Methods of Madness

by Ray Garton

Ray Garton exposes himself as a master storyteller in METHODS OF MADNESS, with six stories centered on the psychotic, twisted deviations in human nature. Anchored by the riveting short novel, "Dr. Krusadian's Method," Garton's style is so real, so believable, he could be describing people you encounter every day. The couple upstairs, your neighbors and relatives, maybe even your own husband or wife. What kind of madness is really played out behind their shuttered windows? Also features the stories "Fat," "Active Member," Something Kinky," "Sinema," and Shock Radio." This is Ray Garton at his terrifying best.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Collections

Hardcover

First published July 1, 1990

About the author

Ray Garton is the author of several books, including horror novels such as LIVE GIRLS (which has a movie in the works), CRUCIFAX, E4 AUTUMN, and THE FOLKS; thrillers like TRADE SECRETS and SHACKLED; and numerous short stories and novellas. He's also written a number of movie and television tie-ins for young readers. He lives with his wife, Dawn, in California.

Reviews

[Paulo "paper books only" · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good introduction to a good horror writer. So good that I immediately bought a couple of other of his novels. If they are good then I will buy more. I recently read that he pass away only a few months ago which and he was young yet (around 60)

So let me talk about these stories. THis is a collection of short stories , one novelette and one novella written in the beginning of his writing career so it's a good introduction.

Before I start, I have Dark Harvest edition which have a gorgeous cover and each story has a black and white drawing.

We've got "Fat" which tells us the tale of a man who was, well fat, and made a transformation to be thin unfortunately the "fatness" turns intto a monster. More interesting is not the horror part but the relation between the fat guy and the female interest. Very cool.
We've got Active Member which was my least favourite
We've got Something Kinky which tells us the story of a man who was not getting what he wanted at home (if you get my meaning) and went outside. He found out a man who wanted to have a threesome. From this moment on it becomes more a mystery story than a horror one. Then we've got Shock Radio was a very interesting story about a radio host talking with people on the radio and inciting people to be a bit on the awful side , but then things go wrong.
The last one is Krusadin's Method and is the biggest one about child abuse and a peculiar way to treat them. Very interesting story.

[Bradly Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I had started reading Ray Garton much earlier. This one is from 1990. Six tales worth reading.

[Robert Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a collection of six short stories. Each is perhaps on the long side as short stories go, but personally I find that refreshing in today’s world of bite-sized news and one-minute TikTok videos. In “Fat,” a lonely overweight man’s body fat becomes a monster. In “Active Member,” a man becomes terrorized by a particular piece of his own anatomy. “Something Kinky” tells us of a man whose one-night indiscretion drags him into a world of crime. “Sinema” follows a Seventh Day Adventist boy who only wants to watch movies and who ends up involved with a small-town predator. Then we have “Shock Radio,” in which a shock jock encounters an ironic sort of terror. Finally, we finish up with a novella called “Dr. Krusadian’s Method,” in which abusive parents are confronted by a mysterious doctor who promises to solve their problems.

This, in all honesty, is what horror ought to be. It never shies away from sex, violence, and gore. It’s perfectly willing to show us the worst of humanity. But at the same time, it doesn’t revel in those things to the exclusion of genuine plot or character. Despite these stories’ short length, the characters are well-crafted and believable as human beings, the plots are complete, and in at least a few cases, quite haunting even after you’ve finished reading them.

Ray Garton was one of the best of us. I’ve honestly never disliked one of his books, and this is certainly no exception. I don’t honestly know how readily available this one is, but I’m sure there are copies out there, and if you can find one, you need to read it.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favorites:

SINEMA-A small California town outfitted with a religious cult (seventh day Adventist’s), must deal with childhood abductions, eccentric cinema, and murder.

SHOCK RADIO-A radio host with a ignorant Howard Stern/Don Imus guise persuades one of his listeners to perform a cruel and vengeful act.

DR KRUSADIAN’S METHOD-‘So that’s how it looks. From the outside.’ A tale of of child abuse, where parents must suffer agonizing consequence by encountering the demons their son once faced.

[William Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

So close to five stars it's not funny but seem to be slapping five stars on everything at the moment!!! Really loved this book not just because it's a signed special edition (😂) or the fact that the artwork is so 80's awesome.... But the actual stories are all very very good and very different too!!! Dead easy to read and a lively looking book too. Ray Garton is fast becoming my favourite writer.

[Warren Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is EASILY the best short story collection I've ever read... EVERY story is amazing!

[Douglas Castagna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again a great collection by one of the fathers of Splatterpunk. Only one of the stories I remembered reading, recently in a newer anthology, but for the most part the other novellas were new to me. One sad thing about the horror genre is that stories or novellas are out and gone and then rarely reissued. I was lucky enough to get a copy of this one online and eager to tear through it. The gore factor is not as high as a lot of Garton's work but they do not fail to disappoint.

[A.R. · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you can get by the annoyingly small print, you might enjoy this short-story collection, but I didn't. The only one I found truly creepy was "Active Member." I like his novels much better. There were parts where he shifted from 1st person to 3rd person, then back again. And there were grammar issues that made me wonder if it had been critiqued, though I'm sure it was. Not my cup of tea.

[Brian Mcclain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great collection. Human horrors are scarier than the supernatural and Garton exposes a multitude of them.