Russell Lee (writer)

Russell Lee is a Singaporean author best known as the creator of True Singapore Ghost Stories, a series of books that has been among the most popular source of ghost stories in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Hong Kong ever since the release of Book 1 in 1989.

As of April 2010, the 20 books in the True Singapore Ghost Stories series have sold over one million copies worldwide,^{[citation needed]} making Lee Asia's top writer of ghost stories.^{[citation needed]} "True Singapore Ghost Stories" has been made into a 13-part TV series, produced by I-Media Entertainment in Singapore. The TV series has also been available in VCD and DVD.

Lee has had a lasting impact on Singapore publishing. His first book was the first of many that were published for the mass market. Before Russell Lee, a book which achieved sales of 3,000 copies was considered a bestseller.^{[citation needed]} Lee surpassed 30,000 copies in three months.^{[citation needed]}

Shortly after the success of Lee's first book, readers began to wonder about his identity. Lee has never included any photograph of himself or revealed anything about his personal life. Whenever he appears in public, he wears a mask and clothes that cover every inch of his body. Some reports^{[citation needed]} say Russell Lee is white, posing as a local Singaporean. Others say he is Jim Aitchison (aka James Lee), but this has never been substantiated. In his book, Lee swears he is Singaporean, with the "five stars and crescent moon imprinted on each blood cell".