Harold Schechter is a professor of American literature and culture. Renowned for his true-crime writing, he is the author of the nonfiction books Fatal, Fiend, Bestial, Deviant, Deranged, Depraved, and, with David Everitt, The A to Z Encyclopedia of Serial Killers. He is also the author of Nevermore and The Hum Bug, the acclaimed historical novels featuring Edgar Allan Poe. He lives in New York State.

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 including The 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 America's most infamous murderers, including the nonfiction books Fatal, Fiend, Bestial, Deviant, Deranged, Depraved, and The Serial Killers File. He is the editor of the Library of America volume, True Crime: An American Anthology. He has twice been a finalist for an Edgar Award. His most recent books include Butcher's Work: True Crime Tales of American Murder and Madness 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.