Legendary horror writer and 30 Days of Night co-creator Steve Niles’ legendary paranormal detective Cal McDonald is back. Throughout his career, Niles has returned to the character in novels, short fiction, and the acclaimed comic series Criminal Macabre. Now, he is revisiting him once more in a new collection of short stories. And Fango has an exclusive look at what’s inside.
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Entitled Cal McDonald: Plague of Evil and Other Stories, the book features a foreword by actor and friend of Fango, David Dastmalchian (Count Crowley). The book also features a painted cover by illustrator Joe Jusko, which you can check out below. Published by Clover Press’s The Fourth Leaf, a new imprint for creator-owned comics, books, and graphic novels, this 216-page hardcover will collect ten brand-new Cal McDonald stories, each with an illustration by a different beloved comic artist. Fans can support the project on Kickstarter now.
In addition to the illustrated hardcover book, the Kickstarter campaign will also include prints, lithographs, stickers, buttons, and a slipcase upgrade. But to give fans a taste of what Niles has cooked up, we’ve got an exclusive excerpt from the story Mark of the Beast. Check it out for yourself.
Mark of the Beast
Exorcisms are the worst. I avoid them at all costs. I don’t actually perform them, I’m usually a spectator, but usually I get my ass kicked anyway. I was in Sherman Oaks at a house that belonged to a rich old lady named Carol Walton. She was the possessed one. I thought she was kind of overdoing it, flailing around, screaming, puking. I thought she was faking until she threw me against
the wall.The priest on scene was Father Gary Louis. He’d helped me out before so when he asked me to come along, I couldn’t refuse. He was one of the few priests in LA who still performed exorcisms. He was a hard, gruff man who did things the way he wanted. He didn’t give in to pressure from the modern church.
“Get off the floor, McDonald!” he yelled. “Give me the Holy water!”
I climbed off the floor. Everything hurt. Shit was flying around the room. The old lady was floating. Things were out of control. I saw the Holy water on the dresser and grabbed it and handed it to Father Gary. He was holding his own next to the bed. He took the Holy water and sprayed the levitating woman. She screamed and kicked and slowly lowered herself back down onto the bed.
Once back down, Father Gary kept spraying Holy water and yelling prayers, and after a few moments, Carol started to calm down. I’ll say one thing for her, she wasn’t a talker. That’s when they get really annoying.
She was sweating badly and breathing heavily. As we watched her, something else began to happen. A tiny split appeared on her forehead, just about an inch, and then blood started coming out, and the split started growing lengthwise. Her face split open, then her neck and chest until it ripped down her entire torso.
Something was trying to get out.
I pulled the priest back.
Small slimy red hands appeared through her chest, and then the hands gripped and split her ribcage open. She didn’t so much as scream as let out a thin wail while she died. The red creature, probably a lower demon, crawled from her dead body, and stood up in the gore. It was no more than three feet tall but looked mean as shit.
Father Gary sprayed it with Holy water. Bad idea. The thing’s glistening flesh steamed as it burned. It shrieked and jumped right onto the priest’s face. It started ripping and scratching. I had my gun out but couldn’t shoot without hitting Father Gary so I grabbed hold of the creature and threw it as hard as I could against the wall. It hit hard and slid to the floor but immediately got back up on its hoofed feet.
I aimed and took a shot. It jumped as I missed. It leapt right towards me. I shot again and missed again. The thing was thin and wiry, hard to hit. It jumped past me and went for the open window. It sprouted wings and then it was gone with a shriek. I would have run after it, but the priest was hurt. I had to get him help. Plus, I couldn’t fly.
“Come on,” I said getting him to his feet. “Let’s get you to the hospital.”
His face was in bad shape. Some of it was missing. I saw shreds of flesh on the white carpet.
I phoned the scene into the cops and headed out with the priest in tow.
I drove him to the Sherman Oaks Hospital. It was close. I took him right to the emergency entrance and yelled for help. They ran out, got him on a gurney and ran in with him. I gave a statement to a male nurse then got out of there.
I had a demon loose in LA and no clue where to even start. I’d never seen a possession like that, where a physical creature came from the body of the possessed. Had it grown inside her? How does a supernatural entity become a physical being? My head was spinning.
“It’s hard to believe, but I’ve been writing Cal McDonald in one form or another for almost forty years now,” Niles said. “The last short story collection came out almost 20 years ago, so I am excited to have Plague of Evil coming out through Clover Press. Cal has always been my favorite character to write, and it feels good to be back in the saddle again. I am especially thrilled with this volume because I have so many friends along for the ride; some of my favorite artists in the industry have added their talents. I hope readers enjoy this collection because I’m aching to do more.”
The collection will feature chapter illustrations by an impressive lineup of artists, including Cat Staggs (John Carpenter’s Tales of Halloween Night), Liam Sharp (Star Henge), Scott Morse (Soulwind), Christopher Mitten (Hellboy and the BPRD), Gyula Nemeth (Criminal Macabre), Steven Russell Black (Magic The Gathering), Francesco Francavilla (Night of the Ghoul), Alison Sampson (Werewolf By Night) and Damien Worm (October Faction).
“In this collection, Cal McDonald returns to prose for ten new hard-boiled tales filled with occult threats, vicious creatures, and the kind of trouble he and Mo’Lock are reckless enough to confront,” said Clover Press publisher Hank Kanalz. “It’s supernatural crime horror in the classic Cal McDonald tradition, full of blood, grit, dark humor, and noir only Steve Niles can deliver.”
Check out Cal McDonald: Plague of Evil and Other Stories live now on Kickstarter.
