Ray Russell was an American editor and writer of short stories, novels, and screenplays. Russell is best known for his horror fiction, although he also wrote mystery and science fiction stories.
His most famous short fiction is "Sardonicus", which appeared in the January 1961 issue of Playboy magazine, and was subsequently adapted by Russell into a screenplay for William Castle's film version, titled Mr. Sardonicus. American writer Stephen King called "Sardonicus" "perhaps the finest example of the modern gothic ever written"."Sardonicus" was part of a trio of stories with "Sanguinarius" and "Sagittarius".
I'm sad to see it out of print. There's a few used books still available on Amazon. I met the author personally. He personally ran for US President by going door to door and pressing the flesh. A real go-getter. He didn't have a lot of money for promotions, but walking was free. He made a decent showing, and he turned a weakness (not enough money) into a strength (the personal touch). He was more inspirational in person than on the page. But my favorite quote from the book is: Strengths can be your weakness and weaknesses can be your strengths. If you understand both, you can make them work for you. He certainly did that. He inspired me to do the same.