Harold Schechter is Professor Emeritus at Queens College, where he taught classes in American literature and myth criticism for forty-two years. His essays have appeared in publications includingThe New York Times,The Wall Street Journal,Los Angeles Times, and many more. An esteemed true crime historian, he has written the definitive accounts of some of Americas most infamous murderers, including the nonfiction booksFatal,Fiend,Bestial,Deviant,Deranged,Depraved, andThe Serial Killers File. He is the editor of the Library of America volume,True Crime: An American [...] has twice been a finalist for an Edgar Award. His most recent books includeButchers Work: True Crime Tales of American MurderandMadness and Murderabilia: A History of Crime in 100 Objects. In addition to his work in narrative nonfiction, Schechter is the author of an acclaimed series of detective novels based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe. He lives with his family in New York.