RIP: Author Jack Ketchum has passed away at 71

January 24th 2018, 2:02pm

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Looks like I have some sad news to pass along to you fellow horror fans today as it has just been announced that author Jack Ketchum has passed away at the age of 71 from cancer.

For those who might not know, Ketchum is best known for writing the horror novels THE GIRL NEXT DOOR and THE WOMAN (which he co-wrote with MAY director Lucky McKee).

Here is a mini-bio via IMDb: Jack Ketchum published his first novel in 1980 titled "Off Season", a version of the Sawney Beane story. The novel was subsequently slated by the Village Voice as 'violent pornography' but, undeterred, the author continued to write fiction that deals with the cruelty and violence so often apparent in everyday life. Since the publication of "Off Season", he has released several successful novels including "She Wakes", "Cover", "Road Kill" (aka "Joyride"), "Only Child" (aka "Stranglehold"), "Ladies Night", and "Triage" (a collection of novellas) with fellow writers Richard Laymon and Edward Lee. In 1990 he published "Offspring", the sequel to "Off Season".

What is your favorite Jack Ketchum novel? Let us know in the comments below or on social media.

THE WOMAN synopsis:

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.

The film was directed by Lucky McKee from a script based the novel he co-wrote with Jack Ketchum. The movie stars Pollyanna McIntosh, Lauren Ashley Carter, Sean Bridgers, and Angela Bettis.

Buy it on Blu-ray HERE.