Russell Lee is a Singaporean author best known as the creator of True Singapore Ghost Stories, a series of books that has been one of the most popular sources of ghost stories in Singapore, Malaysia, other parts of Asia ever since the release of Book 1 in 1989. 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. Lee surpassed 30,000 copies in three months. Shortly after the success of Lee's first book, readers began to wonder about his identity. Lee has never provided 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 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 the books, Lee swears he is Singaporean, with the "five stars and crescent moon imprinted on each blood cell".
