Robert Silverberg's "Flies" (short story, horror, free)

Rather well hashed theme here - vampire variants that feed not on the blood of the victim but something else. C L Moore wrote a lot of stories of the kind; others too have done their bit. Setup in early parts is strikingly similar to Arthur Clarke's "Playback".

Story summary.

Sole shipwreck survivor in outer solar system is rescued by aliens, & his damaged body regenerated. Aliens also edited his mind - turning him into a pathological killer with a mind capable of transmitting the horror of victim to aliens, thus feeding one of their needs!

We'll see some episodes of the resulting terror unleashed on earth.

Fact sheet.

First published: Harlan Ellison (ed)'s "Dangerous Visions" (1967).
Download full text.
Rating: B.
Related: Stories of Robert Silverberg.