Creekers [Paperback]

Edward Lee (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 29, 2008

Crick City is a small hick town. Violent, mean and dirt-poor, it's a place nobody wants to call home.

But for homicide cop Phil Straker, it is home. And now someone--or something--is turning his boyhood town into a bloody sideshow of mutilation and gruesome carnage.

They're called Creekers. Centuries old, driven by rage and lust for revenge, they move through the deep, dark woods--deformed, shadowy outcasts with twisted faces and blood-red eyes. Now, as the moon hangs low over their ancient house, they're gathering for a harvest of terror and death Crick City will never forget...

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Edward Lee has had over thirty books published in the horror and suspense field, including Flesh Gothic, Messenger and City Infernal. He is a Bram Stoker award nominee, and his short stories have appeared in over a dozen mass-market anthologies, including The Best American Mystery Stories of 2000, Pocket's Hot Blood series, and the award-wining 999. Several of his novels have recently sold translation rights to Germany and Spain. His movie, Header, will be available on DVD in mid-2007. Meanwhile, City Infernal, Messenger, Ghouls, The Bighead, and Family Tradition have been optioned for film. Upcoming mass-market novels include Golemesque, and The Order of the Scarlet Nuns. Lee lives on Florida's St. Pete Beach.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Necro Publications (February 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1889186775
• ISBN-13: 978-1889186771
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #942,884 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Edward Lee is an American novelist specializing in the field of horror, and has authored 40 books, more than half of which have been published by mass-market New York paperback companies such as Leisure/Dorchester, Berkley, and Zebra/Kensington. He is a Bram Stoker award nominee for his story "Mr. Torso," and his short stories have appeared in over a dozen mass-market anthologies, including THE BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES OF 2000, Pocket's HOT BLOOD series, and the award-wining 999. Several of his novels have sold translation rights to Germany, Greece, and Romania. He also publishes quite actively in the small-press/limited-edition hardcover market; many of his books in this category have become collector's items. While a number of Lee's projects have been optioned for film, only one has been made, HEADER, which was released on DVD to mixed reviews in June, 2009, by Synapse Films.

Lee is particularly known for over-the-top occult concepts and an accelerated treatment of erotic and/or morbid sexual imagery and visceral violence. He was born on May 25, 1957 in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Bowie, Maryland. In the late-70s he served in the U.S. Army's 1st Armored Division, in Erlangen, West Germany, then, for a short time, was a municipal police officer in Cottage City, Maryland. Lee also attended the University of Maryland as an English major but quit in his last semester to pursue his dream of being a horror novelist. For over 15 years, he worked as the night manager for a security company in Annapolis, Maryland, while writing in his spare time. In 1997, however, he became a full-time writer, first spending several years in Seattle and then moving to St. Pete Beach, Florida, where he currently resides.

Of note, the author cites as his strongest influence horror legend H. P. Lovecraft; in 2007, Lee embarked on what he calls his "Lovecraft kick" and wrote a spate of novels and novellas which tribute Lovecraft and his famous Cthulhu Mythos. Among these projects are THE INNSWICH HORROR, "Trolley No. 1852," HAUNTER OF THE THRESHOLD, GOING MONSTERING, "Pages Torn From A Travel Journal," and "You Are My Everything." Lee promises more Lovecraftian work on the horizon.

Bibliography

Nightbait (1982) written under the pseudonym Philip Straker
Nightlust (1982) written under the pseudonym Philip Straker
Ghouls (1988)
Coven (1991)
Incubi (1991)
Succubi (1992)
The Chosen (1993)
Creekers (1994)
Sacrifice (1995) written under the pseudonym Richard Kinion
Header (1995)
Goon (1996) with John Pelan
The Bighead (1997)
Shifters (1998) with John Pelan
Portrait of the Psychopath as a Young Woman (1998) with Elizabeth Steffen
Splatterspunk: The Micah Hays Stories (1998) with John Pelan
"Masks" (1999)
"Operator B" (1999): Cemetery Dance Publications. Published as a 26-copy leather-bound hardcover and 450-copy limited hardcover.
"Dahmer's Not Dead" with Elizabeth Steffen (1999): Cemetery Dance Publications. Published as a 52-copy leather-bound hardcover and 1000-copy limited hardcover.
"The Stickmen" (1999): Cemetery Dance Publications. Published as a 52-copy leather-bound hardcover and 1000-copy limited hardcover.
"The Deaths of the Cold War Kings: The Assassinations of Diem & JFK" with Bradley O'Leary (2000): Cemetery Dance Publications.
"City Infernal" (2001): Cemetery Dance Publications. Published as a 26-copy leather-bound hardcover and 1000-copy limited hardcover.
(April 2002): Leisure Books. Published as a Mass Market Paperback.
"Mr. Torso" (2002): Published as a 52-copy hardcover and 300-copy limited softcover.
"Sex, Drugs and Power Tools" (2002)
"Family Tradition" (2002) with John Pelan
"Monstrosity" (2002): Cemetery Dance Publications. Published as a 26-copy leather-bound hardcover and 1000-copy limited hardcover.
Leisure Books. Published as a Mass Market Paperback.
"Ever Nat" (2003): Published as a 52-copy hardcover and 300-copy limited softcover.
"The Baby" (2003): Published as a 52-copy hardcover and 300-copy limited softcover.
"Teratologist" (2003) with Wrath James White
"Incubi" (2003): Necro Publications.
"Infernal Angel" (2003): Cemetery Dance Publications. Published as a 26-copy leather-bound hardcover and 750-copy limited hardcover.
(January 2004): Leisure Books. Published as a Mass Market Paperback.
"Messenger" (August 2004): Leisure Books. Published as a Mass Market Paperback.
"The Backwoods" (October 2005): Leisure Books. Published as a Mass Market Paperback.
(December 2005): Cemetery Dance Publications. Published as a 52-copy leather-bound hardcover and 750-copy limited hardcover.
"Monster Lake" (2005). Necro Publications. First book for young readers.
"Flesh Gothic" (February 2005): Leisure Books. Published as a Mass Market Paperback.
"Slither" (2006: Necro Publications.)
"Gast" (2007)
(October 2009): Leisure Books. Revised, retitled "Black Train", and published as a Mass Market Paperback.
"House Infernal" (October 2007): Leisure Books. Published as a Mass Market Paperback.
(February 2008): Cemetery Dance Publications. Published as a 26-copy leather-bound hardcover and 1000-copy limited hardcover.
"Minotauress" (December 2008): Necro Publications. Published as a 26-copy leather-bound hardcover and 300-copy limited hardcover.
"Brides of the Impaler" (September 2008): Leisure Books. Published as a Mass Market Paperback.
(May 2011): Cemetery Dance Publications. Published as Hardcover Limited Edition of 1000 signed copies bound in full cloth and Smyth sewn and Traycased Hardcover Lettered Edition of 52 signed and lettered copies bound in leather with a satin ribbon page marker.
"Golemesque" (March 2009): Necro Publications. Published as a 26-copy leather-bound hardcover and 300-copy limited hardcover.
(April 2009): Leisure Books. Published as "Golem" as a Mass Market Paperback.
"Trolley No. 1852" (May 2009): Bloodletting Press. Published as a 26-copy leather-bound hardcover and 300-copy limited hardcover.(October 2010) Deadite Press, Trade Paperback.
"Haunter of the Threshold" (Summer 2009) Bloodletting Press. Exclusive limited-edition. (December 2010) Deadite Press, Trade Paperback.
"City of Sixes" (2009) Necro Publications. Exclusive limited-edition chapbook included with copies of "Infernally Yours".
"You are My Everything" (January 2010) Necro Publications.
"Going Monstering" (January 2010) Bloodletting Press. Exclusive limited-edition.
"Header 2" (June 2010) Camelot Books. Exclusive limited-edition.
"The Innswich Horror" (Summer 2010) Cemetery Dance. Exclusive limited-edition (Club Members Only), (July 2010), Deadite Press Trade paperback.
"Lucifers Lottery" (October 2010) Leisure Books. Currently eBook only, possible release date of July 2011 for physical book.
"Pages Torn From a Travel Journal" (January 31, 2011) Bloodletting Press.
"Vampire Lodge" (January, 2011) Necro Publications. E-Book only (second book for young readers)
"Witch Water" (Spring 2011) Bloodletting Press. Limited edition hardcover
"The Dunwich Romance" (tbd)
"Header 3" (Heads) (tbd) Bloodletting Press. Limited edition

Collections
The Ushers (1999)
Of Pigs and Spiders (1999) with John Pelan, Brett Alexander Savory and David Niall Wilson
Partners in Chyme (2001) with Ryan Harding
Sleep Disorder (2003) with Jack Ketchum
Haunted House (2007)
Brain Cheese Buffet (2010) Deadite Press
Bullet Through Your Face (2010) Deadite Press
Carnal Surgery (April 2011) Deadite Press

Anthologies
Infernally Yours (2009) 'The Senery' by Edward Lee Necro Publications, a limited-edition hardcover.
Dark Seductions: Tales of Erotic Horror (1993) 'Private Pleasures' by Edward Lee
Bizarre Sex and Other Crimes of Passion (1994) 'I'd Give Anything for You' by Edward Lee & Jack Ketchum
Deadly After Dark: The Hot Blood Series (1994) 'Mr. Torso' by Edward Lee
Seeds of Fear: The Hot Blood Series (1995) 'Grub Girl' by Edward Lee
Stranger By Night: The Hot Blood Series (1995) 'Dead Girls in Love' by Edward Lee & Gary Bowen
Darkside: Horror for the Next Millennium (1996) 'The Stick Woman' by Edward Lee
Fear the Fever: The Hot Blood Series (1996) 'Love Letters from the Rain Forest' by Jack Ketchum & Edward Lee
White House Horrors (1996) 'Night of the Vegetables' by Edward Lee
The UFO Files (1997) 'Secret Service' by Edward Lee
Inside The Works (1997) 'The Pig' by Edward Lee
Whitley Strieber's Aliens (1998) 'Scripture Girl' by Edward Lee
999 (1999) 'ICU' by Edward Lee
Graven Images (2000) 'Masks' by Jack Ketchum & Edward Lee
Triage (2001) 'In the Year of Our Lord 2202' by Edward Lee
Excitable Boys (2002) 'The McCrath Model SS40-C, Series S' by Edward Lee
Damned: An Anthology of the Lost (2004) 'Angel' by Edward Lee
Small Bites (2004) 'The Room' by Edward Lee

Movies
Edward Lee's story "Header" has been made into the film Header. Edward Lee and Jack Ketchum are featured in cameo roles in the movie.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There's a reason Lee is called the 'Master of Hardcore Horror', October 7, 2008

By 

Schtinky "Schtinky" (California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Creekers (Paperback)

Phil Straker, a police lieutenant in the big city's narcotic's division, moves to Crick City where he grew up, after being forced to resign his city position after accidentally shooting a child. Crick City is a wasted, po-dunk, redneck town in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by other tiny townships of the same low class. He's invited to work on the police force by Chief Of Police Lawrence Mullins, the man who practically raised him. Mullins wants Straker on his force because of Straker's narcotics background; he suspects a PCP drug ring is doing business in his town.

Crick City has something most towns don't - Creekers. The most backwoods of all societies, Creekers go beyond redneck. The live high in the hills, off the land with no electricity or water, in lean-to's and shanties. They've been inbreeding for years, so all creekers have certain traits common to them: gross deformities, black hair, and red-tinged irises. The only town-creeker is Cody Natter, ugly but smart, and Straker discovers he owns and operates Krazy Sallee's, the local strip club. Even worse, Straker's old girlfriend Vicki Steele is now Natter's wife and works the club as a stripper and prostitute.

Straker uses old childhood chum Eagle, and Vicki, to set up his undercover identity as a good-ol-boy so he can investigate the PCP distribution ring. Just as he fell for Vicki so many years ago, Straker finds himself falling for dispatcher Susan Ryder, though his feelings for Vicki still remain. Despite work problems and love problems, Straker must infiltrate the drug ring to get at the one person he feels responsible for the crimes and murders in Crick City; Cody Natter and his battalion of Creekers. Watch out for some great twists and turns in the book.

'Creekers' was originally published in 1994, and re-released in 2008. Fans of Lee will be able to tell that this is one of his earlier pieces of horror fiction. Ed Lee has a unique talent of capturing the soul of the deep-woods, uneducated redneck. 'Creekers' is definitely hardcore horror, using colorful language, disgusting and deviant $exual scenes, buggering, bestiality, and gross disfigurement. Throw in some demonic rituals (you'll love the "Reverend's" vision of the eternal harvest), a cop who hates drugs (an "industry that perpetuates slavery"), a vulgar strip joint, and a race of eerily malformed people, and you have one of Lee's better early novels. 'Creekers' is a delightful addition to your horror collection. Enjoy!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Creekers is some of Lee's best work, April 12, 2006

By 

Dennis Duncan (Greenfield, Tennessee United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Creekers (Paperback)

Edward Lee is one of my favorite Horror Writer's. I haven't read a book of his yet that I have not loved, and Creekers has to be one of his best stories to date.

Creekers are a family of outcasts that live in the woods outside the small town of Crick City. They are a mysterious clan that has been inbreeding for centuries. They are hideously deformed with blood red eyes.

Phil Straker a homicide cop has come back to the town of his childhood in hopes of solving a bunch of gruesome murders that have been taken place in Crick City. There are rumors flying around that the Creekers are the ones responsible, and he is determined to bring them to justice. He has no idea what he about to get himself into.

I could not put Creekers down. I was glued to it the moment I started. I devoured it in two nights, and hated to see it end. It is an original story full of Blood, Guts, and Sex. There are scenes that will have your stomach churning, and heart racing.


Creekers is a must read for any fan of Lee's work. I was happy to see that it is reprint. Now more people will get a chance to read one of the best stories Lee has ever written.

5 Stars

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Edward Lee, February 27, 2006

By 

Charles Glover - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Creekers (Paperback)

This is actually one of Lee's best books, and it is supposed to be reprinted in hardcover by Necro Press very soon. It's a shame this one is so hard to find when "Messenger" and "Monstrosity" are still in print.

In this one Philip Straker (Lee's pen name for his first two novels) is a down and out cop (the best kind) who leaves the big city to go to a small town police department. He is placed undercover and ends up in a strip bar which features Creeker girls. Creekers, for those that don't know, are rednecks who are inbred to the point that they look like Thalidomide babies. These girls, with their missing and deformed limbs, work at a strip club that doubles for illegal operations that involve higher ups in the community. Straker gets wise, and he is warned to back off. He must now decide whether to back off or to alienate himself with the entire town.

Chock full of the trademark Lee sex and violence, this features names drawn from other Lee works, and references that true Lee fans will appreciate. Hopefully this will be reprinted soon, as the original printing is very scarce.