Brian Lumley
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Brian Lumley (born 2 December 1937) is an English author of
horror fiction Horror is a genre of fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror, which is in the realm of speculative fiction. Literary historian J ...
. He came to prominence in the 1970s writing in the
Cthulhu Mythos The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an ...
created by American writer H. P. Lovecraft but featuring the new character
Titus Crow Titus Crow is the main character in the eponymous series of horror fiction books by Brian Lumley. The books are based on H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. Description In a departure from many Cthulhu Mythos stories, Lumley's characters are not h ...
, and went on to greater fame in the 1980s with the best-selling ''
Necroscope ''Necroscope'' is the title of a series of horror novels by British author Brian Lumley. The term ''necroscope'', as defined in the series, describes someone who can communicate with the dead (coined Deadspeak later in the series). Unlike ...
'' series, initially centered on character Harry Keogh, who can communicate with the spirits of the dead.


Biography

Born in
County Durham County Durham ( ), officially simply Durham,UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. is a ceremonial county in North East England.North East Assembly â€About North East E ...
, he joined the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
's
Royal Military Police The Royal Military Police (RMP) is the corps of the British Army responsible for the policing of army service personnel, and for providing a military police presence both in the UK and while service personnel are deployed overseas on operation ...
and wrote stories in his spare time before retiring with the rank of
Warrant Officer Class 1 Warrant may refer to: * Warrant (law), a form of specific authorization ** Arrest warrant, authorizing the arrest and detention of an individual ** Search warrant, a court order issued that authorizes law enforcement to conduct a search for eviden ...
in 1980 and becoming a professional writer. In the 1970s he added to H. P. Lovecraft's
Cthulhu Mythos The Cthulhu Mythos is a mythopoeia and a shared fictional universe, originating in the works of American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The term was coined by August Derleth August William Derleth (February 24, 1909 – July 4, 1971) was an ...
cycle of stories, including several tales and a novel featuring the character
Titus Crow Titus Crow is the main character in the eponymous series of horror fiction books by Brian Lumley. The books are based on H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos. Description In a departure from many Cthulhu Mythos stories, Lumley's characters are not h ...
. Several of his early books were published by
Arkham House Arkham House is an American publishing house specializing in weird fiction. It was founded in Sauk City, Wisconsin, in 1939 by August Derleth and Donald Wandrei to publish hardcover collections of H. P. Lovecraft's best works, which had pr ...
. Other stories
pastiche A pastiche is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking it ...
d Lovecraft's
Dream Cycle The Dream Cycle is a series of short stories and novellas by author H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937). Written between 1918 and 1932, they are about the "Dreamlands", a vast alternate dimension that can only be entered via dreams. Geography The D ...
but featured Lumley's original characters David Hero and Eldin the Wanderer. Lumley once explained the difference between his Cthulhu Mythos characters and Lovecraft's: "My guys fight back. Also, they like to have a laugh along the way." Later works included the ''
Necroscope ''Necroscope'' is the title of a series of horror novels by British author Brian Lumley. The term ''necroscope'', as defined in the series, describes someone who can communicate with the dead (coined Deadspeak later in the series). Unlike ...
'' series of novels, which produced spin-off series such as the ''Vampire World Trilogy'', ''The Lost Years'' parts 1 and 2, and the ''E-Branch'' trilogy. The central protagonist of the earlier ''Necroscope'' novels appears in the anthology ''Harry Keogh and Other Weird Heroes''. The latest entry in the ''Necroscope'' saga is ''The Mobius Murders'

Lumley served as president of the
Horror Writers Association The Horror Writers Association (HWA) is a worldwide non-profit organization of professional writers and publishing professionals dedicated to promoting the interests of Horror and Dark fantasy writers. Overview HWA was formed in 1985 with t ...
from 1996 to 1997. On 28 March 2010 Lumley was awarded Lifetime Achievement Award of the Horror Writers Association. He also received a
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 Lifetime Achievement in 2010.


Inspiration

Lumley's list of his favourite horror stories—"not complete by any means and by no means in order of preference"—includes
M. R. James Montague Rhodes James (1 August 1862 – 12 June 1936) was an English author, medievalist scholar and provost of King's College, Cambridge (1905–1918), and of Eton College (1918–1936). He was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambrid ...
' "
Count Magnus "Count Magnus" is a ghost story by British writer M. R. James, first published in 1904. It was included in his first collection ''Ghost Stories of an Antiquary''. Plot A traveller in Sweden stumbles upon the history of a mysterious and ominou ...
", Robert E. Howard's "
The Black Stone "The Black Stone" is a horror short story by American writer Robert E. Howard, first published in the November 1931 in literature, 1931 issue of ''Weird Tales''. The story introduces the mad poet Cthulhu Mythos biographies#Geoffrey, Justin, Justi ...
",
Robert W. Chambers Robert William Chambers (May 26, 1865 – December 16, 1933) was an American artist and fiction writer, best known for his book of short stories titled '' The King in Yellow'', published in 1895. Life Chambers was born in Brooklyn, New York, t ...
' "The Yellow Sign" from '' The King in Yellow'',
William Hope Hodgson William Hope Hodgson (15 November 1877 – 19 April 1918) was an English author. He produced a large body of work, consisting of essays, short fiction, and novels, spanning several overlapping genres including horror, fantastic fiction, and sci ...
's "
The Voice in the Night "The Voice in the Night" is a short story by English writer William Hope Hodgson, first published in the November 1907 edition of ''Blue Book Magazine''. The story has been adapted a number of times, most prominently in the 1963 Japanese film '' ...
", and H. P. Lovecraft's "
The Haunter of the Dark "The Haunter of the Dark" is a horror short story by American author H. P. Lovecraft, written between 5–9 November 1935 and published in the December 1936 edition of ''Weird Tales'' (Vol. 28, No. 5, p. 538–53). It was the last written ...
" and "
The Colour Out of Space "The Colour Out of Space" is a science fiction/horror short story by American author H. P. Lovecraft, written in March 1927. In the tale, an unnamed narrator pieces together the story of an area known by the locals as the "blasted heath" ...
"."An Interview with Brian Lumley", Robert M. Price, ''Nightscapes'' No. 5.


Bibliography

This is a list of Lumley's more notable novels and short story collections. This list of novels and short stories is not exhaustive. Lumley has had many pieces published in periodicals and other publications, sometimes as works in progress or partial works, under his own name and jointly with other writers. ;The Subterranean Press edition *''Necroscope'' (novel) *''Brian Lumley's Freaks'' **''Introduction'' **''In the Glow Zone'' **''Mother Love'' **''Problem Child'' **''The Ugly Act'' **''Somebody Calling'' *''A Coven of Vampires'' (1998) **''What Dark God?'' **''Back Row'' **''The Strange Years'' **''The Kiss of the Lamia'' **''Recognition'' **''The Thief Immortal'' **''Necros'' **''The Thing from the Blasted Heath'' **''Uzzi'' **''Haggopian'' **''The Picknickers'' **''Zack Phalanx is Vlad the Impaler'' **''The House of the Temple'' *''Screaming Science Fiction: Horrors from Out of Space'' **"Snarker's Son" **"The Man Who Felt Pain" **"The Strange Years" **"No Way Home" **"The Man Who Saw No Spiders" **"Deja Viewer" **"Feasibility Study" **"Gaddy's Gloves" **"The Big 'C'" *''The Taint and other novellas: Best Mythos Tales, Volume One'' (2007) **"Introduction" **''The Horror at Oakdeene'' **''Born of the Winds'' **''The Fairground Horror'' **''The Taint'' **''Rising with Surtsey'' **'' Lord of the Worms'' **''The House of the Temple'' *''Haggopian and other stories'' (2008) **''Introduction'' **''The Caller of the Black'' **''Haggopian'' **''Cement Surroundings'' **''The House of Cthulhu'' **''The Night Sea-Maid Went Down'' **''Name and Number'' **''Recognition'' **''Curse of the Golden Guardians'' **''Aunt Hester'' **''The Kiss of Bugg-Shash'' **''De Marigny's Clock'' **''Mylakhrion the Immortal'' **''The Sister City'' **''What Dark God?'' **''The Statement of Henry Worthy'' **''Dagon's Bell'' **''The Thing from the Blasted Heath'' **''Dylath Leen'' **''The Mirror of Nitocris'' **''The Second Wish'' **''The Hymn'' **''Synchronicity or Something'' **''The Black Recalled'' **''The Sorcerer's Dream'' *''The Nonesuch and Others'' (2009) **Introduction **"The Thin People" **"Stilts" **''The Nonesuch'' *''The Fly-by-Nights'' (2011)


References


Further reading

*
Leigh Blackmore Leigh (David) Blackmore (born 1959) is an Australian horror writer, critic, editor, occultist, musician and proponent of post-left anarchy. He was the Australian representative for the Horror Writers of America (1994–95) and served as the se ...
. ''Brian Lumley: A New Bibliography''. Sydney: Dark Press, 1994. San Bernardino, CA: Borgo Press, 1987. *Brian Lumley and
Stanley Wiater Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...
(eds). ''The Brian Lumley Companion''. NY: Books, 2002.


External links

* (.com—newer) (.net—older)
"An Interview with Brian Lumley"
by
Robert M. Price Robert McNair Price (born July 7, 1954) is an American New Testament scholar. His most notable stance is arguing in favor of the Christ myth theorythe claim that a historical Jesus did not exist. Price is the author of a number of books on bi ...
, ''Nightscapes'' No. 5 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lumley, Brian 1937 births 20th-century English novelists 21st-century British novelists Cthulhu Mythos writers English fantasy writers English horror writers English male novelists Living people People from County Durham Royal Military Police soldiers World Fantasy Award-winning writers