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And with my love of horror it should come as no surprise that I read lots of horror fiction. Now most people have heard of what I call the big four horror fiction writers. IE Stephen King,Clive Barker,Anne Rice and Dean Koontz. Of the four I enjoy King. Think Barker is amazing. Rice has a few decent books,but the rest don't appeal to me. And Koontz,well he feels like a watered down King.
About 8 years ago I discovered there was a kind of underground of horror authors. People like Edward Lee,Brian Keene,Tim Lebbon,Richard Laymon RIP,Wrath James White and Jack Ketchum.
So I thought what the hell how about I do a post on all the Jack Ketchum books I have read.
Jack Ketchum is the pen name of Dallas Mayer. Born back in the late 40s,Ketchum is finally getting the attention he deserves. I think it is mostly because in the past decade 5 films have been made based on his novels.
I first heard about him thanks to the AVmaniacs forum.This was around the time that Jack Ketchum's The Girl next door film adaptation was coming out. This film sounded great so I made a note to purchase it when it came out. About a week later I was at the used bookstore in town. And saw The Lost by Jack Ketchum on the shelf. I grabbed it. The next night while at work I started reading it and was hooked. Normally when I would get off work at 8am I would drive home and go right to sleep. Not this time, I got home and laid in bed reading for 3 hours.Since that time I have been buying any Ketchum book I find.
The Girl Next door-Based on the Slyvia Likens case,this is one of few books that got under my skin so much I had to put it down. Meg and her crippled sister are sent to live with their Aunt. At first everything seems to be great. The Aunt has a bunch of sons. And her house is where all the neighborhood kids hang out. But quickly we find out that the Aunt doesn't like Meg. She ends up tying Meg up in the basement. And gets her sons and then most of the neighborhoods kids to torture Meg.David is the next door neighbor's son. And the book is told from his point of view. There is one chapter that is only a paragraph. With David saying "There is no way I can begin to describe what I just saw. But it will haunt me for the rest of my life." So far this is the most shocking of Ketchum's novels. And the only one I haven't re-read. Not because it is a bad book. But because it gets to me so much.
The Lost-This was the first Ketchum novel I read. Set back in the late 60s,it is the story of Ray Pie. He is in his early 20s and a total sociopath. We start off with him and two friends way out in the woods drinking cheap beer and smoking pot. He wanders off to a bathroom,and comes upon a naked lady leaving the outhouse. He follows her back to her campsite. Sees her with a female friend,assumes they are lesbians. And shoots them both. One of them dies quickly,the other hangs on for over 2 years. When the second one dies it causes a detective to try his best to bring Ray down. I love how the novel gets into Ray's mind and tries to explain why he is the way he is. Like The Girl Next Door there is a film of this. And it is really well done. With the final 20 minutes being mega intense.
Off Season-The first of what is now a three novel series. Set on the coasts of Maine. It is about a "family" of cannibals. If you are going to read this novel,make sure to pick up the edition published by Leisure fiction. It is the first time the book was published uncut. The original printing was severely cut.
Offspring-Set not that long after the first book.We are once again with our family of cannibals. But we introduced to an abusive husband that in my eyes is more evil than the cannibals. A few years ago this novel was made into a film. That is seems like most people didn't like it. I love it and watch it at least once a year.
The Woman-Set again not that long after the last novel,but this time the book was written by Jack Ketchum and Luck Mckee. The leader of the cannibals escaped and is found out in the woods by a hunter. He captures her,brings her home and ties her up in his root cellar. Where he plans on having his family civilize her. And again Ketchum seems to be asking the reader who is more evil,the cannibal woman or the father who is abusive to his family and is hiding some dark secrets.
She Wakes-So far this is the only novel from Jack that has supernatural elements. And is my least favorite book from him. Set in Greece and involving Greek gods. While it is a well written book,I found it lacking that Ketchum charm.
Old Flames-The version I have of this is two stories. First off is Old Flames. Which is the story of a woman tracking down an old boyfriend. When I was reading it I kept thinking how much it felt like a Lifetime Original Movie. I found out that it was originally a script for a movie that Ketchum adapted into a novel. It is decent but nothing special. After Old Flames we get the novella Right to Life. Where a woman is kidnapped from a abortion clinic and held captive in some nutjobs basement. Now this is full of the normal Ketchum brutality. And made up for how blah Old Flames was.
Weed Species-This very short story was first published as a very limited print run chapbook. I couldn't afford it. Then found out the Leisure Fiction printing of Joyride has Weed Species in it. It is based on the infamous Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka murders. Like Girl Next Door this short story got to me so much I had to put it down and wait awhile before finishing it.
Peaceable Kingdom-Is a collection of short stories and novellas. And it includes three that won Bram Stoker awards. I really loved this collection. There isn't a bad story in it.
Sheep Meadow Story-This novella was included in the Triage collection. The idea behind Triage is three authors were given a short premise. A man walks into a place of business armed with a gun and starts shooting. Out of the three in Triage,Jack's the my least favorite. But it is still worth reading.
What makes Ketchum stand out to me from all the other horror authors is most of his stuff is based on real life events. And it is really rare that any supernatural elements in his fiction.
I really wish Jack Ketchum was better known. But his style of horror isn't for everyone. I had a close friend 2 years ago keep talking about how scary Stephen King's books are. So I loaned her Peaceable Kingdom. She gave up after 3 stories. Saying the first story caused her to have nightmares for a few days. But if you are looking for a new horror author to read and don't have a weak stomach check out Jack Ketchum.
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