Short Fiction · Chapter
The Thing on the Doorstep explained
Daniel Upton recounts the tragic story of his friend Edward Derby, who fell under the malevolent influence of Asenath Waite, a woman possessed by the spirit of her father, Ephraim Waite.
What happens
Daniel Upton recounts the tragic story of his friend Edward Derby, who fell under the malevolent influence of Asenath Waite, a woman possessed by the spirit of her father, Ephraim Waite. Through hypnotic control and body-swapping, Ephraim seeks to usurp Edward's body, leading to madness, murder, and a horrifying confrontation at the doorstep.
Themes in this chapter
Hereditary Curse and Fate
The Waite family's occult practices and the curse of body-swapping doom Edward Derby, echoing a legacy of supernatural corruption.
Madness and Psychological Decay
Edward's gradual mental deterioration and the blurring of his identity under Asenath's influence highlight the theme of psychological decay.
Characters to notice
- Daniel Upton
The narrator and friend of Edward Derby, who recounts the events and ultimately kills the possessed Edward.
- Edward Derby Upton
A sensitive, intellectual man who becomes the victim of Asenath Waite's psychic possession.
- Asenath Waite
The strange, dark-eyed woman who marries Edward and is later revealed to be possessed by her father's spirit.
- Ephraim Waite
The deceased father of Asenath, a wizard who continues to inhabit her body and seeks to transfer his consciousness into Edward.
Key passages
“It is true that I have sent six bullets through the head of my best friend, and yet I think that he had a just claim to expect that I should do that thing for him.”
I killed my closest friend with six shots to the head, but I believe he would have wanted me to do it.
Opening lines establishing the narrator's grim duty and the story's tragic outcome.
“Asenath was a woman of power, and she had a strange kind of domination over Edward.”
Asenath possessed a powerful and unusual control over Edward.
Highlights Asenath's hypnotic influence over her husband.
“I saw that the thing which had passed for Asenath was in reality old Ephraim himself.”
I realized that the person I thought was Asenath was actually her father, Ephraim, in her body.
Key revelation of the body-swapping plot.