A dark and disturbing story of pain, grief, and addiction that absolutely delivers on the scares. When a highly addictive drug that supposedly allows the user to make contact and interact with ghosts hits the streets of Richmond, VA, our protagonist Erin pursues this terrifying high despite the series of horrific visions and revenants that she experiences. Chasing after the spirit of a recently-departed friend, Erin risks everything to make contact even as things become more unsettled and horrific.

This is a truly scary book that delivers on everything it promises, and grants an unflinching perspective of someone who has been in an unhealthy relationship who then basically falls apart under the influence of powerful drugs, guilt, and pain which might be difficult for some readers to accept.

An easy recommendation to horror fans, with a story that leaves a lot to think about after you've finished reading.

I really enjoyed this horror book. More than just a traditional ghost story - this book explores grief, addiction and mental illness in a very creative way. The characters are well developed and while the story is dark and creepy - it is so well written and really paints a vivid picture. Highly recommended to horror fiction enthusiasts.

Ghost Eaters does something a lot of horror novels can't accomplish; it's thoughtful and reflective, but it manages to do so without being pretentious. It's a dark one, diving into the depths of drug abuse and loss, but I highly suggest it for anyone looking to send shivers down their spine.

An interesting concept, but the story is deeply rooted in the challenges of addiction so if that isn't something you're comfortable with, this book would not be for you.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of Ghost Eater by Clay McLeod Chapman!

I loved this book! It sucked me in right from the first page. I started reading it because the electricity went out at my house and I honestly could not put it down. I will say this is a book about addiction, whether it be drugs or love so if that triggers you this might not be the right book for you. I will definitely be reading more books by Clay McLeod Chapman.

A well-written and suitably grim horror novel. I very much enjoyed the writing style and the darkness of the story which unfolded with each new page. The narrative seems to flirt with Shirley Jackson's haunted house and Silvia Moreno -Garcia's Mexican Gothic yet adds new original layers to both.

My only critical remark refers to character development - the protagonist Erin Hill hardly changes from the beginning to the end of the novel and keeps on repeating the same mistakes for reasons that weren't made very clear or believable. There aren't many likable or relatable characters, but the plot successfully drives the story until its interesting ending.

pretty basic horror book. didn't enjoy it very much, but it wasn't horrible. i didn't find the characters to be very interesting and i wasn't invested in them. there was definitely some interesting elements tied in with the horror but all and all a pretty basic horror novel. nice for beginners

I dont know where to start with this. From ghosts to a new view on addiction - this literary horror novel is right up there with SINEATERS by Elizabeth Massey from back in the day. Fantastic stuff!!

Let's talk addiction. The Ghost Eaters has a lot to say.

Addiction is not just for drugs and alcohol. Addiction is for people. For feelings. For sensations. in this novel, Erin's original addiction was her charismatic boyfriend Silas, who turn up dead of an overdose. After he purports to have a drug that can allow access to the dead. Erin intends to try it as a form of purging out her guilt and remorse.

Only for the effects to take her places 'trips' usually never go. Erin is plunged into a realm of horror and addiction, also dealing with the brutal legacy of the South. There is no magical and pleasant afterlife here, just hungry revenants. And once they see you? Watch out. Clay McLeod Chapman portrays the dead as most addicted to life the thing they cannot have.

This is a novel of past sins, both of people and of a tortured land. Richmond has its share of ghosts, from slavery, from the Civil War...and they're hungry. I did not expect this book to have so much to say about a variety of subjects, but I am delighted it did.

The slow Southern gothic burn of the novel, the talented writing of the terror and the effective characterization are the strengths of the novel. Erin is a flawed, but extremely effective main character. I could only root for her in her struggles with addiction, metaphorical and literal. Her guilt over Silas is only too realistic and sad, her attempts to bring his ghost to her a manifestation of the addictions of which she struggles.

Unique, impressive and imaginative. I look very forward to reading more of Clay McLeod Chapman's

4.5/5

Here’s a story about a dead addict ex-boyfriend who left behind the key to seeing ghosts: a highly addictive drug. I didn’t love the main character, but she was absolutely perfect for this story, which is a great mix of horrifying and thought-provoking. She’s just pathetic (maybe “sad” is a better word) enough to make it work. The story also plays off one of my favorite tropes - are they really seeing ghosts or are they just on drugs? The book gets disturbing pretty early and then doesn’t let up for the rest of the book. It’s legitimately terrifying and unnerving for 75% of the book. That’s how well the premise works. Definitely a must-read this year.

Every book that Clay McLeod Chapman writes gets better than the last one. “The Ghost Eaters” was so creepy and haunting and impossible to put down.

(Reviewed for Library Journal)
'Silas was a ghost long before he passed away'

"Ghost Eaters" starts off with four young adults in a Richmond, Virginia cemetery who are indulging in substances, mostly content in their drug-fuelled hazes. Their leader of sorts, Silas, leads them to a mausoleum for a seance. What he doesn't bank on is actual ghosts showing up--or at least that's what the protagonist, his girlfriend Erin, sees. A bizarre and disturbing sex scene unfolds. When next we see Erin, she's having dinner with a guy, Tanner, in a posh and hipsterish restaurant. She has dated plenty of men who enjoy the gentility and Civil War vibe. She keeps getting calls from Silas. Things get worse from there, until they come to a head. He leaves Erin with a dying wish. They've driven someplace resting over old Civil War battlefield; a town that hosted Klan rallies. The group of friends are now doing the sceance to try to draw Silas out. Within an unreliable narrator to a tee, things unfold in peril.To say that what Erin and her group of friends unleash is not at all what they were expecting doesn't begin to cover the chain of events that follow. The plot escalates as Erin's hauntings worsen with each move forward.

This isn't just one or two quaint ghosts. This is centuries of ghosts and revenants that are suddenly at every corner where Erin goes. Although the Powhatan people would have historically been buried in what's now eastern Virginia, the author could have handled what is a very overdone and harmful trope in horror of "Native American" burial grounds and taken things in a more culturally conscious direction. The Silas haunting are disturbing to say the least.

With some aspects of the film "Flatliners" as well as the forthcoming "Bodies Bodies Bodies" minus the humour aspects, the narrative of "Ghost Eaters" comes to a head with the reader understanding that Ghost has so much more of a morbid meaning in this addiction horror tale.

Readalikes: the Asylum series by Madeleine Roux, The Wide Carnivorous Sky by John Langan, Black Chalk
By Christopher J. Yates, and Never Saw me Coming by Vera Kurian

Visceral, gripping, stunning horror for those who love the genre and those just giving it a try. Ghost Eaters is filled with deeply gorgeous writing that never gets in the way of itself, it only enhances the experience. The characters are unique and recognizable. You'll find yourself chuckling along at family dinner parties or graveyard smoke sessions thinking, "Oh I know exactly who these people are." It has a stunning scope, deep roots in the culture and history of Richmond, and a sickening grip on its premise. This is one that I cannot recommend strongly enough for those who love intelligent, creative, well written horror that will stick with you. You wanna get haunted?

Mushroom horror is having a Moment, from the psychedelic Lovecraftian funghi of Moreno-Garcia's Mexican Gothic to the recent eco-wilderness horror Gaia, and the upcoming twist on the fall of the House of Usher from T Kingfisher. Ghost Eaters does something unique by placing those mushrooms at the heart of a sinister drug operation: a group of friends are experimenting, in an abandoned house, with a pill called Ghost that allows you to see the dead, The idea (that if YOU can see them, THEY can see you) is one which never ceases to chill, and McLeod Chapman takes it to horrifying, hallucinogenic heights with some of the best occult-drug-trip sequences I've ever read. The ghosts are terrifying; the protagonist's mental breakdown unnerving; and the implications of it all (and parallels with drug addiction and homelessness) poignant and sad. Not a wasted page or poorly executed idea in the whole book, this author pulls it off with style.

This was a interesting bit of fiction, I really liked the themes of addiction mixed with the horror elements. And how we deal with grief was well done too.

But I never really connected to the characters in the novel unfortunately. And didn't particularly get emotionally invested.

Very well written and easy to read though.

Based on the description of this book, I was expecting a lot more horror and paranormal themes. Instead it ended up being one giant metaphor for drug abuse and addiction. I enjoyed the simplicity with which this book was written but I didn't really get the point. The characters were pretty unlikeable so I wasn't able to connect with their grief or desires. I did enjoy the grotesque body horror and it was described well so I could easily visualize it. The book also described well how someone can succumb to their drug addiction and how it can make them feel. But I found the ending to be jarring and almost unbelievable considering everything the main character went through prior.

A must read for horror fans! This was one seriously creepy book that I am going to have a hard time getting those images out of my head. I also loved the twist on ghosts and that cover!

A history buff who has spent the last several years off and on with a drug addict. Even though they’re over romantically, they are still friends. Not anymore. She’s done. Really done this time.

When he overdoses, she blames herself, so when their friend says there’s a way to reach him in the afterlife, Erin is down. When she takes a pill and sees him, feels him with her, she wants to try again. It’ll take her down a haunted rabbit hole, chasing ghosts.

It’s not out until September, but it’ll be worth the wait. If you’re a Chapman fan, you’ll definitely appreciate this new plot with the quality writing you’ve come to expect. I finished this one in a single evening. I started it aftert work, expecting to read maybe3 100 pages, maybe half the book if I got into it. Nope. By 11pm, I had finished it before I passed out for the night.

It’s got great characterization, explorations of addiction, guilt, and how we get stuck in bad situations, because the devil you know. Like all good horror, it’s creepy but also goes deeper on our issues as humans. There’s some supernatural elements, which is how you get me, and parts of it read like a straight up thriller. It hooked me very quickly and kept me enthralled until the very end.

As always, I can’t wait to see what Chapman does next.

I wanted to love this book and, to some extent, I did. "Ghost Eaters" is beautiful and there are some fantastic and absolutely horrifying scenes. Unfortunately, it fell flat otherwise. The plot itself feels rather shallow, as do the characters. It fails to add or say anything interesting to the genre and feels as though it's more of a statement on drug addiction. Overall, still worth the read.
3.25/5

This was a mash up of Ninth House, Mexican Gothic, and The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires that misses the successful parts of all of them. It's well written and reads smoothly, with some truly grotesque body horror, but doesn't have anything interesting to say.