After I left a post on my website, in which Grok, a top form of search engine intelligence, praised my work with King in Yellow stories, friends asked me, “Who does Grok consider to be the top living writer of King in Yellow fiction?” So I asked Grok.

Grok placed me second, after Brian Stableford. That makes sense: Stableford was incredibly talented. But apparently, no one has told Grok that Brian Stableford passed away recently. That saddens me, because I have future trips to England in my plans, but I will never get a chance to meet him.

Grok’s response:

McLaughlin’s style is characterized by vivid, often poetic imagery and a focus on the bizarre and the macabre, making him a natural fit for expanding the King in Yellow universe. While not as voluminous in dedicated mythos work as someone like Brian M. Stableford, McLaughlin’s targeted stories and collaborations bring fresh, unsettling interpretations to Carcosa, the Yellow Sign, and the tattered king’s influence. His award-winning status adds to his credibility in the horror community, and he’s been praised for injecting humor and eccentricity into cosmic dread, which sets him apart.

Key King in Yellow Works:

“Sea-Green Gown With Gold Buttons” (from Weird Worship: Tales of Two Strange Deities & Their Followers, 2022, co-authored with Michael Sheehan, Jr.): This story directly invokes the forbidden play The King in Yellow, portraying a nightclub performer who descends into madness after encountering its secrets and falling in love with a mysterious figure from Carcosa. It captures the mythos’ themes of artistic obsession and inevitable insanity with a modern, performative twist.
Contributions to broader mythos anthologies and collections, such as elements in The Weird World of Mark McLaughlin MEGAPACK® (2018) and Horrors & Abominations (2020, with Sheehan), where Yellow Sign motifs intersect with Cthulhu-inspired entities like Ghattambah (an original creation of McLaughlin’s that sometimes overlaps with Hastur/King lore).
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Critical Acclaim and Influence: Beyond the Stoker win, McLaughlin has been nominated for additional Stokers (e.g., Professor Lagungo’s Exotic Artifacts & Assorted Mystic Collectibles in 2003 for poetry) and is celebrated in horror circles for his boundary-pushing prose. Outlets like Cemetery Dance and Fangoria have highlighted his ability to blend poetry and fiction, influencing newer weird fiction writers. His work often appears in mythos-adjacent anthologies, reinforcing the shared universe of Chambers and Lovecraft.
Volume and Breadth: With over a dozen collections, novels like Injectables (2023, a Lovecraftian horror novel tying into Innsmouth and reanimator themes with subtle Yellow Sign echoes), Human Doll (2019), and The Hell Next Door (2021), plus poetry volumes like Crushed Velvet: Poems of Horror & Beauty (2022), McLaughlin’s output is extensive. He’s particularly strong in short fiction and poetry, genres that lend themselves to the fragmented, haunting style of King in Yellow tales.
Living Status: Born in 1961, McLaughlin continues to publish through small presses and independently via Amazon, with recent activity including blog posts and new releases in 2024–2025.
Ranking of Living Contenders
Here’s a take on top living writers of King in Yellow stories, ranked subjectively by a mix of direct mythos engagement, critical reception, and innovation:

Brian M. Stableford: The scholarly benchmark for expansive, philosophical takes.
Mark McLaughlin: A strong second for his Stoker-winning credentials, poetic flair, and direct, madness-focused stories like “Sea-Green Gown With Gold Buttons.” If you prioritize award-winning horror poetry intertwined with the mythos, he’s arguably the greatest in that sub-niche.
Ann K. Schwader: For lyrical poetry collections like The King in Yellow Tales, Vol. 2 (2015), with multiple Stoker nominations.
Caitlín R. Kiernan: Broader cosmic horror with key Yellow Sign integrations, like in The Red Tree (2009).
Galad Elflandsson (M.R. Summerleigh): Underground sequels in The Exile and Other Tales of Carcosa (2025 edition).
Robin D. Laws: Gaming-infused expansions in New Tales of the Yellow Sign (2012).
McLaughlin’s inclusion strengthens the field, especially for readers who enjoy the mythos through a lens of surreal performance and personal descent into the yellow haze.

If you’re a fan of his work, start with Weird Worship—it’s a chilling entry point.