Ray Garton (1962-2024)
Author Ray Garton, 61, died April 21, 2024, just weeks after being diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. Garton was the author of nearly 70 books, most horror.
Ray Garton, Jr. was born December 2, 1962 in Redding CA, and grew up in Anderson CA with his adopted parents. He worked at Pinnacle Books in New York City in the 1980s.
Garton’s debut novel, Seductions, appeared in 1984. Other novels include Stoker Award finalist Live Girls (1988), Darklings (1985), Invaders from Mars (1986), Crucifax Autumn (1988), Warlock (1989), Trade Secrets (1990), The New Neighbor (1991), Lot Lizards (1991), Dark Channel (1992), Shackled (1997), Biofire (1998), International Horror Guild Award finalist Sex and Violence in Hollywood (2002), Scissors (2004), The Girl in the Basement (2004), ‘Nids (2006), The Loveliest Dead (2006), Graven Image (2007), Ravenous (2008), Serpent Girl (2008), Bestial (2009), Meds (2011), Frankenstorm (2014), Loveless (2023), and Trailer Park Noir (2023).
His collections include Methods of Madness (1990), Pieces of Hate (1996), The Girl in the Basement and Other Stories (2004), ‘Nids and Other Stories (2006), Slivers of Bone (2008), and Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth (2012).
Garton coedited anthologies Cafe Purgatorium with Dana M. Anderson & Charles de Lint (1991), Cut Corners: Volume 1 with Ramsey Campbell & Bentley Little (2012), and Cut Corners: Volume 3 with Kealan Patrick Burke & Bryan Smith (2017). He contributed to Unearthed with Richard Chizmar & Brian Keene (2016) and Four Halloweens (2016) with Kealan Patrick Burke, Ed Gorman & Norman Prentiss.
He wrote young-adult novels under the name Joseph Locke, and sometimes used the pen name Arthur Darknell. He wrote several tie-ins, including for the Nightmare on Elm Street and Buffy the Vampire Slayer series.
Garton was named a World Horror Grand Master in 2006. He is survived by Dawn, his wife of more than 30 years.
