Raymond Castile

Raymond Castile grew up in the St. Louis area, watching monster movies on late-night television, reading "Famous Monsters of Filmland" magazine, building Aurora monster models and playing with monster action figures. He first made his name in the horror community as a noted collector of monster toys, masks, movie posters and horror memorabilia. Castile has contributed to several books and magazine articles on the subject of monster collectibles. His website, "The Gallery of Monster Toys," has attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors since it debuted in 1996. Castile is one of the moderators of the Universal Monster Army, an online club for classic horror fans. He also operates the websites "State of Horror," devoted to paranormal phenomena in the St. Louis area, and "Diary do Demonio," chronicling his experience working with his idol, Brazilian horror director José Mojica Marins. After studying filmmaking at Webster University in the 1990s, Castile entered the video production world. With his company Monster Castle Productions, he produced a nationally distributed documentary titled "In Love With Toys" in 1995. In 1998, Castile changed careers and became a newspaper reporter. For his coverage of social justice issues, he received a Missouri Press Association award, two Community Builders awards and was a finalist for the prestigious national Harry Chapin Media Award for his 2009-2010 series about homelessness. In 2006, José Mojica Marins cast Castile to portray the young Zé do Caixão (Coffin Joe) in "Encarnação do Demônio" (The Embodiment of Evil), directed by Mojica. The feature film was released by 20th Century Fox in 2008. The experience inspired Castile to re-enter the world of filmmaking. In 2008, Castile directed and starred in the short film "The Blind Date of Coffin Joe," a horror satire that pays tribute to Mojica's films. "Blind Date" was very well received, screening at several festivals in the United States and Brazil. It received a Rondo Award nomination for best independent production and won the 2009 Tabloid Witch Awards for Best Comedic Horror Short and Best Actor. "The Devil at Lost Creek" is Castile's second short film. Released in 2010, "Lost Creek" is an urban legend-style tale inspired by the low-budget Bigfoot films that fascinated and frightened Castile during his childhood. Castile wrote and directed "Lost Creek" and plays the Bigfoot. He prefers to play the monsters in his films, as the monster is usually the character with which he most closely identifies. In more recent years, Castile served in producing roles on two documentaries directed by character actor Daniel Roebuck. Castile has entered the world of live productions, co-producing an annual Krampusnacht stage show and street theater event in St. Louis. He is working on a nonfiction book about Halloween masks, expected to publish in 2016.