Ray Russell (writer)

Born in Chicago, Russell served in the U.S. Air Force in the South Pacific from 1943 to 1946, after which he studied at the Chicago Conservatory of Music and the Goodman Memorial Institute. Prior to becoming a writer, Russell worked for the United States Treasury. ==Writing career==

Russell's first novel was The Case Against Satan (1962), about a young girl possessed by a demon. It was published almost a decade before a more famous novel with a similar plot, The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty. Darrell Schweitzer described The Case Against Satan as "a Catholic Turn of the Screw" and said the novel "succeeded brilliantly" in making the concept of the Devil frightening to modern readers. He also contributed to the Paris Review. ==Death==

Russell died of complications resulting from a stroke at a nursing home in Los Angeles, California on March 15, 1999. He was survived by his wife, Ada Szczepanski, and their two children. ==Accolades==

In 1991 Russell received the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement and in 1992 he was presented the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement. ==Bibliography==