Ray Russell war ein Meister des Horrors, dessen Kurzgeschichten, Romane und Drehbücher oft die dunkleren Winkel der menschlichen Psyche erforschten. Sein Meisterwerk, die Kurzgeschichte „Sardonicus“, gilt als Höhepunkt des modernen Gothic-Erzählens und besitzt eine so greifbare Atmosphäre, dass sie zu einem Drehbuch adaptiert wurde. Russell verstand es meisterhaft, Spannung und Schrecken zu erzeugen, die den Leser lange nach der letzten Seite fesseln. Seine Beiträge werden für ihre Originalität und beunruhigende Wirkung gefeiert.
Russell James Ray is credited with the first canyoneering descents of the Barrancas Sinforosa and Batopilas. It was an endeavor that spanned several years, and included a self-delusional non-first descent of the Barranca Del Cobre. He currently resides in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he dreams of other things.
Teenager Susan Garth was "a clean-talking sweet little girl" of high school age before she started having "fits"--A sudden aversion to churches and a newfound fondness for vulgarity. Then one night, she strips in front of the parish priest and sinks her nails into his throat. If not madness, then the answer must be demonic possession. To vanquish the Devil, Bishop Crimmings recruits Father Gregory Sargent, a younger priest with a taste for modern ideas and brandy. As the two men fight not just the darkness tormenting Susan but also one another, a soul-chilling revelation lurks in the shadows-one that knows that the darkest evil goes by many names
First published in the United States of America by Maclay & Associates, Inc. 1985; Edition with a series introduction by Guillermo del Toro pubished in Penguin Books 2013--Title page verso.