Harold Schechter

Disclaimer: I received this as part of the GoodReads First Reads program.

This is the story of Alfred Packer. In 1873, Packer was part of a group heading west to find their fortune. While trapped in deep snow and frigid temperatures in Colorado, Packer allegedly killed 5 of his partners, robbed them and butchered them, cooking and eating their remains for several weeks before he could finally make his way out. He always claimed that one of the others killed them all, and he killed that person in self-defence when he was attacked. He was tried and convicted of murder, and sentenced to death, but a legislative blunder in drafting the law voided the sentence. He was retried, found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 40 years in prison, the maximum sentence allowed. Eventually he received a pardon and was able to die a free man, protesting his innocence to his dying breath.

Did he do it? That remains inconclusive. The author believes so, but gives plenty of room for debate. I am undecided, and don't believe the true story will ever be known. Packer's name has often been used in comedic fashion to mark dining rooms, often misspelled (as he himself did) Alferd Packer.

This is a fascinating bit of American history that was unknown to me, written in a very engaging way, and was very difficult to put down. I'd highly recommend it.


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Errol Morris interviewed Ed Gein, and, along with his friend Werner Herzog, wanted to exhume Augusta Gein's grave to see if Ed robbed it. But only Herzog was present and he didn't commit. YO!!!!

Ed Gein was a momma's boy, dominated by a tyrannical, pious woman named Augusta Gein. His father was an enfeebled drunk and his brother, Henry, had died around the same time as his dad, and so it was only Ed and Augusta until her death the mid 50s. She was a bossy cunt throughout her entire life, becoming sort of like Ed's God. Consciously, he loved her, but subconsciously, he hated her. And so, he exhumed plenty and murdered two elderly women, butchering, tanning, and defiling their bodies as of means of bringing her mother back to life and killing her at the same time. He was a disturbed individual, desiring to be a woman, who inspired Leatherface, Buffalo Bill, and Norman Bates, along with, more generally, inspiring the Slasher genre. He's buried in an unmarked grave next to his mother. (also, fun fact, in his retrial after being pronounced sane, he looked at the crime photos of the woman he butchered, and had been aroused, staring at the photos for 5 minutes).

I enjoyed hearing about Ed Gein, it's certainly satiated my morbid curiosity, I will say it's a little exhaustive in the details they share. A lot of witness accounts were quoted, even false ones and gallows humor, which I thought was a little circuitous. Otherwise, very insightful and wonderfully illustrated!… (more)