Off Season (novel)
A clan of cannibalistic savages stalks vacationers in Maine.
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Off Season is a horror novel by Jack Ketchum, first published by Ballantine Books in 1980. It was Ketchum's debut novel and drew partial inspiration from the legend of Sawney Bean, the same source that influenced Wes Craven's 1977 film The Hills Have Eyes. The novel generated significant controversy upon release due to its extreme violence, leading the publisher to withdraw it after initial printings sold out.
Plot
Six vacationers from New York City head to a secluded rental in Dead River, Maine. Before they arrive, a woman is pulled from the ocean, claiming feral children ambushed her. A hidden clan of cannibalistic, inbred savages roams the area hunting for meat. Carla, who arrives a day early to clean the isolated house, spots an unnaturally large man peering through a window that night.
The local sheriff learns of the rescued woman, who has whip-like scars on her back. When she wakes, she says she stopped past midnight to help a little girl in the road, only to be surrounded by ghastly children with switches trying to kill her. The sheriff connects this to a tale from the town drunk, interviews him, and launches an investigation. That evening, the five friends arrive, including Carla’s sister Marjie and Carla’s ex-boyfriend Nick.
As they settle in, the living room window smashes open. Carla’s boyfriend Jim is killed, and Carla is dragged outside. The four survivors realize they face a cannibal family; Carla is killed, cooked, and eaten. They try to flee but find both cars disabled.
Nick grabs a gun Jim had hidden in the trunk. Marjie, Nick, and Nick’s girlfriend Laura dash back inside, but Marjie’s boyfriend Dan is killed. The cannibals break into the house. Marjie and Nick hide in the attic, leaving Laura catatonic downstairs.
Knowing their barricade won’t hold, Marjie drops from a window but is captured with Laura. The cannibals find the attic empty, assuming Nick escaped into the woods. One sets out after him. Nick, now on the roof, watches the group leave with his friends, hoping to track them.
Did You Know?
- The novel was re-published in 1999 by Cemetery Dance Publications in an unexpurgated edition that restored gore trimmed by Ballantine and Ketchum's original, bleaker ending.
- Critical reaction to Off Season was so strong that Ballantine withdrew it from circulation after the first printings sold out.
- Ketchum spent two seasons of summer stock in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, which influenced his choice of setting.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Off Season (novel) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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