Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng Summary By Chapter | Kylie Lee Baker
Introduction to Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng (Chapter-by-Chapter Summary)
What happens when the dead refuse to stay dead and the living refuse to see you as human?
Set against the desolate backdrop of New York City during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the story follows Coraline “Cora” Zeng, a woman whose life shatters when her sister Delilah is pushed in front of a subway train by a racist assailant.
This Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng Summary by Chapter captures every visceral moment across twenty-five chapters.
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Book Structure Overview
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Total Chapters | 25 Chapters |
| Prologue/Epilogue | None formally titled; Chapter 1 (April 2020) and Chapter 25 (April 2021) serve these functions |
| Interspersed Content | Includes “Guides to Ghost Month” between major sections |
| Narrative POV | First Person (Cora Zeng) |
| Timeline | Linear progression through 2020 pandemic with one-year-later conclusion |
Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng Summary Chapter by Chapter
Spoiler Warning: This section contains detailed, chapter-by-chapter plot summaries.
Chapter 1: The Yawning Abyss
In April 2020, Cora and Delilah Zeng are the only passengers in a leaky, deserted New York subway station during the height of the pandemic. Cora is plagued by intrusive thoughts and a sense of impending doom, while Delilah remains optimistic and focused on her beauty.
Both sisters have been laid off from their jobs in the arts, leaving them struggling to pay rent. Delilah reveals her plan to move to China to pursue modeling, leaving Cora behind in New York.
Cora feels a deep sense of betrayal and abandonment at the realization that she is not included in her sister’s future. Suddenly, a man in a black hoodie and surgical mask approaches them, shouting a racial slur.
He pushes Delilah onto the tracks just as a train arrives. Cora watches in horror as the train decapitates her sister. The chapter ends with Cora’s raw, unheard scream echoing in the empty station.
Key Moment: Delilah is pushed onto the tracks and killed in a targeted hate crime.
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Chapter 2: The Red Slurry
By August 2020, Cora is working as a crime scene cleaner for Harvey Chen’s uncle. She, Harvey, and a woman named Yifei are tasked with cleaning the bathroom of Yuxi He, a doctor who was murdered.
Cora wears a hazmat suit and meticulously scrubs fragments of bone and brain matter from the tiles. Yifei steals items from the crime scenes, which Cora finds unsettling but does not question.
While cleaning the drain, Cora discovers a mutilated bat lodged in the pipes. This discovery causes Cora to have a physical reaction, recalling the “bat eater” slur used during Delilah’s murder.
The crew avoids reporters waiting outside, as discretion is a priority for their employer. A reporter grabs Yifei, triggering a traumatic flashback for Cora of the hand that grabbed Delilah.
They escape the crowd in their truck and share a drink to numb the experience. Cora realizes she is only surviving by keeping her memories of Delilah behind “aquarium glass.”
Key Moment: The discovery of a bat in the drain links the murder to the slur used by Delilah’s killer.
Chapter 3: The Hunger and the Heat
Cora returns home to her sterile apartment and undergoes an exhaustive, multi-step cleaning ritual to remove the scent of death. She reflects on how the pandemic has made her extreme OCD feel socially acceptable.
While checking her fridge, Cora realizes an apple is missing, leading her to fear she is losing her mind or that someone has entered her home. She visits her Auntie Zeng in Chinatown, who is performing rituals for the Hungry Ghost Festival.
Auntie Zeng encourages Cora to burn joss paper for Delilah, warning that violent deaths leave unsettled ghosts. Cora resists, unable to talk about the “violent death” of her sister.
She leaves the apartment but finds that her aunt has slipped joss paper into her bag. The chapter introduces a guide explaining that the gates of hell open on the fifteenth day of the seventh month.
Key Moment: Cora notices food missing from her fridge, hinting at a supernatural presence.
Chapter 4: The Shadow in the Sanctuary
On Sunday, Cora attends church with her Auntie Lois, who pays her student loans in exchange for her attendance and confession. Cora finds the church atmosphere stifling and feels God is not listening to her.
During the service, she notices a shadow in the hallway that appears to have a needle-thin neck. While in the confessional, Cora accidentally hands the priest a graphic crime scene photo instead of her list of sins.
The priest reacts with rage, throwing her out of the church and demanding she repent. Outside, a man spits on Cora’s face and tells her to “go home to China.”
Cora is traumatized by the physical contamination and frantically uses hand sanitizer on her lips. Auntie Lois tells her that God wants them to forgive, which Cora finds impossible.
Key Moment: A man spits on Cora’s face in a second targeted racist attack.
Chapter 5: The Axe and the Bat
The crew cleans the apartment of Zihan Huang, who was murdered with an axe. Cora reflects on the visceral nature of axe murders compared to the impersonality of guns.
While cleaning, they find another bat, this one trapped inside a wall vent that had been taped shut. Harvey accidentally kills the bat with a skillet, causing him great distress.
They decide to hold a “Viking funeral” for the bat on abandoned train tracks in Long Island City. Harvey shares a story about his traumatic childhood, being locked in a wet basement full of silverfish.
He admits to feeling like he is “losing” his only life. Yifei remains guarded about her own past in Shanghai. Cora sees a silhouette of a girl in a dress standing on the tracks, waiting for a train.
Key Moment: The discovery of bats in the vent confirms that the victims were aware of being targeted.
Chapter 6: The Bite in the Wood
Cora’s vision is increasingly plagued by “dots of darkness” that she fears are parasites. She visits an optometrist, Dr. Robinson, who finds nothing physically wrong with her eyes.
The doctor suggests the issue might be neurological, which Cora interprets as him saying the problem is in her brain. After leaving the office, she sees a protest for the mayor’s reelection and feels trapped in a world she hates.
She considers buying Delilah’s “silly oils” to cope but decides she must build a life without her. Upon returning home, Cora finds her couch stuffing pulled out and bite marks on her coffee table.
The bite marks are in the shape of a human mouth. Terrified, Cora calls Yifei for help.
Key Moment: Cora discovers human bite marks on her furniture, proving the ghost is physical.
Chapter 7: The Ghost Scar
Cora visits Yifei’s apartment in Confucius Plaza, which Yifei shares with two white roommates who think she doesn’t speak English. Yifei uses the “language barrier” to avoid interacting with them and plays Chinese opera to annoy them.
In Yifei’s room, Cora sees shelves full of stolen items from crime scenes. Cora asks Yifei if she seems “weird,” and Yifei reveals a jagged, half-moon scar on her ribs.
Yifei explains the scar was given to her by a hungry ghost and that they don’t care if you believe in them. Cora touches the scar and feels only “gnarled flesh,” remaining skeptical of the supernatural explanation.
She returns home feeling more isolated than ever, despite Yifei’s attempt at friendship.
Key Moment: Yifei reveals a physical scar from a hungry ghost encounter.
Chapter 8: The Crypt of Footprints
Auntie Lois arranges for Cora to “repent” by cleaning a family vault in the cathedral’s crypt. Cora meets Father Thomas, a young minister-in-training who seems more human than the others.
He leads her into the dark, moldy crypt and explains that being buried there is incredibly expensive. Cora learns that members of the congregation have complained about her presence due to COVID fears.
Father Thomas leaves her alone to sweep the dust-covered floors. Cora discovers bare footprints appearing in the dust as she sweeps.
She experiences a terrifying hallucination of two identical Father Thomases, each claiming to be the real one. A vision of Delilah points her toward a specific door, which turns out to be a mere janitor’s closet.
Cora leaves the crypt feeling unforgiven and more disconnected from God.
Key Moment: Cora sees ghostly bare footprints in the dust and experiences a mental split.
Chapter 9: The Brick in the Window
Cora, Yifei, and Harvey go out for dumplings, though Cora is anxious about the lack of sterility. Two white men at the next table make racist remarks about “rat” and “bat” meat.
Before they can finish their meal, a brick is thrown through the restaurant window. Glass shards hit Cora and Harvey, and the staff refuses to call the police.
The crew finishes their dumplings on a park bench, feeling targeted and unwanted. As Cora walks home alone, she feels a “yawning wide” opening in the world and hears Delilah’s voice.
A cold, sandpapery hand touches her throat and warns her not to turn around. When she does turn, the street is empty.
Key Moment: A racist brick attack occurs while the crew is trying to have a “normal” dinner.
Chapter 10: The Unlatched Jaw
Inside her apartment, Cora finally sees the creature: a woman with a needle-thin neck and chasm-like black eyes. The creature bites into the coffee table, creating a cloud of sawdust.
Cora hides in the kitchen as the creature walks toward her with “wet” footsteps. The creature is tall and hunched, smelling of deep earth and decay.
It extends a skeletal hand toward Cora, wearing a jade bracelet that says “hope.” Cora realizes this is not just a ghost, but her sister, and she feels immense guilt for not performing the proper rituals.
She feeds the creature an orange, which it devours whole, peel and all. The creature vanishes when Cora opens the fridge, leaving only a pool of juice behind.
Key Moment: Cora comes face-to-face with the hungry ghost and feeds it for the first time.
Chapter 11: The Bat Mural
Cora cleans a hotel room where a travel nurse, Ai Wu, was murdered. The room features a “hideous, dripping bat” mural painted on the wall in the victim’s blood.
Harvey jokes about “Batman,” but Yifei is furious and decides they must talk to the press. She argues that the police are keeping the “serial killer” aspect quiet to protect the city’s image.
Yifei delivers a passionate speech about not wanting to be “gore porn” or a “biohazard” for people to ignore. Cora feels small and useless in comparison to Yifei’s resolve.
They agree to meet a reporter that evening.
Key Moment: Yifei decides to break her employer’s rules and go to the press about the serial killer.
Chapter 12: The Bar and the Breakdown
At a bar in Hell’s Kitchen, the crew meets Devin, a young reporter. They are followed by a harassing man on the way to the meeting.
Yifei describes the gruesome details of the crime scenes, but the reporter is skeptical of the “serial killer” theory. Cora, fueled by alcohol and the sight of Delilah’s ghost in the doorway, has an emotional outburst.
She screams at the reporter about how her sister’s head was never found and how the city views them only as “bat eaters.” Yifei takes a drunk Cora back to her apartment to recover.
Cora tells Yifei and Harvey about the hungry ghost. Yifei suggests they must find Delilah’s head to bury her “whole” and stop the haunting.
Key Moment: Cora has a public breakdown, forcing the others to confront the reality of her trauma.
Chapter 13: The Shredded Secret
Cora wakes up to find police at her apartment building; another resident has been murdered. She notices a footprint on her own door, suggesting someone tried to kick it in while she was away.
The crew is called to clean the scene of a murdered police officer, Officer Wang. The scene is fresh, with blood still wet on the walls.
Under the bed, a skeletal hand gestures to Cora, leading her to find a hidden USB drive. A police photographer arrives and accuses them of tampering with the crime scene before it could be documented.
The photographer uses a racial slur, and Harvey protects Cora as they flee. Cora keeps the USB drive a secret from her coworkers for now.
Key Moment: Cora finds a hidden USB drive at Officer Wang’s murder scene, guided by the ghost.
Chapter 14: The Midnight Subway
Cora and the crew wait for the subway to shut down at 1 a.m. to search the tracks for Delilah’s head. Cora is terrified of the dark tunnels and the potential for a train to appear.
They find a splash of “ghost blood” on a wall, marking the spot where Delilah’s head likely hit. However, there is no head to be found, only old cigarette butts and rats.
They hear running footsteps in the tunnel and flee in a panic. Cora nearly dies when a hand grabs her shirt, but she manages to haul herself onto the platform.
Yifei proposes a “ghost feast” on the fifteenth day of the month as a final attempt to appease Delilah.
Key Moment: The crew searches the subway tracks but fails to find Delilah’s head.
Chapter 15: The Hunger of the Many
Harvey calls Cora with ideas based on jiangshi (hopping vampire) movies. They meet at Foley Square in the middle of the night to try various folk remedies.
Harvey brings rice, coins, and mirrors, hoping to distract the ghost. When Delilah appears, she begins lapping up the raw rice from the pavement.
Suddenly, a multitude of other hungry ghosts emerge from the shadows to join her. Harvey realizes that by spreading the rice, he has accidentally invited every hungry spirit in the area.
They flee the park as the ghosts begin to swarm.
Key Moment: Harvey’s “remedy” backfires, summoning a swarm of hungry ghosts to the park.
Chapter 16: The Basement of Silverfish
Harvey and Cora retreat to her apartment, where Harvey is impressed by her extreme cleanliness. He admits he cannot turn off the lights anymore because he’s too scared.
Harvey shares a deeper version of his basement story, revealing he saw a ghost there with a “smashed milk carton” head. He implies that his father was responsible for the death of the person in the basement.
While they try to sleep, Cora sees fingers emerging from every shadow in her room. The ghosts from the park have followed them home and are trying to get into her bed.
Cora and Harvey realize they have “fucked up” and must call Yifei for help.
Key Moment: The ghosts infiltrate Cora’s apartment, proving they cannot be escaped by simple light.
Chapter 17: The Altar of Hope
Yifei is furious with them for attempting the jiangshi rituals. She orders them to meet at H Mart to prepare for the real ghost feast.
Auntie Zeng visits Cora and is disappointed by her lack of spiritual hygiene. She gives Cora a jade bracelet that says “love” for protection and warns her to never take it off.
Auntie Zeng performs a joss paper burning that gives Cora a vision of “white fire” and the “gates of hell.” Cora realizes that Delilah is “dragging her across planes” and that she must end the haunting.
She commits to Yifei’s plan to hold the feast on the final night of Ghost Month.
Key Moment: Cora receives a protective jade bracelet from Auntie Zeng.
Chapter 18: The Shredded Truth
At Yifei’s apartment, Cora and Harvey spend hours taping together the shredded papers from Officer Wang’s office. They piece together profiles of several men, some with neo-Nazi ties.
They find a note linking one suspect to Zihan Huang, the axe murder victim. Cora realizes that Delilah didn’t lead her to her killer to be a “hero,” but because she is suffering.
The crew sets up an altar for Delilah with her personal items, including a boudoir photo. Cora confesses that she felt Delilah was “always hungry” even in life.
They prepare the food and wait for the sun to set.
Key Moment: The crew discovers that the murders are linked to a white supremacist group called “The Allegiance.”
Chapter 19: The Feast of Flesh
Yifei’s roommates, Ryan and Paisley, return home and insist on joining the “Chinese dinner.” As they begin to eat, the power cuts out and the shadows begin to rise.
Delilah appears and brutally kills Ryan, tearing his head off and eating his entire body. She then kills Paisley as she tries to escape through the window.
Harvey and Yifei are frozen in terror, but Cora insists they finish the ritual. Delilah sits at the table and “inhales” the entire feast, including the porcelain plates and candles.
Once the lights come back on, the ghosts are gone, leaving a blood-soaked kitchen. The crew agrees to clean the scene and hide the evidence, as no one would believe the truth.
Key Moment: Delilah’s ghost kills Yifei’s roommates during the feast.
Chapter 20: The Drowning in Perc
Cora falls ill with COVID-19 and spends ten days in a feverish isolation. She receives a frantic call from Harvey, who claims he knows who “Batman” is.
Cora and Yifei meet at the dry cleaner, only to find the door unlocked and the lights off. They find Harvey dead, his body being churned inside an industrial washing machine filled with toxic chemicals.
Cora realizes the killer must know who they are. They flee to Yifei’s apartment, only to find that someone has been inside and left a bat in the closet.
They grab Paisley’s car keys and flee the city in a panic.
Key Moment: Harvey is found murdered in a dry-cleaning machine.
Chapter 21: The Revelation in the Rain
As Yifei drives frantically toward Staten Island, she breaks down and reveals her true past. She confesses that she was an unnamed second daughter in China and that she “drowned” her infant sister to escape poverty, only for the sister to survive as a “ghostly” child.
Yifei admits she is a coward who would let Cora die to save herself. Suddenly, a swarm of bats hits the windshield, causing Yifei to crash the car.
Yifei is killed instantly when the car folds around a tree. Cora survives and encounters the hungry ghost in the woods, realizing she is now truly alone.
She vents her rage at the ghost, accusing Delilah of never caring for her.
Key Moment: Yifei dies in a car crash caused by a swarm of bats.
Chapter 22: The Wrong Bracelet
Cora reaches a Taco Bell and calls Auntie Zeng, confessing everything. Auntie Zeng reveals a shocking truth: the ghost following Cora is not Delilah.
Delilah’s jade bracelet said “strength,” but the ghost’s bracelet says “hope.” Auntie Zeng explains that she burned enough joss paper to ensure Delilah was never hungry.
Cora realizes she has been harboring the ghost of a stranger—Yuxi He. Auntie Zeng arrives with lanterns and headlamps to rescue Cora, guiding her back to safety.
Cora finally uses Morse code (3 knocks, 2 knocks, 5 knocks) to unlock Officer Wang’s USB drive: 325.
Key Moment: Cora learns the ghost she has been feeding is not her sister.
Chapter 23: The Open Season
Cora views the contents of the USB, which include snuff photos and screenshots from a white supremacist forum called “American Dreamers.” She discovers that the murders are being “deprioritized” by the mayor and police captain to avoid bad publicity.
A letter from Mayor Webb to Captain Mezzasalma explicitly orders the cover-up. Cora realizes that “yellowdeath” isn’t one man, but a movement of copycat killers.
She realizes the “White Spider” is the systemic hate of the city itself. Fueled by a new, “fever bright” rage, Cora decides to take matters into her own hands.
Key Moment: Cora uncovers the evidence of the mayoral cover-up and the “copycat” nature of the killers.
Chapter 24: The Fire of the Hungry
Cora returns to the crypt and steals several propane tanks. On the way, she is harassed by a man and nearly kills him by pushing him into traffic.
She embraces the “bat eater” slur, using it as a source of power to terrify her harasser. Cora returns to the subway and gathers a parade of hundreds of hungry ghosts.
She leads the spirits to Gracie Mansion, the mayor’s residence. Cora douses the mansion in propane and sets it on fire, offering the house as a “feast” to the suffering dead.
She watches as the mansion burns, finally praying for peace for the ghosts.
Key Moment: Cora burns down the mayor’s mansion with a parade of hungry ghosts.
Chapter 25: The Living After
By April 2021, the pandemic persists, but Cora has found a quiet life living with Auntie Zeng. She works as an apartment cleaner, finding satisfaction in deep cleaning without the gore.
The mayor’s death and the release of the USB drive led to a massive investigation and police reform, though Cora remains cynical about true justice. She keeps an altar for Harvey, Yifei, and Officer Wang.
Cora has received her first vaccine dose and feels a small sense of safety returning. The book ends with Cora sitting on her bed, peeling an orange.
She offers half to the darkness, and a gray hand reaches out to take it, while Cora eats the other half in the light.
Key Moment: Cora achieves a measure of peace, acknowledging the ghosts while living her own life.
