themes here of death, grief, the loss of friends, parents, and loved ones. There is the threat of loss of the self: perception is a two-way mirror in this novel, and you're never quite sure which side of the glass you're on.

The story follows a young woman and is told from her perspective. Erin is a privileged, educated woman. She has family, family money, family connections, but despite this, she flounders in life. That's the first horror, one that is banal and familiar to many. Erin is part of a group of friends; their leader has floundered in worse ways than Erin. Silas seems to be drowning in a drug-induced depression. When their social circle falls apart as the result of an untimely death, each one of them seeks to find meaning and reconnection in different ways.

Some of them take the task literally.

And that's the second horror of this novel. The dark mental and physical adventure that ensues as Erin, Amaya, and Toby play dangerously with the line between living and dying, the present and the afterlife. I won't ruin this for the reader. Just know that "ghost" in this novel has multiple meanings, and the loss that one associates with death is more than never seeing someone again.

A worthy Halloween horror read that haunts in multiple ways!

Ghost Eaters is the perfect book to get in time for Halloween. It is a creepy horror story with intriguing characters and an exploration of grief and addiction. Erin and Silas had been on and off since college. When Silas suddenly overdoses and dies, Erin struggles with the grief. She learns Silas had been taking a new drug that allowed him to see the dead and decides to take it herself to see Silas again - only she starts to see ghosts everywhere. Is it side-effects from the drug or a psychological effect? The concept is intriguing, while the execution is excellent. Highly recommended! Be sure to check out Ghost Eaters today.

Grief is one of the hardest things we can go through. We have to find a way to make peace with the absence of someone from our lives. Throw in grief and things get even more complicated. Add in hallucinogenic mushrooms and the whole mess gets weird, as we see in Clay McLeod Chapman’s Ghost Eaters. Protagonist Erin winds up on a long strange trip after the sudden death of a friend who stirs up all kinds of complicated emotions.

Silas is the kind of person who raises the hackles on my neck. They are supremely persuasive, able to talk people into doing things against their own sense of self-preservation, and they appear to have no conscience, because they regularly convince people to do dangerous, damaging things. Erin has been under Silas’ spell for a long time. While hanging out with him is an adventure, it’s also emotionally draining. He asks his friends for more and more of their time, money, and resources until his self-destructiveness reaches a point where Erin, Amara, and Tobias—who have been friends since they were teenagers—finally decide to have an intervention about his drug use. It goes spectacularly wrong when Erin loses her cool and says everything she’s been holding in. The next thing, Erin et al. know, Silas is dead of an overdose.

The death breaks Erin. She is wracked with guilt over the things that she said to Silas. The emotional torment makes her susceptible to Silas’s last request, delivered by Tobias: a drug-fueled seance in an abandoned, unfinished house. And that’s where things get weird. The drug Tobias talks Erin and Amara into taking literally haunts Erin. She starts seeing ghosts. This would be horrifying enough for anyone, but Erin lives in Richmond, Virginia. There are a lot of angry dead there who want to devour the living.

Ghost Eaters oscillates between horror and emotional exploration of grief. The ghosts really are out to get Erin, and yet they also very much represent the unfinished business we have with the dead. Some of us want to make amends or say a proper goodbye or get justice. Some of us just can’t let go. The mushroom-based drug promises a connection with the dead to do those things; it’s no wonder that word of it spreads across Richmond to the point that a small cult starts to form. Unfortunately, that promise is a false one, a horrifically false one. This book stokes up a lot of tension as we watch Erin to see if she’ll be able to find a way through her grief instead of disappearing into it. Because there is so much emotional depth in Ghost Eaters, as well as sheer hair-raisingly scary writing, I think this one will stick with readers for a long time.

I love everything he writes so I might be biased. Excellent story, great characters that kept me on the edge of my seat. I had to read with the lights on! Looking forward to everything he writes.

Erin and Silas been off and on since high school. When she finally decides enough is enough and cuts him off ti begin her her new life he dies. All she wants to do is see him again and she will do anything to make it happen. Terrifying and totally original , this is a unique horror novel you wont be able to put down

Disclosure: I was provided an advanced copy via Netgalley.

By far one of the more unique modern horror stores I have read recently. Chapman manages to put forward a haunting tale about grief, addiction, and the human condition. I highly enjoyed this, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good haunting.

This was a gruesome and incredible story that captured Addiction, and the lengths we would go to for those we love. Erin was a relatable protagonist and easy to sympathise with. I think that people who have dealt with addictions will recognize themselves in her, and those who haven't can still recognize themselves in her. She's very human, and loveable. As someone who has lost a friend recently I could (as a non addict) very much relate to her just wanting to see her friend again. Surface level but on the deep end it really captured what I have seen many addicts endure. Also, it was quite chilling and the ending was amazing. Not many authors can stick a landing like that!

This book is equal parts haunting/creepy/eery and thought provoking/heartbreaking. It explores addiction, grief, obsession and being unable to let go. There were moments that got a bit slow and seemed to drag on, but the creepy factor keeps you hooked.

Erin’s character is both devastating and infuriating at times - which anyone who has had a loved one or has dealt with addiction themselves, knows is a vicious cycle.


Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This very creepy horror story is so much more than just ghosts. Clay Mcleod Chapman is a well known author and he wields his talent in a story about obsession, greif, addiction and horror.

Meet Erin, she is forever tied to her college boyfriend Silas - ready to drop everything to help him in his never ending problems with addiction and life in general. However, following a failed intervention, she swears to stay away. Unfortunately, the next time she hears about SIlas, he has died from an overdose.

Her friends, all still meandering around town after college, convince her to try a new designer drug that allows you to connect with ghosts. Together, they raise Silas and from there things rapidly fall apart.

A novel about addiction and grief as much as it is horror and ghosts, you won't forget Ghost Eaters any time soon. If you like your horror with a twist, wish you had a window in the afterlife or just love a unique perspective on contemporary life, the Ghost Eaters is for you! #GhostEaters #ClayMcleod Chapman #Quirkbooks #NetGalley


#Quirkbooks

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic copy of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: September 20, 2022
“Ghost Eaters” by Clay McLeod Chapman is a haunting novel in so many ways. The protagonist, Erin (bonus points are given for the lead character and I sharing a name), struggles with immense loss after the death of a lover, and then is forced to battle demons, both through addiction and actual haunting.
After years of being pulled into Silas’ orbit, Erin is trying to break free of his influence. When he calls her to spring him from rehab, she agrees to help him one final time. But Silas is unable to manage on his own and just as Erin is finally moving on from him, Silas dies from an overdose and Erin’s life is completely changed. In the midst of inescapable loss, Erin is willing to do anything to find closure. When her friend Tobias suggests a new drug, Ghost, that allows its user to communicate with the dead, Erin jumps at the chance in hopes of seeing Silas one more time. But Ghost doesn’t just bring Silas to the forefront, and soon Erin is haunted by more than the ghost of her former love.
McLeod Chapman’s novel is a horror story unlike anything I’ve read before. The setting, Richmond, Virginia, is rife with history, and is the perfect place for a ‘haunting’, as ghosts of slaves, Indigenous peoples, and others overflow its borders. The authors’ terrifyingly descriptive language brings terrible, ghostly things to vivid life, and it is absolutely horrifying (in the best way).
The story is written in a unique style as well, in a broken yet cohesive manner that perfectly illustrates the thinking of someone broken apart by loss and addiction. Erin is the narrator throughout, and it is easy to connect and empathize with her.
McLeod Chapman has instantly become my new “author to watch” and I have immediately TBR’ed all of his past horror novels (with a close eye on anything new he releases). He emotionally details the devastating realities of addiction, while still being able to tell a scary-as-Hell ghost story and I couldn’t get enough.

An engrossing read that absorbs the reader into a tale of addiction and ghosts and doesn't let go. Atmospheric and unsettling. Perfect for fans of Silvia Moreno-Garcia's Mexican Gothic and William S. Burroughs's Junky.

Chapman's latest plunges the reader into a world of dread and horror, where the dead are everywhere, existing in a sort of shadow universe where they spend their time wandering, watching, and hungering for life. Their best chance of finding peace seems to lie with being invited into a house where they can settle in and do some proper haunting. Of course, there's a twist to this premise, but I won't give it away here. Chapman's unique take on the ghost genre concerns a psychoactive drug that allows users to connect to the dead. Unfortunately, they connect to ALL the wandering dead souls, not just those they are trying to contact, bringing a whole new level of horror to the phrase "I see dead people." Like many drugs, there' s a tolerance effect, and so more is always needed to maintain the contact, such that Chapman's strung-out living characters come to resemble the dead in many ways. Overall, this is a fascinating foray into a disturbing vision of the afterlife that will leave the reader--dare I say it--haunted.

I received a free ARC physical and digital copy.
Possible spoilers:
A group of friends, one of them dies of an overdose. A mushroom, drug is discovered that allows them get haunted, see ghosts.
It is a story of relationships, connections, addictions, and losing it. How far would you go to reconnect with a loved one?

I absolutely could not put this down from the moment I started it. Each part has its own distinct feel, with the first half of the book having just overall a great aesthetic vibe that really reeled me in. Even after finishing, I can't decide if I'm more unsettled by the horror elements, or how realistic it seems to end up in Erin's position. A beautiful portrayal of grief, addiction, and overcoming obstacles.

I was really pleasantly/horrifically surprised by this book. While on the surface it appears to be a standard contemporary ghost story, on a deeper level Ghost Eaters is a fascinating analogy for addiction. The story follows Erin, a young twenty-something who is trying to distance herself from her addict ex-boyfriend. When the ex-boyfriend dies of an overdose, Erin discovers that he was using a mysterious new drug that supposedly allows the user to commune with the dead. Erin's guilt drives her to experiment with the drug herself, and the repercussions leave her struggling to hold onto her sanity and her life.

Overall, I thought this book was really well done. The ending felt a bit ambiguous to me, but that may have been the point. It gets an A+ for freaky imagery. Readers with sensitivity to body horror or addiction stories may want to approach with caution.

There are ghosts in the graveyard and there are ghosts of relationships past and for Erin and Silas they are one in the same. Erin keeps coming back to the intervention that didn't happen for Silas in college who seemed to have one foot in the grave until the day when he really died. Falling into the same drug trap Erin takes a pill that lets her see the dead but soon she is seeing dead people everywhere. This frightening story deals with the horrors of ghosts, addiction and the afterlife. A horror story from page one to be read with all the lights on that will have you saying - I SEE DEAD PEOPLE. My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

Amazing writing, amazing world building and characters.
1000% reccomend this book. Had be gripped for the get go

Erin and Silas were together in college and she has a hard time telling him no to anything, even though she knows how unhealthy it is for her. And when Silas asks her to break him out of rehab, that’s exactly what she does. But this is the last straw, or so she says, when she finally kicks him out of her life. And then Silas turns up dead from an overdose and Erin’s guilt is killing her. When another friend in their group from college tells her that Silas had discovered a drug that can commune with the dead, Erin clings to this as a lifeline. Can she communicate with Silas, apologize, let him know she loves him still? And this drug does the trick - Erin is seeing ghosts everywhere; considering this is in Richmond, VA there are a lot of ghosts - slaves, civil war - this is an old town full of the dead.

The premise of this was super intriguing and bonus points for me because it was set in Richmond (1.5 hours from where I grew up). But it didn’t quite deliver. I didn’t love the characters and things felt a bit repetitive. It was creepy and kept me intrigued, for sure. But it just didn’t come together like I wanted it to.

The premise of this book had me feeling ALL the feels. The first few chapters delivered, but the rest of it just sort of kept going. There was a brief moment towards that end that picked back up, and then it flatlined again. I honestly feel like this would have been a fantastic short story, but as a full novel...a bit too repetitious.
The characters started out likeable - but, then I lost interest in them.
I find the premise fascinating, but the executing slightly less. That said, I'm certain some readers will very much enjoy the dark and gory descriptions - the author does a great job with the descriptions. And I'm sure it will give plenty of readers all the right feels. It is certainly one that can be recommended to readers of the genre...just not one to use as a introduction to it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quirk Books for this ARC

Now that was a ghost story! A very unique twist that kept me on the edge of my seat until the end.