It’s bad enough when I write these about people in the industry that made an impact on my life through their work in movies, but when I have to write one about someone I personally knew, it makes it even tougher. Way back in the ’90s, I was involved in sort of a horror newsletter/fanzine thing called Death at Work. Basically, it was a bunch of like-minded horror fans that would contribute their section, writing about whatever they wanted, and then having it all compiled into one and sent out to all the members. Years later, I was introduced to Lawrence Raffel through a mutual friend, Aaron Christensen. After a few moments of conversation, we realized we had both been involved with D.A.W. Small world, huh?

I had got to hang out with Lawrence a couple of times over the years at a few different conventions, where we had more than a few “heated” debates on various topics, including what was Argento’s best movie. I fondly remember those times. But because life can really be a real prick sometimes, Lawrence suffered a massive stroke last May, one that he would never recover from. Yesterday, we heard through our friend AC that Lawrence had passed away.

From running his website Monsters at Play years ago, to working for FearNet, to all the other things that he did to help promote the horror genre, Lawrence was one of those guys that you could talk to for hours about movies, and his passion never faltered. Horror fandom has lost a strong voice with his passing. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family, and especially to his wife and son during this most difficult time. Gone, but never forgotten.