A native of Springfield, Illiinois, John Clifford moved to Chicago and lived with relatives after the deaths of his parents. Wanting to work as a writer--but feeling that he couldn't write anything longer than a joke-- Clifford began working as a joke writer, selling material to radio comedian Ken Murray. Clifford served during World War II, then (under the G.I. Bill) went to a Hollywood school for writers. He landed up at Centron Films in Lawrence, Kansas, a company that made educational and industrial films. It was there that Clifford met director Herk Harvey; the two paired to put together "Carnival of Souls, " the low-budget ($30,000) cult horror classic.