The Comedy of Terrors

The story unfolds during a period of ornate social rituals and burgeoning small-town commerce in rural New England. Death, propriety, and reputation govern everyday life, making the murders and the funeral trade feel both lurid and routine. The era's lack of modern forensic methods amplifies the tension as characters navigate greed and danger.

Set in a late 19th-century New England town, New Gilead is a tight-knit community where a family-run funeral parlor operates as a primary business. The town atmosphere blends Victorian manners with darker undercurrents as money and reputation drive the locals. The parlor's scheme to profit from deaths reveals the town's moral ambiguities.

💸 Greed

Waldo Trumbull and Gillie exploit funerals as a profit engine, murdering wealthy residents to inflate business. Their greed drives most of the scheme, even as they bluff innocence and maintain appearances. The plot consistently ties financial gain to life-or-death decisions.

🎭 Deception

Characters wear false faces: Amaryllis remains faithful while Waldo manipulates, Gillie flirts and lies, and the funeral operation hides a deadly truth behind solemn rites. The counterfeit respectability of a family-run business masks criminal acts. The tension hinges on who is pretending and who is caught by truth.

⚰️ Mortality

Death permeates every scene—from routine burials to reanimated moments in the tomb. The living contend with mortality as the dead appear to return, and a poison plot culminates in a fatal climax. The story uses death to explore consequences and the fragility of life.