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Asylum
Black magic, murder, and madness-most-bizarre stalk the tortured inmates of Dunsmoor, a mental institution in which life is a torment of horrors and death is the most desireable escape...ASYLUM, A New Experience in Heart-Stopping Terror!
- GenresHorror
139 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1972
1 person is currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
William Johnston
106 books15 followersLibrarian note: William Johnston has also written under the pseudonyms Susan Claudia, Willa Jay, Heather Sinclair, Ed Garth, Alex Steele, and William Howard.
William Johnston joined the Navy in 1942 and served in the Pacific. He worked as a disc jockey, advertising executive, magazine editor, and PR man before his writing career took off in 1960 with The Marriage Cage, a comic mystery that earned him a Best First Novel Edgar Award nomination from the Mystery Writers of America. He followed that book with a slew of pulp titles for Monarch Books, ranging from light comedy (The Power of Positive Loving) to medical romance (the Doctor Starr trilogy) to soft-core erotica (Save Her for Loving, Teen Age Tramp, Girls on the Wing).
Johnston’s medical novels dovetailed with his first tie-in assignments -- original novels based on the TV series The Nurses, Doctor Kildare and Ben Casey. Those books, published between 1962 and 1964, were so successful that his next original medical romance, Two Loves Has Nurse Powell, was presented as “From the author of Ben Casey.”
In 1965, Johnston wrote an original novel based on the TV comedy Get Smart. The book was a huge success, leading to nine more novels over the show’s five-season history and making him the “go-to” guy for sitcom-based tie-ins. He wrote books based on Captain Nice, Room 222, Happy Days, Welcome Back Kotter, The Flying Nun, The Brady Bunch, Nanny and the Professor, The Munsters, Gilligan’s Island, Bewitched, The Monkees and F-Troop, among others.
But his TV tie-in work extended far beyond sitcom adaptations. He wrote books based on Ironside, Dick Tracy, The Young Rebels, The Iron Horse, Then Came Bronson, and Rod Serling’s The New People, to name a few. He even adapted the cartoon characters Magilla Gorilla and Snagglepuss into books for children.
Johnston also penned many novelizations, including the pilots for the 1930s-era private eye series Banyon and the high school drama Sons and Daughters. His feature film novelizations include Klute, The Swinger, Echoes of a Summer, The New Interns, The Priest’s Wife, Lt. Robin Crusoe USN and his final tie-in project, Gore Vidal’s Caligula (under the pseudonym “William Howard”).
After retiring from fiction writing, he opened his own bar, which he operated for many years. He resided in San Jose, California prior to his death in 2010.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
William Johnston joined the Navy in 1942 and served in the Pacific. He worked as a disc jockey, advertising executive, magazine editor, and PR man before his writing career took off in 1960 with The Marriage Cage, a comic mystery that earned him a Best First Novel Edgar Award nomination from the Mystery Writers of America. He followed that book with a slew of pulp titles for Monarch Books, ranging from light comedy (The Power of Positive Loving) to medical romance (the Doctor Starr trilogy) to soft-core erotica (Save Her for Loving, Teen Age Tramp, Girls on the Wing).
Johnston’s medical novels dovetailed with his first tie-in assignments -- original novels based on the TV series The Nurses, Doctor Kildare and Ben Casey. Those books, published between 1962 and 1964, were so successful that his next original medical romance, Two Loves Has Nurse Powell, was presented as “From the author of Ben Casey.”
In 1965, Johnston wrote an original novel based on the TV comedy Get Smart. The book was a huge success, leading to nine more novels over the show’s five-season history and making him the “go-to” guy for sitcom-based tie-ins. He wrote books based on Captain Nice, Room 222, Happy Days, Welcome Back Kotter, The Flying Nun, The Brady Bunch, Nanny and the Professor, The Munsters, Gilligan’s Island, Bewitched, The Monkees and F-Troop, among others.
But his TV tie-in work extended far beyond sitcom adaptations. He wrote books based on Ironside, Dick Tracy, The Young Rebels, The Iron Horse, Then Came Bronson, and Rod Serling’s The New People, to name a few. He even adapted the cartoon characters Magilla Gorilla and Snagglepuss into books for children.
Johnston also penned many novelizations, including the pilots for the 1930s-era private eye series Banyon and the high school drama Sons and Daughters. His feature film novelizations include Klute, The Swinger, Echoes of a Summer, The New Interns, The Priest’s Wife, Lt. Robin Crusoe USN and his final tie-in project, Gore Vidal’s Caligula (under the pseudonym “William Howard”).
After retiring from fiction writing, he opened his own bar, which he operated for many years. He resided in San Jose, California prior to his death in 2010.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
September 30, 2025
This book reads like a novelization. But apparently it’s not. I found a forum thread online that says that it’s based off a Robert Bloch screenplay, and then that the movie was based on the book. Which is pretty bizarre.
It’s ok. Not even remotely creepy or scary, just like the movie.
It’s ok. Not even remotely creepy or scary, just like the movie.
September 24, 2021
I just love old horror stories and books, and this didn't disappoint. Easy read, then watch the film.
January 31, 2022
A quick, but solid horror read. It certainly made for a fun afternoon!
August 15, 2023
I vaguely remember seeing the film of this novel many yeas ago.
Your typical quartet of horror stories set in an asylum for the insane but who are the staff and who are the patients?
Your typical quartet of horror stories set in an asylum for the insane but who are the staff and who are the patients?
September 25, 2013
Very spooky and yet entertaining! I loved how as you read each patients story, you become so invested in their journey. Your mind is always at work. It was funny how one begins to sympathize and wonder is the patients are actually incurably mad!
November 11, 2014
BOOM! What a fantastic little read.
It was predictable, but it was fun. I've read a few books written to gain from theatrical release, this was probably one of the best of the few I've read.
Good times.
It was predictable, but it was fun. I've read a few books written to gain from theatrical release, this was probably one of the best of the few I've read.
Good times.
February 4, 2017
Enjoyable, but I probably would never read this again, I'd just watch the movie. Maybe if the story had been expanded I would have liked it more.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews