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The Ghost That Ate Us: The Tragic True Story of the Burger City Poltergeist
You remember the brutal crime, don’t you?
Maybe you read about it on Twitter. Maybe a friend sent you a news clip. Maybe you saw it on an episode of Spectral Journeys that night you were flipping through channels, unable to sleep.
Maybe after reading the true story, you won’t ever sleep again.
On June 1, 2017, six people were killed at a Burger City franchise off I-80 near Jonny, Iowa. It was the bizarre and gruesome conclusion to nine months of alleged paranormal activity at the fast-food joint—events popularly known as “the Burger City Poltergeist.”
The story inspired Facebook memes, Twitter hashtags, Buzzfeed listicles, Saturday Night Live sketches, and more. But the case was never much more than a punchline…until bestselling writer Daniel Kraus (The Shape of Water, The Living Dead) decided to head to Iowa to dig up what really happened.
Presented here is the definitive story of “the most exhaustively documented haunting in history,” including—for the first time ever—interviews with every living survivor of the tragedy.
The employees of Burger City were a family. They loved one another. At least, at the beginning.
But love can make you do unspeakable things.
Maybe you read about it on Twitter. Maybe a friend sent you a news clip. Maybe you saw it on an episode of Spectral Journeys that night you were flipping through channels, unable to sleep.
Maybe after reading the true story, you won’t ever sleep again.
On June 1, 2017, six people were killed at a Burger City franchise off I-80 near Jonny, Iowa. It was the bizarre and gruesome conclusion to nine months of alleged paranormal activity at the fast-food joint—events popularly known as “the Burger City Poltergeist.”
The story inspired Facebook memes, Twitter hashtags, Buzzfeed listicles, Saturday Night Live sketches, and more. But the case was never much more than a punchline…until bestselling writer Daniel Kraus (The Shape of Water, The Living Dead) decided to head to Iowa to dig up what really happened.
Presented here is the definitive story of “the most exhaustively documented haunting in history,” including—for the first time ever—interviews with every living survivor of the tragedy.
The employees of Burger City were a family. They loved one another. At least, at the beginning.
But love can make you do unspeakable things.
299 pages, Hardcover
First published July 12, 2022
50 people are currently reading
2235 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Kraus
76 books1,331 followers“Kraus brings the rigor of a scientist and the sensibility of a poet.” – The New York Times
DANIEL KRAUS is a New York Times bestselling writer of novels, TV, and film. WHALEFALL received a front-cover rave in the New York Times Book Review, won the Alex Award, was an L.A. Times Book Prize Finalist, and was a Best Book of 2023 from NPR, the New York Times, Amazon, Chicago Tribune, and more.
With Guillermo del Toro, he co-authored THE SHAPE OF WATER, based on the same idea the two created for the Oscar-winning film. Also with del Toro, Kraus co-authored TROLLHUNTERS, which was adapted into the Emmy-winning Netflix series. His also cowrote THE LIVING DEAD and PAY THE PIPER with legendary filmmaker George A. Romero.
Kraus’s THE DEATH AND LIFE OF ZEBULON FINCH was named one of Entertainment Weekly‘s Top 10 Books of the Year. Kraus has won the Bram Stoker Award, Scribe Award, two Odyssey Awards (for both ROTTERS and SCOWLER), and has appeared multiple times as Library Guild selections, YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults, and more.
Kraus’s work has been translated into over 20 languages. Visit him at danielkraus.com.
DANIEL KRAUS is a New York Times bestselling writer of novels, TV, and film. WHALEFALL received a front-cover rave in the New York Times Book Review, won the Alex Award, was an L.A. Times Book Prize Finalist, and was a Best Book of 2023 from NPR, the New York Times, Amazon, Chicago Tribune, and more.
With Guillermo del Toro, he co-authored THE SHAPE OF WATER, based on the same idea the two created for the Oscar-winning film. Also with del Toro, Kraus co-authored TROLLHUNTERS, which was adapted into the Emmy-winning Netflix series. His also cowrote THE LIVING DEAD and PAY THE PIPER with legendary filmmaker George A. Romero.
Kraus’s THE DEATH AND LIFE OF ZEBULON FINCH was named one of Entertainment Weekly‘s Top 10 Books of the Year. Kraus has won the Bram Stoker Award, Scribe Award, two Odyssey Awards (for both ROTTERS and SCOWLER), and has appeared multiple times as Library Guild selections, YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults, and more.
Kraus’s work has been translated into over 20 languages. Visit him at danielkraus.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 190 reviews
June 15, 2022
The Ghost That Ate Us simply blew me away. That's it, that's the review.
I would never do that, but today I want to because I'm struggling to find the right words.
Since I loved the last Daniel Kraus book I read, I jumped at the opportunity to read a paperback of this one. I knew nothing about it going in.
Here's the set up:
The author, (this author), is putting together a book about the survivors of a tragedy at a Burger City franchise in Iowa. He interviews everyone involved and puts together a detailed timeline of everything that led up to the massacre. There are photos, there are graphs and drawings. There are recordings of several supernatural happenings leading up to that fateful day. And all of this is fake.
What an original way to frame a story! As these interviews unfold, the reader begins to form their own theory about what happened-what was real, (HA!), and what wasn't. Sometimes the interviews seemed a bit too detailed, but as it turns out, most of those details were mentioned for a reason.
What really made this a winner, was the relationships between the BC crew and the social commentary that's going on in the background. The small towns of Iowa, meth addiction running rampant, etc... This small Iowa town reminds me a lot of the small towns in western MA: built on manufacturing and now slowly dying. Rising drug addiction and therefore rising crime. Maybe that's not what the author intended, but we all bring our own baggage to a story, and this one made me take a look around. As for the relationships of of the fast food workers, they were in depth. I loved their jokes about how much they hated the place. The connections between these people are almost palpable and the small bits of humor here and there just made everything seem more real.
And then...naw, just joking. I wouldn't ruin the perfect icing on this literary cake. As my very first sentence in this review states: The Ghost That Ate Us simply blew me away.
My highest recommendation!
*Thanks to Erin and Raw Dog Screaming Press for providing this book in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!*
I would never do that, but today I want to because I'm struggling to find the right words.
Since I loved the last Daniel Kraus book I read, I jumped at the opportunity to read a paperback of this one. I knew nothing about it going in.
Here's the set up:
The author, (this author), is putting together a book about the survivors of a tragedy at a Burger City franchise in Iowa. He interviews everyone involved and puts together a detailed timeline of everything that led up to the massacre. There are photos, there are graphs and drawings. There are recordings of several supernatural happenings leading up to that fateful day. And all of this is fake.
What an original way to frame a story! As these interviews unfold, the reader begins to form their own theory about what happened-what was real, (HA!), and what wasn't. Sometimes the interviews seemed a bit too detailed, but as it turns out, most of those details were mentioned for a reason.
What really made this a winner, was the relationships between the BC crew and the social commentary that's going on in the background. The small towns of Iowa, meth addiction running rampant, etc... This small Iowa town reminds me a lot of the small towns in western MA: built on manufacturing and now slowly dying. Rising drug addiction and therefore rising crime. Maybe that's not what the author intended, but we all bring our own baggage to a story, and this one made me take a look around. As for the relationships of of the fast food workers, they were in depth. I loved their jokes about how much they hated the place. The connections between these people are almost palpable and the small bits of humor here and there just made everything seem more real.
And then...naw, just joking. I wouldn't ruin the perfect icing on this literary cake. As my very first sentence in this review states: The Ghost That Ate Us simply blew me away.
My highest recommendation!
*Thanks to Erin and Raw Dog Screaming Press for providing this book in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!*
September 11, 2023
Where has Daniel Kraus been all my life?!
The Ghost that Ate Us reads as a documentary about the fictional Poltergeist of Burger City. The characters were unique and engrossing, and the story lead me by the imagination from beginning to end.
Kraus, himself, is the writer/interviewer who descends on small town Iowa, USA to record the accounts of the Burger City massacre survivors. His placement in the story could have easily made my eyes roll as author narcissism. But it didn't; I loved it. He grounded the tale in the real world, making it feel like it could be true.
The Ghost that Ate Us reads as a documentary about the fictional Poltergeist of Burger City. The characters were unique and engrossing, and the story lead me by the imagination from beginning to end.
Kraus, himself, is the writer/interviewer who descends on small town Iowa, USA to record the accounts of the Burger City massacre survivors. His placement in the story could have easily made my eyes roll as author narcissism. But it didn't; I loved it. He grounded the tale in the real world, making it feel like it could be true.
July 7, 2022
The Ghost That Ate Us is set up like a true-crime novel but it’s all made up. If you don’t know that going in you might be a little perplexed at the eventual turn of events. I haven’t read a ton of true crime novels because after the absolute horror show that was Fred and Rose Fred & Rose, I couldn’t do it anymore, but this one is ok because even though it feels real, it’s all made up. Phew!
The author inserts himself into the book and tells the strange and sad tale of the murders that occurred at a Burger City franchise via interviews with the survivors, regulars of the restaurant, and your everyday busy body types. There are many photos and lots and lots of footnotes. I’m not going to sit here and lie. Footnotes slip me up and slow me down and this book was no exception. Some of them added to the story and were interesting but many of them felt useless and because I’m so nosy I had to stop and read every one each time I saw that little footnote # stamped onto the page. It kind of took me ages to finish the book but I’m not sorry I did. It was genuinely creepy, and the sense of slow creeping dread was done very well. The “wtf is going on here” factor kept me going because I had to know!
I enjoyed getting to know the employees, some of their stories will break your heart. Many of them are broken in so many ways even before all of this. I worked in a similar place when I was a teen and it all felt very realistic. The pay sucks, the management sucks, and the customers (mostly) suck but you do create a little sense of family even when things are horrible. Or maybe because of it. Anyhow, I thought this book captured all of that very skillfully and I grew to care about many of these people.
Some of the poltergeist action is a little light-hearted and silly at times and it worked for me. I always appreciate a little levity in a book filled with so much despair. Dez cracked me up every time she opened her mouth.
So, while it may have taken me a while to read it, and some of it was a little slow going, I was fully invested in these people and their stories, and I never felt the urge to put it down and forget about it as I’ve been doing with too many books this year.
The author inserts himself into the book and tells the strange and sad tale of the murders that occurred at a Burger City franchise via interviews with the survivors, regulars of the restaurant, and your everyday busy body types. There are many photos and lots and lots of footnotes. I’m not going to sit here and lie. Footnotes slip me up and slow me down and this book was no exception. Some of them added to the story and were interesting but many of them felt useless and because I’m so nosy I had to stop and read every one each time I saw that little footnote # stamped onto the page. It kind of took me ages to finish the book but I’m not sorry I did. It was genuinely creepy, and the sense of slow creeping dread was done very well. The “wtf is going on here” factor kept me going because I had to know!
I enjoyed getting to know the employees, some of their stories will break your heart. Many of them are broken in so many ways even before all of this. I worked in a similar place when I was a teen and it all felt very realistic. The pay sucks, the management sucks, and the customers (mostly) suck but you do create a little sense of family even when things are horrible. Or maybe because of it. Anyhow, I thought this book captured all of that very skillfully and I grew to care about many of these people.
Some of the poltergeist action is a little light-hearted and silly at times and it worked for me. I always appreciate a little levity in a book filled with so much despair. Dez cracked me up every time she opened her mouth.
So, while it may have taken me a while to read it, and some of it was a little slow going, I was fully invested in these people and their stories, and I never felt the urge to put it down and forget about it as I’ve been doing with too many books this year.
July 12, 2022
Like a burn from a deep fryer, this story will stay with you forever. Especially if you've had the pleasure (or pain?) of working in the fast food industry.
The Ghost That Ate Us is an incredible work of fiction cleverly disguised as fact. Set within a unique backdrop for a horror story, the workers of Burger City #8, a fast food franchise in Iowa tell their torrid tale of murder, violence, and chillies (the slushy/thick shake-like beverages all the workers are addicted to) via series of found footage, survivor interviews, and social media posts chronicling their decent into madness.
This approach to storytelling works on so many levels, it's easy to forget you're reading a fictional story stylised as non-fiction. I've got to admit I spent way too much time googling Burger City #8, Game of Pricks, Lil' Beefy, and a slew of other references from the footnotes in the hopes of finding more information about the fast food poltergeist and the colourful characters it tormented.
I wish I read this when I was a pimply faced teen working at Hungry Jacks (Burger King for those reading from the USA), it would've made those graveyard shifts cleaning the broiler and serving the midnight ghouls through drive window all the more interesting.
The Ghost That Ate Us is an incredible work of fiction cleverly disguised as fact. Set within a unique backdrop for a horror story, the workers of Burger City #8, a fast food franchise in Iowa tell their torrid tale of murder, violence, and chillies (the slushy/thick shake-like beverages all the workers are addicted to) via series of found footage, survivor interviews, and social media posts chronicling their decent into madness.
This approach to storytelling works on so many levels, it's easy to forget you're reading a fictional story stylised as non-fiction. I've got to admit I spent way too much time googling Burger City #8, Game of Pricks, Lil' Beefy, and a slew of other references from the footnotes in the hopes of finding more information about the fast food poltergeist and the colourful characters it tormented.
I wish I read this when I was a pimply faced teen working at Hungry Jacks (Burger King for those reading from the USA), it would've made those graveyard shifts cleaning the broiler and serving the midnight ghouls through drive window all the more interesting.
May 10, 2022
Star Review in the May 1 issue of Booklist and on the blog: https://raforall.blogspot.com/2022/05...
There Words That Describe This Book: verisimilitude, immersive, escalating dread
As a good a true crime book as I'll Be Gone in the Dark except NONE OF IT IS REAL. And yet, people who love True Crime will love the realism here.
Less wink and nod meta than Chasing the Boogeyman by Chizmar because there is very little of Kraus' life here except being from Iowa and understanding the people. It is not a bio with a crime-- it is a true [fictional] crime with so much realism that it is immersive, but also adds a level of creepiness. I think it is more like Reprieve by James Han Mattson.
And, and this is key to me giving a star review, he stuck the landing. He stuck it so much you could read the last page first. Don't do that, because it is better if you don't. but when you get to the last page, you will be glad you read the entire book. And you will have a whole body shiver. What more could you ask for a horror novel.
There Words That Describe This Book: verisimilitude, immersive, escalating dread
As a good a true crime book as I'll Be Gone in the Dark except NONE OF IT IS REAL. And yet, people who love True Crime will love the realism here.
Less wink and nod meta than Chasing the Boogeyman by Chizmar because there is very little of Kraus' life here except being from Iowa and understanding the people. It is not a bio with a crime-- it is a true [fictional] crime with so much realism that it is immersive, but also adds a level of creepiness. I think it is more like Reprieve by James Han Mattson.
And, and this is key to me giving a star review, he stuck the landing. He stuck it so much you could read the last page first. Don't do that, because it is better if you don't. but when you get to the last page, you will be glad you read the entire book. And you will have a whole body shiver. What more could you ask for a horror novel.
April 2, 2022
SO SO GOOD! Review to come!
August 11, 2022
You'll wanna take your time with this one.
I love stories like that, the ones that make me work for it.
This is a mind bender of book that doles out skittery little frissons of fear like a mom parsing out the skittles to a toddler. Just a few for now, you don't want to spoil your dinner.
And boy is "dinner" gnarly as hell.
Daniel Kraus traveled to Jonny, Iowa to tell the "real" story of the Burger City Poltergeist. Not the staged, ridiculous version you've seen on reality television or in the biased news reports that came out during the investigations. Forget all the silly theories you've read on message boards and reddit threads. He talked to the people who were there, the ones who felt the coldest cold spot and heard the whispers on the drive thru microphone. But he also learned about who the victims of the Burger City Poltergeist were. He learned about their dreams, their love for each other, their pain and their fear that they'd never get out of a depressed, dying little town in the middle of nowhere.
Its not a pretty story and you won't sleep very well after you read it but this is the definitive account of one of the most baffling, horrifying crimes in our countries history.
Its also a work of fiction but damned if I didn't have to remind myself of that CONSTANTLY while reading this riveting horror novel masquerading (very, very well) as a true crime/paranormal book.
I've seen this book described over and over as a satirical take on true crime or paranormal investigative writing but I didn't find a lot of satire here. This is slow burn horror with a side of existential despair and its gonna be awhile before I stop feeling a tiny little stab of dread every time I drive by a Mcdonald's.
The journey is long with this one and its full of grief and terror and longing and something called "meat grief" that I'm not even getting into right now and its got a gut punch of an ending.
Well played Mr. Kraus.
I love stories like that, the ones that make me work for it.
This is a mind bender of book that doles out skittery little frissons of fear like a mom parsing out the skittles to a toddler. Just a few for now, you don't want to spoil your dinner.
And boy is "dinner" gnarly as hell.
Daniel Kraus traveled to Jonny, Iowa to tell the "real" story of the Burger City Poltergeist. Not the staged, ridiculous version you've seen on reality television or in the biased news reports that came out during the investigations. Forget all the silly theories you've read on message boards and reddit threads. He talked to the people who were there, the ones who felt the coldest cold spot and heard the whispers on the drive thru microphone. But he also learned about who the victims of the Burger City Poltergeist were. He learned about their dreams, their love for each other, their pain and their fear that they'd never get out of a depressed, dying little town in the middle of nowhere.
Its not a pretty story and you won't sleep very well after you read it but this is the definitive account of one of the most baffling, horrifying crimes in our countries history.
Its also a work of fiction but damned if I didn't have to remind myself of that CONSTANTLY while reading this riveting horror novel masquerading (very, very well) as a true crime/paranormal book.
I've seen this book described over and over as a satirical take on true crime or paranormal investigative writing but I didn't find a lot of satire here. This is slow burn horror with a side of existential despair and its gonna be awhile before I stop feeling a tiny little stab of dread every time I drive by a Mcdonald's.
The journey is long with this one and its full of grief and terror and longing and something called "meat grief" that I'm not even getting into right now and its got a gut punch of an ending.
Well played Mr. Kraus.
July 28, 2022
I found this an average read until the very end, then it blindsided me. The ending was unbelievable. I loved that the setting was a fast food restaurant and that there was plenty of gory parts.
August 7, 2022
3.0 stars
The premise of this one was amazing… but the execution fell flat for me. The tone was just too light and humorous for my tastes which spoiled the "true crime" aspect of the story. The ending was the best part because the book finally felt super Meta.
The premise of this one was amazing… but the execution fell flat for me. The tone was just too light and humorous for my tastes which spoiled the "true crime" aspect of the story. The ending was the best part because the book finally felt super Meta.
May 1, 2022
5 star review coming to Kendall Reviews!
June 14, 2022
Once many many moons ago, I worked at a Burger King on Aurora Ave in Seattle. Aurora is a great place to be if you want to rent a room for an hour or get mugged. Not to brag but I was the biggest upseller in my restaurant. Was a ten-dollar Tower Records gift certificate worth super-sizing people into an early grave? Hell yes it was, I used it to buy a No Doubt CD.
The Ghost That Ate Us brings us back to those days and I found myself thinking of the good times I had at that place. The friendships, the inter-office romances, and covertly trading food with other dining establishments because we were so sick of the food that we were shilling. If author Daniel Kraus has never worked in fast food, they knew someone that did. The whole atmosphere is just too realistic to have simply come from someone’s imagination.
You can read Jennifer's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.
The Ghost That Ate Us brings us back to those days and I found myself thinking of the good times I had at that place. The friendships, the inter-office romances, and covertly trading food with other dining establishments because we were so sick of the food that we were shilling. If author Daniel Kraus has never worked in fast food, they knew someone that did. The whole atmosphere is just too realistic to have simply come from someone’s imagination.
You can read Jennifer's full review at Horror DNA by clicking here.
November 7, 2022
Probably the most unique fictional true story I've ever read.
March 27, 2022
This review is for an ARC copy received from the publisher through NetGalley.
First off I have to address the fact that, while I appreciate being given an advance galley copy in exchange for a review, the poor quality of the ARC definitely impacted my feelings towards the book. I have read dozens of ARCs and this is the first one that was laden with so many typos, punctuation errors and had whole patches of the text misformatted, making it difficult to read.
OK, so I was snookered. When I first came across this book I (obviously) didn't pay close enough attention to the description and actually believed this was nonfiction. At the onset, it really did read like a (not particularly well written) True Crime book. The little details, like mentions of "the true story" appearing on Saturday Night Live and the Travel Channel, and the author putting himself in the book gave it a real sense of legitimacy. It wasn't until about the midpoint of the novel that the whole nonfiction aspect really began to crumble. Between the sophomoric "transcriptions" of the Burger City teens meeting for their own paranormal investigation club and the pretty much laughable description of how the fictitious ghost hunting TV show filmed their episode (plus, googling names and events and coming up with nada) I finally looked at reviews of the book and confirmed my suspicion that this was totally made up. And at that point, even if it was legit, it was still very poorly written for a true crime book. There is so much unnecessary background of people and places it (eventually) became clear this was filler to turn what was probably a novella at best into a full length novel. I give the author credit for trying, but his publisher/editor should have made him do a better job. If you want to read a novel that truly reads like non-fiction and is overall written much better I would recommend Chasing the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar. This book just felt like a Syfy-like cheap attempt to cash in on something more successful.
First off I have to address the fact that, while I appreciate being given an advance galley copy in exchange for a review, the poor quality of the ARC definitely impacted my feelings towards the book. I have read dozens of ARCs and this is the first one that was laden with so many typos, punctuation errors and had whole patches of the text misformatted, making it difficult to read.
OK, so I was snookered. When I first came across this book I (obviously) didn't pay close enough attention to the description and actually believed this was nonfiction. At the onset, it really did read like a (not particularly well written) True Crime book. The little details, like mentions of "the true story" appearing on Saturday Night Live and the Travel Channel, and the author putting himself in the book gave it a real sense of legitimacy. It wasn't until about the midpoint of the novel that the whole nonfiction aspect really began to crumble. Between the sophomoric "transcriptions" of the Burger City teens meeting for their own paranormal investigation club and the pretty much laughable description of how the fictitious ghost hunting TV show filmed their episode (plus, googling names and events and coming up with nada) I finally looked at reviews of the book and confirmed my suspicion that this was totally made up. And at that point, even if it was legit, it was still very poorly written for a true crime book. There is so much unnecessary background of people and places it (eventually) became clear this was filler to turn what was probably a novella at best into a full length novel. I give the author credit for trying, but his publisher/editor should have made him do a better job. If you want to read a novel that truly reads like non-fiction and is overall written much better I would recommend Chasing the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar. This book just felt like a Syfy-like cheap attempt to cash in on something more successful.
June 26, 2022
This is such a fun book!
Imagine Poltergeist but in a fast food place and you have The Ghost That Are Us. This story is told in a documentary fashion with interviews, evidence, and footnotes to help the reader understand the horror that took place at Burger City.. The characters are well-developed, realistic, and come alive of the page!
Reading this on the Kindle is tricky with the images and notations. I highly recommend a paperback, and I imagine that would have enhanced the experience; however, even with the odd formatting on an e-version, the book was a blast! Quick paced and a wild ride!
Imagine Poltergeist but in a fast food place and you have The Ghost That Are Us. This story is told in a documentary fashion with interviews, evidence, and footnotes to help the reader understand the horror that took place at Burger City.. The characters are well-developed, realistic, and come alive of the page!
Reading this on the Kindle is tricky with the images and notations. I highly recommend a paperback, and I imagine that would have enhanced the experience; however, even with the odd formatting on an e-version, the book was a blast! Quick paced and a wild ride!
July 13, 2022
Without in any way detracting from how engrossing and horrifying this novel is, from the beginning I experienced such strong overtones of fiction by Grady Hendrix and Daryl Gregory, as well as true-crime Nonfiction and true-crime podcast transcripts. Simultaneously, reading the unfolding story, I felt like a Paris citizen standing on the Avenue watching the Juggernaut rolling with royal victims to the guillotine. The foreshadowing frisson in this novel is as heavy as the silence preceding a tornado lurking just over your shoulder.
In addition to the weight of the foreshadowing, which should cause sensible individuals to run away before uncovering the inevitable tragedies, the novel carries its own compulsion: like witnessing a passenger train about to collide with a stalled fuel tanker, the reader simply cannot turn away! We are compelled to witness to the end, no matter how horrifying, nor unavoidable. We must watch and witness.
In addition to the weight of the foreshadowing, which should cause sensible individuals to run away before uncovering the inevitable tragedies, the novel carries its own compulsion: like witnessing a passenger train about to collide with a stalled fuel tanker, the reader simply cannot turn away! We are compelled to witness to the end, no matter how horrifying, nor unavoidable. We must watch and witness.
August 28, 2022
This is the most original book I've read this year, and the attention to detail that Mr. Kraus put into it to make it as realistic as it seems, is commendable. It's absolutely horrific, not due to any supernatural reason, really, but due to the terrible actions that humans themselves are capable of. And that last chapter delightfully twisted my reality for a few minutes after finishing.
Great read.
Great read.
July 1, 2022
I received a copy of this novel through netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book at first was slightly slow, but it picked up pace and by the end it was a roller coaster that I couldn't get off of. Truly superb story telling that left me breathless and thinking I knew the whole story all the way until the shocking end. Highly recommend.
This book at first was slightly slow, but it picked up pace and by the end it was a roller coaster that I couldn't get off of. Truly superb story telling that left me breathless and thinking I knew the whole story all the way until the shocking end. Highly recommend.
May 16, 2022
Very, very interesting premise and approach.
The book is written in the fashion of a scholarly thesis which doesn't sound like it would work, but actually works very well. Pretty much a mockumentary "true crime" style novel, this piece of fiction, its description, and reading a few chapters will send you straight to the internet to find out whether the author is having you on or not
And even THEN, you won't be sure.
Dragged on a bit in the middle, picked up the pace for the last quarter, and overall was a very enjoyable read.
Keep in mind that the only way to read this as an e-book is in PDF format (it contains footnotes that don't lend themselves to EPUB or AZW3)
The book is written in the fashion of a scholarly thesis which doesn't sound like it would work, but actually works very well. Pretty much a mockumentary "true crime" style novel, this piece of fiction, its description, and reading a few chapters will send you straight to the internet to find out whether the author is having you on or not
And even THEN, you won't be sure.
Dragged on a bit in the middle, picked up the pace for the last quarter, and overall was a very enjoyable read.
Keep in mind that the only way to read this as an e-book is in PDF format (it contains footnotes that don't lend themselves to EPUB or AZW3)
September 7, 2022
Fans of true crime, true crime inspired fiction, and the supernatural are going to devour this one!
September 24, 2023
I really wish this had ended with the penultimate chapter, but overall a creative story.
February 22, 2023
DNF'd at 39%.
I'm trying to be braver and learn to stop reading a book when it feels like a drag or I just don't look forward to it at all.
I'm so disappointed with myself because I tried so hardand got so far to find this book only to DNF it in the end. Sadly I got hyped about an specific idea in my head about how it'd be, and it was anything but.
Eh. What can you do.
We'll get it next time fellas.
I'm trying to be braver and learn to stop reading a book when it feels like a drag or I just don't look forward to it at all.
I'm so disappointed with myself because I tried so hard
Eh. What can you do.
We'll get it next time fellas.
March 6, 2023
This book and I did not see eye to eye. I never really meshed with the style or the characters. It just wasn't my thing, your mileage may vary.
June 23, 2022
Thank you to Raw Dog Screaming Press & Erin for sending an ARC of The Ghost that Ate Us my way!
The Ghost that Ate Us is perfect for fans of the mixed media/non-conventional type: House of Leaves, Wylding Hall, Daisy Jones and the Six, etc. So, in other words, me. I'm a sucker for anything that lands outside of the box, and friends, The Ghost that Ate Us is so far out of the box. Daniel Kraus' novel is filled with interviews, anecdotes, and photographs of what happened at the Burger City off I-80. The Ghost that Ate Us plays itself off as a true story, so much so, that the person conducting these interviews & all that jazz is the man himself, Daniel Kraus.
This mockumentary-style book is so much fun. With both the cover and the synopsis, I'm honestly not surprised that I had such a blast. Kraus does such a great job at this format that I often forgot that this was a fictional account.
One thing that really sticks out in The Ghost that Ate Us is the colorful cast of characters; from Kit Bryant to Desdemona Mozley -- the characters in this book are so unique and I couldn't help but fall in love with them. Did I think I'd become strangely obsessed with these characters? Absolutely not. But alas, here we are.
And the horror! Oh, the horror. At times the scares are a bit.. silly. But it's scattered so perfectly throughout this book & the actual tragedy that Daniel Kraus leads up to is absolutely insane. This tragedy is often hinted at throughout the read & the payoff is so good.
This was such a fun book to read; so unique, so well-done & just an absolute blast from start to finish.
The Ghost that Ate Us is perfect for fans of the mixed media/non-conventional type: House of Leaves, Wylding Hall, Daisy Jones and the Six, etc. So, in other words, me. I'm a sucker for anything that lands outside of the box, and friends, The Ghost that Ate Us is so far out of the box. Daniel Kraus' novel is filled with interviews, anecdotes, and photographs of what happened at the Burger City off I-80. The Ghost that Ate Us plays itself off as a true story, so much so, that the person conducting these interviews & all that jazz is the man himself, Daniel Kraus.
This mockumentary-style book is so much fun. With both the cover and the synopsis, I'm honestly not surprised that I had such a blast. Kraus does such a great job at this format that I often forgot that this was a fictional account.
One thing that really sticks out in The Ghost that Ate Us is the colorful cast of characters; from Kit Bryant to Desdemona Mozley -- the characters in this book are so unique and I couldn't help but fall in love with them. Did I think I'd become strangely obsessed with these characters? Absolutely not. But alas, here we are.
And the horror! Oh, the horror. At times the scares are a bit.. silly. But it's scattered so perfectly throughout this book & the actual tragedy that Daniel Kraus leads up to is absolutely insane. This tragedy is often hinted at throughout the read & the payoff is so good.
This was such a fun book to read; so unique, so well-done & just an absolute blast from start to finish.
February 1, 2025
I read this as an audio book and it admittedly took me a bit to be able to get into it. I was unfamiliar with the mockumentary style and it threw me off a bit. Once I figured out how to follow the narrative better, I was able to get more into the story and develop a sense of care for the characters. Having worked at a fast food place for many years, the story felt accurate to the portrayal (provided there were poltergeists at McDonald’s, I could definitely see the story unfolding similarly)
I would be curious to reread this as a physical book to see if that helped with my enjoyment of the novel.
I would be curious to reread this as a physical book to see if that helped with my enjoyment of the novel.
July 24, 2022
The newest offering from Daniel Kraus is wildly original, meticulously crafted, and poignant at times.
Kraus presents The Ghost That Ate Us as a journalistic recounting of strange events surrounding an Iowa fast food restaurant and the aftermath as it relates to the staff. A few notes on how Kraus handles the format in this book.
First, the narrative voice, inclusion of footnotes, and detail truly immerse the reader in the "authenticity" of the story. Despite the book claiming to be fiction at the beginning, some readers may find themselves wondering and even googling the events.
Second, again adding to the authenticity, the paranormal happenings are not wild and over-the-top. The subdued nature adds to the believability, that these events could have transpired without the reader's prior knowledge.
Third, the focus is on the cast of characters that works at the restaurant, spanning high school kids about to graduate to lifers. Kraus includes the advent of social media in taking the strange events and attempting to garner national attention, and distract from their dead-end small-town midwest lives. The book promises chills and humor, but sneaks in some thoughtful and harrowing commentary on being human.
The Ghost That Ate Us is a phenomenal addition to horror canon, and the final chapter ties the entire project so well, it couldn't possibly have gone in any other direction. Kraus has cooked up a winner.
Kraus presents The Ghost That Ate Us as a journalistic recounting of strange events surrounding an Iowa fast food restaurant and the aftermath as it relates to the staff. A few notes on how Kraus handles the format in this book.
First, the narrative voice, inclusion of footnotes, and detail truly immerse the reader in the "authenticity" of the story. Despite the book claiming to be fiction at the beginning, some readers may find themselves wondering and even googling the events.
Second, again adding to the authenticity, the paranormal happenings are not wild and over-the-top. The subdued nature adds to the believability, that these events could have transpired without the reader's prior knowledge.
Third, the focus is on the cast of characters that works at the restaurant, spanning high school kids about to graduate to lifers. Kraus includes the advent of social media in taking the strange events and attempting to garner national attention, and distract from their dead-end small-town midwest lives. The book promises chills and humor, but sneaks in some thoughtful and harrowing commentary on being human.
The Ghost That Ate Us is a phenomenal addition to horror canon, and the final chapter ties the entire project so well, it couldn't possibly have gone in any other direction. Kraus has cooked up a winner.
April 28, 2023
I was struggling with how to rate this book because overall I enjoyed it. I think the premise is clever, the execution is well done, and it's a unique concept I haven't really seen much. I landed on a 3-star kinda middle-of-the-road rating because I liked it but didn't love it, I won't likely read it again, and would only recommend to specific readers. I was mostly enjoying the story, but it felt like it went on just a smidge too long and I think some of the characters weren't fleshed out enough to be impactful. There were a few woman that were almost indistinguishable from each other.
If you want to read a fictional true crime story with both natural and supernatural elements then give this a spin!
Even though I didn't love this one, I love Kraus' writing style and his painstaking attention to detail. It has been enough to fake out readers into thinking it's an actual true crime story! I will definitely read more of his work.
If you want to read a fictional true crime story with both natural and supernatural elements then give this a spin!
Even though I didn't love this one, I love Kraus' writing style and his painstaking attention to detail. It has been enough to fake out readers into thinking it's an actual true crime story! I will definitely read more of his work.
Want to read
January 21, 2023I went to a horror/thriller bookstore and cafe in Toronto and got this as a early bday gift for me!
September 1, 2022
It was a good horror story, I just didn't like the way it was written (as interviews)
March 10, 2023
This was a wild ride. Dense and sometimes hard to read, more than anything, it’s a book that feels like a feat. A magic trick. A conjuring. Be careful. This story is dangerous.
April 13, 2025
I don't know what I was expecting from a book titled "The Ghost That Ate Us," but this was light on both humor and horror for me.
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