Ghouls [Paperback]

Edward Lee (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1988

DARK TOWN The murders were only the beginning. No one knew what went on in the sullen, dark house on the hill, but town cop Kurt Morris intended to find out. The sleepy town of Tylersville, Maryland was being stalked by an unimaginable evil, it had become the haunting-ground for horrors too grisly to be described. Young girls had vanished without a trace. Graves had been opened, corpses unearthed and carried away. Quiet moonlit nights gave way to a mindless slaughter, and to the sounds of hysterical screams… DARK HORIZONS Time was running out. How many more would be dragged off into an endless night, and for what hideous purpose? Fear led to wild speculations about psychopaths, crazed animals, vampires, and werewolves. But Kurt knew better. Deep in the fog-shrouded woods, he had seen the nightmare figures. And the truth was much, much worse… GHOULS! A novel of unrelenting horror in the tradition of Dean Koontz.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1 pages
• Publisher: Pinnacle; First Edition edition (June 1, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558171193
• ISBN-13: 978-1558171190
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,170,274 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 101 Reasons to Never Trust a Fogbank, May 18, 2003

By 

TastyBabySyndrome "Matthew Lewis, author of M... ("Daddy Dagon's Daycare" - Proud Sponsor of the Little Tendril Baseball Team, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ghouls (Paperback)

Something is stalking the town of Tylersville, leaving behind a plague of murders for the local police to deal with and a mysterious lack of evidence to go on. In fact, all the evidence points to something that could not be possible, that cannot be probable, but that seems to be stalking the shadows in search of both the living and the dead. It begins with the unearthing the recently deceased town drunkard, his body spirited away in the depths of the night, and then things begin going from bad to worse - leaving a trail of bodies in their wake before any answers begin to appear. For Kurt Morris, local police officer and man smitten by another's wife, things couldn't be worse, either. Not only does he have to deal with the motions taking place in that sea of would-be poaching, drug dealing, wife-battering, and drunken onslaughts of stupidity, but now he has the world of bodies to contend with. Worse still, it all seems to be stemming from that place, that shadowed form standing atop its own foreboding hill, its form surrounded by unkempt woodlands and discarded mines that could possibly hold secrets of the most sinister type.

As a person that has read quite a few of Edward Lee's books, I was actually surprised by what Ghouls brought to the proverbial table because it wasn't the atypical piece that he manufactures. First, the writing structure seemed more refined and the descriptions were laid-out better than some of his more horrific works, letting the town of Tylersville actually come to life around you as events began to manifest. Instead of faceless entities being lead to wholesale slaughter, the people therein became something denoted with a bit of realism that made them stand out. They, brimming with hopes and dreams and desires, befriended some people, playing wording games and delving into pits of small talk with them, while equally hating others. This made you feel a little something for them when the night came for them or when their friends died, and it gave you rhymes and reasons instead of a lack of dimensions. Second, the layout of the monsters themselves, although not used nearly enough to quench my thirst for abominations, was actually researched and backgrounding was given on the matter. The queries of "how" were answered as well as "what," not leaving so many question marks to plague the mind of the reader when all was said and done. Third, we do have elements of Lee that are mainstays, with evisceration going hand-in-hand with passion and pretexts of "rural subclassification" and making the read fun. Granted, it does take time to get to bodies dropping like flies, but when they come, they come with wings. Lastly, the length of the book let him delve into all type of subjects that Lee wanted to cover. Too often, he seems rushed, with the book passing by and the reader wanting even more. While I still wanted more when the book ended, I thought that the 440 plus pages (in rather small print) said what needed to be said and covered many grounds - even some of them almost seemingly mundane but working to flesh out the characters.

For anyone that likes Lee's newer works, then the monster type in the book might work well for you. You simply have to bear in mind that the pages don't run with blood immediately, nor do things manifest as quickly as some of the other books do. Here, time is taken and people are developed, giving more to the grounds when they are fed the remains of the living. For anyone that hasn't checked out Lee, I wouldn't recommend this as a starting point, but I would say that it would be something to check out if the chance presents itself.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the way Horror is meant to be...., October 4, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Ghouls (Paperback)

This was the first Adult horror book I had ever read, and it is still one of the goriest, risque books I have any knowledge of I'm I'm a horror fanatic. The author takes you into a world that is inside our own little safe communities, and shows you what is really scary. If you can find this book, and you love horror and gore, then pick it up, if you don't have a strong stomach then leave it alone, and that goes for anything by this author.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't play with your food...eat it now!, February 22, 2004

By 

Schtinky "Schtinky" (California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ghouls (Paperback)

Actually only 4.5 stars, but I give Lee the benefit of the doubt. Very well fleshed out characters and descriptive prose paint out the creepiness of tale in vivid color, taking place in the boondocks of Maryland along Highway 154, a little place called Tylersville.

With a brief prologue from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in 1978, we are quickly moved ahead seven years into the life of Kurt Morris, a small town cop who rents a room from his Uncle Roy and is basically content with his life.

Lee wastes no time acquainting us his characters, exposing them completely right off the bat, forcing your acquaintance with then and making them familar to you whether you like them or not.

Lenny Stokes is the local yokel do-nothing scumbag who marries the innocent good-girl Vicky, a waitress at the local topless bar called The Anvil. Police Chief Bard is posed immediately as a fat, boorish cop who is barely competent, Kurt's co-workers Mark Higgins and Doug Swaggert are competent in their own rights and fully characterized right away; with Higgins as the happy-go-lucky guy and Swaggert as the guy who takes no crap and has been in trouble for his attitude. Kurt's long time friend Glen Rodz is a strange if amiable guy who works night shift as a guard on Dr. Williard's estate named Belleau Wood. Vicky Stokes is a mildly vapid but sweet girl who married wrong and seems determined to live with a husband that beats her and cheats on her. Joanne Sulley is The Anvil's prize dancer, and openly having an affair with Lenny Stokes. Melissa is Kurt's twelve year old neice, who is an obnoxious tease, but never seems to really develope as much as the rest of the characters. Another character called Sanders will show up later in the storyline...but I won't ruin that for you.

Things in Tylersville are as predictable as the rain, until the town's drunk Cody Drucker dies and is buried, only to have his coffin dug up just days later. Baffling enough in and of itself in this quiet town, Kurt barely has time to wonder about Drucker's missing body when a young girl turns up missing also. Things start looking their worst when one of Kurt's co-workers goes missing also, but he little does he realize this is just the beginning.

Very strange and unexplainable things are happening in Tylersville, and they all seem connected to Belleau Wood; and the strange, enigmatic Dr. Charles Willard and his beautiful young wife Nancy. Bit by bit Kurt tries to peel away the layers of mystery and the unknown horror that seems to be settling over his town, while Glen seems to become more and more vague, Vicky more and more harassed, and Chief Bard is forced to suspend him from the force.

As the title suggests, there are Ghouls out there, but what are they, and where are they, and who is behind their arrival in Tylersville? A decently thick 444 page novel, I nonetheless tore through this in less than a day. It is a plainly written, extremely fast paced journey into horror and mystery and suspense that you should not deprive yourself of. Though Lee's work has definitely developed over the years, this earlier work has less gore and more "feeling" to it, but there is still enough blood to make it a tasty addition to your library. Enjoy!