But it did not.
If it had eyes, it would have seen the blips in the distance – a pair of shuttles heading for the space station to finally rescue those trapped inside.
But it did not.
If it had emotions and the ability to think, it might have pondered the mundane aspect of its own creation. It might have then tried to fill in the gaps of what it didn’t understand, to cram the empty spaces in its reasoning with paranoia and conjecture. Then, it may have reacted in the same manner as the crew and given in to its own preconceived notions and fears.
But it did not.
The Unknown Artifact was lucky.
TRAIPSING THROUGH THE DARK
The Stories Behind the Stories
THE GATEKEEPER
When trying to decide what stories to enter into this anthology, I realized that I hadn’t one to start it with. One night, while perusing through my friend, partner, and artist Jesse Young’s portfolio, I glanced at a painting called The Gate. It literally sang to me. The tale came all at once, in the five minutes after I decided that painting would be the cover of the book.
The story itself is a tribute to Clive Barker. I wanted to emulate (but not copy) what he had done with The Books of Blood. In that regard, the tale acts as an introduction, as a way of seeing that to my point of view and in my writing, there is more than one reality to be drawn upon.
SULLIVAN STREET
A long time ago, I fell in love with The Counting Crows. Their music spoke to me, made me feel something. I used to sit around and listen to their first album, August and Everything After, while writing my English papers in high school. Time passed, and though their music has faded into the background, that album remains more influential to me than any other.
In 2009, I decided that I would create an anthology of short stories, all based on songs from that album. The anthology would be called It’s August and Everything’s Dead. Needless to say, that particular project was never finished (not even close), as writing novels took precedence and the thought of cramming stories into the framework of song titles that might not fit seemed a bit…well, foolish. Not saying it won’t happen some time in the future, mind you. Just not now.
As for this particular story, it draws upon something that I think all writers of horror can understand – the trials and misconceptions of youth. When contemplating the plot, I thought of growing up in suburban Connecticut and how creepy it seemed that all the lawns in my neighborhood were so perfectly manicured and identical. I took that concept, added a Lovecraftian flair, and Sullivan Street is what came out on the other side.
THE CONTAINER OF SORROWS
Mercedes M. Yardley: “The Container of Sorrows” was inspired by Mark Ryden’s “Night Visit”. I went to his Wondertoonel exhibit years ago and this painting still takes my breath away. I wanted to write something lovely that was also steeped in sadness, and Ryden’s work lends itself beautifully to that. Peter, the boy in this story, is actually a main character in one of my novels. This is a peek into his earlier life, when he ran into the Girl of Sorrows.
SINS OF OUR FATHERS
This is a very personal story for me. I lost my own father to an unfortunate accident very early on in life. I never knew him. Fortunately for me, my mother remarried and I was raised by a man who embodies everything that a loving dad and supporter should be. My dad is my hero, and without him, I wouldn’t be where I am today.
I was interested, however, in what might have happened were my situation different. What if my mother hadn’t met the man she would love for the rest of her life? What if she blamed me for the accident? What if I could never get over the fact that I will never (in life) know this man who I look so much like? The story grew from there. This might be my favorite piece of the bunch.
BLIGHT
Daniel Pyle: I wrote "Blight" when I got a prompt to turn an Appalachian legend or superstition into a fictional story. The curse of Chief Cornstalk is real (or as real as any other curse; I'll let you be the judge of that) and there is a documented case of a man dynamiting his jailbird wife back in the '70s, but the rest of the tale came from my spiderweb of an imagination, that sticky net that sometimes catches one of the creepy crawlies buzzing through my mind. As a father of two small children, it pained me to write the scene in which Sarah sees that pajama-clad leg hooked over the rim of the rain barrel and realizes what she's done, but I knew it was what made the story. Sometimes I love my overactive imagination. Other times I have to convince myself to tolerate it.
FEEDING THE PASSION
As with many of my stories, this one is inspired by a song. I have a great appreciation for death metal, Carcass in particular. This is my interpretation of one of their tunes, titled Carneous Cacoffiny, which explains (in vivid detail) how to create musical instruments from human remains.
Twisted? Yes. But hey, we’re not all perfect.
DISPATCH #337
This came about as the result of a prompted flash contest at a magazine’s website. I decided to stick with what I know and create a short tale set in the world of my novel series, The Rift. It acts as both a pre- and postscript to the books. It takes place during the events at the beginning of The Fall, and also goes to show that someone ends up surviving this plague of violence, after all.
Whether this is a good thing or not you’ll have to find out for yourselves by buying the books.
EXHIBIT A
David McAfee: It always amazes me when I see people who do horrible things to other people, but then think they don't deserve to be punished for it. The killer in Exhibit A kinda touches on that topic a bit, too. That was how the story got started: I imagined a serial killer who knew exactly what he was doing, and knew it was evil, and that sooner or later he'd be punished for his crime. The thought that he was actively trying for the death penalty sank in, and the story just kinda went from there. I ended up liking the character a lot, so I wrote a second short, which is called Exhibit B. It's in Devil Music, my second short story collection.
THE EMANCIPATION OF PO-PO
Here’s where the influence of fantasy and science fiction starts entering the equation.
In trying to come up with ideas for a new series of novels and the characters that would populate them, I started to think about what happens to all those dead musicians whose lives were taken much too soon by their own indulgences. I imagined a group of them traipsing through a post-apocalyptic alternate dimension, becoming lawmen or mercenaries. Then I thought – demon hunters! That’s the ticket! And my characters, The Bandits of Yaddo, were born.
(As a side note, extra points for anyone who can figure out what three men from musical historical the brothers are supposed to be.)
I SPY
This was the result of another prompted challenge, this time to come up with a tale that included carnivals or games. I chewed on it right up till the deadline. On that afternoon, I was driving my kids around town, and my daughter said, “Daddy, let’s play I spy!” After that, I thought of how interesting it would be if the fate of the world hinged on something as random and childish as that game. For added measure, the story serves as my tribute to Douglas Adams, the best comedic writer of all time.
KITTY IN THE CELLAR
David Dalglish: I grew up on a farm in the back roads of a rather small town. About a twenty-minute bike ride away was this dilapidated old house, the perfect place to bring over someone to try and scare them. It was isolated, about a half-mile away from the nearest neighbor. It was huge, two stories, and looked like it might have once been a school or a boarding house. Trees grew around it, leaving only a thin, scraggly pathway to drive your car through or ride in with your bike.
Nothing like what happens in this story ever occurred, but it's fun to imagine.
PERFECT BLUE BUILDINGS
The second and last of the Counting Crows-inspired stories. This is one of my favorites. The idea that there is a place between realities where you will always be who you are and never change intrig
ues me. Also intriguing is the question of what one might do when posed a choice between an absolute escape from death as opposed to the possibility that there is a heaven. Myself, I’d like to think I’d hold out for the ideal. But then again, unlike Rhonda and Jacob, I’m not faced with a life-or-death situation at the moment. I guess we can never tell until we get there.
EMPTY SPACES
Two years ago, while camping in northern New Hampshire, my wife Jess and myself stayed in a cabin at a small motel for a night. It was a surreal and frightening experience. We woke up in the middle of the night, petrified, certain there was someone or something in the cabin with us. I searched and found nothing, but still that feeling, that fear, persisted. It simply built upon itself, irrationally.
I wanted to write about it, but I couldn’t come up with a suitable environment for the story to take place in. (Over the years I’ve learned that while it’s good to draw on past experience, you best place the actual events very far away from your own life.) Then, one day a car commercial came on, and they were using David Bowie’s Space Oddity. Hence the name “Major Tom” for the lead character. I could’ve slapped myself, however, for a space station is probably the most obvious setting for a tale of isolation and paranoia with no hope of rescue.
Okay, that’s about it for now. If anyone would like more information about the stories in this book or my upcoming projects, feel free to visit The Rift Online at http://theriftonline.com. Also, coming in February of 2012 will be The Gate 2: 13 Tales of Isolation and Despair. There will be stories by even more talented authors inside, including J.L. Bryan, Ken Wood, and Dawn McCullough-White.
Enjoy, folks, and we’ll talk to you all soon.
RJD
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