His works typically were published as W. H. Pugmire (his adopted middle name derives from the story of the same title by Edgar Allan Poe) and his fiction often paid homage to the lore of Lovecraftian horror.

[7] To escape what he called a rough childhood, Pugmire embraced "weird, creepy sci-fi stories" like The Twilight Zone TV show.

[12] Following one year in college,[13] he served as a missionary for the LDS church in Omagh, Northern Ireland for eighteen months, where he corresponded with horror writer Robert Bloch and first began writing fiction.

"[6][17] For many years Pugmire worked various jobs in cafés owned by old-time punk rockers, who would let him "dress in my Boy George makeup and mini-skirts as I bussed tables and washed dishes.

He continued to suffer from heart issues in the following years and, after treatment in a cardiac unit, died in his home in Seattle on March 26, 2019,[21][15] prompting numerous eulogies and career retrospectives.

"[7] Editor and scholar Scott Connors has written that, stylistically, Pugmire "owes as much to Oscar Wilde and Henry James as to HPL and Poe, creating a truly unholy fusion that defies academic boundaries between 'mainstream' and 'genre' fiction.

"[49] Asimov's Science Fiction magazine, in their review of Sesqua Valley and Other Haunts, stated that "Pugmire's devotion to his sources transcends mere pastiche, and his style is neither overwrought nor too sparse.

"[50] Publishers Weekly, reviewing Uncommon Places: A Collection of Exquisites, said that readers "with an appetite for the weird and the decadent will find Pugmire's work a rich confection.

"[51] The site's review of Monstrous Aftermath: Stories in the Lovecraft Tradition, stated that "horror fans fond of baroque prose" should enjoy the collection, noting "a knack for injecting gallows humor", but adding that those "looking for memorable plots and vivid characterizations ... will have to look elsewhere.

"[52] Fantasy Magazine's review of The Weird Inhabitants of Sesqua Valley, while observing "the love-it-or-hate-it nature of even the best Lovecraftian style", noted that there were "many pleasures to be had" in the collection of "surprisingly humanistic" tales.

[58] Earlier stories were often rewritten substantially by Pugmire if republished (notably in Weird Inhabitants of Sesqua Valley and The Tangled Muse).