Ray Thurston

Ray Thurston
General information
Alignment	Evil
Status	Deceased
Physical information
Species	Human/Zombie
Gender	Male
Eye color	Brown (Alive) Gray/White (Undead)
Hair color	Blond
Additional information
Portrayed by	Marc Marut

Ray Thurston is the secondary antagonist in the first Goosebumps book, Welcome to Dead House, as well as a supporting antagonist in its television adaptation.

History

Ray is one of the many residents of Dark Falls. He and his family moved to Dark Falls and lived in what is referred to by the town as the Dead House, a house the town uses to lure unsuspecting families so they can kill them and feast on their blood to survive. Ray and his family were killed, but much like the other residents, became the living dead, continuing the cycle of luring new victims. He was then given the role of The Watcher, tasked with stalking the families that moved into Dark Falls, making sure that they weren't aware of the town's plans beforehand. He and the other children of Dark Falls befriend Amanda and Josh after the Benson family moves in, at one point playing baseball with them.

Knowing that dogs can detect the dead, Ray kills Petey, the Benson family dog, and turns him into a zombie dog. But when Amanda and Josh go looking for Petey, they wind up in the town cemetery, where they find the gravestones for many of the kids in Dark Falls, including Ray's. He panics and starts to float above Amanda, seemingly choking her, until Josh shines his halogen flashlight over him, causing Ray's flesh and other body parts to melt off, leaving nothing but a skeletal heap on the ground.

In the television adaptation, Ray's role is similar to the book's portrayal. However, he isn't destroyed in the cemetery. He and the other undead pursue Josh and Amanda back to the Dead House, and corner them in the attic. Before the townspeople can feast on the Benson family though, Amanda realizes that they are harmed by the sunlight, and she and Josh remove the boards blocking out the sunlight from the attic windows. While his fate isn't shown onscreen, it is likely that Ray was destroyed by the sunlight along with the other zombies in the attic.

General information

Physical appearance

The book describes Ray as having wavy blond hair, a turned-up nose and a serious looking face. He wears a maroon long-sleeved sweatshirt and black jeans and occasionally a blue baseball cap.

Personality

Ray tries his best to be friendly to Amanda and Josh, to the point that it does feel genuine. He also comes off as remorseful when he reveals the truth about the town and having to kill Petey, as well as when he tries to kill Amanda.

Appearances

Books

Goosebumps

• Welcome to Dead House

Television and film

Goosebumps (television series)

• "Welcome to Dead House"

Trivia

• In the television episode, his surname wasn't revealed and Karen Somerset surname was changed to Thurston, which is Ray's surname in the book.
• It is possible that Ray, as well as the other Dark Falls residents, were set to return in the Goosebumps Gold book Happy Holidays From Dead House, but the book, along with Goosebumps Gold, were cancelled not long after R.L. Stine parted ways with Scholastic.

  

  The Dark Falls citizen that was inspired by Ray, from Goosebumps HorrorTown.

• While Ray did not appear during Goosebumps HorrorTown's Welcome to Dead House event, the design of the Dark Falls citizens is based off his appearance in the television episode.
• According to Ray's tombstone, he died four years before the Benson family arrived in Dark Falls, and he was 11 when he died.