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The Morgue Museum Presents: The Shark Man by Chris Bodily - Short, Horror, Monster, Anthologiy - M.T. Graves presents another Morgue Museum tale: After a shark bite turns a man into a were-shark, a jury argues whether he should be convicted. 11 pages
This is an outtake originally written for The Morgue Museum, entry in the Night Gallery Challenge back in October/November 2018. - pdf format
This was awesome. Probably one of the funnier reads I've had in a while. I never thought to combine a B-movie creature-feature with a courtroom drama, but it works. This is the best combination of a fantasy element in a courtroom setting since Miracle on 34th Street lol.
I'm not quite familiar with MT Graves, but I'm a huge "Night Gallery" fan (I own the DVD collection) -- Rod Serling is God IMO.
PAGE 3:
Quoted Text
KLUGMAN Let's not forget, Mister Cobb, that Mister Quint was already a serial killer. He killed sixteen people last year alone.
Haha! For some reason, this made me laugh out loud.
Quoted Text
COBB Look, Mister Klugman, as long as Mister Quint stays away from salt water, he's a law-abiding citizen.
This is good shit!
The only thing here is that there only seemed to be one juror voting "not guilty". But yet, most of them seem to agree that he's not guilty (at least the jurors with dialogue).
RANDOM NOTE* Mister Quint... Jaws reference?
PAGE 5:
Great job going to the flashback at the beach to break the monotony of the jury room setting. The flashbacks are timed very well.
Quoted Text
KLUGMAN But Mister Cobb, whether man or shark, knows that his victims aren't seals.
^^Something's off about this dialogue.
Quoted Text
KLUGMAN You would, too, if he killed your wife and daughter!
Would he even be allowed on the jury? Probably not, but I'll suspend my disbelief for a courtroom horror drama about a were-shark lol.
PAGE 6:
Quoted Text
COBB From observing Mister Quint, he doesn't seem to fit my description of a "coldblooded killer," as you like to call him.
KLUGMAN Neither did Norman Bates.
COBB That was a movie!
KLUGMAN And a damn good one too. Now, are we gonna find this son of a bitch guilty and go home? A guy's gotta eat.
^^This exchange is FUCKING HILARIOUS.
It's funny because I'm picturing these jury members playing this super straight despite the outrageous premise. The dead serious -- even intelligent -- courtroom drama dialogue just makes this hilarious. It's absurd and silly. But kinda smart, too. Not sure how to explain it.
PAGE 10:
Quoted Text
He clutches his heart, as if he's having a heart attack. He trembles violently.
GORMAND Mister Klugman?
Klugman foams from the mouth and collapses on the table, dead. Gormand reads the verdicts.
GORMAND Whatever is written on these ballots is final. Not guilty...
He reads the next one.
GORMAND Not guilty, not guilty, not guilty, not guilty...
Well written ~ pager turner till around page 8. Who (role) is M.T Graves in the story? I did not get the ending / punch. I'll give it another read after my second cup of coffee.
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The Morgue Museum Presents: The Shark Man
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