Garth Marenghi is a fictional horror author created by English comedian Matthew Holness. He is depicted as a conceited hack writer, who remains blissfully (or even wilfully) unaware of his lack of talent.
Garth Marenghi is a spoof pulp horror author; his act and his works are considered a parody of the horror genre.[5][6] The name "Garth Marenghi" is an anagram of the phrase "argh nightmare."
The character is highly conceited and narcissistic, often describing himself through epithets such as "the dream weaver", "shaman", "titan of terror", "The One Man Fear Factory" and "master of the macabre." In interviews, he compares himself positively with James Joyce, Shakespeare, Leonardo da Vinci, and Jesus.[6][7][8]
Despite this, Marenghi displays a general ignorance of many subjects of which he claims knowledge. He claims to be self-taught,[6] having left school young ("I knew by the age of eight that my education had finished"),[7] 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."[6] In both stage shows, in the official website, and in numerous interviews he claims to have written more books than he has read.[7]
Marenghi displays other traits including sexism, xenophobia, and extreme paranoia. 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 Marenghi's character Rick Dagless shown as having a deceased son who was half boy, half grasshopper. During the DVD feature 'Darkplace Illuminatum' Marenghi draws further comparisons with himself and Dagless. He 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."
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."[8]
Many jokes are based on the premise that Garth Marenghi not only created and wrote the series, but also plays the central character. As such, characters reflect Marenghi's world-view, and his own character—Doctor Rick Dagless, M.D.—exhibits many characteristics of a Mary Sue.
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,[8] 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?[9][10]
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.[11] 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.[12]
Garth Marenghi's Incarcerat (2023)
A follow up to TerrorTome was released on Halloween 2023, aligning with an associated book tour.[13]
The following titles are mentioned in TerrorTome as books written by the protagonist, Nick Steen.InThe Reel Feedback Podcast #89, Marenghi stated that readers may recognise the titles being the same as his own fledgling efforts in the early eighties.
Hives
The Itching
Sunburner
Woebetigo
The Shingler
Night of the Eczeman
Eczeman 2: Derma-die-sis
Rosacea's Baby
The Swelling
The Burning
The Flaking
The Crusting
A Scab in the Dark (Scabman)
Scabman 2: Return of the Scabman
Scabman 3: No Pickin'
Psychoriasis (The Bleeder)
Psychoriasis 2 (The Bleeder 2)
Psychoriasis 3: Revenge of the Flesh Heads (aka Bleeder vs Scabman)
