Demonic possession is one of the most common horror tropes out there. Everyone, even non-horror fans know the film version of The Exorcist, and horror fans have read and seen countless of variations since.

It’s difficult to create something original with such a well-known trope, but I like a challenge. Even though I consumed my fair share of exorcism stories, I haven’t come across anywhere a priest (or ex-priest with Don’t Call Me Father) defeating a demon by asking for the help of another demon. Of course, I can’t be sure if what I’ve done is not out there somewhere as millions of books are published and thousands of indie horror films/games are released every year. It’s impossible to read and watch everything. If you know something that’s similar, please email me. I would love to see how others executed the same idea.

This story also has a special place in my heart as it’s one of the firsts I’ve written. I think it’s my third short story, to be exact, but I don’t fully remember. It was a long, long time ago. Around 2014, I’m fairly sure, and I wrote it in Hungarian first, then translated it into English in 2016 or 2017.

It was also my first ever published story in a magazine for which I received a payment. I still keep the initial publication of Devolution Z magazine on my bookshelf, and I hope I will never misplace it since the publication is now obsolete. This fills me with mixed feelings: sadness that the magazine I was first published in is not running anymore, but also proud because I’m still here and I’m still writing. My enthusiasm for storytelling only grew throughout the years.

In fact, I love Vincent’s character and the original idea so much that I don’t think I’m fully done with them. I may expand it to a novel or write a sequel or an origin story for Vincent. Who knows?