Ray Van Houten

Ray Van Houten was an American science-fiction writer, editor, and fan organizer born in Hawthorne, New Jersey, on August 26, 1919. Reference sources identify him as Raymond John Van Houten, and they place his death on November 29, 1963. He is remembered both for his own fiction and for his long involvement in organized science-fiction fandom.

He was active in fandom from the 1930s onward, and sources describe him as a key part of the New Jersey and New York fan scene. He worked with James V. Taurasi, Sr. on the influential fanzine Fantasy-Times, later known as Science Fiction Times, and he also edited or contributed to projects such as The Science Fiction Yearbook and The Original Science Fiction Stories. That work helped document and connect the science-fiction community during a formative period.

Although not as widely known today as some of the writers around him, Van Houten had a real presence in mid-century genre culture. His career shows how much science fiction was built not only by novelists and magazine editors, but also by dedicated fans who published, organized conventions, and kept the conversation alive.