GEORGE MASTERSON
Real Name: George Masterson
Identity/Class: Human (possible mutant - see comments) (1950s Era)
Occupation: Watchman, ghost (after death)
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: None
Enemies: Ghosts of Chesley Cemetery
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: "Crazy Georgie," "Old Funny Face" (as called by other children)
Base of Operations: Chesley Cemetery, USA (possibly Canada - see comments)
First Appearance: Mystery Tales#19/2 (May, 1954)
Powers/Abilities: George Masterson suffered from megalocephalia (the condition of having an unusually large head), which distorted his features and gave him a freakish appearance; because of his condition, George was very shy and socially awkward. Following his death, George took on the characteristics of a spirit-being (immateriality, etc.), but still retained his abnormal form.
History:
(Mystery Tales #19/2 (fb)) - George Masterson had been born with unusual features and he was ostracized by others because of his appearance. As a child, he was taunted and teased by other children, and he grew to be a painfully shy misfit. George's problems continued into his adulthood, and his clumsiness and self-consciousness made it difficult for him to hold down any jobs.
(Mystery Tales #19/2) - One day, the employment office found the perfect job for George--he would be the watchman at a graveyard. At first, George enjoyed the quiet and stillness of the cemetery, and was content to live as a hermit until the isolation started to get to him, so he began to talk to the names on the gravestones and pretended they were his "friends". But sadly, George realized that he was only fooling himself, and that he would be alone until the day he died, never having any real friends because of his ugly appearance.
One night, while George was out in the cemetery, a weird event occurred--George saw ghosts rising from their graves. The apparitions formed a circle and began to dance and have a party. As he watched the danse macabre under the full moon, George felt more alone because here he saw that even dead people got together and had fun. Then George thought that if he were dead too, he could join the ghosts and finally have some friends ("I'd probably be the life of the party!"). Feeling like he had nothing to lose, George decided to commit suicide; as he impaled himself upon a burial pick, his last thought was that at least he wouldn't be alone anymore. The ghosts' party was in full swing, and the dead were having a grand time dancing by the light of the moon. But alas, poor George found his existence following death to be much the same as it had been during his life. While the other ghosts partied and danced the night away, the ghostly George just sat by himself by a tombstone, and realized that death could never change the character of a "wallflower".
Comments: Created by an uncredited writer and Syd Shores (art).
I propose that George could have been a mutant--perhaps his large cranium could be attributed to certain areas of his brain being more developed than those of a normal human; as a result, perhaps he had a sixth sense that enabled him to perceive spectral beings. (Yeah, I know I'm stretching things a bit--characters in other stories have been able to see ghosts without being mutants--but the ghosts in this story seemed like they weren't particularly interested in making their presence known to George, yet he was still able to see them. Just a thought...)
And a BIG thank you to The Horrors of It All for the scans!
His
story could occur in Chesley, Ontario, in Canada, unless something
specific to the story places it in the USA.
---William Uchtman
Profile by John Kaminski.
CLARIFICATIONS
:
George Masterson has no known connections to:
The unidentified spirit denizens of the graveyard, in various stages of decomposition, were hard-partyin' poltergeists who would arise from their graves and dance by the light of the moon. They were seen by the lonely George Masterson, who desperately wanted to join their spectral shindig..
--Mystery Tales #19/2
images:
(without ads)
Mystery Tales #19/2, p1, pan1 (main image - in red jacket)
Mystery Tales #19/2, p3, pan4 (head shot)
Mystery Tales #19/2, p4, pan7 (George as a ghost)
Mystery Tales #19/2, p4, pan6 (ghosts of the graveyard)
Other Appearances: None
Last updated: 11/28/09
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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