If you know about the Fugue Devil,
it knows about you. If you see the Fugue Devil, it will come for you.

My novelette "Fugue Devil" is a particular favorite of mine, being based on the most intense nightmare I ever had as an adolescent — sometime in the very early 70s (read more about it here). On that scary night, the dream woke me in a cold sweat three times (the only time in my life I've ever experienced such a thing), and each time I'd go back to sleep, the dream would continue right where it left off. The climax of the dream disturbed me so badly that I did not sleep another wink that night.

In 1991, after agonizing for years over not quite knowing how to turn the dream into a workable story, I managed to combine its most vivid imagery with a new plotline, and I think the resulting story is among my most successful efforts. In 1995, I wrote a sequel to "Fugue Devil," titled "The Devil's Eye" (also inspired by a dream), which was published in 1996 in Tales of Lovecraftian Horror (Necronomicon Press). This "Fugue Devil cycle," as editor Robert M. Price refers to these stories, also ties into the little mythos that I began back in the mid 80s with a story called "Threnody," which has its roots in H.P. Lovecraft's "The Music of Erich Zann." "Threnody," "Fugue Devil," and "The Devil's Eye," along with many of my other Cthulhu-mythos-inspired fiction, may be found in my collection, The Last Trumpet, from Wildside Books.

PLEASE NOTE: I have now sold out of autographed copies of Fugue Devil, and since the book is out of print, it's unlikely that I'll be able to pick up any more. I sincerely thank those of you who have ordered copies through my Web site, and
I hope you've enjoyed the collection. If at any time I am able to replenish my stock,
I will again make copies available here. Note that the novelette, "The Fugue Devil," is included in my collection, The Last Trumpet, which is still readily available.

Like many writers, I have created a fictional community as the setting for many of my stories, including "Fugue Devil." Mine is a little valley in southwestern Virginia nestled between three mountains; the valley includes the town of Aiken Mill (based on Martinsville, Virginia, where I grew up), and a little college community called Beckham (based on Ferrum College, Virginia). Some readers have wondered if I lifted the concept of Beckham from HPL's town of Arkham and Miskatonic University; however, such a connection was not in mind when I created the place. In fact, the founder of Ferrum College was Samuel Beckham, which was where I drew my inspiration. So though there may be a passing resemblance to HPL's famous setting...it's a very different, if perhaps similarly harrowing, place to get an education.

Fugue Devil & Other Weird Horrors is an attractive trade paperback, released by Macabre, Inc., in 1993. 88 pages, cover art by Phillip Reynolds, interior art by Augie Wiedemann.

Stephen Mark Rainey is author of the novels Dark Shadows: Dreams of the Dark (with Elizabeth Massie), Balak, The Lebo Coven, Blue Devil Island, and The Nightmare Frontier; the short story collections Fugue Devil & Other Weird Horrors, The Last Trumpet, Legends of the Night, and Other Gods; and over 100 works of short fiction. He achieved questionable infamy and absolutely no fortune as editor of Deathrealm magazine, and has edited the anthologies Deathrealms, Song of Cthulhu, and Evermore (with James Robert Smith).