Cheryl (Ed): Necro Files: Two Decades of Extreme Horror

A Comet Press Book

First Comet Press Trade Paperback Edition October 2011

Trade Paperback ISBN 13: 978-1-936964-52-9

Necro Files © 2011 by Comet Press All Rights Reserved.

Acknowledgements

“Meathouse Man” © Damon Knight, 1976, copyright renewed in 2004. © 2004 by George R.R. Martin. Originally published in Orbit 18, 1976. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Night They Missed the Horror Show” © Joe R. Lansdale, 1988. Originally published in Silver Scream , 1988. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Diary” © Ronald Kelly, 1990. Originally published in Cemetery Dance #3, 1990. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Abed” © Elizabeth Massie, 1992. Originally published in Still Dead , 1992. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“I am He that Liveth and was Dead … & Have the Keys of Hell & Death” (an excerpt from Duet for the Devil , 2000) © Randy Chandler and t. Winter-Damon, 1992. Originally published in Grue No. 14, Summer 1992. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Xipe” © Edward Lee, 1993. Originally published in The Barrelhouse: Excursions into the Unknown , Winter 1993. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Bait” © Ray Garton, 1993. Originally published in Cemetery Dance , Fall 1993, Volume 5 Number 3/4. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Painfreak” © Gerard Houarner, 1994. Originally published in Into the Darkness #1, April 1994. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Lover Doll” © Wayne Allen Sallee, 1994. Originally published in Little Deaths , 1994. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“The Spirit Wolves” © Charlee Jacob, 1995. Originally published in Into the Darkness #4, 1995. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Godflesh” © Brian Hodge, 1995. Originally published in The Hot Blood Series: Stranger By Night , 1995. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Every Last Drop” © John Everson, 1998. Originally published in Bloodsongs , Spring 1998. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Blind in the House of the Headsman” © Mehitobel Wilson, 2001. Originally published in Brainbox 2: Son of Brainbox , 2001. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“An Experiment in Human Nature” © Monica J. O’Rourke, 2001. Originally published in The Rare Anthology , 2001. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“The Burgers of Calais” © Graham Masterton, 2002. Originally published in Dark Terrors 6, The Gollancz Book of Horror , 2002. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Ecstasy” © Nancy Kilpatrick, 2004. Originally published in Master/Slave , Venus Books, 2004. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Pop Star in the Ugly Bar” © Bentley Little, 2005. Originally published in Outsiders: 22 All-New Stories From the Edge , 2005. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“The Sooner They Learn” © Wrath James White, 2005. Originally published in The Book Of A Thousand Sins , 2005. Reprinted by permission of the author.

“Addict” © J.F. Gonzalez, 2006. Originally published in Insidious Reflections #5, January 2006. Reprinted by permission of the author.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Meathouse Man by George R.R. Martin

Night They Missed the Horror Show by Joe R. Lansdale

Diary by Ronald Kelly

Abed by Elizabeth Massie

I am He that Liveth and was Dead … & Have the Keys of Hell & Death by Randy Chandler and t. Winter-Damon

Xipe by Edward Lee

Bait by Ray Garton

Painfreak by Gerard Houarner

Lover Doll by Wayne Allen Sallee

The Spirit Wolves by Charlee Jacob

Godflesh by Brian Hodge

Every Last Drop by John Everson

Blind in the House of the Headsman by Mehitobel Wilson

An Experiment in Human Nature by Monica J. O’Rourke

The Burgers of Calais by Graham Masterton

Ecstasy by Nancy Kilpatrick

Pop Star in the Ugly Bar by Bentley Little

The Sooner They Learn by Wrath James White

Addict by J.F. Gonzalez

Horror Fiction Titles by Comet Press

Introduction

Cannibalism, necrophilia, aberrant sex, gore, murder, serial killers, mutilation, torture, child abductions, even werewolves and zombies are all common themes of extreme horror and in this book. But often more than anything it gives us a frightening glimpse into the dark side of humanity, and sometimes even closely reflects true events. We like to be scared, and while the supernatural is very scary, reality is downright disturbing. We are fascinated by mysterious things, and nothing is more mysterious than the unspeakable mayhem and horrors that humans are capable of. Heinous, motiveless crimes fill us with fear and revulsion, yet we are overwhelmingly compelled to read about them. Maybe it is a fear of what may lie dormant within us as well, or perhaps provides an outlet for our own dark thoughts. The media is very aware of this innate human trait and feeds us increasingly over-the-top descriptions of violent crimes and graphic images. And the recent rise in popularity of so-called "torture porn" films like Saw and Hostel underscores this compulsion to experience our violent side from a safe distance.

Necro Files is a collection spanning over twenty years, from the early formative years of extreme horror to the recent past, by twenty great masters and modern authors who have broken down the barriers of traditional horror to explore the most sinister and controversial topics that both challenge and offend our sensibilities. You'll find here an author's first steps into the realm of the extreme, stories that were banned by the publisher, stories based on true events, and many include a quote or comment by the author. Most were first published in the small press, and nowadays, luckily, it's much easier to get a hold of extreme horror, largely thanks to the wider availability of small press books. And what you have now in your hands is an ungodly collection of edgy, unrestrained terrors that delve into the dark recesses of the mind and ultimately satisfy your primal instinct.

Enjoy the ride into hell.

Cheryl Mullenax

Meathouse Man

George R.R. Martin

“Meathouse Man” was originally published in Orbit 18, by Harper & Row in 1976.

‡

George R.R. Martin was born September 20, 1948 in Bayonne, New Jersey. He became a comic book fan and collector in high school, and began to write fiction for comic fanzines. Martin’s first professional sale was made in 1970 at age 21: “The Hero,” sold to Galaxy , published in February, 1971 issue. Since then he has published more than seventy pieces of short fiction, edited thirty anthologies, and written screenplays, teleplays, comic books, and eleven novels. He is best known for his best-selling epic fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire , the basis for the hit HBO television series, Game of Thrones .

Martin’s present home is Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he lives happily with his wife Parris and four cats.

I

In the Meathouse

They came straight from the ore-fields that first time, Trager with the others, the older boys, the almost-men who worked their corpses next to his. Cox was the oldest of the group, and he’d been around the most, and he said that Trager had to come even if he didn’t want to. Then one of the others laughed and said that Trager wouldn’t even know what to do, but Cox the kind-of leader shoved him until he was quiet. And when payday came, Trager trailed the rest to the meathouse, scared but somehow eager, and he paid his money to a man downstairs and got a room key. He came into the dim room trembling, nervous. The others had gone to other rooms, had left him alone with her (no, it , not her but it , he reminded himself, and promptly forgot again). In a shabby gray cubicle with a single smoky light.