History Creator / RALafferty

* ChristianityIsCatholic: Lafferty was a lifelong Roman Catholic and theologically conservative, and religious themes show up in a lot of his stories. Perhaps the most notable example in his novel "Past Master" which has Thomas Becket (transported to an alien world at the moment of his death) as its protagonist.

* ChristianityIsCatholic: Lafferty was a lifelong Roman Catholic and theologically conservative, and religious themes show up in a lot of his stories.

* ProchronicProduct: The main point of ''Rainbird''. A genius from the age of the American Revolution invents devices decades ahead of his time: the steamboat, the locomotive, the lightbulb, etc. In fact, after [[spoiler:he invents a time machine to give tips to his younger self]] he creates machines ''centuries'' ahead of his time, including television, nuclear power, interplanetary rockets, and {{Terraforming}}.

* AwesomeMcCoolname: In the short story "Nine Hundred Grandmothers", the [[SpacePatrol Special Aspects Men]] all give themselves names like Manbreaker Crag, Heave Huckle, and (in a name [[ShoutOut that turned up later]] on a sample character in the first edition ''[[TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons Dungeon Master's Guide]]'') Gutboy Barrelhouse. The one exception is the story's protagonist, [[FailOSuckyname Ceran Swicegood]]. Eventually he gives in, though:

* BearsAreBadNews: ''Snuffles'' intially subverts this. Snuffles is an somewhat intelligent alien creature that resembles a bear and is very friendly [[spoiler: until the second chapter where it's played straight, then taken UpToEleven.]]

* NebulousEvilOrganization: In "About a Secret Crocodile", the Secret Crocodile and its many subordinate organizations control, well, just about everything, in a conspiratorial hierarchy which takes all the allegations of Secret Masters UpToEleven. The only likely threat to it is another secret society which has no name except "Good Guys and Good Gals", which comprises all the good guys and good gals of the world.

Raphael Aloysius Lafferty (1914 – 2002), more commonly known as R.A. Lafferty, was an American author of ScienceFiction and {{Fantasy}}. He is most associated with the state of Oklahoma, where he spent most of his life, although he was born in Iowa. Something of a late bloomer, he first started publishing fiction in his mid forties, midway into a successful career as an engineer and well after a stint in the army during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. Lafferty's fiction is blatantly anti-realistic, taking as its model tall tales, oral folklore, and standup comedy more than mainstream fiction or non-fiction, and the FourthWall is [[BreakingTheFourthWall frequently broken]]. He is also one for MoodWhiplash, and his stories and novels often start off in the comic realm before switching to tragedy or horror and '''maybe''' coming back.

* WorldOfSymbolism / RuleOfSymbolism: Prevalent in most of his novels, though not in his short stories so much. Lafferty remarked that his novels were 'more rewarding' than the short stories.

* InvisibleJerkass: "The Six Fingers of Time" is the variant where the protagonist isn't exactly invisible, but can move sixty times faster than other people, to the same effect. He uses his skill for all kinds of pranks, including the creepy one of kissing and fondling a girl he likes.