This was a pretty out there read. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t right for me, I guess. I kept getting distracted and putting this off, but I eventually got into it towards the end. If you’re looking for a trippy, horror book, check this one out.

3.5/5 stars rounded up to 4 for this review.

If you want chills up and down your spine, you need to read this. You’ll be like 🫣 when shit kicks off.

My thing lately has been books that read like A24 movies and this one checked all those boxes for the first half.

Ghost Eaters begins with some teens who decide to drop acid and go to the cemetery…up to no good. Years go by, and their friendship is strained as Silas, the man who has held their group together, battles addiction. Things escalate when a drug is discovered that allows the user to see people who have died and some intense hauntings take place.

A drug that makes you see the ghosts who haunt you? Count me OUT! But you know the characters of this one count themselves IN.

The Southern atmosphere (hello Civil War ghosts), honest writing, and unique premise sunk its claws in and had me gripped from the very first page.

Around 65% the story takes a turn and I think I liked the first portion better, but I do appreciate the creative strangeness that the author brought to this horror story.

I also liked the author’s quirky writing, which is entertaining and embellishes the truly scary moments with something extra as it builds. I don’t think this book will work for everyone, but horror fans will will likely be thrilled.

GHOST EATERS is an original and provocative haunting of a novel, with a definitive focus on addiction and the spiral it can bring. It is equally frightening and intriguing throughout, leaving a lasting impression on the reader.

In more way than one, addiction is at the forefront of the story: the shrooms, the possessions, the seances for lost souls, the search and desperate need to dose again. I especially love horror that blends monsters with reality. The premise of this novel was right up my alley and the story did not disappoint. It hooked me at an early point and held my attention until the very end. I only felt distracted by the odd transitions that came about with many of the chapter changes. Sometimes, it felt like scenes or thoughts were abruptly ended and it wasn't clear what had changed. Otherwise, GHOST EATERS was a possessing novel I definitely recommend to fans of horror and the gritty nature of reality.

10/10... all the gold stars!

I love that this one started with a note from the editor warning that SHE was dumbfounded by where the story went. To set a book up like that is quite risky, but man did Chapman pull it off and deliver. Absolute bravo to him for this book 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 This is my second book of his and definitely my favorite. Top contender for my favorite book of the year.

Why did it have to end?! I miss the characters already!

Ghost Eaters is an intense and heartbreaking horror that deals with love, loss and addiction. I am so glad that I read this book and will definitely read more books from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC.

I loved the idea of this book but it lacks something in the execution. The characters are interesting, twisted and exist in a co-dependent relationships with a bad ending. Which sort of reminds me of The Secret History (Donna Tartt), but unfortunately just not as good. The concept of a drug to summon ghosts is unique and some of the scenes are down right creepy. If you are into horror don't expect to be terrified.

This book takes “I see dead people” to a whole new level.

After the sudden death of her on again off again boyfriend Silas, Erin is struck heavily with grief and guilt. When Tobias, one of her friends from college, offers her a way to see Silas again, Erin jumps at the opportunity. There’s a new drug out called Ghost that allows those who take it to commune with the dead. But there’s a catch. You won’t just see the ghost of your loved one. You’ll see every single ghost around you.

I really enjoyed the first half of this book. Some of the creepiest scenes are when Erin is going about her work day and the ghosts are lurking in the background, trying to get her.

The second half was not my favorite, however. It felt drawn out and a bit repetitive. It almost felt like a fever dream.

When focusing on the ghosts themselves, this book is super creepy and can get gory.

Overall, I liked this book. It’s a solid three star read for me. I would definitely recommend it to those who are into the mushroom horror sun genre that is popular right now.

I feel like I read 2 different books. It started off being a book about Erin, her love for the history of her city and her friends. It dealt with her history with an ex that turned into a drug addict and how she and her friends were going to stage an intervention to let him(Silas) know they weren't going to put up with his crap anymore and he needed help.

About halfway through this book that dealt with love, friendship and addiction turned into a Scifi/Fantasy/Horror book. Truly,it seems like I read two different books with the same characters.

Even with the change in direction, and probably because of it, I found this to be a really good book. It brought the idea of creating a drug that could allow you to see ghosts and, in particular, ghosts of loved ones. It created a haunted house world to hold those ghosts and the living people drawing them in. It combined the truly devastating results of drug addiction with the consequences of trying desperately to hold onto and bring back those we've lost instead of letting them go and healing/working through the pain.

I found the descriptions and concepts to be both unique and horrific. It created such an interesting yet unreal world with the very real issues of addiction and grieving.

The end of the book was a little drawn out and wordy. But altogether I give this 4⭐️.

Ghost Eaters is a book that centers around grief and grieving. It is wish fulfillment for anyone who has lost a loved one: what if you could see your dead with the help of a pill? While guilt and love are the powerful motivators behind Erin’s need to explore this possibility, Clay McLeod Chapman has crafted a book about the consequences of this need/addiction. When does it become too much to handle? Can your grief be detoxed?

Chapman has written a book that doesn’t shy from the horror. The scares come quickly and are relentlessly nerve-wracking. The reader gets to take part in taking Ghost and all the consequences that come with it. I felt used up by the last page. It was a thrilling ride.

This book was not for me. I love thriller/mystery/crime, but I do not love lots of gore. This book felt to be more on the surprise gore side than it did to be on the surprise thriller side.

This is more intense horror than I normally read. It is shocking at some points, but the writing is done so well. If you're looking for a ghost story that will stand out from all the others, this is it.

“Do you wanna get haunted?”

Well I certainly did get haunted by this book.
During and just after reading, I was convinced I hated this book. The writing was compelling enough and it started strong but It promised me things that it ultimately did not deliver. What it did deliver felt entirely too contingent on “Suspend your disbelief”.

The story is overwhelmingly about drug addiction and the horrors of how it ravages its victims with a helping of paranormal/fungal that felt part Trainspotting (iykyk) and part What moves the Dead (t.kingfishers retelling of the Poe classic Fall of the House of Usher).

But I find this story continues to haunt me, I think about the implications of using a drug to see the dead. I think about the 4 friends each unique at the start but each losing their selves in various ways once “Ghost” comes into their lives. I think about Ectoplasm and how it’s presented here. But mostly I think about what I loved about this story, the history our MC provides about her city, the south, the art and the deaths within.

Lastly I get very frustrated with MC’s that make the worst decisions possible over and over in the repetitive way that happens with the writing here. It began feeling like a form of torture to me as a reader. I know I’m not alone in disliking that in stories in so I thought It worth mentioning.

I’ll say it wasn’t for me, though was thought provoking enough that I’d still recommend it to others with the provided context above.
3 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️

After reading Chapman's previous two novels, I was not expecting all that Ghost Eaters was. His writing in both previous books was quite good, and has arguably elevated even more with this one. Parts supernatural, the horrors of drugs and addiction, fungal fiction ( I swear it's becoming a things) and even some body horror thrown in. Ghost Eaters is a mediation on drug addiction, obeyance to stronger wills and the ghosts that haunt everyone. The title stems from the fact that four friends are seeking to contact actual ghosts while taking a mushroom-based narcotic actually called Ghost. It works better than expected and leads to ramifications that some of them could never have predicted. With this novel I think Chapman has firmly established himself as a top tier horror story teller and I look forward to what he has in store for us next.

This was so very good. I can’t wait to recommend it all spooky season and beyond. I do hope I’m the beginning of the fully published book that there is a trigger warning for drug use and overdosing.

A story about addiction with a twist - the characters get “haunted” not “high” when they discover a drug that allows them to communicate with the dead. An entertaining and heartbreaking story. The descriptions of the ghosts etc were so well done! This would make a great movie - recommend picking this one up!

Clay McLeod Chapman lures readers into one woman’s trippy battle with ghosts and drugs in his newest book “Ghost Eaters.” Chapman weaves multiple elements into this Southern horror including social horror, gothic, gore and even punk. I felt like I too was on drugs for most of it. While a little dead and repetitive at times—especially in the middle—the addictive need to see it through will keep you hanging on until the end. Eerie and chilling, the narrative explores death, addiction and pieces of our country’s dark history as our protagonist, Erin, spirals into a drug-induced madness. You won’t look at mushrooms the same after this one—it’s weird and it’s scary.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

***

I have been very much looking forward to this one. The author, description, and creepy cover certainly drew me in.

It starts strong with a graveyard jaunt where you're introduced to Silas, Erin, Amara and Tobias on hallucinegens, mid-crime. Action and intrigue.

Then, you fast forward a bit to their present day lives where no one is really quite where they'd set out to be. They feel like real people stuck in monotonous unsatisfying lives (and that can certainly be relatable).

I'm not sure I was entirely ready for such a beautiful and sad story. Creepy, yes. But, the book does an excellent job of exploring the ghosts we carry with us on a regular basis, those shadows lurking back in the recesses of our minds, our regrets and missteps, while also being inventive in regards to more supernatural hauntings.

The ending is a doozy of action and emotion and addiction and recovery.

Fantastic read.

Side note: Having had so much of it shoved at me as an undergrad, I laughed quite a bit at the "good ol' Didion existence" line.

I requested a digital copy in order to sample the prose on my phone (since I don't have a eReader) before requesting a physical copy for review. My review will be based on the physical ARC I read.

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.