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Dungeon of Death
Asking Scott Keith about professional wrestling is like asking Wayne Gretzky about hockey. --Murtz Jaffer, Inside Pulse
The True Story Behind Wrestling's Deadly Secret
On June 25, 2007, Canadian pro wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy, and their seven-year-old son Daniel were found dead in their Fayetteville, Georgia, home. The ruling of murder-suicide caused a media frenzy and stunned wrestling fans around the world.
Yet the Benoit tragedy was only the latest in a string of disasters that have dogged Stampede Wrestling, operated by the Calgary-based Hart family. In the first book of its kind, Scott Keith offers an in-depth look at the Hart family "curse" that has left all the Stampede Wrestling alumnae either crippled or dead. Were these deaths preventable or inevitable? How did a sport famous for showmanship and entertainment become overrun by rampant drug use, depravity, and greed?
Chris Benoit isn't the only wrestler to be brought down by a history of drug use--many other big names in the sport have fallen victim to wrestling's drug culture and steroid obsession. Why has nothing been done about this, even now after these latest deaths?
Scott Keith knows wrestling from the inside out. This compelling and candid account reveals not only what's gone wrong in the world's most spectacular sport but what must be done to save it.
The True Story Behind Wrestling's Deadly Secret
On June 25, 2007, Canadian pro wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy, and their seven-year-old son Daniel were found dead in their Fayetteville, Georgia, home. The ruling of murder-suicide caused a media frenzy and stunned wrestling fans around the world.
Yet the Benoit tragedy was only the latest in a string of disasters that have dogged Stampede Wrestling, operated by the Calgary-based Hart family. In the first book of its kind, Scott Keith offers an in-depth look at the Hart family "curse" that has left all the Stampede Wrestling alumnae either crippled or dead. Were these deaths preventable or inevitable? How did a sport famous for showmanship and entertainment become overrun by rampant drug use, depravity, and greed?
Chris Benoit isn't the only wrestler to be brought down by a history of drug use--many other big names in the sport have fallen victim to wrestling's drug culture and steroid obsession. Why has nothing been done about this, even now after these latest deaths?
Scott Keith knows wrestling from the inside out. This compelling and candid account reveals not only what's gone wrong in the world's most spectacular sport but what must be done to save it.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
23 people are currently reading
89 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 20, 2009
A blurb on the back of the book says, "Scott's best book yet! One of the finest things he's ever written." I guess that's literally true but put into a context where it's compared to any other book that's ever been published, and Dungeon of Death doesn't fare well at all.
The problems begin right away with the title. Scott Keith devotes less than half of Dungeon of Death - Chris Benoit and the Hart Family Curse to Benoit or the Hart family. There's a book to be written that can explore how the Hart family and, by extension, Chris Benoit imploded due to the excesses and greed associated with the wrestling business, but Scott Keith isn't that person, or at least this isn't that book. In fact, Bret Hart does a much better and more thorough job in his own book. Hitman's book is actually required reading if a new reader intrigued by the Benoit case hoped to understand some of the references Keith makes. This book's audience is homegrown and tailored to the author's blog, but he plays to that audience entirely too much.
The second half is devoted to a list of dead wrestlers, each accompanied with a brief paragraph or page about their career and how sure Keith is as to whether or not the person would be alive today were it not for their involvement in the wrestling business. Of course, this comes from a guy who has never met any of these people and only knew them third hand through newsletters and interviews. So not only does Keith come across as supremely arrogant, but his cynicism and glibness masks any true emotional connection that he ever could have with the product or wrestlers. I've regularly read his blogs and rants for years and do not doubt for a second that Keith loves (or at least loved) wrestling. But, again, I'm part of that established audience. He comes across as an asshole. His "Conclusion" chapter, a mere four pages, of which one and a half are relegated to quoting someone more eloquent than himself, tackles some of the core problems in the wrestling business but it's too little too late at that point.
I did manage to get through the book in about four days because the writing is conversational and accessible, although at times that does feel inappropriate given the subject matter.
And, finally, I expect more from published books in the editing department. I frequently tell my students that the best time to find errors in the assignments I give them is after I've run off 100 copies to hand out, but for a professionally published book, the number of simple grammar and spelling errors are horrendous. An editor would have been nice in organizing the book as well, since several stories and pieces of information are repeated far too often.
The problems begin right away with the title. Scott Keith devotes less than half of Dungeon of Death - Chris Benoit and the Hart Family Curse to Benoit or the Hart family. There's a book to be written that can explore how the Hart family and, by extension, Chris Benoit imploded due to the excesses and greed associated with the wrestling business, but Scott Keith isn't that person, or at least this isn't that book. In fact, Bret Hart does a much better and more thorough job in his own book. Hitman's book is actually required reading if a new reader intrigued by the Benoit case hoped to understand some of the references Keith makes. This book's audience is homegrown and tailored to the author's blog, but he plays to that audience entirely too much.
The second half is devoted to a list of dead wrestlers, each accompanied with a brief paragraph or page about their career and how sure Keith is as to whether or not the person would be alive today were it not for their involvement in the wrestling business. Of course, this comes from a guy who has never met any of these people and only knew them third hand through newsletters and interviews. So not only does Keith come across as supremely arrogant, but his cynicism and glibness masks any true emotional connection that he ever could have with the product or wrestlers. I've regularly read his blogs and rants for years and do not doubt for a second that Keith loves (or at least loved) wrestling. But, again, I'm part of that established audience. He comes across as an asshole. His "Conclusion" chapter, a mere four pages, of which one and a half are relegated to quoting someone more eloquent than himself, tackles some of the core problems in the wrestling business but it's too little too late at that point.
I did manage to get through the book in about four days because the writing is conversational and accessible, although at times that does feel inappropriate given the subject matter.
And, finally, I expect more from published books in the editing department. I frequently tell my students that the best time to find errors in the assignments I give them is after I've run off 100 copies to hand out, but for a professionally published book, the number of simple grammar and spelling errors are horrendous. An editor would have been nice in organizing the book as well, since several stories and pieces of information are repeated far too often.
January 5, 2017
This book has been sitting on my shelf for years. The main reason I bought it was the title and the cover. Who doesn't want the inside scoop on what happened that fateful night? Even though the only person that knows the real deal is GOD - I'm a sucker for theories.
I wish I would have read this book years ago because I would have taken it back to Walmart and got a refund. Boooo! The title of the book should have been named - Wrestling: Stars, Steroids, and Death.
My husband knows everything related to WWE (the past, present, and future) so a lot of what I read - he already schooled me on it. Some of the information I already knew - so there wasn't any new information found on the pages.
I would recommend this anyone that's not too familiar with some of WWE former wrestlers or some of the past incidents that went on behind the scenes.
I wish I would have read this book years ago because I would have taken it back to Walmart and got a refund. Boooo! The title of the book should have been named - Wrestling: Stars, Steroids, and Death.
My husband knows everything related to WWE (the past, present, and future) so a lot of what I read - he already schooled me on it. Some of the information I already knew - so there wasn't any new information found on the pages.
I would recommend this anyone that's not too familiar with some of WWE former wrestlers or some of the past incidents that went on behind the scenes.
October 26, 2024
This book is very grim and tells the story about the very dark side of professional wrestling. It’s a good read but a heavy read. This book is about the brutal murders that Chris Benoit committed on his family and the Hart family curse. I personally like the first 2 chapters the best which are about the life and death of Chris Benoit. If you’re a wrestling fan, this is one you should probably read.
April 11, 2020
Interesting wrestling book as it deals with the scandals and heartbreaks associated with wrestlers related to the Hart Family. The pieces on Chris Benoit, Brian Pillman along with Bret and Owen Hart’s rise and fall are very good.
April 7, 2019
Wrestlers Take Drugs?
Insightful, and decently written. However, this is a subject that has been covered many times before. There's nothing new, here.
Insightful, and decently written. However, this is a subject that has been covered many times before. There's nothing new, here.
April 23, 2020
Must read for wrestling fans
Awesome read. I learned a lot from this book, and you really get to see behind the curtain of wrestling ...
Awesome read. I learned a lot from this book, and you really get to see behind the curtain of wrestling ...
February 10, 2025
Read this for Chris Benoit's part cuz I really liked him as a wrestler. Really wanted to try to understand WHY he did, what he did. Sadly, I don't think we'll ever know the real reason/reasons.
June 7, 2021
One of the things that suck about being a grownup is that sooner or later every person, place, or thing you loved as a kid gets revealed sooner or later as less than perfect. I grew up watching wrestling and loved it, but by the time I was 9 I knew it wasn't real. Did I stop watching? Hell no. I knew it wasn't real but so what? I still enjoyed the crap out of it. My interested peaked in the eighties, but to this day I still check it out from time to time and still enjoy watching and laughing WITH it these days. This book details the life and early deaths of tons of wrestlers I use to watch. The author, who is/was a fan chooses to climb on some silly high horse about morality and steroid use and blah, blah, blah. My takeaway from all this whining is that these were grown ass me who made the choice to go into a business with a history of being shady at times. Why? Because when you are young and stupid, sex drugs and partying are what you enjoy the most. I can't argue with that mentality too much having lived it to the hilt myself. Bottom line, you make stupid choices and hope like hell you survive them. These guys lived balls to the wall and paid the price. Hell, I don't think they would want us feeling sorry for them. They got to live their dream and it was cool until it wasn't. The book is short and very informative. Read it.
April 5, 2013
I once heard a reporter friend say of bloggers, "Bloggers are bloggers for a reason." Scott Keith supports that theory with "Dungeon of Death".
The book essentially reads like a series of blogs, some better than others. The short bios on dead or otherwise incapacitated wrestlers are for the most part fine -- though sprinkled with enough opinion to make a MSNBC or Fox News anchor blush -- but the overall narrative is severely flawed.
The opening two chapters (the only section of the book that actually directly deals with the Benoit tragedy) are just awful. Self-righteous, poorly researched, poorly constructed, and wholly unsuitable for publishing anywhere but ... well, a blog. I got the book expecting something like "Ring of Hell", but this reads more like some horrible column on Lords of Pain.
If you're a big fan of pro wrestling, and particularly the Stampede lineage, "Dungeon of Death" is worth a read. Just understand what you're getting into.
The book essentially reads like a series of blogs, some better than others. The short bios on dead or otherwise incapacitated wrestlers are for the most part fine -- though sprinkled with enough opinion to make a MSNBC or Fox News anchor blush -- but the overall narrative is severely flawed.
The opening two chapters (the only section of the book that actually directly deals with the Benoit tragedy) are just awful. Self-righteous, poorly researched, poorly constructed, and wholly unsuitable for publishing anywhere but ... well, a blog. I got the book expecting something like "Ring of Hell", but this reads more like some horrible column on Lords of Pain.
If you're a big fan of pro wrestling, and particularly the Stampede lineage, "Dungeon of Death" is worth a read. Just understand what you're getting into.
December 29, 2024
As a kid, I watched wrestling. Chris Benoit was pretty big back in those days. I was a little older when the tragedy happened. But in recent years, with CTE being talked about more, I thought it would be interesting to start reading about certain sports figures.
I was hoping to get more out of this book than I did. The title was misleading as it implies there was going to be information about Beniot. There are barely two full chapters on him. The main focus was drugs in the WWE. The author has a distain for Vince, which maybe they aren't wrong. But I wanted more facts and things that had something to do with Benoit. There is a lot of information on the wrestlers that were integral parts of the company. I do understand that the author feels like any wrestler that was trained in the Hart Dungeon is cursed.
I was hoping to get more out of this book than I did. The title was misleading as it implies there was going to be information about Beniot. There are barely two full chapters on him. The main focus was drugs in the WWE. The author has a distain for Vince, which maybe they aren't wrong. But I wanted more facts and things that had something to do with Benoit. There is a lot of information on the wrestlers that were integral parts of the company. I do understand that the author feels like any wrestler that was trained in the Hart Dungeon is cursed.
September 11, 2009
I was a huge fan of Chris Benoit when I watched wrestling so I was intrigued when I saw this book and hoped to learn more about what could lead someone to perpetrate such a horrible act. I'm still hoping because this book didn't deliver much more than could be learned from Benoit's wikipedia page. The strength of the book is the later two thirds where he talks about what led to the deaths of other wrestlers, generally a combination of painkillers and steroids. It's not that there is any great insight to be learned but the shear number of wrestlers that died after abusing their bodies for our entertainment is sobering to say the least. It would be difficlut to read this book and still be able to watch wrestling with the same level of enjoyment.
February 6, 2012
I enjoyed--if you can say 'enjoyed' regarding a book that covers a painful subject--this because of my familiarity with the subject matter and the very accessible way Keith writes. It is better than a blog but not quite up to par with a basic journalistic style. I think Scott Keith would be the first to agree with that as he comes across as very aware that he's not a journalist and not writing an investigation.
Like a lot of the other reviewers have done also, I take issue with the misleading way the book is presented. This book could have easily been called "Why Wrestlers Die" or "The Big Book of Heart Attacks and Steroids." Benoit and the Harts are only the handle of the axe he's grinding.
Like a lot of the other reviewers have done also, I take issue with the misleading way the book is presented. This book could have easily been called "Why Wrestlers Die" or "The Big Book of Heart Attacks and Steroids." Benoit and the Harts are only the handle of the axe he's grinding.
March 1, 2014
The thesis of this book was that a harsh fate has befallen many of the professional wrestlers who trained or worked in Stu Hart's "Stampede" promotion in Calgary. The author makes a good point and it's hard to argue that the death rate for those guys was really high. On the other hand he spends the last third of the book going totally off the rails with a survey of wrestlers dying early... He just left the subject completely.
August 19, 2014
It lists wrestlers who have died indirectly of drugs and the serves up a conclusion. The substancial part easily could be released in an essay and at the end, all the given information feels like padding.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews