Author: Theodore LeBerthon
Date of First Publication: October 1932
Place of Publication: Weird Tales
Type: Short Story
Characters: No Characters
Themes: POSTHUMAN; SYMPATHETIC MONSTER
Critical Summary: Ted LeBerthon recounts his experiences as a Hollywood journalist in the 1930s. He had been writing stories about the motion picture industry in Hollywood for years, and the strangest experience he encountered came when John Le Roy Johnstone, the Universal publicity director, called him to tell him it was about time that the famous monsters met, and that he was going to have a party to do so. At the party, LeBerthon saw Boris Karloff, the actor that played Frankenstein’s creature and Bela Lugosi, the actor that played Dracula, first meet.
Karloff arrives first, as everyone awaits the arrival of Lugosi. When Lugosi arrives, he fills the room with a ghastly and haunting feeling. He then goes straight to Karloff, extending his hand to be shaken, remarking that he hopes that he did not scare Karloff. Karloff responds by stating he hopes that he did not scare Lugosi. This sparks a wager between the two, for one hundred dollars. The terms are set that the two will stay in a dark room and tell each other stories of darkness and terror until one either passes out, or calls for the story to stop.
Bela Lugosi begins the competition by describing his life as Dracula. He tells Boris of his immortality, and that he watches generations of women come and go who love the suaveness of Dracula. This enables him to do unspeakable things to the women, such as watching a mother give birth to a daughter just to wait eighteen years so he can sink his fangs into her scarlet blood. Karloff stops Lugosi, and calls him a fool. Karloff then explains he can take his two hands and bash Lugosi’s brains in with ease. He states that although those who study Frankenstein would believe that all the atrocious acts committed by the creature were done unknowingly, they were all purposely done, and he would do them a thousand times over.
With neither of the men being scared, they come to the conclusion that they are both hundreds of years old and share an ancestral connection, explaining why they are both unmoved by each other. After they call it a draw, someone sparks a match. Within the light of the match LeBerthon sees neither of the men in a recognizable form, but rather two dragon-like monsters, with slimy scales and venomous eyes. LeBerthon becoming sick to his stomach runs out of the room unsure of what he just saw. He concludes his story by stating that the events of that night may be a practical joke, but he is also superstitious, and wonders whether those men were cast to play their roles as monsters, or destined to play them.
LeBerthon creates a story in which the reader questions whether his account of this party was fictional, or if it had any semblance of truth. Within his story, the two monsters are celebrities appearing as relatable humans. By being able to identify with these human characters, and then seeing them become monsters, readers can find themselves asking what it means to be human. The conclusion of the story leaves readers wondering if these two men are actually men, or something much more monstrous.
Administrative Notes: Shaun Haber, CSUF, Joshua Newman (edit)