Occasional Demons
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OCCASIONAL DEMONS By Rick Hautala Digital Edition published by Crossroad Press Copyright 2012 / Rick Hautala Copy-edited by: Kurt M. Criscione Cover design by: David Dodd Interior illustrations and cover image courtesy of Glenn Chadbourne LICENSE NOTES This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re- sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to the vendor of your choice and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. Meet the Author Meet the Author Under his own name, Rick Hautala has written close to thirty novels, including the million-copy best seller Nightstone, as well as Winter Wake, The Mountain King, and Little Brothers. He has published two short story collections: Bedbugs and Occasional Demons. He has had over sixty short stories published in a variety of national and international anthologies and magazines. Writing as A. J. Matthews, his novels include the bestsellers The White Room, Looking Glass, Follow, and Unbroken. His forthcoming books from Cemetery Dance Publications include Indian Summer, a new “Little Brothers“ novella, as well as two novels, Chills and Waiting. He recently sold The Star Road, a science fiction novel co-written with Matthew Costello, to Brendan Deneen at Thomas Dunne/St. Martin’s and Glimpses: The Best Short Stories of Rick Hautala, to Dark Regions Press. With Mark Steensland, he has written several short films, included the multiple award winning Peekers, based on the short story by Kealan Patrick Burke; The Ugly File, based on the short story by Ed Gorman; and Lovecraft’s Pillow, inspired by a suggestion from Stephen King. Born and raised in Rockport, Massachusetts, Rick is a graduate of the University of Maine in Orono with a Master of Arts in English Literature. He lives in southern Maine with author Holly Newstein. In 2012, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Horror Writers’ Association. For more information, check out his website www.rickhautala.com. Book List Novels Beyond the Shroud Cold Whisper Dark Silence Dead Voices Follow Four Octobers Ghost Light Impulse Little Brothers Looking Glass Moon Death Moonbog Moonwalker Night Stone Shades of Night The Mountain King The White Room The Wildman Twilight Time Unbroken Winter Wake The Body of Evidence Series (co-written with Christopher Golden) Brain Trust Burning Bones Last Breath Skin Deep Throat Culture Novellas Cold River Reunion Story Collections Bedbugs Occasional Demons Untcigahunk: The Complete Little Brothers DISCOVER CROSSROAD PRESS Visit our online store Subscribe to our Newsletter Visit our DIGITAL and AUDIO book blogs for updates and news. Connect with us on Facebook. PUBLICATION CREDITS “The Nephews,“ originally published in Lighthouse Hauntings, edited by Martin H. Greenberg, Down East Books, 2003. “Nightmare Transcript,“ originally published in Bad News, edited by Richard Laymon, published by CD Publications, March, 2001. “Non-returnable,“ originally published in Shelf Life, edited by Greg Ketter, Dream Haven Books, 2002. “Dead Legends,“ originally published in Shock Rock 2, edited by Jeff Gelb, Pocket Books, published in 1994. “I’ve Been Thinking of You,“ originally published in Terminal Fright, edited by Ken Abner, Issue #12, Summer, 1996. “The Man Who Looked Like Murphy,“ originally published in Obsessions, edited by Gary Raisor, published by Dark Harvest, March, 1991. “Toxic Shock“ originally published in The Earth Strikes Back, edited by Rich Chizmar, Mark Ziesing Books, December, 1994. “The Call“ appears here for the first time, copyright, 2004. “Getting the Job Done,“ originally published in Stalkers, edited by Ed Gorman and Martin Greenberg, published by Dark Harvest, November, 1989. “Every Mothers’ Son,“ originally published in Maine Impressions, Vol. 1, # 2, March 1987. “Knocking,“ originally published in 999, edited by Al Sarrantonio, published by Avon Books, September, 1999. “Hotel Hell,“ originally published in Cold Blood, edited by Rich Chizmar, Mark Ziesing Books, Publishers, 1991. “The Compost Heap,“ originally published in Night World, edited by Erik Winter and Lyman Feero Winter, 1991, Vol.2 #2. “Iron Frog“ originally published in Murders for Mother, edited by Martin Greenberg, NAL, 1994. “Setup,“ originally published in 100 Vicious Little Vampires, edited by Weinberg, Dziemianowicz, and Greenberg, published by Barnes and Nobel, September, 1995. “The Gates of Dawn,“ originally published in Changeling: The Glamour, Erin Kelly, editor, White Wolf Books, June, 1995. “Off the Cuff,“ originally published in Fang, edited by Michael Grotton, Volume 1, Issue #1, April, 1992. “The Screaming Head,“ originally published in Skull Full of Spurs, edited by Jason Boverg, published by Dark Highways Press, 2000. “Abduction,“ (written in collaboration with Jesse and Matti Hautala) originally published in Great Writers and Kids Write Scary Stories, edited by Jill Morgan, Robert Weinberg, and Marty Greenberg, published by Random House, October, 1995. “And the Sea Shall Claim Them …“ written as A. J. Matthews with Matthew Costello, edited by Martin H. Greenberg, originally published in Lighthouse Haunting, Down East Books, 2003. “Scared Crows,“ a HELLBOY story, written with Jim Connolly, originally published in Hellboy: The Anthology, edited by Christopher Golden and Mike Mignola, Dark Horse Publishing, January, 2000. TABLE OF CONTENTS SHORT STORIES The Nephews Nightmare Transcript Non-returnable Dead Legends I’ve Been Thinking About You The Man Who Looked Like Murphy Toxic Shock The Call Getting the Job Done Every Mother’s Son Knocking Hotel Hell The Compost Heap Iron Frog Setup The Gates of Dawn Off the Cuff The Screaming Head COLLABORATIONS Abduction (written with Jesse and Matti Hautala) And the Sea Shall Claim Them (written by Matthew J. Costello and A. J. Matthews) Scared Crows (written with Jim Connolly) BY WAY OF INTRODUCTION Welcome to Occasional Demons, and thanks for stopping by. Once again, as I did for Bedbugs, I considered writing full-scale introductions for each story. After seeing what my good friend Tom Monteleone went through with the introductions he did for his collection Fearful Symmetries, I decided against the idea. These stories—like the ones in Bedbugs—will have to stand, rise, or fall on their own merits. But I want to say just a few words about how these stories are arranged because, unlike the previous collection, there are some different offerings this time around. First of all, of course, there are eighteen short stories that I’ve written over the years. They go all the way from my second published short story to the most recent story I’ve written as of today (January 8, 2004, for the record). And this is it. Other than a few unfinished pieces, this is everything I’ve written to date in the short story form. (I think this is all. Actually, I have a story listed in my notes titled “White Terror,“ and for the life of me I can’t find a copy of it or remember what that story was about. I guess the horror literary world will have to struggle on, somehow.) Maybe some literary masochist will take the time to check out the publication credits and read the stories in the order in which they were written. They might even detect an evolution—(or maybe a devolution)—in my writing. Who knows? I certainly don’t. Like John Prine’s song Dear Abby, “They are what they are, and they ain’t what they ain’t.“ But I wrote them; they were published; and I revised them all to one degree or another for this collection. And now here they are, remaining warts and all. But before you dive in, there are two other sections that need a word or two of explanation. Finally, there is the section titled “Collaborations.“ This contains three stories I wrote with other writers. “Abduction,“ which I wrote with two of my sons, means a lot to me simply because we had so much fun brainstorming ideas for it. The funniest part of that whole process was when the editors deleted a section of the story that Matti had come up with. They deemed it “inappropriate“ for young children to read. Ironically, Matti was ten years old when he came up with the plot turn that was cut. It was a good lesson on the difference between what adults thinks children can handle and what children really can handle. The section also includes “And the Sea Shall Claim Them,“ a story my good friend Matt Costello wrote and published with this guy named “A. J. Matthews.“ I understand there’s a certain New York publisher who claims that this is my pseudonym. That may be true. I can’t be sure about that... Concluding the collection is the story “Scared Crows,“ something a friend and I cooked up for the Hellboy anthology Chris Golden edited. I want to offer a special thank you to Mike Mignola for letting us play in his world and for allowing me to reprint the story here. It was a fun one that, I hope, retains the spirit of Hellboy. .