Deviant

Harold Schechter

May 2010 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this eBook

The truth behind the twisted crimes that inspired the films Psycho, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and The Silence of the Lambs...

From “America’s principal chronicler of its greatest psychopathic killers” (The Boston Book Review) comes the definitive account of Ed Gein, a mild-mannered Wisconsin farmhand who stunned an unsuspecting nation—and redefined the meaning of the word “psycho.” The year was 1957. The place was an ordinary farmhouse in America’s heartland, filled with extraordinary evidence of unthinkable depravity. The man behind the massacre was a slight, unassuming Midwesterner with a strange smile—and even stranger attachment to his domineering mother. After her death and a failed attempt to dig up his mother’s body from the local cemetery, Gein turned to other grave robberies and, ultimately, multiple murders. Driven to commit gruesome and bizarre acts beyond all imagining, Ed Gein remains one of the most deranged minds in the annals of American homicide. This is his story—recounted in fascinating and chilling detail by Harold Schechter, one of the most acclaimed true-crime storytellers of our time.

Ratings and reviews

This was an AMAZING book. Very informative and accurate. I would definitely recommend it to those with a morbid curiosity of serial killers or those just looking for information. The book reads like a novel. By this I mean that it is told in a narrative fashion and uses everyday language rather than jargon. This is definitely a plus for people who don't normally read or like biographies as they will have an easier time reading and understanding the book. Also, there are only a few photographs at the end and those are pretty tame and don't show any blood (for those of you concerned about gore) Overall, I loved It and I think most with an interest in the subject matter will too.

Only got the first chapter when I bought the book for 11.80 not happy :-(

Womderfully written, in depth and deeply disturbing. Harold Schechter is an amazing author who should be in any true crime enthusiasts library.

About the author

Harold Schechter is Professor Emeritus at Queens College, where he taught classes in American literature and myth criticism for forty-two years. His essays have appeared in publications including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and many more. An esteemed true crime historian, he has written the definitive accounts of some of America’s most infamous murderers, including the nonfiction books Fatal, Fiend, Bestial, Deviant, Deranged, Depraved, and The Serial Killers File. He is the editor of the Library of America volume, True Crime: An American Anthology. He has twice been a finalist for an Edgar Award. His most recent books include Butcher’s Work: True Crime Tales of American Murder and Madness and Murderabilia: A History of Crime in 100 Objects. In addition to his work in narrative nonfiction, Schechter is the author of an acclaimed series of detective novels based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe. He lives with his family in New York.