Garth Marenghi


Garth Marenghi is a fictional horror author created by English comedian Matthew Holness. He is depicted as a conceited hack writer, who remains blissfully unaware of his lack of talent. Holness has used Marenghi as the framing device for a number of horror parody works, which the character presents as the products of his own supposed genius.
The character has appeared in two stage shows, the Perrier Award-nominated Garth Marenghi's Fright Knight and Perrier Award-winning Garth Marenghi's Netherhead, and the Channel 4 TV series Garth Marenghi's Darkplace and Man to Man with Dean Learner.
After winning the Perrier Award, the creators confounded media sources by refusing to speak out of character, or give real names or backgrounds.
WWW thegarthmarenghi.com

Character

Garth Marenghi is a spoof pulp horror author; his act and his works are considered a parody of the horror genre.
The character is highly conceited and narcissistic, often described through epithets such as "the dream weaver", "shaman", "titan of terror", "The One Man Fear Factory", “The Fright Honourable”, and "master of the macabre." Marenghi speaks in an exaggerated, doltish South Eastern accent, possibly located around Romford, Essex, or Leytonstone. Rather like E. L. Wisty, arguably the accent might have associations with an odd, imbecilic pub bore: somebody that one might avoid. The accent comically undermines the often pretentious, absurd and grandiose things the character says. In interviews, he compares himself positively with James Joyce, Shakespeare, Leonardo da Vinci, and Jesus.
Despite this, Marenghi displays a general ignorance of many subjects of which he claims knowledge. He claims to be self-taught, having left school young, and despite his claims to being a literary genius he rarely reads books. When he needs to learn about a subject, he will "hire someone to go and find out about it." In both stage shows, in the official website, and in numerous interviews he claims to have written more books than he has read.
Marenghi displays other traits including sexism, xenophobia, and extreme paranoia. Darkplace protagonist Rick Dagless is largely characterized as an author insert of Marenghi, drawing on his own insecurities and experiences in writing him. During the Darkplace Illuminatum DVD feature Marenghi comments "In many ways he is an extension of my own natural abilities. He's got a little more than me. He is a little more tragic than I am, as a character. He's seen the dark side. A little too much."
He is depicted as married with four daughters, though disappointed at not having a son. The Darkplace episode "Skipper the Eye Child" explains this, and references this in its plot with Dagless shown as having a deceased son who was half boy, half grasshopper.

Appearances

Stage

The character of Marenghi was invented for the horror parody stage show Garth Marenghi's Fright Knight.

''Garth Marenghi's Darkplace''

The 2004 show Garth Marenghi's Darkplace is based on the premise that Garth Marenghi wrote and starred in a 1980s low-budget hospital-based horror show. Within this fictional context, 50 shows were created, but were never shown as they were suppressed by "MI-8" for being "too subversive, too dangerous, too damn scary."

Other television appearances

Marenghi also guests in the first episode of Dean Learner's talk series, Man to Man with Dean Learner, where he reveals that he lost an ear in an ambulance crash, has written a total of 436 books, and has filmed a new movie, War of the Wasps, featuring most of the cast of Garth Marenghi's Darkplace. Marenghi has appeared in an episode of the Russell Howard Hour as part of a Christmas special to read a portion of one of his novels, ''Flay Bells Sting, Are You Glistening?''

Tours

Beginning in 2022, Holness has also used Garth Marenghi as a pen name for his horror parody books, giving a series of book tours in character as Marenghi.

Podcast

In 2025, Holness launched the podcast Garth Marenghi's Skull-Flusher, in which he interviews "terror titans" as Marenghi, starting with horror film director Mike Flanagan.

Holness bibliography

Novels

  • Garth Marenghi's TerrorTome
  • * Matthew Holness published Garth Marenghi's TerrorTome, written under the Garth Marenghi pseudonym in November 2022; it is available as a hardback, paperback, ebook and audiobook. Release of the book was followed by a book tour, where Holness would read extracts of the book in-character as Marenghi and then conduct a Q&A with the audience.
  • Garth Marenghi's Incarcerat
  • * A follow up to TerrorTome was released on Halloween 2023, aligning with an associated book tour.
  • Garth Marenghi's This Bursted Earth
  • * A follow up to Incarcerat released on October 30th 2025, aligning with an associated book tour. The book is publicised as being the final book in the "TerrorTome Trilogy".

Short stories

  • ''Garth Marenghi's Throttle and Bribes ''

Fictional bibliography

Novels

Afterbirth Eye Sore Hellbent Hellbenders Hellbenders II: The Boys are Back Return of the Coil Return of the Coil: Reentry The Ooze The Ooze 2: Return of the Ouzze Ooze 2: Squit Rising Black Fang Tomb Boy Quivers CRAB!! Dawn Waters Juggers Bitch Killer Beyond the Valley of the Screams Stump The Told Flay Bells Sting, Are You Glistening? Brain Jerk The Dank Retch Overdrawn and Quartered The Deadly Dust Rupture The Womb of Mad Greyballs: The Legend of Greyballs The Yapping The Stealth-Hive Parallax London Fiends Digit The Premonitioner Tomb Without a View Bitchfinder General Night of the Haddock Haddock 2: More Killer Haddock Haddock 5: The Haddocking Afternoon of the Haddock The Man-Gorgon Guygon Galgon Bride of Guygon Guygon vs Galgon Galgon Rising Guygon 2012 The Krilling The Kriller Killer Killer Kriller
  • ''The Krills Have Eyes''

Series

Slicer
  • * Slicer
  • * Slasher
  • * R.I.P.P.E.R.
  • * Slicer IV: The Blade is Back Stingpregnators
  • * Marenghi's cosmic parasitic space wasp quintology Locust Rex
  • * Volumes 1–10

Early novels

The following titles are mentioned in TerrorTome as books written by the protagonist, Nick Steen. In The Reel Feedback Podcast #89, Marenghi stated that readers may recognise the titles being the same as his own fledgling efforts in the early eighties.HivesThe ItchingSunburnerWoebetigoThe ShinglerNight of the EczemanEczeman 2: Derma-die-sisRosacea's BabyThe SwellingThe BurningThe FlakingThe CrustingA Scab in the Dark Scabman 2: Return of the ScabmanScabman 3: No Pickin'Psychoriasis Psychoriasis 2
  • ''Psychoriasis 3: Revenge of the Flesh Heads ''

Collections

A Little Bite of What You Fancy Dead Centre The Oeuvre
  • ''The Oeuvre 2: The Last Bookender''

Short stories

Garth See Dog, Car Hit Dog, Garth Poke Dog Stake Out Gobble Gobble The Streaming Face The Ague Face Bottom
  • ''Mindgrid''