Richard Laymon Books

Richard Laymon was a popular author that wrote horror fiction. By the time he died, Laymon had produced over a hundred short stories and full-length novels.

Born in 1947 in Chicago, Laymon spent his teenage years in Tiburon which is in California. As an author, Laymon drew the interest of renowned writers like Stephen King.

Despite such acclaim, Laymon never made much of a splash in the United States. A former student of Redwood High School, Willamette University, and Loyola University, Laymon died having acquired a BA and an MA in English literature.

He wrote short stories and novels under his real name and the Richard Kelly pen name. But for all his efforts, the author struggled to push his popularity beyond the boundaries of Europe where his primary fanbase was located.

An opportunity to make his mark internationally came when Richard Laymon entered into a partnership with Leisure Books. They were supposed to edit and release The Woods Are Dark in his native homeland. But they did such a poor job of editing the manuscript, going so far as to erase fifty pages from the final product that the release only succeeded in hurting Laymon’s career.

Fortunately for the author, a properly edited version of The Woods Are Dark finally hit the shelves in 2008. But by then, the author had already passed. He was fifty-four years old when he died in 2001, the result of a heart attack.

He had a wife and a daughter at the time.

Before going into fiction writing, Laymon worked as a school teacher and a librarian. The author has been described as Stephen King without the censorship because of the boundaries he pushes in his horror stories.

Richard Laymon Awards

Laymon won the Bram Stoker Award in 2001 (The Traveling Vampire Show). He was also nominated for Bram Stoker Awards in 1989, 1991, 1994 and 1996.

Best Richard Laymon Books

Laymon was a twisted writer, taking the blood, guts, and gore of the horror genre and adding a disturbing aspect to the equation, with some of the best books in the author’s bibliography including:

Endless Night: Jody and Evelyn’s little brother saw Evelyn die. They saw everyone die. At sixteen, Jody was dragged into a world filled with the sort of misery and pain most people never witness. A gang of killers came into the house and murdered everyone.

Jody managed to make it out alive. But neither she nor Evelyn’s brother can rest on their laurels. Simon is hunting them down. He has his reasons for wanting to get to Joby. But even if he wished to show her compassion, the choice has been taken out of Simon’s hands.

Simon’s comrades have given him an ultimatum. He either finds the only survivors of the slaughter or they kill his family. For Jody, the nightmare has just begun.

This Richard Laymon release came out in 2004 and it continued his penchant for taking readers down some truly dark and demented rabbit holes.

Jody Fargo takes center stage as the heroine of the story. When Jody goes to her best friend’s house for a sleepover, she expects a night of fun and games. Then the sound of breaking glass wakes Evelyn.

Jody initially dismisses her suspicions of a potential burglary. But Evelyn sticks to her guns. She knows what she heard and quickly proceeds to investigate the noise. The decision ends with Evelyn getting impaled by a spear.

Jody is horrified but she succeeds in containing her nerves, so much so that Evelyn’s killer does not take note of her. And the moment he moves on, Jody collects Andy, Evelyn’s twelve-year-old brother, and they flee the house. From there, Jody must fight to stay alive as her captors give chase.

In the Dark: Jane Kerry was ordinary. Nothing of note ever happened to the young librarian. But then she received an envelope with money that compelled her to find a book. Within it, she found even more money and an additional clue.

It takes Jane a while to realize that she has been pulled into a game, one that intends to not only test her intelligence but also determine how far she will go to win. Jane faces many a criminal and immoral challenge along the way.

As the game proceeds and as the stakes are elevated, things take a dangerous turn. Jane learns that quitting is no longer an option, not unless she wishes to forfeit her life.

When Does The Next Richard Laymon book come out?

Richard Laymon doesn't seem to have an upcoming book. Their newest book is Short Stories: The Mystery and Men’s Magazines and was released on May, 14th 2014. It is the newest book in the Richard Laymon Short Story Collections.

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Updated: March 15, 2018