“[A] grisly, wonderful book…. A scrupulously researched and complexly sympathetic biography of the craziest killer in American history.”

—Film Quarterly

THE A TO Z ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SERIAL KILLERS by Harold Schechter and David Everitt

“This grisly tome will tell you all you ever wanted to know (and more) about everything from ‘Axe Murderers’ to ‘Zombies’…. Schechter knows his subject matter.”

—Denver Rocky Mountain News

Books by Harold Schechter

The A-Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers (with David Everitt)

Bestial

Depraved

Deranged

Deviant

Outcry

Nevermore

Published by POCKET BOOKS

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NEVERMORE

HAROLD
SCHECHTER

POCKET BOOKS
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The sale of this book without its cover is unauthorized. If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that it was reported to the publisher as “unsold and destroyed.” Neither the author nor the publisher has received payment for the sale of this “stripped book.”

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc.
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com

Copyright © 1999 by Harold Schechter

Originally published in hardcover in 1999 by Pocket Books

For information address Pocket Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

ISBN: 0-671-79856-1
eISBN: 978-1-4516-1791-7

First Pocket Books paperback printing January 2000

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POCKET and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster Inc.

Cover art by Tom Hallman

Printed in the U.S.A.

Dedication

In loving remembrance of CELIA WASSERMAN SCHECHTER

HISTORICAL NOTE

In March 1834 the Philadelphia publishers Carey & Hart brought out A Narrative of the Life of David Crockett of the State of Tennessee, the only authorized autobiography of the legendary pioneer. The book—recounting Crockett’s colorful life from his early backwoods exploits to his political battles in the House of Representatives—became an immediate bestseller, transforming its author into a national celebrity, a homespun symbol of America’s rugged frontier spirit.

Shortly after the appearance of his life story, Crockett—a savvy self-promoter—embarked on a major publicity tour. Setting out from Washington, D.C., he travelled throughout the Northeast, attracting admiring crowds wherever he went. His itinerary included stops in Philadelphia, New York, Boston, and Baltimore.

For all its commercial success, Crockett’s autobiography did not win universal praise. A particularly scathing notice appeared in the Southern Literary Messenger—a distinguished magazine of the day—whose reviewer denounced the book for its “vulgarity.”