The Pirate Coin: Horror

The pirates fell upon the village like wolves, ravening their way through and slaughtering and plundering. In the end, they spared only the young boys and a couple of remarkably ugly young girls who'd found back more effectively than their prettier and heavier counterparts. The head of the pirate ship strode forward and sized up his new recruits. "It's simple," he said in a cold voice. "You will take the pirate coin and join the pirate way, or we'll kill you in ways so vile that you'll wish you were killed in the village." One of the boys looked like he thought that was impossible.

Inspiration: Listening to Alestorm, thought about pirates and the basic genres. We've seen science fiction pirates and fantasy pirates, but not so many horror pirates (no, I do not count Pirates of the Caribbean).
Story Potential: High.
Notes: A spell or some sort of alien parasite. Reduces them, forces them, makes them truly horrifying, with an urge to spread their kind. I like the idea of the coin melding into their flesh, so that they are identifiable anywhere they go as pirates, too.