Here are the character profiles of the characters and monsters from Tales of Horror Vol. II: Malicious Spirits. Hopefully, these will give you a better understanding about who the characters are and tell you more about the monsters from each story.
A Grim Deal
James “Needles” Mayworth
“I don’t know, man… I don’t believe in God to begin with, and you want me to worship a god we made up ourselves?”
Age: 23
Date of Birth: 1999
Location: Deceased
Background: James grew up in Romeo, MI and was raised by his parents who had a tumultuous marriage. After his father died of liver cancer, his mother took his death quite hard and turned to her faith for comfort. She tried to get James to accompany her, but by this time, he was in high school and experimenting with his burgeoning adulthood. He found Punk music and soon dubbed his new persona “Needles” to the critical acclaim of his friends. But despite wanting to be a rock star, he had trouble getting his dreams off the ground often preferring to spend his nights wasted or high instead of practicing. He eventually lucked out and found a couple of guys with whom he could form a band.
Allhail
“Adore me.”
Lore: Allhail is supposedly a “thought form” or tulpa, an entity created through sheer force of will or imagination. Oftentimes harmless, they can however become impish or dangerous if left to their own devices or ignored by their creator. However, given the spiritual, semi-Christian angle of the story, Allhail is more likely a demon who was able to manifest a body out of the party’s raucous raw energy. And seeing Needles as an easy mark, she made a deal with him to earn his worship and devotion.
Further Research: Three Men Seeking Monsters by Nick Redfern
The Grim
“It was called a church grim, a spectral black dog tasked with protesting a church from evil and vandals, two things which Needles had a lot of experience with.”
Lore: Legends of black spectral dogs that protect churches and graveyards are quite common in Europe, especially in British and Scandinavian folklore. Church, or Kirk, Grims usually appear as intensely fierce black dogs (or other animals). Despite their appearance, they are not evil and their main job is to act as a guardian spirit, protecting a church from the devil.
The reason for the animal form is that it was believed that the job of protecting the church fell to either the first or last soul buried in its graveyard. But, to free a human soul from this preoccupation, an animal would often be sacrificed so it could fulfill the role instead.
Further Research: Read more about Grims here.
Gentle River
David Keel
“Let’s make a bet: If it’s another forlorn woman crying over her cheating lover, I’ll officially change my profession from paranormal investigator to ‘paranormal investigator’.”
Age: 37
Date of Birth: 1985
Location: Macomb County, MI
Background: Originally, a police officer, Keel was a good cop and a great detective. He was married to a beautiful woman, and together they had one son. But after a visit to Spuken Metropark, his son John, disappeared near the shores of the “gentle river”. Unable to deal with the loss and not having any answers, Keel’s wife Cheryl, divorced him. It was then following his son’s disappearance that Keel began investigating the “gentle river”, which led him to an interest in the paranormal and occult. Unfortunately, this didn’t yield any results, and seeing a need for paranormal investigators with real investigation experience, he left the force and went into business for himself.
Elisa Fox
“The first victim was a girl named Elisa Fox.”
Age: 8 (at death)
Date of Birth: 1966
Location: Deceased
Background: Not much was discovered by Keel during his investigation of the “Gentle River” when he first came across Elisa’s story. It can be assumed though that being a little girl, she had a happy life with her parents and they likely frequented Spuken Metropark as most families did.
Elisa
“Why should they get to live when I didn’t?!”
Lore: For the most part, Elisa is an original creature. The idea that her body is actually composed of the river’s water and therefore dependent on it comes from the design for the Guardian Force Leviathan from Final Fantasy VIII. Leviathan first appears by coming out of a watery portal and extending forward like a snake made out of water before coming to form. (Video).
However, the impetus for the creation of the story Gentle River is I remember seeing a TV special years and years ago in which they mentioned stories of children disappearing or dying near impossibly shallow streams and rivers. As someone who suffers from thalassophobia and can’t swim, the idea that shallow water holds no respite sends shivers down my spine.
Further Research: N/A
Through the Looking Glass
Karen Kline
“Let’s just say that Hollywood’s idea of the young adult experience is very different from my personal experience. And I feel very much lied to.”
Age: 25
Date of Birth: June 9th, 1997
Location: Fair Haven, MI
Background: Karen Kline was the typical, Millennial adult child still living at home. Despite possessing a liberal arts degree, she was forced to move back in with her parents as she was unable to get a job she liked or paid enough to help her live on her own. She had a good relationship with her parents, and being an only child, her parents doted on her heavily.
Mark and Kathy Kline
“Ooh. That’s a little pricey. Even if it is 13% off.”
“Oh, but Karen is worth it, honey. She is our only child.”
Age: 48 and 46
Date of Birth: April 15th, 1974 and May 9th, 1976
Location: Fair Haven, MI
Background: Mark and Kathy seemed like the ideal couple. Communicative, supporting, and very much in love. A couple years into their marriage, they welcomed their only child Karen with open arms and made sure she wanted for nothing. They seemed like the perfect family.
Russel Drear
“Excuse me! I am a ‘fucking queer’, thank you very much!”
Age: 25
Date of Birth: May 15th, 1997
Location: Fair Haven, MI
Background: Although Russell’s life was not particularly difficult, he did struggle to get along with his father who did not fully understand or accept his queer son. This was hard on Russell as he never had a positive male role model in his life, and harder still when all his female teachers and the girls at school loved his harmless and fun personality. As a result, he acted out, becoming more flamboyant, almost ironically so, and began to seek masculine approval in quick and dirty relationships with other men.
Stephanie “Steffie” Blythe
“She thought her popularity would skyrocket overnight just because she was rich. But even after that, she was still as unpopular as ever.”
Age: 25
Date of Birth: January 18th, 1997
Location: Fair Haven, MI
Background: Like Russell, Steffie’s life was not particularly hard either–she just wasn’t popular or well-liked. Always envious of others, including Karen and Russell, both of whom could earn admirers, she thought her moment to shine had finally come when her father became an executive at work. Now wealthy, Steffie thought her popularity would skyrocket, but it did not. Out of self-loathing, she began to eat her feelings and became obese.
Stephan “Steve” Coleman
“An expert? I’m no expert.”
Age: 25
Date of Birth: July 17th, 1997
Location: Somewhere near Fair Haven, MI
Background: Taking an interest in the paranormal, monsters, and cryptozoology, Steve was always ostracized by his peers, even being labeled as a freak or weirdo as he seemed to actually believe the things he researched. After high school, his knowledge of such topics increased dramatically making him seem like an expert in such subjects, hence why Steffie pursued his help when Karen’s condition worsened.
Walt Dahmer
“Look, lady, I know the swindler’s game.”
Age: 54
Date of Birth: November 27th, 1967
Location: Somewhere near Fair Haven, MI
Background: Nothing in particular stands out about Walt’s life. He was often overlooked by his extended family due to his mediocre looks and slow temperament. Despite this, though, Walt had a good mind for business and negotiations, which despite being below par in many ways, he was able to make a living as a salesman at multiple jobs, including at his cousin’s second-hand furniture store. Unfortunately, Walt was also susceptible to many vices including greed, gluttony, and lust, meaning he was no stranger to back-alley deals, overeating, and even frequenting “gentlemen’s clubs” or houses of ill repute. As a result, he never became rich, preferring to fuel his vices with his money-making schemes.
Madam Majuska
“The problem with Madam Majuska was that she was an old witch, or seemed to be.”
Age: Unknown
Date of Birth: N/A
Location: Somewhere near Fair Haven, MI
Background: Not much is known about the life of Madam Majuska–not even how she got her name or if it is even her real name. All that is known is that she has years’ worth, possibly decades’, of training and experience with the dark arts. During that time, she has become quite adept at it, even being capable of summoning demons and crossing into the spirit world without dying.
Spirit of the Mirror
“So, the spirit settled on haunting me and slowly draining me of my life essence.”
Lore: There are many cursed objects out there in the world; from dolls to clothing. But one that is often the most terrifying is mirrors. Sometimes thought of as being the portals to other worlds, especially when put at a crossroads of hallways or when aligned with another mirror, mirrors often find themselves used in magic rituals. The mirror in Through the Looking Glass is actually based on a mirror owned by Bela Lugosi who had an intense interest in the occult. He supposedly used his in dark rituals, trying to reach the other side. This particular mirror still exists and currently resides at Zak Bagans’ The Haunted Museum in Las Vegas.
Further Research: Zak Bagans’ The Haunted Museum
With the exception of Elisa, all images were produced with Midjourney AI.
Buy Tales of Horror Vol. II Malicious Spirits here.
