The Recruiter

"The Recruiter" is a short story by the late American author Michael Shea.
==Synopsis==
An elderly man, on the verge of being thrown out onto the streets in San Francisco, is offered a helping hand by a seemingly kindly neighbour. However, this help comes with a price, and the man's soul is used to deliver a host of dead bodies to a gargantuan creature which lies beneath the surface of the bay.
Once he has completed the task and been released from his service, he vows to fight the threat by any means which he can.
==Characters==
*Chester Chase, a 75-year-old widower who believes he has nothing left to live for.
*Mr. Canning, an even older man in service to some dark power.
==Behind the Mythos==
Despite containing no direct references to Lovecraft’s works or the greater Cthulhu Mythos, the creature beneath the bay has a very Lovecraftian flavour to it. Additionally, Lovecraft scholar S. T. Joshi's inclusion of the piece in Demiurge: The Complete Cthulhu Mythos Tales of Michael Shea indicates his belief that it is set within.
Chester is a long-term resident in the Hyperion Hotel, the Hyperion being a recurrent location in Shea's Lovecraftian works.
==Publication History==
"The Recruiter" was first published in the anthology Lovecraft Unbound by Dark Horse Books in September 2009. It was later included in the posthumous collection of Shea's own works Demiurge: The Complete Cthulhu Mythos Tales of Michael Shea by Dark Regions Press in December 2017.
"The Recruiter" was a rewrite of sections of the novel Mr. Cannyharme, which was completed in 1981 but remained unpublished until 2021, long after the author's death.
Category:Michael Shea works
Category:Mythos-Inspired Works