Jack Ketchum
Encyclopedia
Jack Ketchum is the pseudonym for American
author
Dallas Mayr (born in Livingston, New Jersey
on November 10, 1946). He is the recipient of four Bram Stoker Awards and three further nominations. Many of his novels have been adapted to film, including The Girl Next Door (2007 film)
and Red (2008 film)
. In 2011 Ketchum received the World Horror Convention Grand Master Award
for outstanding contribution to the horror genre.
Ketchum lives in New York City
.
in English from Emerson College
in Boston
, Massachusetts
, and later taught high school level in Brookline, Massachusetts
, for two years.
, Ketchum credits his childhood love of Elvis Presley
, dinosaurs, and horror for getting him through his formative years. He began making up stories at a young age and explains that he spent a lot of time in his room, or in the woods near his house, down by the brook: '[m]y interests [were] Books, comics, movies, rock 'n roll, show tunes, TV, dinosaurs [...] pretty much any activity that didn't demand too much socializing, or where I could easily walk away from socializing'. He would make up stories using his plastic soldiers, knights, and dinosaurs as the characters. He was also big on Halloween
and his mother, being '[...] pretty good with the sewing machine [...]', ensured young Ketchum had an authentic costume: his favorites were Peter Pan
and Superman
. Ketchum has further expressed an early interest in horror films like Nosferatu and the classic Universal Monsters
such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923 film)
and The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)
.
Later, in his teenage years, Ketchum was befriended by Robert Bloch
, author of Psycho, who became a mentor to him. He supported Ketchum's work just as his work was supported by his own mentor, H.P. Lovecraft. This relationship with Robert Bloch
would last until his death in 1994. Ketchum's parents, Dallas William Mayr and Evelyn Fahner Mayer, were the owners of a luncheonette and soda fountain where Jack would work to support his writing, as a short order cook during the day and a soda jerk after dark.
Ketchum indeed worked many different jobs before completing his first novel (1980's controversial Off Season
), including acting as agent for novelist Henry Miller
at Scott Meredith Literary Agency, a pivotal point in his career - his extraordinary encounter with Miller at his home in Pacific Palisades is one of the subjects of his memoir in Book of Souls. He also sold articles and stories - both fiction and non-fiction - to various rock 'n roll and men's magazines to supplement his income. His decision to eventually concentrate on novel writing was partly fuelled by a preference for work that offered stability and longevity.
Throughout his life Ketchum has read widely and voraciously, authors like Robert Bloch
and Charles Bukowski
, Jim Harrison
and Ernest Hemingway
. Apart from his proficiency as a short story and magazine writer - and a vivid imagination - reading was the essential tool in the writing kit that led Ketchum from his 7th Grade A-Minus Essay to the Magazines and, eventually, to Off Season and beyond.
, Jerzy Livingston, came about during this period. Because he often had more than one piece published in a specific magazine he would use his own name for the first byline
and then adopt a pseudonym for the others. He came from Livingston, New Jersey
and, at the time, had been reading work by the author Jerzy Kosinski
: 'I liked the in-joke. Hence, Jerzy Livingston.' he explains. One of his best known characters while writing as Jerzy Livingstone is Stroup, a play on Proust: Stroup, however, had zero understanding of people, even himself. Ketchum refers to Stroup as '[a] boozer. a loser.a homophobe. A highly questionable friend and unreliable lover. Misogynist as hell and for the most part proud of it.' Stroup is the exact opposite of Proust, whom Ketchum calls '[a]rguably the most sensitive writer in history [...].' Stroup appeared in the men's magazine Swank. He was recently resurrected in the tale Sheep Meadow Story that formed part of the book Triage (2001), a collection with Richard Laymon and Edward Lee. His exploits can be found collected in Broken on the Wheel of Sex: The Jerzy Livingston Years (2007).
- Off Season, Hide and Seek
Berkley Publishing Group - She Wakes, Joyride
Biting Dog Press - The Transformed Mouse
Bloodletting Press
- Book of Souls
Book Club Associates in association with Headline Publishing Group - Red, Road Kill, Only Child
Cahill Mtn Press - Dust of the Heavens
Cemetery Dance Publications
- Hide and Seek, She Wakes, Joyride, Right to Life, The Lost, The Crossings, Triage, Weed Species, Old Flames, The Woman
Diamond Books - Offspring
Gauntlet Press - Hide and Seek, Cover, Only Child, Right to Life, Ladies' Night, Sleep Disorder, Closing Time and Other Stories
Headline Publishing Group - Off Season, Offspring, Red, Road Kill, Only Child
Leisure Books
imprint of Dorchester Publishing
- Off Season (with Winter Child), Cover, The Girl Next Door, Offspring, Red (with The Passenger), Joyride (with Weed Species), The Lost, Old Flames (with Right to Life), The Woman, Peaceable Kingdom, Triage
Obsidian Books - The Exit at Toledo Blade Boulevard
Overlook Connection Press - Off Season, The Girl Next Door, Offspring, Red, Broken on the Wheel of Sex
Silver Salamander Press - Hide and Seek
Subterranean Press
- Peaceable Kingdom
Warner Books - Cover, The Girl Next Door
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
Dallas Mayr (born in Livingston, New Jersey
Livingston, New Jersey
Livingston is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 29,366.Livingston was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 5, 1813, from portions of Caldwell Township and Springfield...
on November 10, 1946). He is the recipient of four Bram Stoker Awards and three further nominations. Many of his novels have been adapted to film, including The Girl Next Door (2007 film)
The Girl Next Door (2007 film)
The Girl Next Door is a 2007 horror film adaptation of the 1989 novel of the same name by Jack Ketchum. The film is loosely based on true events surrounding the torture and murder of Sylvia Likens by Gertrude Baniszewski during the summer of 1965.-Plot:...
and Red (2008 film)
Red (2008 film)
Red is a 2008 thriller film about a couple of kids who kill a dog named 'Red' during an attempted robbery. The dog's owner finds out who they are, and tries to bring them to justice by informing the authorities. However, this amounts to nothing, so he decides to dish out his own brand of...
. In 2011 Ketchum received the World Horror Convention Grand Master Award
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...
for outstanding contribution to the horror genre.
Ketchum lives in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Education
Ketchum earned a B.A. Bachelor of ArtsBachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in English from Emerson College
Emerson College
Emerson College is a private coeducational university located in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of oratory," Emerson is "the only comprehensive college or university in America dedicated exclusively to communication and the arts in a liberal arts...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, and later taught high school level in Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline, Massachusetts
Brookline is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, which borders on the cities of Boston and Newton. As of the 2010 census, the population of the town was 58,732.-Etymology:...
, for two years.
Early Years
A onetime actor, teacher, literary agent, lumber salesman, and soda jerkSoda jerk
A soda jerk was a person — typically a youth — who operated the soda fountain in a drugstore, often for the purpose of preparing and serving ice cream soda. This was made by putting flavored syrup into a specially designed tall glass, adding carbonated water and, finally, one or two scoops of ice...
, Ketchum credits his childhood love of Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, dinosaurs, and horror for getting him through his formative years. He began making up stories at a young age and explains that he spent a lot of time in his room, or in the woods near his house, down by the brook: '[m]y interests [were] Books, comics, movies, rock 'n roll, show tunes, TV, dinosaurs [...] pretty much any activity that didn't demand too much socializing, or where I could easily walk away from socializing'. He would make up stories using his plastic soldiers, knights, and dinosaurs as the characters. He was also big on Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
and his mother, being '[...] pretty good with the sewing machine [...]', ensured young Ketchum had an authentic costume: his favorites were Peter Pan
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...
and Superman
Superman
Superman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
. Ketchum has further expressed an early interest in horror films like Nosferatu and the classic Universal Monsters
Universal Monsters
Universal Monsters or Universal Horror is the name given to a series of distinctive horror, suspense and science fiction films made by Universal Studios from 1923 to 1960...
such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923 film)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923 film)
The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a 1923 American film directed by Wallace Worsley and produced by Carl Laemmle and Irving Thalberg. It stars Lon Chaney, Sr., Patsy Ruth Miller, Norman Kerry, Nigel de Brulier, Brandon Hurst. The film is the second most famous adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel,...
and The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)
The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)
The Phantom of the Opera is a 1925 American silent horror film adaptation of the Gaston Leroux novel of the same title directed by Rupert Julian. The film featured Lon Chaney in the title role as the deformed Phantom who haunts the Paris Opera House, causing murder and mayhem in an attempt to force...
.
Later, in his teenage years, Ketchum was befriended by Robert Bloch
Robert Bloch
Robert Albert Bloch was a prolific American writer, primarily of crime, horror and science fiction. He is best known as the writer of Psycho, the basis for the film of the same name by Alfred Hitchcock...
, author of Psycho, who became a mentor to him. He supported Ketchum's work just as his work was supported by his own mentor, H.P. Lovecraft. This relationship with Robert Bloch
Robert Bloch
Robert Albert Bloch was a prolific American writer, primarily of crime, horror and science fiction. He is best known as the writer of Psycho, the basis for the film of the same name by Alfred Hitchcock...
would last until his death in 1994. Ketchum's parents, Dallas William Mayr and Evelyn Fahner Mayer, were the owners of a luncheonette and soda fountain where Jack would work to support his writing, as a short order cook during the day and a soda jerk after dark.
Ketchum indeed worked many different jobs before completing his first novel (1980's controversial Off Season
Off Season (novel)
Off Season is a horror novel written by Jack Ketchum and initially published by Ballantine Books in 1980. It was Ketchum's first novel and was partially based upon the legend of Sawney Bean, which also inspired Wes Craven's 1977 cult classic horror film The Hills Have Eyes.The novel was extremely...
), including acting as agent for novelist Henry Miller
Henry Miller
Henry Valentine Miller was an American novelist and painter. He was known for breaking with existing literary forms and developing a new sort of 'novel' that is a mixture of novel, autobiography, social criticism, philosophical reflection, surrealist free association, and mysticism, one that is...
at Scott Meredith Literary Agency, a pivotal point in his career - his extraordinary encounter with Miller at his home in Pacific Palisades is one of the subjects of his memoir in Book of Souls. He also sold articles and stories - both fiction and non-fiction - to various rock 'n roll and men's magazines to supplement his income. His decision to eventually concentrate on novel writing was partly fuelled by a preference for work that offered stability and longevity.
Throughout his life Ketchum has read widely and voraciously, authors like Robert Bloch
Robert Bloch
Robert Albert Bloch was a prolific American writer, primarily of crime, horror and science fiction. He is best known as the writer of Psycho, the basis for the film of the same name by Alfred Hitchcock...
and Charles Bukowski
Charles Bukowski
Henry Charles Bukowski was an American poet, novelist and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural and economic ambience of his home city of Los Angeles...
, Jim Harrison
Jim Harrison
James "Jim" Harrison is an American author known for his poetry, fiction, essays, reviews, and writings about food. He has been called "a force of nature", and his work has been compared to that of William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway...
and Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
. Apart from his proficiency as a short story and magazine writer - and a vivid imagination - reading was the essential tool in the writing kit that led Ketchum from his 7th Grade A-Minus Essay to the Magazines and, eventually, to Off Season and beyond.
The Jerzy Livingston Years
Before Ketchum turned his pen to novel writing, he sold a prolific amount of short fiction and articles to magazines. His initial pen namePen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
, Jerzy Livingston, came about during this period. Because he often had more than one piece published in a specific magazine he would use his own name for the first byline
Byline
The byline on a newspaper or magazine article gives the name, and often the position, of the writer of the article. Bylines are traditionally placed between the headline and the text of the article, although some magazines place bylines at the bottom of the page, to leave more room for graphical...
and then adopt a pseudonym for the others. He came from Livingston, New Jersey
Livingston, New Jersey
Livingston is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 29,366.Livingston was incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 5, 1813, from portions of Caldwell Township and Springfield...
and, at the time, had been reading work by the author Jerzy Kosinski
Jerzy Kosinski
Jerzy Kosiński , born Józef Lewinkopf, was an award-winning Polish American novelist, and two-time President of the American Chapter of P.E.N.He was known for various novels, among them The Painted Bird and Being There...
: 'I liked the in-joke. Hence, Jerzy Livingston.' he explains. One of his best known characters while writing as Jerzy Livingstone is Stroup, a play on Proust: Stroup, however, had zero understanding of people, even himself. Ketchum refers to Stroup as '[a] boozer. a loser.a homophobe. A highly questionable friend and unreliable lover. Misogynist as hell and for the most part proud of it.' Stroup is the exact opposite of Proust, whom Ketchum calls '[a]rguably the most sensitive writer in history [...].' Stroup appeared in the men's magazine Swank. He was recently resurrected in the tale Sheep Meadow Story that formed part of the book Triage (2001), a collection with Richard Laymon and Edward Lee. His exploits can be found collected in Broken on the Wheel of Sex: The Jerzy Livingston Years (2007).
Awards and Nominations
- The Box (1994) Bram Stoker AwardBram Stoker AwardThe Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented by the Horror Writers Association for "superior achievement" in horror writing. The awards have been presented annually since 1987, and the winners are selected by ballot of the Active members of the HWA...
for Best Short Story - Right to Life (1999) Bram Stoker AwardBram Stoker AwardThe Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented by the Horror Writers Association for "superior achievement" in horror writing. The awards have been presented annually since 1987, and the winners are selected by ballot of the Active members of the HWA...
Nominee for Best Long Fiction - Gone (2000) Bram Stoker AwardBram Stoker AwardThe Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented by the Horror Writers Association for "superior achievement" in horror writing. The awards have been presented annually since 1987, and the winners are selected by ballot of the Active members of the HWA...
for Best Short Fiction - The Lost (2001) Bram Stoker AwardBram Stoker AwardThe Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented by the Horror Writers Association for "superior achievement" in horror writing. The awards have been presented annually since 1987, and the winners are selected by ballot of the Active members of the HWA...
Nominee for Best Novel - The Haunt (2001) Bram Stoker AwardBram Stoker AwardThe Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented by the Horror Writers Association for "superior achievement" in horror writing. The awards have been presented annually since 1987, and the winners are selected by ballot of the Active members of the HWA...
Nominee for Best Short Fiction - Peaceable Kingdom (2003) Bram Stoker AwardBram Stoker AwardThe Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented by the Horror Writers Association for "superior achievement" in horror writing. The awards have been presented annually since 1987, and the winners are selected by ballot of the Active members of the HWA...
for Best Collection - Closing Time (2003) Bram Stoker AwardBram Stoker AwardThe Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented by the Horror Writers Association for "superior achievement" in horror writing. The awards have been presented annually since 1987, and the winners are selected by ballot of the Active members of the HWA...
for Best Long Fiction - World Horror Convention Grand Master AwardWorld Horror Convention Grand Master AwardThe 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...
(2011)
Print Books
Ballantine BooksBallantine Books
Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann AG in 1998 and remains part of that company today. Ballantine's logo is a...
- Off Season, Hide and Seek
Berkley Publishing Group - She Wakes, Joyride
Biting Dog Press - The Transformed Mouse
Bloodletting Press
Bloodletting Press
Bloodletting Press was launched in 2002 by Larry Roberts to publish works in the horror genre specifically for the collector's market, producing low print run limited editions intended for collectors and unique heirloom Lettered Editions for the high-end collectors. They were originally located in...
- Book of Souls
Book Club Associates in association with Headline Publishing Group - Red, Road Kill, Only Child
Cahill Mtn Press - Dust of the Heavens
Cemetery Dance Publications
Cemetery Dance Publications
Cemetery Dance Publications is a 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 was founded in 1988. They began to publish books in 1992.Cemetery...
- Hide and Seek, She Wakes, Joyride, Right to Life, The Lost, The Crossings, Triage, Weed Species, Old Flames, The Woman
Diamond Books - Offspring
Gauntlet Press - Hide and Seek, Cover, Only Child, Right to Life, Ladies' Night, Sleep Disorder, Closing Time and Other Stories
Headline Publishing Group - Off Season, Offspring, Red, Road Kill, Only Child
Leisure Books
Leisure Books
Leisure Books is an imprint of Dorchester Publishing specializing in Horror and Thriller mass market paperbacks. As of 2000, Leisure Books was the only U.S. publisher with a line of horror books...
imprint of Dorchester Publishing
Dorchester Publishing
Dorchester Publishing is a publisher of mass market paperback books. Although mostly known for romance, Dorchester also publishes horror, thriller and Western titles.-Publication lines:...
- Off Season (with Winter Child), Cover, The Girl Next Door, Offspring, Red (with The Passenger), Joyride (with Weed Species), The Lost, Old Flames (with Right to Life), The Woman, Peaceable Kingdom, Triage
Obsidian Books - The Exit at Toledo Blade Boulevard
Overlook Connection Press - Off Season, The Girl Next Door, Offspring, Red, Broken on the Wheel of Sex
Silver Salamander Press - Hide and Seek
Subterranean Press
Subterranean Press
Subterranean Press is a small press publisher in Michigan. Subterranean is best known for publishing genre fiction, primarily horror, suspense and dark mystery, fantasy, and science fiction...
- Peaceable Kingdom
Warner Books - Cover, The Girl Next Door
Film Adaptations
- The Lost (2006)
- The Girl Next DoorThe Girl Next Door (2007 film)The Girl Next Door is a 2007 horror film adaptation of the 1989 novel of the same name by Jack Ketchum. The film is loosely based on true events surrounding the torture and murder of Sylvia Likens by Gertrude Baniszewski during the summer of 1965.-Plot:...
(2007) - RedRed (2008 film)Red is a 2008 thriller film about a couple of kids who kill a dog named 'Red' during an attempted robbery. The dog's owner finds out who they are, and tries to bring them to justice by informing the authorities. However, this amounts to nothing, so he decides to dish out his own brand of...
(2008) - Offspring (2009)
- The WomanThe WomanThe Woman is a 2011 American crime horror film directed by Lucky McKee.-Plot:When a successful country lawyer captures and attempts to "civilize" the last remaining member of a violent clan that has roamed the Northeast coast for decades, he puts the lives of his family in jeopardy.-Cast:*...
(2011)
See also
- Bram Stoker AwardBram Stoker AwardThe Bram Stoker Award is a recognition presented by the Horror Writers Association for "superior achievement" in horror writing. The awards have been presented annually since 1987, and the winners are selected by ballot of the Active members of the HWA...
- Cemetery Dance PublicationsCemetery Dance PublicationsCemetery Dance Publications is a 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 was founded in 1988. They began to publish books in 1992.Cemetery...
- World Horror Convention Grand Master AwardWorld Horror Convention Grand Master AwardThe 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...
- List of horror fiction authors
- SplatterpunkSplatterpunkSplatterpunk—a term coined in 1986 by David J. Schow at the Twelfth World Fantasy Convention in Providence, Rhode Island—refers to a movement within horror fiction distinguished by its graphic, often gory, depiction of violence and "hyperintensive horror with no limits." It is regarded as a revolt...
External links
- Official Website
- Official International Website
- Fantastic Fiction
- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1626482/Jack Ketchum at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
] - Cemetery Dance Publications
- The Overlook Connection Press and Bookstore :
- Gauntlet Main Page