American actor and horror writer Jack Ketchum has died at the age of 71 from cancer.

His good friend writer Christopher Golden confirmed the sad news on Twitter.

He wrote: "I'm numb. No other word for it. Horror legend and my friend for many, many years, Dallas Mayr (aka JackKetchum ) has passed away after a long battle with cancer. Farewell, old friend. I'm so sorry to see you go."

A tweet on Jack's own Twitter account read: "Kev the Webmaster tweeting - Dallas Mayr, Jack Ketchum, passed away this morning, after a long battle with cancer.

"He was grateful for all of you, and he will be sorely, sorely missed."

Tributes soon poured in from fans.

One wrote: "Oh no. I'm gutted to hear this. I'm a huge JackKetchum fan and only met Dallas once in passing, too nervous to fanboy on him. He was a huge inspiration to me."

Another said: "RIP Jack Ketchum. Will never forget the experience of pouring through OFF SEASON while on a mountain vacation and thinking I needed to keep scalding water (or was it oil?) on hand for every rustle outside my window. A true white knuckle writer."

Writer and director Ted Geoghegan wrote: "Hearing sad word that horror author Jack Ketchum has passed away. A friend and collaborator to many of my peers, I'd only had the pleasure of meeting him once. He was a kind man, and left behind an amazing legacy. Rest in peace, good sir - and thank you for all the scares."

The novelist was born Dallas Mayr but wrote under the pseudonym Ketchum and also Jerzy Livingston.

He credited his childhood love of Elvis Presley, dinosaurs, and horror for getting him through his formative years. He said he began writing stories at a young age whilst spending time alone in his room.

In his teen years, Jack was befriended by Robert Bloch, author of Psycho, who became his mentor.

As well as a writing career spanning decades, Jack appeared in a handful of films based on his work. He played Teddy Panik in 2006's The Lost, Carnival in 2007's The Girl Next Door and twice as Dallas Mayr in Red and Offspring.

In 2016, Jack was asked what inspired him to keep writing. He said: "Well, I just yesterday wrote a poem for my cat. But all kinds of things trigger the urge to write. Something that pisses me off. Somebody I love.

"And the love of writing itself, of the process, of being allowed to live for a time inside your own imagination – and actually get paid for it! That’s pretty amazing."