Ray Russell (September 4, 1924 – March 15, 1999) was an American editor and writer of short stories, novels, and screenplays. Russell is best known for his horror fiction, although he also wrote mystery and science fiction stories. His most famous short fiction is "Sardonicus", which appeared in the January 1961 issue of ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's Lifestyle magazine, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from H ...

'' magazine, and was subsequently adapted by Russell into a screenplay for

William Castle William Castle (born William Schloss Jr.; April 24, 1914 – May 31, 1977) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. Orphaned at 11, Castle dropped out of high school at 15 to work in the theater. He came to the attenti ...

's film version, titled '' Mr. Sardonicus''. American writer

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

called "Sardonicus" "perhaps the finest example of the modern gothic ever written". "Sardonicus" was part of a trio of stories with "Sanguinarius" and "Sagittarius".

Early life

Born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

,Morgan, Chris. "Russell, Ray (Robert)" in Pringle, David. 1998. ''St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost & Gothic Writers''. Detroit, MI: St. James Press, (p.494-6). Russell served in the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

in the South Pacific from 1943 to 1946, after which he studied at the

Chicago Conservatory of Music The Music Conservatory was founded in 1867 as the Chicago Musical College, a conservatory. In 1954, the Chicago Musical College became part of Roosevelt University Roosevelt University is a private university with campuses in Chicago and Sc ...

and the Goodman Memorial Institute. Prior to becoming a writer, Russell worked for the

United States Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and ...

Writing career

Russell's first novel was ''The Case Against Satan'' (1962), about a young girl possessed by a demon. It was published almost a decade before a more famous novel with a similar plot, ''

The Exorcist ''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin and written for the screen by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 The Exorcist (novel), novel of the same name. It stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, ...

'' by

William Peter Blatty William Peter Blatty (January 7, 1928 – January 12, 2017) was an American writer, director and producer. He is best known for his 1971 novel, ''The Exorcist'', and for his 1974 screenplay for the film adaptation of the same name. Blatty won ...

Darrell Schweitzer Darrell Charles Schweitzer (born August 27, 1952) is an American writer, editor, and critic in the field of speculative fiction. Much of his focus has been on dark fantasy and horror fiction, horror, although he does also work in science fictio ...

, "The Devil" in

S. T. Joshi Sunand Tryambak Joshi (born June 22, 1958) is an American literary critic whose work has largely focused on weird and fantastic fiction, especially the life and work of H. P. Lovecraft and associated writers. Career His literary critici ...

, ed., ''Icons of Horror and the Supernatural: an Encyclopedia of our Worst Nightmares'' (Greenwood, 2007), (p. 161-186)

described ''The Case Against Satan'' as "a Catholic '' Turn of the Screw''" and said the novel "succeeded brilliantly" in making the concept of the Devil frightening to modern readers. In the 1950s, Russell began working for ''

'' magazine as a fiction editor. In this capacity Russell published a large amount of science fiction, fantasy and horror in the magazine; Russell also encouraged and promoted the fiction of

Charles Beaumont Charles Beaumont (January 2, 1929 – February 21, 1967) was an American author of speculative fiction, including short stories in the horror and science fiction subgenres.Stefan R. Dziemianowicz, "Beaumont, Charles" in David Pringle, ed., '' ...

. He also contributed to the ''

Paris Review ''The Paris Review'' is a quarterly English-language literary magazine established in Paris in 1953 by Harold L. Humes, Peter Matthiessen, and George Plimpton. In its first five years, ''The Paris Review'' published works by Jack Kerouac, Ph ...

''. In 1961, Russell wrote his first screenplay, '' Mr. Sardonicus''—based on his own short story—for director

. He would write several other screenplays over the next five years, including ''

Zotz! ''Zotz!'' is a 1962 American fantasy comedy film produced and directed by William Castle, and starring Tom Poston, Julia Meade, Jim Backus, Fred Clark, and Cecil Kellaway. It is about a man obtaining magical powers from a god of an ancient ...

'' (1962), also for Castle. For

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...

he wrote the screenplays for '' The Premature Burial'' (1962) and '' X'' (1963)—the former of which was based on the

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...

short story. In 1976, he published ''Incubus'', a horror novel about a creature raping and murdering young women in a small town. He would adapt the novel for the 1982 film of the same name, directed by John Hough and starring

John Cassavetes John Nicholas Cassavetes ( ; December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. First known as a television and film actor, Cassavetes also helped pioneer American independent cinema, writing and direc ...

Death

Russell died of complications resulting from a

stroke A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...

at a nursing home in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

, California on March 15, 1999. He was survived by his wife, Ada Szczepanski, and their two children.

Accolades

In 1991 Russell received the

World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...

for Lifetime Achievement.

Bibliography

Books

* ''Sardonicus and Other Stories'' (1961) * ''The Case Against Satan'' (1962) * ''Unholy Trinity'' (1964) * ''The Little Lexicon of Love'' (1966) * ''The Colony'' (1969) * ''Sagittarius'' (Playboy Science Fiction/Fantasy, 1971) * ''Prince of Darkness'' (1971) * ''Incubus'' (1976) * ''Holy Horatio!'' (1976) * ''Princess Pamela'' (1979) * ''The Devil's Mirror'' (1980) * ''The Book of Hell'' (1980) * ''The Bishop's Daughter'' (1981) * ''Haunted Castles: The Complete Gothic Tales of Ray Russell'' (1985) * ''Absolute Power'' (1992)

Short stories

Poetry

*''The Night Sound'' (1987)

Screenplays

*'' Mr. Sardonicus'' (1961) (adapted from his novella) *'' The Premature Burial'' (1962) *''

'' (1962) *''

The Horror of It All ''The Horror of It All'' is a 1964 British horror comedy film directed by Terence Fisher and with a screenplay by Ray Russell. It stars Pat Boone and Erica Rogers. Plot American encyclopedia salesman Jack Robinson arrives at a dilapidated mans ...

'' (1963) *'' X'' (1963) *'' Chamber of Horrors'' (1966) (story only) *'' The Incubus'' (1982) (adapted from his novel)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Ray 1924 births 1999 deaths American horror writers American male screenwriters American mystery writers American science fiction writers Writers of Gothic fiction World Fantasy Award-winning writers 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American screenwriters