John Wooley made his first professional sale in the late 1960s, placing a script with the legendary Eerie magazine. He's now in his sixth decade as a professional writer, having written three mass-market paperback horror novels with co-author Ron Wolfe, including Death's Door, which was one of the first books released under Dell's Abyss imprint and nominated for a Bram Stoker Award. His solo horror and fantasy novels include Awash in the Blood, Ghost Band, and Dark Within, the latter a finalist for the Oklahoma Book Award.

Wooley is also the author of the critically acclaimed biographies Wes Craven: A Man and His Nightmares and Right Down the Middle: The Ralph Terry Story. He has co-written or contributed to several volumes of Michael H. Price's Forgotten Horrors series of movie books and co-hosts the podcast of the same name.