Rough Night in Innsmouth

"Rough Night in Innsmouth" is a short Cthulhu Mythos story by American author and poet Ron Shiflet. It was first published in the Edward P. Berglund-edited online zine Nightscapes in December 1999.
==Synopsis==
Max Peaster, a seaman on shore leave in the fishing town of Innsmouth in 1926, gathers a couple of his comrades with the aim of fleecing a little money from the locals by betting on himself in a local boxing competition.
When the time comes for his bout, Max finds himself up against a brute of an opponent dubbed "The Boston Mangler". When Max goes down after a punishing flurry of blows, the referee attempts to stop the fight, only for the Mangler to push him out of the way and attempt to attack Max again. Luckily for the sailor, his friends come to his rescue, but this only serves to enrage the Mangler: sprouting huge claws from beneath his gloves, the by-now obviously inhuman creature goes berserk, attacking any and all in its way before the barman blows a small bone whistle, summoning a six-foot-tall fish-like humanoid which kills the Mangler. The sailors make their escape in the subsequent panic, stealing the purse on their way out.
==Behind the Mythos==
The Boston Mangler is heavily implied to be a ghoul: the town from which he takes his title, the clawed hands and the description of looking "a little bit like "The Dog-Boy" [Max had] once seen in a carnival freak show" all point towards this.
Similarly, the creature summoned by the bartender - who himself was said to have the Innsmouth Look - matches that of a Deep One: "A creature about nine feet in height … It looked to be some hellish cross between fish and man … It walked on two legs like a man, but had gills, bulging eyes and scaly skin like a fish. It's huge hands were webbed and what passed for fingers ended in wicked-looking claws".
==Publication History==
*Nightscapes (1999)
*Innsmouth Tales 2000 (2000)
*Looking for Darla: Stories of Mythos Noir (2008)
Category:Ron Shiflet works
Category:Expanded Mythos Works