Lost Souls is a 1992 horror novel by American writer Poppy Z. Brite, his debut novel. It is the only novel-length adventure of Brite's 'Steve and Ghost' characters, popularized in numerous short stories. The novel is an extended version of the short story "The Seed of Lost Souls".
Several characters introduced in the novel make appearances in Brite's second novel, Drawing Blood, though it is not a direct sequel.
Plot
Fifteen years ago, in a bar in New Orleans run by a hundreds-year-old vampire named Christian, fifteen-year-old Jessy is seduced, impregnated, and abandoned by a charismatic and dangerous vampire named Zillah, leader of his own small nomadic vampire coven. Due to the nature of vampiric birth, in which the fetus devours its mother from the inside out, Jessy dies in childbirth. Christian leaves the male infant on a stranger's doorstep in Maryland in hopes that the child will be able to live a normal life.
Fifteen years later, the child--now called Jason by his adoptive parents--finds himself alienated from his parents and his peers. His only solace is an indie duo called Lost Souls?, with whom he feels a deep connection. Jason discovers the note Christian attached to his basket on the night he was abandoned and pieces together his history. Rechristening himself "Nothing," he runs away from home and is soon picked up by Zillah and his coven, who recognize Nothing's vampiric nature while being unaware that he is Zillah's biological child. The coven agrees to take Nothing to Missing Mile, North Carolina, to see Lost Souls? perform. Along the way, Zillah and Nothing develop a sexual relationship.
Lost Souls? consists of Steve Finn and his childhood best friend Ghost. Ghost is clairvoyant and has sensed danger approaching Missing Mile. Steve has recently broken up with his long-time girlfriend Ann after sexually assaulting her. On the night of the concert, Steve and Ghost come into direct confrontation with Zillah's coven, ending in a fight. Ghost senses Nothing's inner conflict and wishes to save him from Zillah. Zillah, meanwhile, seduces Ann, leaving her pregnant before the coven leaves Missing Mile. Ann becomes obsessed with reuniting with Zillah and pursues the coven to New Orleans, while Steve and Ghost set off in pursuit of her.
In New Orleans, the coven reconnects with Christian, who informs them of Nothing and Zillah's kinship. Zillah is delighted by the news, which forges a deeper bond between the two. Meanwhile, Jessy's father, who has spent the intervening years attempting to learn his daughter's fate, attacks Christian, believing that he murdered Jessy. The other vampires rescue Christian and feed upon Jessy's father, unaware that he is dying from cancer. His toxic blood leaves the coven immobilized with illness.
Arriving in New Orleans, Steve and Ghost locate Ann wandering the city. A local magician named Arcady, familiar with vampires, offers to perform an abortion to save Ann's life, for the price of sex with the virginal Ghost. Steve refuses to allow this, and Arcady, in revenge, botches the abortion, allowing the vampire fetus to destroy Ann. Shortly after this, the two vampires living under Arcady's roof choose this moment to drain Arcady. Steve and Ghost return to find both Ann and Arcady dead. Enraged, Steve decides to destroy Zillah and his coven. Finding the vampires still weakened, Steve and Ghost murder Zillah and Christian, but Nothing convinces Ghost to spare both him and the two remaining coven members with a promise that they will not seek revenge. Steve and Ghost return to Missing Mile and attempt to rebuild their lives after the supernatural horror they have witnessed.
In an epilogue set fifty years in the future, it is revealed that Nothing and his coven are still together.
Characters
Steve Finn
Steve was raised in Missing Mile, North Carolina. He works in a record shop in his home town called the Whirling Disc. He is described as tall and wiry, with a hawkish nose, and long black hair he rarely washes. Steve is proud and stubborn, drinks to excess, and is prone to violent outbursts. He is haunted throughout the novel by the memory of his relationship with his ex-girlfriend Ann, which he terminated abruptly by raping her on discovery of her infidelity.
Ghost
Ghost is Steve's best friend and though their relationship throughout the novel often has homoerotic undertones, they do not become lovers until the follow-up story, "Stay Awake". Ghost is described as appearing much like his namesake; very translucent skin, white blond, wispy hair and huge blue eyes. Kind and compassionate, Ghost often has unexplainable visions, and sometimes they are a foreshadowing of things to come.