Brian Lumley

Brian Lumley (2 December 1937 – 2 January 2024) was an English author of horror fiction. He came to prominence in the 1970s writing in the Cthulhu Mythos created by American writer H. P. Lovecraft but featuring the new character Titus Crow. He went on to greater fame in the 1980s with the best-selling Necroscope series, initially centered on character Harry Keogh, who can communicate with the spirits of the dead.

Brian Lumley
Lumley in 2011
Born	(1937-12-02)2 December 1937 County Durham, England
Died	2 January 2024(2024-01-02) (aged 86)
Occupation	Novelist, writer
Period	1971–2024
Genre	Horror, science fiction
Notable works	Necroscope series
Website
brianlumley.com

Biography

Born in County Durham, he joined the British Army's Royal Military Police and wrote stories in his spare time before retiring with the rank of Warrant Officer Class 1 in 1980^[1] and becoming a professional writer.

While searching for books written by H. P. Lovecraft, Lumley contacted Lovecraft's publisher August Derleth. After reading some of Lumley's stories, Derleth invited him to contribute to Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos. ^[1] He added to the Cthulhu Mythos cycle of stories, including several tales and a novel featuring the character Titus Crow. Several of his early books were published by Arkham House.^[1] Other stories pastiched Lovecraft's Dream Cycle 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."^[2]

Later works included the Necroscope 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 last entry in the Necroscope saga is The Mobius Murders.^[3]

Lumley served as president of the Horror Writers Association from 1996 to 1997.^[4] He served as Master of Ceremonies at the World Horror Convention in both 1992 and 1995.^[5] In 1998 he was named the Grand Master of Horror and Author of the year at the Convention.^[5] He received the 2009 Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Horror Writers Association.^[6][7] He also received a World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2010.^[8] His short story Fruiting Bodies won a British Fantasy Award in 1989.^[9]

Fans of Necroscope gathered at the annual KeoghCon from 2000 to 2007.^[1] They were joined by Lumley and his wife Barbara Ann, known as "Silky".^[1] The books have been published in thirteen countries and have sold over three million copies in the US.

Lumley died on 2 January 2024, at the age of 86.^[10][11]

Inspiration

Lumley's list of his favourite horror stories – "not complete by any means and by no means in order of preference" – included M. R. James' "Count Magnus", Robert E. Howard's "The Black Stone", Robert W. Chambers' "The Yellow Sign" from The King in Yellow, William Hope Hodgson's "The Voice in the Night", and H. P. Lovecraft's "The Haunter of the Dark" and "The Colour Out of Space".^[12]

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 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.

Title	Series	Year	Pages	Type	Notes
Necroscope	Necroscope Saga	1986	512	novel
Necroscope II: Wamphyri!		1988	496	novel	US Title: Necroscope II: Vamphyri!
Necroscope III: The Source		1989	528	novel
Necroscope IV: Deadspeak		1990	560	novel
Necroscope V: Deadspawn		1991	592	novel
Vampire World 1: Blood Brothers		1992	752	novel	US Title Blood Brothers
Vampire World 2: The Last Aerie		1993	768	novel	US Title The Last Aerie
Vampire World 3: Bloodwars		1994	784	novel	US Title Bloodwars
Necroscope: The Lost Years Volume 1		1995	483	novel	US Title Necroscope: The Lost Years
Necroscope: The Lost Years Volume 2		1996	468	novel	US Title Necroscope: Resurgence, The Lost Years Volume Two
E-Branch Volume 1: Invaders		1998	560	novel	US Title Necroscope: Invaders
E-Branch Volume 2: Defilers		1999	672	novel
E-Branch Volume 3: Avengers		2000	576	novel
Harry Keogh: Necroscope and Other Weird Heroes!		2003	320	collection
Necroscope: The Touch		2006	672	novel
Necroscope: Harry and the Pirates		2009	416	collection	UK Title Necroscope: The Lost Years Harry and the Pirates
Necroscope: The Plague-Bearer		2010	184	novella
Necroscope: The Möbius Murders		2013	176	novella
Psychomech	Psychomech Trilogy	1984	351	novel
Psychosphere		1984	272	novel
Psychamok		1985	445	novel
The Burrowers Beneath	Cthulhu Cycle Deities	1974		novel	Part of the Titus Crow series
The Transition of Titus Crow		1975		novel
The Clock of Dreams		1978		novel
Spawn of the Winds		1978		novel
In the Moons of Borea		1979		novel
Elysia		1989		novel	Book ties together & concludes Titus Crow, Dreamlands and Primal Land series
Hero of Dreams		1986		novel	Part of the Dreamlands series
Ship of Dreams		1986		novel
Mad Moon of Dreams		1987		novel
Iced on Aran		1992		collection
House of Cthulhu		1991		collection	Part of the Primal Land series
Tarra Khash: Hrossak!		1991		novel
Sorcery in Shad		1991		novel
Beneath the Moors		1974		novella
Khai of Ancient Khem		1981		novel	Khai of Khem in recent editions
Demogorgon		1987	345	novel
The House of Doors		1990		novel
The House of Doors: The Second Visit		1998		novel	US title: Maze of Worlds
The Fly-By-Nights		2011		novel
The Caller of the Black		1971		collection
The Horror at Oakdeene and Others		1977		collection
The House of Cthulhu and Others		1984		collection
Fruiting Bodies and Other Fungi		1993		collection
Dagon's Bell and Other Discords		1994		collection
Return of the Deep Ones and Other Mythos Tales	Cthulhu Cycle Deities	1994		collection
The Second Wish and Other Exhalations		1995		collection
A Coven of Vampires		1998		collection
The Whisperer and Other Voices		2001		collection
Brian Lumley's Freaks		2004		collection
Screaming Science Fiction: Horrors from Out of Space		2006		collection
The Taint and other Novellas: Best Mythos Tales Number 1	Cthulhu Cycle Deities	2008		collection
Haggopian and Other Tales: Best Mythos Tales Number 1		2008		collection
The Nonesuch and Others		2009		collection

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)