Richie Tankersley Cusick is a renowned author of young adult fantasy fiction. She gained prominence during the late 1980s and early 1990s, a time when the horror and young adult genres were experiencing a significant boom. Cusick's popularity grew alongside authors such as R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike, with several of her books appearing on bestseller paperback lists.
Cusick was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1952 and spent her childhood in a small bayou town called Barataria. The eerie swampland of her hometown inspired her to begin writing at a young age. After attending college, she worked at Hallmark and moved to a haunted house in Kansas City. It was during her time in this haunted house that she began writing her first novel, Evil on the Bayou, which became a success and enabled her to start writing full-time.
With over two dozen novels to her name, Cusick has been a prominent figure in horror fiction for young adults for three decades. Some of her most popular works include Trick or Treat, Lifeguard, Teacher's Pet, Vampire, and Someone at the Door, as well as two adult horror titles, Scarecrow and Blood Roots. Currently, Cusick resides in North Carolina with her dog, where she writes on an antique roll-top desk that once belonged to a funeral director. The desk is said to be haunted, adding to the spooky and mysterious atmosphere that has long been a source of inspiration for Cusick's writing.