Mr. George and Other Odd Persons by August Derleth
"Mr. George and Other Odd Persons" is a collection of seventeen short stories by August Derleth, showcasing a blend of murder and supernatural themes. Written in a month, with each story crafted during late-night hours, many of these tales originally appeared in the magazine Weird Tales under Derleth's pseudonym, Stephen Grendon. Central to the narratives is the theme of children facing peril, often saved by ghostly figures or supernatural forces. For instance, the opening story features Mr. George, a ghost who protects a young girl named Priscilla from her murderous relatives.
The stories often explore revenge, where wrongdoers meet grim fates, such as in "Mrs. Manifold," where a wife's dark past comes back to haunt her in a macabre twist. Elements of ritual and the supernatural are prevalent, with some tales drawing from folklore, such as sacrifices on Walpurgis Eve. The collection addresses complex themes of morality and justice while employing dark humor and eerie scenarios to engage readers. Overall, "Mr. George and Other Odd Persons" offers a compelling exploration of the strange intersections between the living and the supernatural, appealing to fans of horror and fantasy.
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Mr. George and Other Odd Persons
First published: 1963
Type of work: Stories
Type of plot: Fantasy—occult
Time of work: Various times from the nineteenth century through the 1940’s
Locale: Various locations in the United States and England
The Plot
In the introduction to this short-story collection, August Derleth indicates that the seventeen stories that constitute Mr. George and Other Odd Persons were written in one month, one each evening between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. Twelve of the stories originally appeared in Weird Tales magazine, which, because it already had a sufficient number of Derleth’s tales awaiting publication, accepted them under his pseudonym, Stephen Grendon. All the stories involve murders and some element of the supernatural, whether the ritual sacrifice of a child on Walpurgis Eve, as in “The Night Train to Lost Valley,” or the death of a murderer through the agency of the murdered man’s shoes, as in “Dead Man’s Shoes.”
Many of the tales involve children in jeopardy who are somehow saved through ghostly intervention. In the opening story, “Mr. George,” innocent Priscilla is protected from her late mother’s cousins through the efforts of the ghost of Mr. George. As each of the cousins attempts to murder Priscilla for her inheritance, Mr. George foils the plan and eliminates the would-be murderer. First, Mr. George kills Laban by slamming the heavy lid of a trunk on his neck at the moment that Laban is about to entice Priscilla to climb into the case and be locked away in the attic. Next, he saves her from being struck by a heavy swing and directs it at Adelaide, who had set up the situation. Finally, he restrings a wire at the top of some stairs so that Virginia instead of Priscilla trips and falls.
“Blessed Are the Meek,” “Miss Esperson,” “Alannah,” and “Bishop’s Gambit” all involve children who are under the care of cruel or unfeeling parental figures but who are cared for or protected by ghosts or individuals possessing supernatural powers. A number of the stories are tales of revenge in which murderers or thieves receive their just deserts. The events in “Mrs. Manifold,” the final story of the collection, take place in the Sailor’s Rest, an English inn owned by Mrs. Manifold, an obese, mean-spirited woman whose seafaring husband apparently disappeared when the couple lived in Singapore. A mysterious figure checks into the Sailor’s Rest reeking of sweet wine and looking for Mrs. Manifold. Shortly thereafter, the woman screams out “Ambrose,” her husband’s name. When the desk clerk arrives in Mrs. Manifold’s room, all he finds is her lifeless body and a pile of human bones, pieces of which are embedded in her neck. Apparently, Mrs. Manifold had killed her husband, stuffed his lifeless body into a cask of Madeira wine, and pushed the cask off the dock in Singapore. The cask floated all the way to England, where the remains of the murdered husband achieved a gruesome revenge. In checking the inn’s register, the night clerk discovers that the mysterious stranger identified himself as “Amb. Manifold, late of Singapore, out of Madeira,” a touch of black humor to conclude the story. Other tales of revenge include “Parrington’s Pool,” “A Gentleman from Prague,” “The Blue Spectacles,” “Dead Man’s Shoes,” and “The Extra Passenger.”