SOLVED. Man (dead) enters a cavern full of torture apparati, meets a "demon", pays for his sins via retelling, suffering, and torture, ends up realizing he's the demon and has to torture himself as the second part of his punishment

[JW]

I think this is a short story in a collection of such. I probably read it in either the window of 1992-1996 or 2002-2009. I believe it was not new at those points, though, so those date rates may not be helpful.

In the story, a man has died. He traverses a cavernous tunnel where he runs into what he describes as a demon; it's a humanoid covered in scars, earless (I think). In the room are various torture devices. The 'demon' starts asking the man about his life, basically forcing him to face all of the things he's done wrong and his sins. I believe he cheated on his wife with her sister, and he tries to lie to himself about why but is incapable..he ends up admitting why he did it, and is punished/tortured for it.

Fast forward to the end, he believes he's finished and has suffered all he can and notices the demon is gone. Looking up, he sees the fresh "new" version of himself entering the cavern, and realizes this is the next phase of his punishment as he reaches for the first device used on his "fresh" self and begins asking the same questions he'd been asked.

Any ideas??? Wanted to share it with a friend but can't pin it down. Thanks everyone!

edit: I found it! Other People - Neil Gaiman. The book is called Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders'

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

JW, in the future please make a new comment if you find your own book.

If you merely edit your single comment, it doesn't bump the thread to the top of the queue so no one will see your edit.