Dr. Death Returns to Oakdale

Watch out, Oakdale! Dr. Ric Decker (John James), a.k.a. Dr. Death, is making his way back to "As the World Turns" on Tuesday, July 15.

The charming Dr. Ric first showed up as a love interest for Susan Stewart (Marie Masters) back in 2003, and quickly nabbed himself a job at Memorial Hospital. And pretty soon ... patients and staff started dying. But no one believed the culprit could possibly be Ric. Even though the murders began right after he dropped into town. Even after they found out he'd been accused of killing patients at another hospital. Yep, this guy was that good.

Eventually, he was caught -- but not before terrorizing the living daylights out of both Susan and her daughter, Alison. Then, he was thrown in a mental hospital, where he later met Barbara Ryan (Colleen Zenk). Babs made Ric believe she was in love with him in hopes that he might help her escape. Her plan worked -- but Ric figured out Barbara's deception and tried to kill her, too. When that didn't work, Dr. Ric slipped away into the night, never to be heard from again ... until now.

We have to admit, we always hoped that John would return to play the superbad villain. He's just so much fun to watch in this role. But then, he's been pretty awesome in every role he's had, from Jeff Colby on "Dynasty" to Jeff Martin on "All My Children."

And now we're dying to know -- what kind of kind of thrills and chills will John's crazy doc bring this time around? Guess we'll find out soon enough!

Are you excited for Dr. Ric's deadly return?