If you know about the Fugue Devil, it knows about you. If you see the Fugue Devil, it will come for you.
Many decades ago, summoned by the power of music, the Fugue Devil — a dreadful, malevolent entity from another place — entered our world. Every seventeen years, it reappears to satiate its hunger for unsuspecting souls.
Author Stephen Mark Rainey’s terrifying novelette, “Fugue Devil,” originally appeared in his first fiction collection, Fugue Devil & Other Weird Horrors, in 1992. Now, Fugue Devil: Resurgence features the original novelette; its sequel, “The Devil’s Eye”; and ten more tales of horror and mind-bending terror.
This collection contains 12 short stories, including Fugue Devil and its sequel The Devil's Eye, which were two of my favorites.
In Fugue Devil, the new kid in town is told the local legend about a musician who summoned a demon that now reappears every 17 years. If you know about it, it knows about you! This is the year it is supposed to return. Is it real or just a myth? Two curious teens aim to find out.
In its chilling sequel, The Devil's Eye, a filmmaker has nefarious reasons for wanting to produce a movie about the Fugue Devil with the brother of one of the possible victims.
Other favorites were Threnody, in which a dangerous recording is found in grandpa's cabin after he has passed away, Night Crier, in which mom's dementia becomes too much to bear, and When Jarly Calls about an out of the way wine tasting where the hosts are oddly generous when refilling the glasses. Short Wave had an old school twilight zone vibe; if you remember when the monsters were due on Maple Street, or a bus ride that had an extra passenger, you will know what I mean.
This is one of the best collections I have read this year. If you love dark fiction in short story form as much as I do you need to add this to your shelf.
My thanks to the author for the paperback.
Contents:
“The Fugue Devil”: A thrilling midnight adventure turns into a dawning horror for two boys.
“Threnody”: A dirge for the dead; if you hear it, it’s too late.
“Night Crier”: A terror in the night that echoes through the years.
“Hell’s Hollow:” Hell is just a stone’s throw away.
“Masque of the Queen”: To read the play brings on madness; to perform the play…
“Somewhere, My Love”: Her music cast a spell because, of course, she was a witch.
“When Jarly Calls”: In this wine lies the darkest truth.
“Messages From a Dark Deity”: When the stars are right, the sky will fall.
“Short Wave”: Voices from the static hint at horrors to come.
“Escalation”: “I am John, your host. I have much to look forward to,” he said with a grotesque smile.
“Pons Devana”: Something inhuman from the future lurks in the shadows of the past…
“The Devil’s Eye”: Will capturing the image of a devilish horror render it powerless? Or simply draw its inescapable gaze to you?
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