Prolific Award-Winning Horror Author Ray Garton Jr. Dies Aged 61

Ray Garton Jr., who was an award-nominated horror author, has reportedly died at the age of 61. Garton reportedly passed away after a battle with lung cancer.

He was best known for his award-nominated novel “Live Girls.” Garton was also known for works such as “Seduction,” “Darklings,” and his “A Nightmare on Elm Street” novelizations.

The accomplished and prolific author published more than 50 books in his lifetime, and stunning and remarkable achievement. He won the World Horror Convention Grand Master Award in 2006.

Born in Anderson, California in 1962, Garton attended religious schools under the denomination of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. After graduating, Garton began to read horror fiction.

His favorite authors in the genre were Edgar Allan Poe, Stephen King, and H. P. Lovecraft. King acknowledged Garton’s death on his X feed, saying,

I’m hearing that Ray Garton, horror novelist and friend, died yesterday. This is sad news, and a loss to those who enjoyed his amusing, often surreal, posts on Twitter.

Stephen King

Garton said about his novel Ravenous, which is a werewolf novel,

The werewolf has always been my favorite of the classic monsters. But compared to vampires or other creatures, the werewolf has been virtually ignored in literature and certainly underrepresented in film. I had long wanted to do something with the werewolf mythology.

Author Jonathan Maberry said the following about Garton’s death,

So sad that another great horror writer has passed. Ray Garton was one of my inspirations when I began writing. In 2006, the year my first novel came out, Ray was presented with the World Horror Convention Grand Master Award

Jonathan Maberry

Garton was extremely dedicated to his craft. The fact that he has been acknowledged by so many of his peers following his death is a testament to how influential he was to the genre, and to writing in general.

Rest in peace, Ray Garton Jr.