Charles Burnside
Encyclopedia
Charles Burnside, né Carl Bierstone, is a fictional character within the pages of the Stephen King
and Peter Straub
collaboration Black House, itself a sequel to their first joint effort, The Talisman.
He is an 85-year-old serial killer
of children; in the book it is implied that he has killed at least 100 of them. He is shown to be the willing host for a demon
ic entity known as Mr. Munshun
, and it is the combination of Charles/Carl and Mr. Munshun which has made him such an effective killing machine for the last several decades.
At the beginning of the book, Burnside resides within Chipper Maxton's Home for the elderly. He fakes having Alzheimer's Disease
, and then reverts to his true personality in "cycles." With the help of Mr. Munshun A.K.A Lord Malshun, he kills and cannibalism}cannibalizes children, sparing otherworldly entities known as Breakers, as his master's master, the Crimson King
, needs these for his plans. Burnside started a fresh killing spree in the town of French Landing, causing Jack Sawyer to come out of his early retirement. Burnside is extremely clever (adding to the demonic aid he receives) and is quite a cunning opponent. By the end of the book however, it become increasingly clear that there is one enemy that he cannot outsmart or dodge: Father Time. Burnside's age is a key factor. He is seriously wounded by Henry Leydon in a battle at Leydan's house and staggers away. He takes Tyler Marshal down Conger Road and into Din-Tah to wait for the End-World mono and Mr. Munshun. His age and weakness allows for Tyler to disembowel him with his bare hand. Ironically, Burnside's "friend" Mr. Munshun steps over his body on the way to confront Jack Sawyer, Dale, Doc, and Beezer without so much as a tender word on his passing.
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
and Peter Straub
Peter Straub
Peter Francis Straub is an American author and poet, most famous for his work in the horror genre. His horror fiction has received numerous literary honors such as the Bram Stoker Award, World Fantasy Award, and International Horror Guild Award, placing him among the most-honored horror authors in...
collaboration Black House, itself a sequel to their first joint effort, The Talisman.
He is an 85-year-old serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
of children; in the book it is implied that he has killed at least 100 of them. He is shown to be the willing host for a demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
ic entity known as Mr. Munshun
Mr. Munshun
Mr. Munshun, alias the Monday Man, is a fictional character within the pages of the Stephen King and Peter Straub collaboration Black House, itself a sequel to their first joint effort, The Talisman....
, and it is the combination of Charles/Carl and Mr. Munshun which has made him such an effective killing machine for the last several decades.
At the beginning of the book, Burnside resides within Chipper Maxton's Home for the elderly. He fakes having Alzheimer's Disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
, and then reverts to his true personality in "cycles." With the help of Mr. Munshun A.K.A Lord Malshun, he kills and cannibalism}cannibalizes children, sparing otherworldly entities known as Breakers, as his master's master, the Crimson King
Crimson King
The Crimson King, also commonly known as Los', is a fictional character created by Stephen King. He is the antagonist in the novel Insomnia the main villain due to a plot twist in Black House and one of the main villains in the latter half of Stephen King's Dark Tower series.-Fictional...
, needs these for his plans. Burnside started a fresh killing spree in the town of French Landing, causing Jack Sawyer to come out of his early retirement. Burnside is extremely clever (adding to the demonic aid he receives) and is quite a cunning opponent. By the end of the book however, it become increasingly clear that there is one enemy that he cannot outsmart or dodge: Father Time. Burnside's age is a key factor. He is seriously wounded by Henry Leydon in a battle at Leydan's house and staggers away. He takes Tyler Marshal down Conger Road and into Din-Tah to wait for the End-World mono and Mr. Munshun. His age and weakness allows for Tyler to disembowel him with his bare hand. Ironically, Burnside's "friend" Mr. Munshun steps over his body on the way to confront Jack Sawyer, Dale, Doc, and Beezer without so much as a tender word on his passing.