You know he’s going to die. hat much is clear very early on in The Demon Core by author Scott Milder. Louis is doomed. He’s reckless, calls himself a gunslinger, and compares his way of doing things to that of Billy The Kid (who did indeed die a 21) as a way to justify his choices… but Louis’s death isn’t as simple as what happens to him. The story, the true story, is what his mind repeats over and over after the blast…
I saw something.
Whatever it was, it was fading like a dream. It left behind an impression of vast immensity. It was like standing at the base of a mountain in the dark; you can’t see the mountain, but you know it’s there and the knowledge of all that rock looming above you…it presses down…down…down…
His mind tried to grasp at whatever it was, to stitch a simulacrum out of the cascade of images that had flooded into him after the screwdriver slipped. It skittered out of reach. He closed his eyes and saw a bivalve mollusk, an ebon tower, a fathomless lake, a spinning neutron star—and a deep, colorless darkness.
He felt a gravity, not pulling him toward it but rather it toward him.
The Demon Core by Scott Milder, featured in Tangle & Fen: A Dark Fiction Anthology (p. 154). Crone Girls Press.
Q (Crone Girls Press): What inspired your story in this anthology? Tell us the “story behind the story.”
A (Scott Milder): Growing up in Los Alamos, NM, as I did at the tail-end of the Cold War, I’ve heard about the “demon core” and the sad, grisly death of Louis Slotin my entire life. Being who I am, I just can’t help but view it in vaguely Lovecraftian terms.
Q: Why do you write horror? What about the genre appeals to you as an author?
A: I’ve always been into horror, and I’m not entirely sure why. Again, I think there’s some link to my childhood in Los Alamos, living under the shadow of the atomic bomb. I was always very aware of the disconnect between my ordered, small-town life and the absolute chaos and destruction that potentially hovers over all of us. It fascinated me as a child, and still does.
Q: There are a number of different flavors of horror. Where does your story fit, and what drew you to this particular category?
A: The Demon Core lives in the space between straight-up historical fiction (Louis Slotin was a real person, who really did die in the way described in the story) and cosmic horror. I’ve always been drawn to cosmic horror, and it just seemed like a natural fit here.
Q: The world has been through some turbulent times in the past few years. How have current events changed (or not!) your approach to the genre as a writer?
A: It’s lead me to actively seek out new voices and authors from under-represented communities, which has introduced me to a much wider range of perspectives, themes, and approaches. I think that has only made my writing better.
Q: What’s next in your writing journey?
A: I’m finishing up a story for an anthology, and then I’m going to take a bit of a hiatus from short fiction for awhile so I can finish a long-gestating novel and maybe a separate novella. I hope to have those done by the end of the spring, 2024.
About The Author
Scotty Milder is a writer, filmmaker, podcaster, and film educator living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He received his BA in Media Arts from the University of New Mexico in 2004, and went on to earn an MFA in Screenwriting from Boston University in 2006.
Working primarily in the horror and thriller genres, he has developed feature and television film scripts with major Hollywood studios and production companies (Warner Horizon Television, Sony Pictures Television, Kopelson Entertainment), directed music videos for bands in Albuquerque and Boston, and worked with independent film producers in LA and New Mexico.
Scotty’s award-winning short films have screened at festivals all over the world, including the Cannes Film Festival, Cinequest, the Dead By Dawn Festival of Horror, HollyShorts, and the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival and CthulhuCon.
His independent feature film Dead Billy is available to stream on Amazon and Google Play.
Scotty’s fiction has appeared in Cosmic Horror Monthly, Dark Matter Magazine, Dark Moon Digest, Lovecraftiana Magazine, as well as anthologies from Dark Moon Books, Yuriko Publishing, Sinister Smile Press, Dark Peninsula Press, Dark Ink Books, and more.
He teaches screenwriting and film production at Santa Fe Community College and the University of New Mexico.
He hosts the Horror from the High Desert fiction podcast, and is the co-creator and co-host of The Weirdest Thing history podcast with actor/theatre director Amelia Ampuero.
Be sure to check out their story in Tangle & Fen: A Dark Fiction Anthology
Crone Girls Press 