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Jason Dark

German writer

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 28, 2026
Entity authorityQ104029
Source-derived summary

Helmut Rellergerd (born 25 January 1945), known by the pen name Jason Dark, is a prolific author of horror detective fiction in the German language. He is known for creating the long-running dime novel series Geisterjäger John Sinclair, which has been ongoing since 1973 and is released weekly since 1978. As of 2020, the John Sinclair series sold more than 250 million novel copies and over 5 million audio drama units.

His work has been favourably compared to that of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Jason Dark is one of the most read authors in Germany in his genre.

Career

Helmut Rellergerd was born in 1945 in Dahle, the Sauerland and grew up in Dortmund. He wrote his first novel after he had finished school and the Bundeswehr. However, this debut release was rejected by the publishers. The first novel published at Bastei Publishing House was Im Kreuzfeuer des Todesdrachen for the crime series Cliff Corner. In 1973, he wrote the novel Die Nacht des Hexers and created the fictional character John Sinclair.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Jason Dark” as german writer. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Jason, Dark and German.

Editorial reviewStrongest as a route into the people, institutions and dated events that shaped the subject’s public record. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1945, 1973, 1978, 2020—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1945-01-25. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Jason, Dark and German providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Jason Dark”, the useful work is to connect “german writer” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 28, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q104029. VIAF identifies the subject as 169365528. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1945, 1973, 1978 and 2020.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Jason Dark”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Jason Dark primary sources, Jason Dark archive and Jason research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Jason Dark”?
  2. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
  3. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Jason Dark” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.