Based on the harrowing bestseller by author jack ketchum, director gregory wilsons the girl next door presents a fictionalized account of the shocking ordeal endured by sylvia likens an. It is easily the most psychologically disturbing story that ketchum has created, which is not surprising considering from where he got his inspiration. Four essential novels by jack ketchum wicked horror. Paperback verified purchase ack ketchum died recently and his death reminded me of the one book of his that i read some time ago, off season. The novel was subsequently slated by the village voice as violent pornography but, undeterred, the author continued to write fiction that deals with the cruelty and violence so often apparent in everyday life. Oct, 2011 the girl next door has, in the near quartercentury since its publication, achieved a notoriety few other modern horror novels can match. The girl next door is the kind of book that requires one to take a long, hot shower after reading, and even that may not be enough to scrub yourself clean. Young david and his friends are at an age where sexual fantasies and ideas are beginning to foster. Jack ketchum has 187 books on goodreads with 168462 ratings. On the one hand it borders the style of horror termed as torture porn. Apr 07, 2020 heed my warning if youre new to the name jack ketchum.
Below youll see what we both think of this vile, this contemptible, this utterly remarkable novel. Here are my thoughts on the girl next door by jack ketchum 1989 which i rated 5 stars. The actor and writer, bestknown for penning the girl next door, passed away following a. I scrambled to pick up a copy when it briefly appeared back in print because buying a used copy requires a second mortgage on the house, signing an agreement to turn over your first born son, and swearing to never resell your copy for less than bolivias gross national product. Sep 29, 2015 buy the girl next door by ketchum, jack isbn. If youre a fan of jack ketchum you know what youre in for, if not be warned. The first edition of the novel was published in december 1st 1989, and was written by jack ketchum. The influences and impact of jack ketchums the girl next door.
While the book is unrelentingly horrific in deed and subject matter, the deeper point for me as a reader, that pushes it out of the realms of pure horror, is the challenge it offers. The girl next door has, in the near quartercentury since its publication, achieved a notoriety few other modern horror novels can match. Of course, if you have read anything by jack ketchum or even the back of the book you know better than to trust that. While the girl next door certainly deals with a truly horrific subject matter, to simply label it and file it neatly under the heading horror would be an injustice. For on a tranquil, treelined street, in a dark basement, fourteenyearold meg and her little sister susan are about to learn everything there is to know about the savagery in the human heart. Mar 22, 2018 while the lost was adapted from a relatively recent jack ketchum novel, the girl next door released in 2007, one year after the lost moved further down his backcatalogue. The most horrifying thing about jack ketchums the girl next door is that it is based on a true incident horrendous abuse, torture and eventual murder of the 16 year old sylvia likens in 1965. The girl next door by jack ketchum 1989 when asked who the scariest guy in america was, fright author supreme stephen king answered forthrightly, probably jack ketchum. The girl next door book by jack ketchum thriftbooks. I did not enjoy the girl next door, but i respect the hell out of jack ketchum for writing it and it is a masterclass, perfectly executed, powerhouse of a novel.
He was the recipient of four bram stoker awards and three further nominations. Look up girl next door in wiktionary, the free dictionary. Jack ketchum s most popular book is the secret life of souls. Sylvias parents, carnival workers who moved often, left her and her sister in.
Stephen king called jack ketchum americas most frightening author. If you enjoyed this blog post please consider supporting me on patreon or at paypal. His novels included off season, offspring, and red, which were adapted to film. The most horrifying thing about jack ketchum s the girl next door is that it is based on a true incident horrendous abuse, torture and eventual murder of the 16 year old sylvia likens in 1965. It is about two teen girls who are left in the care of their aunt, and the systematic and escalating abuse both of them and one sister in particular suffer at the hands of their aunt and her children. Jack ketchums the girl next door 2007 rotten tomatoes. This is a bleak, bleak, bleak story of child abuse of the worst kind, and just when you think the depictions of imprisonment, assault, and torture cannot get any worse, ketchum peels back yet one more layer of the onion to draw tears from your eyes. The girl next door is a crime novel by american writer jack ketchum in 1989. Free download or read online the girl next door pdf epub book.
She is a middle aged woman obsessed with feminine purity who sees the new arrivals as a potentially corrupting influence on the masculine world she presides over. The girl next door is a horrific story, not in the sense of a scary boo but in the way of hearing about unspeakable abuse and being helpless to stop it. You could finely add the soft file the girl next door, by jack ketchum to the device or every computer hardware in your workplace or residence. Debuting with the controversial cannibal novel off season in 1980, ketchum has long ruled as one of horror fictions preeminent creative forces. Ketchum s books such as peaceable kingdom, closing time, and the box have been honored with the bram stoker award. The comparison is valid, but i found this novel to be far more brutal. The film is loosely based on true events surrounding the torture and murder of sylvia likens by gertrude baniszewski during the summer of 1965.
Reflecting on jack ketchums horror novels book riot. Unless you are teenage meg or her crippled sister, susan. The girl next door is probably jack ketchums most sought after book. Jack ketchum, whose real name is dallas mayr, died on wednesday, january 24. The girl next door by jack ketchum fantastic fiction. Thus begins jack ketchum s riveting second novel hide and seek. Jack ketchums most popular book is the secret life of souls.
Dec 15, 2007 i did not enjoy the girl next door, but i respect the hell out of jack ketchum for writing it and it is a masterclass, perfectly executed, powerhouse of a novel. This is the week of jack ketchum here at gravetapping. Ever since i heard about the girl next doors reputation, i knew this was the book i wanted to start with. Dallas william mayr, better known by his pen name jack ketchum, was an american horror fiction author. This book is told from the perspective of a twelveyearold boy who watches as two teenage girls move in with their aunt, who lives down the street from the boy and his friends. It is about two teen girls who are left in the care of their aunt, and the systematic. Ketchum s relationship with bloch lasted until blochs death in 1994. The story behind the gruesome legend it shocked horror fans everywhere jack ketchum s off season, the brutal and harrowing story of an inbred family of cannibals in presentday maine. Its source material was ketchums fifth novel, published back in 1989. Their names read like next years roster for the specialed class. The girl next door by ketchum, jack and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. A girl next door is a character archetype of a sweet, ordinary and caring girl, often a love interest for a male lead. Not ever dead rivers a sleepy little town on the coast of maine without much going for it. Sep 29, 2015 this book tells sylvias tale from the perspective of a next door neighbour, the names are changed and there are quite a few differences but my goodness, what an emotional, impactful book.
Well, the original story left me absolutely gobsmacked and this book was just the cherry on the cake. However, the girl next door is perfect for the reader who is looking for the suburban style narrative that takes one into hell. Saving the best or worst, depending on how you look at it for last, the girl next door is a book that you will not forget. Japanese edition of the girl next door, translated by hiroshi kaneko. Buy the girl next door by jack ketchum from waterstones today. The girl next door ebook epub electronic book the girl next door by jack ketchum for iphone, ipad txt format version, file with page numbers the girl next door by jack ketchum kindle edition with audio multimedia cd video hardcover new or used, cheap audiobook pric theres also other. A teenage girl is held captive and brutally tortured by neighborhood children. Dallas william mayr november 10, 1946 january 24, 2018, better known by his pen name jack ketchum, was an american horror fiction author. The main characters of this horror, fiction story are. Ketchum is an in your face, no punches pulled type of author. Now, i hadnt even heard of ketchum or this book until the last five or six years, i guess around the time it was. This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title girl next door. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 370 pages and is available in paperback format. Jack ketchum is the pseudonym for a former actor, teacher, literary agent, lumber salesman, and soda jerk.
The girl next door by jack ketchum, 9781503950566, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Pdf the girl next door book by jack ketchum free download. Jack ketchum made some very likable characters that the reader will feel sympathy for. Jack ketchum books list of books by author jack ketchum. Ketchups, i mean ketchums novel is two things, nearly the entire first half is mattress padding. In the girl next door, he tells of the ripening of sexual anger and frustration of male pubescence. The girl next door also known as jack ketchum s the girl next door and, in germany, jack ketchum s evil is a 2007 american horror film adaptation of jack ketchum s 1989 novel of the same name. It was the third novel from dallas mayr, written under his nowfamous pseudonym jack ketchum.
It is loosely based on the true story of sylvia likens in indianapolis, indiana in 1965. But if your goal is to dive into the deep end of extreme horror like mine was, then jack ketchum and the girl next door is maybe that book for you. The girl next door collectors edition screenplay is a screenplay adaptation of the novel jack ketchum s the girl next door by jack ketchum. Feb 23, 2015 a lengthy, and somewhat academic discussion and analysis of the incredibly haunting book by jack ketchum. He is also a former flower child and baby boomer who figures that in 1956 elvis, dinosaurs and horror probably saved his life. Dec 01, 1989 the most horrifying thing about jack ketchum s the girl next door is that it is based on a true incident horrendous abuse, torture and eventual murder of the 16 year old sylvia likens in 1965. The girl next door by jack ketchum, off season by jack ketchum, the lost by jack ketchum, red by jack ketchum, and offspri. With the increasing popularity of his novels, some of the novels were adapted into feature films. See all books authored by jack ketchum, including the girl next door, and off season, and more on. The girl next door collectors edition screenplay is screenplay adaptation of the novel the girl next door by jack ketchum. Rue morgue jack ketchum is one of americas best and most consistent writers of contemporary horror fiction. Buy the girl next door unabridged by ketchum, jack, ketchum, jack isbn. Sylvias parents, carnival workers who moved often, left her and her sister in indianapolis under care of their acquaintaince, gertrude baniszewski. To be clear, the girl next door is not a terribly written book.
This is a crime novel about two teen girls and the systematic and escalating abuse both of them and one sister in particular suffer at the hands of their aunt and her children and their friends. Follows the unspeakable torture and abuses committed on a teenage girl in the care of her aunt and the boys who witness and fail to report the crime. Shady, treelined streets, welltended lawns and cozy homes. Ebook pdf download the girl next door, by jack ketchum. Jack ketchum published his first novel in 1980 titled off season, a version of the sawney beane story.
You dont just read the girl next door you experience it, and if youre really lucky you survive it. The story revolves around two girls who have recently been orphaned and are sent to live with their aunt who has three young sons. May 03, 2017 if jack ketchums goal was to make readers repulsed to the point where they feel sick to their stomachs he has achieved it. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. The girl next door by jack ketchum 1998, hardcover for. The girl next door is probably jack ketchum s most sought after book. Games you might even want to play yourself if youre with the right people.
On a deadend street, in the dark, damp basement of the chandler house, meg and susan are left captive to the savage whims and rages of a distant aunt who is rapidly descending into madness. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to. Stephen king compares ketchum to jim thomsons killer inside me. Sylvias parents, carnival workers who moved often, left her and her sister in indianapolis under care. It goes without saying this is a novel that needs to be read. Ketchum s parents were the owners of a luncheonette and soda fountain where jack worked to support his writing, as a shortorder cook during the day and a soda jerk after dark. Now, i hadnt even heard of ketchum or this book until the last five or six years, i guess around the time it was reprinted by leisure books.
The girls are subjected to horrifying abuse at the hands of their aunt, who. Buy the girl next door by jack ketchum online at alibris. With william atherton, blythe auffarth, blanche baker, kevin chamberlin. The girl next door is one of the most disturbing reads in the history of horror literature. The girl next door by jack ketchum, paperback barnes.
The girl next door by jack ketchum is a harrowing tale about the power of adult suggestion over children, the power of group dynamics, and the horrifying result of childhood fantasies given life. Based on a true story, this shocking novel reveals the depravity of. The girl next door by jack ketchum gave me nightmares and made me cling to the life i live, the life i love, with more determination than ive felt in a long time. The girl next door was a sickening read its grim and grimy, and so dark its a miracle you can even read the words on the page. The book is loosely based on true events surrounding the torture and murder of sylvia likens by gertrude baniszewski during the summer of 1965. The girl next door by jack ketchum is a deeply disturbing cautionary tale based on the that is what ive been asking myself ever since yesterday afternoon when i finished listening to the audiobook narrated by the late jack ketchum of the girl next door. The girl next door 2005 read online free book by jack. He supported ketchum s work, just as his work was supported by his own mentor, h.
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