Aka Jon A. Harrald (joint pseudonym with Jonna Gormley Semeiks)Harold Schechter is a true crime writer who specializes in serial killers. He attended the State University of New York in Buffalo, where he obtained a Ph.D. A resident of New York City, Schechter is professor of American literature and popular culture at Queens College of the City University of New York.Among his nonfiction works are the historical true-crime classics Fatal, Fiend,Deviant, Deranged, and Depraved. He also authors a critically acclaimed mystery series featuring Edgar Allan Poe, which includes The Hum Bug and Nevermore and The Mask of Red Death.Schechter's newest study of popular culture, Savage Pastimes: A Cultural History of Violent Entertainment is just out from St. Martin's Press.
