Harold Schechter is the Stephen King of true crime. We know Harold will take us by the hand and escort us down the darkest alleys known to mankind. We know we can completely trust him to show us something horrid that scares the bejesus out of us. But we actually desperately want to see it and know it and get it. Without him, we wouldn't think of going there. He does it with impeccable research, first. If Schechter has a hardcover on the case, no stone is unturned in that field. But it is the superb quality of his writing and analysis on which our trust is truly built. His voice is strong and his writing dense and exact. Sometimes, it bites.
Among the shelves of books he has written are studies in his sub-specialty of serial killers (including my favorite, Belle Gunness). Does anyone alive know more on the subject 0f serial killers? He wrote the definitive encyclopedia and a list of case books. We also appreciate Harold Schechter for his genre analysis (i.e. Savage Pastimes), for explaining Hollywood's debt to true crime, and for editing a selection of the best true crime shorts from the USA (True Crime: An American Anthology), and many other favorites.
Because Harold Schechter has thought deeply and written widely in our favorite genre, and because he is taking true crime in a new direction with a comic book about a revolting serial killer, I am pleased to say that Harold has agreed to an interview with CLEWS (as we try to marry true crime books and true crime podcasting). We're going to talk about his work, his opinions, and about the challenge of turning serial killer Ed Gein into a comic. Harold Schechter is the only true crime author who could pull it off. Stay tuned.
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