Brian McNaughton (23 September 1935 – 13 May 2004) was an American writer of

horror Horror may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Genres *Horror fiction, a genre of fiction ** Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction **Korean horror, Korean horror fiction * Horror film, a film genre *Horror comics, comic books focusing o ...

and

fantasy fiction Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and drama. ...

who mixed sex,

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...

and

black humour Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...

. He also wrote thrillers.

Biography

Born at

Red Bank, New Jersey Red Bank is a borough in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. Incorporated in 1908, the community is on the Navesink River, the area's original transportation route to the ocean and other ports. Red Bank is in the New York Metropolitan A ...

, McNaughton attended

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

and worked for ten years as a

reporter A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

for the ''

Newark Evening News The ''Newark Evening News'' was an American newspaper published in Newark, New Jersey. As New Jersey's largest city, Newark played a major role in New Jersey's journalistic history. At its apex, ''The News'' was widely regarded as the newspaper ...

''. He later held a variety of other jobs, meanwhile publishing about two hundred

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

in magazines and several books. Several of his novels were first published by Carlyle Books under editorially imposed titles implying that they were part of a series. Although ''Worse Things Waiting'' follows on from ''Downward to Darkness'', the other books featured completely unrelated characters and situations. Restored texts of these books have been published by

Wildside Press Wildside Press is an independent publishing company in Cabin John, Maryland, United States. It was founded in 1989 by John Betancourt and Kim Betancourt. While the press was originally conceived as a publisher of speculative fiction in both trade ...

under their original titles. His work includes literary nods to writers such as H. P. Lovecraft,

Robert E. Howard Robert Ervin Howard (January 22, 1906June 11, 1936) was an American writer. He wrote pulp fiction in a diverse range of genres. He is well known for his character Conan the Barbarian and is regarded as the father of the sword and sorcery subge ...

Clark Ashton Smith Clark Ashton Smith (January 13, 1893 – August 14, 1961) was an American writer and artist. He achieved early local recognition, largely through the enthusiasm of George Sterling, for traditional verse in the vein of Algernon Charles Swinburne ...

and

Bram Stoker Abraham Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912) was an Irish author who is celebrated for his 1897 Gothic horror novel '' Dracula''. During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and busine ...

. His story "The Return of the Colossus" is a sequel to Smith's "The Colossus of Ylourgne" set during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

; while the title of "To My Dear Friend Hommy-Beg" echoes Stoker's dedication for ''

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...

''. ''The Throne of Bones'', a collection of horror-fantasy stories about

ghoul A ghoul ( ar, غول, ') is a demon-like being or monstrous humanoid. The concept originated in pre-Islamic Arabian religion, associated with graveyards and the consumption of human flesh. Modern fiction often uses the term to label a certa ...

s set in an opulent, decadent world reminiscent of Clark Ashton Smith, won the

World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy literature, fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year a ...

for best collection and was nominated for the

Bram Stoker Award for Best Fiction Collection The Bram Stoker Award for Best Fiction Collection is an award presented by the Horror Writers Association (HWA) for "superior achievement" in horror writing for best fiction collection. Winners and nominees This category was previously titled "be ...

Bibliography

Novels

* ''In Flagrant Delight'' (1972) * ''Gemini Rising'' (1977; editorially altered version published as ''Satan's Love Child''; restored text 2000) * ''Buster Callan'' (1978) * ''Downward to Darkness'' (1978; editorially altered version published as ''Satan's Mistress''; restored text 2000) * ''Guilty Until Proven Guilty'' (1979) * ''Worse Things Waiting'' (1979; editorially altered version published as ''Satan's Seductress''; restored text 2000) * ''The House Across the Way'' (1982; editorially altered version published as ''Satan's Surrogate''; restored text 2001)

Short story collections

* ''The Throne of Bones'' (1997) * ''Nasty Stories'' (2000) * ''Even More Nasty Stories'' (2000)

References

External links

Author page at ''Goodreads''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McNaughton, Brian 1935 births 2004 deaths 20th-century American novelists American fantasy writers American horror writers American male novelists American thriller writers Harvard University alumni People from Red Bank, New Jersey World Fantasy Award-winning writers Novelists from New Jersey American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers