A FAMILY SKELETON (1885) – This short story was written by one of Balladeer’s Blog’s favorite neglected sci-fi authors – Robert Duncan Milne. This time around, Milne’s tale deals with a French nobleman and his wife, who has proven to be sterile.
Experimental fertility treatments at last result in the wife becoming pregnant. On the day that she gives birth, she and her husband are horrified by the resulting offspring.
They are a form of conjoined male twins, but with two faces – one on each side of the head. Two necks were also present and two brains in the cranium. The doctors manage to keep the odd children alive but the nobleman keeps them concealed from the public. Years go by, and at length the father entrusts his long-time valet with the secret about the “ailment” his sons suffer from.
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The valet works virtual miracles with the mutant twins, educating them and tutoring them on the deportment expected of noble family members. The quasi-twins make their public debut separately, with elaborate – sometimes absurd – measures taken to keep the public at a distance so that the twins can be presented as two separate people, since the nobleman does not want them treated like freaks.
The two-in-one men happen to fall in love with the same woman, even though marriage is out of the question. The pair awkwardly fight with each other over her and wind up choking each other to death in a grotesque spectacle.
The traumatized valet moves to San Francisco and opens a French restaurant.
A Family Skeleton has its effective moments but they are undermined by the sitcom-level antics employed to make the conjoined twins seem like two separate people who never appear in public at the same time. Think of the 2021 horror film Malignant if you read this story.
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I think this would make a good, if weird, film. The more of these old sc-fi stories I can’t help wonder why some weren’t made in the silent film era!?! I haven’t read this story but the description sounds wonderfully cheesy! Great post!
Thank you very much Capn! I certainly agree about that!
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Logged, thank you!
Fascinating post as always. As a big fan of the sci-fi genre, I found this extremely interesting to read. It brought to mind classic movies about disability that I have seen and loved.
Thank you very much!
It does sound like a bit of a sitcom, especially picturing the two fighting. lol thanks for sharing!
LOL! Yes, that’s true. Thanks!
Welcome to my Sukkah: An interpretation of the 13 tohor middot Throughout the year after we say the opening p’suk of ק”ש תפילה דאורייתא
That is interesting!
:))) thanks It was a problem that took me over 10 years to solve.
Wow!
Something like a complex math problem touching the classic framers of the T’NaCH and Talmudic literature.
I see.
This sounds like an excellent short story! I’m gonna look it up and add to my reading list.
I hope you enjoy it!