Ray Garton (born December 2, 1962 in

Redding, California Redding is the economic and cultural capital of the Shasta Cascade region of Northern California and the county seat of Shasta County. Redding lies along the Sacramento River, north of Sacramento, and south of California's northern border wi ...

) is an American

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

, well known for his work in

horror fiction Horror is a genre of fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which is in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian J ...

. He has written over sixty books, and, in 2006, he was presented with the

World Horror Convention Grand Master Award The World Horror Convention Grand Master Award is a yearly distinction given to an author who has contributed greatly to the field of horror literature. Nominees must be alive at the time of voting and can not have previously won the award. The aw ...

Personal life

Garton lives in Northern California with his wife Dawn.

Works

Novels

*''Seductions'' (1984) *''Darklings'' (1985) *''Crucifax Autumn'' (1988) (variant title of expurgated edition: ''Crucifax'' (1989)) *''Lot Lizards'' (1990) *''Trade Secrets'' (1990) *''Kill the Teacher’s Pet'' (1991) as Joseph Locke *''New Neighbor'' (1991) *''Dark Channel'' (1992) *''Kiss of Death'' (1992) as Joseph Locke *''Petrified'' (1992) as Joseph Locke *''Game Over'' (1993) as Joseph Locke *''The Teacher'' (1993) as Joseph Locke *''1-900-Killer'' (1994) as Joseph Locke *''Vengeance'' (1994) as Joseph Locke *''Biofire'' (1996) *''Shackled'' (1996) *''411'', a

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...

(1998) *''Sex and Violence in Hollywood'' (2001) *''Zombie Love'' (2003) *''Scissors'' (2004) *''The Loveliest Dead'' (2005) *''Serpent Girl'' (2008) *''The Arthur Darknell Double'' (2008, Lonely Road Books) as Arthur Darknell (features two original novels attached back to back in the style of the old

Ace Double American company Ace Books began publishing genre fiction starting in 1952. Initially these were mostly in tête-bêche format with the ends of the two parts meeting in the middle and with a divider between them which functioned as the rear cover ...

s: ''Loveless'' and ''Murder was my Alibi'') *''The Most Interesting Prospect'' (2008, Lonely Road Books) as Arthur Darknell (26 copy limited edition chapbook of a unique short story that came with the Lettered Edition of ''The Arthur Darknell Double'') *''Death Hunt on Ervoon'' (formerly known as ''Vespix'') (

Cemetery Dance Publications Cemetery Dance Publications is an American specialty press publisher of horror and dark suspense. Cemetery Dance was founded by Richard Chizmar, a horror author, while he was in college. It is associated with ''Cemetery Dance'' magazine, which ...

, 2010)

Series

''Blood and Lace'' series

Writing as Joseph Locke #''Vampire Heart'' (1994) #''Deadly Relations'' (1994)

''The Folks'' series

#''The Folks'' (2001) #''The Folks 2'' (2008)

''Live Girls'' vampire series

#''Live Girls'' (1987) #''Night Life'' (2005)

Werewolf series

#''Ravenous'' (2008) #''Bestial'' (2009)

Movie novelizations

*'' Invaders from Mars'' (1986) *'' A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master'' (1989) as Joseph Locke *'' A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child'' (1989) as Joseph Locke *''

Warlock A warlock is a male practitioner of witchcraft. Etymology and terminology The most commonly accepted etymology derives '' warlock'' from the Old English '' wǣrloga'', which meant "breaker of oaths" or "deceiver" and was given special applicati ...

'' (1989) *''

Good Burger ''Good Burger'' is a 1997 American comedy film directed by Brian Robbins and written by Dan Schneider with Kevin Kopelow and Heath Seifert. Starring Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell, it is based on the comedy sketch of the same name on the Nick ...

'' (1997) as Joseph Locke *''

Can't Hardly Wait ''Can't Hardly Wait'' is a 1998 American teen romantic comedy film written and directed by Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont. It stars an ensemble cast including Ethan Embry, Charlie Korsmo, Lauren Ambrose, Peter Facinelli, Seth Green, and Jenni ...

'' (1998)

TV series tie-in contributions

TV series

tie-in A tie-in work is a work of fiction or other product based on a media property such as a film, video game, television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property. Tie-ins are authorized by the owners of the original prope ...

novels:

''The Secret World of Alex Mack''

Featuring characters from ''

The Secret World of Alex Mack ''The Secret World of Alex Mack'' is an American television series that ran from October 8, 1994 to January 15, 1998, on Nickelodeon (part of the SNICK line-up). The series was co-created by Ken Lipman and Thomas W. Lynch and was produced by Lynch ...

'' TV-series: *''Hocus Pocus'' (1997) as Joseph Locke *''Lights, Camera, Action!'' (1998)

''Sabrina, the Teenage Witch''

All featuring characters from the ''

Sabrina, the Teenage Witch ''Sabrina the Teenage Witch'' is a comic book series published by Archie Comics about the adventures of a fictional American teenager named Sabrina Spellman. Sabrina was created by writer George Gladir and artist Dan DeCarlo, and first appeared ...

'' TV-series: *''Ben There, Done That'' (1997) as Joseph Locke () *''The Troll Bride'' (1998) as Joseph Locke *''All That Glitters'' (1998)

''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''

Featuring characters from the ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. It is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film of the same name, also written by W ...

'' TV-series: *''

Resurrecting Ravana ''Resurrecting Ravana'' is an original novel based on the U.S. television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. Tagline: "A dark evil is rising". Plot summary It's midterm exam time at Sunnydale High School and tensions are rising high in the u ...

'' (1999)

Collections

*''Methods of Madness'' (1990) *''Pieces of Hate'' (1995) *''The Girl in the Basement and Other Stories'' (2004) *Nids and Other Stories'' (2005) *''Slivers of Bone'' (2008)

Short stories

*"Active Member" (1987) *"Monsters" (1988) *"Sinema" (1988) *"Punishments" (1989) *"Dr Krusadian's Method" (1990) *"Fat" (1990) *"The Other Man" (1990) *"The Picture of Health" (1990) *"Shock Radio" (1990) *"Something Kinky" (1990) *"Pieces" (1992) *"Screams at the Gateway to Fame" (1996) *"Hair of the Dog" (1997) *"Haunted in the Head" (1997) *"From Eight to Nine O' Clock" (2007)

Non-fiction

''In a Dark Place: The Story of a True Haunting'' (1992) Co-authored with

Ed Warren Edward Warren Miney (September 7, 1926 – August 23, 2006) and Lorraine Rita Warren (; January 31, 1927 – April 18, 2019) were American paranormal investigators and authors associated with prominent cases of alleged hauntings. Edward was a ...

, Lorraine Warren, Al Snedeker, and Carmen Snedeker. ''In a Dark Place'' is based on the events of the Snedeker family's alleged encounter with the paranormal. Garton dislikes this book and is glad it is out of print, saying: "The family involved, which was going through some serious problems like alcoholism and drug addiction, could not keep their story straight, and I became very frustrated; it's hard writing a non-fiction book when all the people involved are telling you different stories." Garton appeared on ''MonsterTalk'' episode "A Connecticut Haunting in a Keen Author's Court" released in August 2011 discussing the book/haunting, calling the book "the low point of iscareer".

Reception

Reception to Garton's work has been largely positive, with his books receiving positive reviews from

Dread Central Dread Central is an American website founded in 2006 that is dedicated to horror news, interviews, and reviews. It covers horror films, comics, novels, and toys. Dread Central has won the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Best Website f ...

and Rocky Mountain News.

References

External links

Official website

Interview with Author Ray Garton

The KBIM Paranormal Talk Radio Pat & Brian Show
Beyond Investigation Magazine. July 15, 2009. Ray Garton and Carmen Reed (Snedeker) interviewed on The Pat & Brian Show about the origins of the book ''In a Dark Place'', the story behind it, the continued debate between Garton and Snedeker regarding the fiction/non-fiction of the claimed experiences by the Snedekers. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Garton, Ray 1962 births 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American atheists American horror novelists American male novelists American skeptics Living people People from Redding, California 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Novelists from California