Book Review: The Ghost that Ate Us by Daniel Kraus

Thank you to Raw Dog Screaming Press & Erin for sending an ARC of The Ghost that Ate Us my way!

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.

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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.