For the
Stratemeyer Syndicate, Karig wrote volumes in the
Perry Pierce series (2–4),
Doris Force series (3–4), and
Nancy Drew series (8–10). Karig did not seem to enjoy writing with the trio formula used by regular series ghostwriters. He brought back the chum Helen Corning from the earliest Nancy Drew books and featured her prolifically, while diminishing the roles of George Fayne and Bess Marvin. While one of the volumes features a detailed account of college football, his contributions to the series place a large emphasis on Nancy choosing clothing and describing articles she owns or purchases. Karig revealed to
catalogers at the
Library of Congress he authored three Nancy Drew volumes, numbers 8, 9, 10, under the pseudonym of
Carolyn Keene. This admission angered the series' "packager", the Stratemeyer Syndicate, who hid their
ghostwriters behind syndicate-owned pen names. The publisher had no desire to reveal the true authorship of volumes in the various series. Stratemeyer's attorney threatened legal action against Karig for claiming
authorship. Karig never again worked for the Stratemeyer Syndicate. Karig wrote detective fiction under the name Keats Partick. Among Karig's many novels is
Zotz! (1947), a
satirical story dealing with an
archaeologist and
linguist, Dr. John Jones. After
deciphering an
inscription on an ancient disk, Jones is imbued with deadly powers: Jones can merely point at an animal or human and they faint. If he utters the word "Zotz" while pointing his finger, the person or animal will die. Because the novel is set during
World War II, there is a patriotic flavor to it. Also, much of the plot revolves around Jones' efforts to obtain an appointment to see President
Franklin Roosevelt, with the hope that he can convince the President that the
Allies can use his
supernatural abilities to help the war effort. Karig wrote himself into the novel as a beleaguered
naval officer working at a US Navy public information office, where dozens of people paraded by his desk daily trying to obtain appointments to meet with the "highest authority" in the United States government. Although Karig's novel is set in the then present, he manages to point out that humans have not changed much in
millennia. Technology may have improved, but humans still have a strong desire to destroy and to kill. Thus Karig manages to blend a satire on wartime Washington D.C.
bureaucracy with ethical questions related to the advent of the
nuclear war. The novel's name was inspired by Karig's meeting with a member of the
Zotz family: After Karig's death, director
William Castle released a film version of
Zotz! in 1962. The cast includes actors
Tom Poston,
Jim Backus,
Margaret Dumont,
Cecil Kellaway, and
Louis Nye. The film deviates from Karig's authorial intents and becomes a vehicle for clever special effects. During his life, Karig was a member of the New York Yacht Club. In Washington, DC, Karig was a member of the Cosmos Club, Gridiron, Carabao, National Press, and Circus Saints and Sinners. Walter Karig died in Bethesda, Maryland, on September 30, 1956. ==Books written==