“1 Corinthians 15:51”
Most of this was written in my backyard, during an unseasonably warm spell in mid-October. Lynchburg, VA, home of Jerry Falwell, has darn near more churches than anywhere else in America. Keeping that in mind, I wanted this story to revolve around Christianity, and one of its core principles—
the resurrection of the dead. Unlike most of the tales in this book, this story took five drafts. The original version was too similar to “The Summoning,” and I wasn’t happy with it. (Sadly, the first draft also had a neat segment with Dawn teaching Sunday School that just didn’t fit in this final version). Observant readers will recognize the character of Klinger. Like General Dunbar (who also appears in this book), Klinger had a minor role in The Rising, and I’d always wanted to do more with him. Since he met Jim and Martin in Virginia, and since this story also took place in Virginia, I figured this was the opportunity to do just that.
As for the title, I got it while flipping through my dog-eared Scofield Reference Bible; something I recommend all horror writers keep on their desk. I use mine almost every day.
“All Fall Down” and “A Man’s Home Is His Casket”
These two stories are obviously interconnected, which is why I’m writing about them here at the same time. Of all the tales in this book, these two provided my most perplexing challenge. See, Paul (also known as PG) wanted to become a zombie and kill his good friend H (also known as Kresby). But Paul’s story took place in Arizona and H’s took place in Minnesota. That’s a long fucking way for a zombie to travel, and it would take more than 1,000 words to tell it. Luckily, H was agreeable to having Paul kill him in his story. His only stipulation was that Paul couldn’t get his book collection. Of course, he didn’t say anything about burning the collection—along with the two of them. What can I say? I’m an evil bastard…
“Through The Glass Darkly”
This was the last story to be completed; not because I had trouble with it, but because I wasn’t sure which day I wanted to place it. I wrote it in my living room in one evening. Larry, in case you don’t know, runs Bloodletting Books and Bloodletting Press. He also manufactures glass for Gallo Wines. This is the third tale in the General Dunbar storyarc (the other two being “The Man Comes Around” and “Where The Down Boys Go”). You’ll catch references to events from those stories, if you pay attention.
“Zombie Worm”
This is the second of three stories written specifically for this edition. It replaces a tale called “Ballroom Blitz,” which only appears in the collector’s edition. The title, “Zombie Worm,” is an ongoing joke. When The Conqueror Worms was released, some booksellers assumed it was another zombie novel that featured—wait for it—zombie worms. I’m not making that up. In fact, I’ve written about it at length in The New Fear: The Best of Hail Saten Vol. III. But I digress. Zombie worms became an ongoing joke among the regulars on my message board. Those same readers also wanted more of Worm, another popular secondary character from The Rising. Never mind that he’d become a zombie by the end of the book. They wanted more Worm. So when I set out to write the three replacement stories for this edition, “Zombie Worm” immediately came to mind.
“The Night The Dead Died”
This is the third of three stories written specifically for this edition. It replaces a tale called “No Sleep In Brooklyn”. That story was crucial in the original volume, and I’ve tried to capture some of its essence for this replacement tale. This story signals the shift from the Siqqusim to the Elilum. It also answers the question so many readers had after finishing City of the Dead—were Frankie, Danny, Jim, and the others the last humans to be killed before the Elilum invaded. The answer is yes. Obviously, this story ties in directly to City of the Dead, what with the artillery explosions (as Ob’s forces shelled Ramsey Towers) and the phony ‘all-clear’ broadcast and the sewer explosions (a chain reaction started by Jim’s sacrifice).
“The Morning After”
After twenty-something stories of zombies, zombies, zombies, I was ready for something different. There’s only so much you can do with zombie humans, dogs, cats, birds, and opossums. Lucky for me, in the original timeline I created for this mythos (before starting work on City of the Dead), the Elilum start their invasion on the twenty-seventh day. And what better place to begin that storyline than in heavily forested New Hampshire? According to my calculations, this takes place about six hours after the events at the end of City of the Dead. I wrote this in bed, and finished the final draft the next morning, while sitting in my office and watching Chester, my Venus flytrap, eat a shred of tuna that I’d just fed him.
“March of the Elilum”
This was fun (as were all of the stories regarding the Elilum). It was written over a two-day period, in my bedroom, while I had a mild case of the flu. This story takes place two days after the end of City of the Dead. Surviving Ob and his ilk is tough enough, and to make it twenty-eight days is even harder. That’s why I was glad to hear that Michael was a geologist, had knowledge of caves, and had a cave just an hour away from his house. Realistically, he and Kyle could have rode out the storm. This made the fastmoving horror of the Elilum even more terrifying, in my opinion. As you can see, the Elilum spread much faster than the Siqqusim do.
Unlike Jim and Danny from The Rising, Michael and Kyle got to spend the zombie plague together. So there’s that. In the world of The Rising, that’s about as happy an ending as anyone gets.
“Best Seat In The House”
Like “Till Death Do Us Part,” this story is one of my personal favorites. Chris wanted me to write a love letter for him; an ode to the love he felt for Francesca. I was touched (despite what you may have heard, I’m really just a big softie when it comes to romance.) What made this extra cool is that Chris and Francesca met each other because of Delirium Books (she was selling a Delirium title on eBay and he was the winning bidder). That, my friends, is better than any fiction I could ever make up. I wrote this on a Saturday night, from 9 pm until around 1 am. When I was done, I leaned back on the pillow and smiled a big smile and smoked a bigger cigar. You ask me, I done good. Hopefully, Chris and Francesca agree.
“American Pie”
I’ve been all around the world, but the closest I ever got to Norway was sailing through the fjords onboard the U.S.S. Austin. All I saw were lots of farms and lighthouses. Luckily for me, Trygve was a wonderful tour guide. After I’d received his notes on Drammen, and finished some online research of my own, I wrote this story in my living room in about two hours time (for all three drafts). In June of 2005, I spent the night in the home of fellow author Drew Williams. He proposed the idea that my zombies wouldn’t be able to function in subzero temperatures, and I’ve got to admit, the idea really, really intrigued me. Were I to ever do another novel set in the world of The Rising, it would probably feature a situation like that—maybe the crew of an icebreaker or scientists at a polar research center.