Off Season (novel)

Off Season
	Cover of the first edition
Author	Jack Ketchum
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Horror
Publisher	Ballantine Books
Publication date	1980
Media type	Print
Followed by	Offspring

Off Season is a horror novel written by Jack Ketchum and initially published by Ballantine Books in 1980.^[1] It was Ketchum's first novel^[2] and was partially based upon the legend of Sawney Bean, which also inspired Wes Craven's 1977 cult classic horror film The Hills Have Eyes.^[3]

The novel was released,^[4] with many well-known publications attacking its depictions of extreme violence. Critical reaction to it was so strong, in fact, that Ballantine actually stepped back from supporting the novel. Despite initially strong sales, the publisher decided to withdraw it from circulation after the first printings were sold out. In 1999, the novel was picked up for re-publication by Cemetery Dance Publications and was released in an "unexpurgated edition" that featured some of the gore that Ballantine initially made Ketchum trim as well as his original, bleaker ending.

Plot[]

A group of six friends from New York City rent a house in Dead River, Maine for a weeklong vacation. The day they arrive a woman is fished from the ocean, claiming she was ambushed by a group of feral children. Hidden for years from civilization, a clan of cannibalistic, inbred savages stalk the area for whatever meat they can find.

Carla arrives at the rental house to clean a day before the other five friends arrive. The house is well off the beaten path, tucked away and private. By night an unnaturally large man watches through the window.

The local sherif looks is alerted to a woman having been found in the ocean with distinct, whip-like wounds on her back. The Jane Doe is unconscious till the next day when she reports that she exited her vehicle to help a little girl who was wandering in the road past midnight. This was the beginning of a trap in which she was surrounded by ghastly children who chased her with switches and attempted to kill her. This report resonates with the sherif, reminding him of a tale the local drunk tells. After interviewing the drunk the sherif is certain danger is present, sparking an in-depth investigation.

Later in the evening the 5 friends arrive, most notably Carla’s sister Marjie and Carla’s ex-boyfriend Nick. As they settle in for the night the living room window bursts open. Carla’s boyfriend, Jim, is killed, and Carla is dragged though the window. The four remaining friends startle and soon find themselves surrounded by an unknown enemy. They soon realize, as Carla is killed, cooked, and eaten, that their enemy is a family of cannibals.

An attempt to escape fails as the four friends frantically sprint to one of their cars, only to realize both have been tampered with. Nick, however, remembers that Jim had secretly brought a gun with and grabs it from the trunk. Marjie, Nick, and Nick’s girlfriend Laura make it back into the house safely, but Marjie’s boyfriend Dan is killed.

Soon after the escape attempt the house is broken into by the cannibals. Marjie and Nick escape to the attic, but Laura is catatonic and left to her own devices downstairs. Realization dawns on Marjie and Nick that their barricade won’t hold, so Marjie attempts an escape through the only window by dropping to the ground. She is soon taken captive with Laura. The cannibals breech the attic and find it empty. Believing Nick escaped into the woods, one of the cannibalistic men sets out to track him. Nick, now on the roof, watches the group leave with his friends, hopeful he can track them.

The police arrive shortly after, brought to the location by the billowing smoke from the fire that cooked Carla. There is no one alive at the house, but the carnage is fresh, and back up is called. When they arrive they set out along the trails. When they arrive on the beach a gun is heard going off, causing the police to rush towards it.

In the cave Nick finds Marjie badly beaten and partially eaten; Laura is butchered next to the fire. He is able to kill the attacking cannibals, terrifying the others into retreat.

In the haste both groups feel, the cops run directly into the fleeing cannibals and a feverish skirmish ensues, leading to the death of many policemen and the rest of the cannibals. Still driven by panic and anxiety, the police shoot Nick, killing him.

Marjie holds onto the bit of life she has left as paramedics take her to the hospital. She must now contemplate all the terrible actions she had taken in order to survive.

References[]

^ Jones, Stephen; Kim Newman; Peter Straub (2005). Horror: another 100 best books. Running Press. pp. 383–384. ISBN 978-0-7867-1577-0.
^ "Ketchum while you can". The Sunday Times. Malta. May 18, 2008. Retrieved October 9, 2011.
^ Vandermeer, Ann (2009). Weird Tales 350. Wildside Press. pp. 92–93. ISBN 978-1-4344-5031-9.
^ Castle, Mort (2006). On Writing Horror: A Handbook by the Horror Writers of America. Writer's Digest Books. p. 12. ISBN 978-1-58297-420-0.

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[1] Jones, Stephen; Kim Newman; Peter Straub (2005). Horror: another 100 best books. Running Press. pp. 383–384. ISBN 978-0-7867-1577-0.

[2] "Ketchum while you can". The Sunday Times. Malta. May 18, 2008. Retrieved October 9, 2011.

[3] Vandermeer, Ann (2009). Weird Tales 350. Wildside Press. pp. 92–93. ISBN 978-1-4344-5031-9.

[4] Castle, Mort (2006). On Writing Horror: A Handbook by the Horror Writers of America. Writer's Digest Books. p. 12. ISBN 978-1-58297-420-0.

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