He is first encountered by the human survivors at Gaiten Academy in New England and is seen following them several times towards the end of the novel. Unlike the other zombies seen in the novel, he does not levitate. His main power of choice seems to be telepathy. He possesses a vast amount of near-supernatural powers, reputed to be the sealed-off areas of the human brain which ' The Pulse' unlocked. He is one of the more complicated zombies in the novel, retaining many of his human characteristics and bordering on near-human to absolutely insane. The Raggedy Man often shows up with an army of zombies at his tail he seems to be a sort of spokesman for the zombie hordes. He is one of the zombies which are created due to the virus which is known to the survivors of humanity as 'The Pulse'. Serving as the main antagonist of the novel Cell, and it's film adaptation of the same name. But for Clay, the worst is yet to come as he makes the trek across a world changed and into his Maine home, to a wife and son he hasn't been able to reach after the cataclysmic events that followed.The Raggedy Man is a supporting antagonist of the Stephen King multiverse. Now all Clay can do, is band together with other survivors and prepare for a new world ahead where society is no more, and replaced by homicidal creatures, who are only beginning to transform into something far worse.

Users suddenly become ultra-violent, homicidal maniacs and begin attacking anyone within proximity. The Pulse as it will be known, reverberates through every cell phone in the world, causing a deadly chain reaction of events. But that's all about to change on one October afternoon, when at one single moment, everyone answers their cell phone, inevitably changing the face of humanity forever.

As he finalizes a big deal in the city of Boston, Clay prepares for a new life ahead, completely free of financial burden and marital woes and the opportunity to start anew as a man established. Sick of teaching art instead of making it, he's finally seeing his dreams come true. For aspiring artist Clayton 'Clay' Riddell, catching a big break has never been his strong suit, and only put undue stress on himself and family.

Cell by Stephen King