Sam Kansky

**Sam Kansky** (born March 10, 1969) is a repairman and a friend of the Ronan family.

## Appearance

Sam has dark brown hair, a full beard, and brown eyes. He is frequently seen wearing an old baseball hat.

## Personality

Sam is often seen intoxicated and incoherent, but is genuinely a kind person who wants to help others. He tends to be old- fashioned, believing in somewhat traditional ideas of masculinity and femininity. Sam was in love with Mary-Ann Ronan and often helped her around the house to the best of his ability. He was deeply upset by Mary-Ann’s death and often spends his time drunk, hanging around the Ronan’s old home, or both.

Sam is the real-life inspiration for the Book of Goblins character Old Bear. The stories in the Book of Goblins show that Sam is protective of those he cares about and has an insecure side.

## History

Sam has worked on a boat for most of his life.

Sam was one of Mary-Ann Ronan’s first friends in Delos Crossing after she arrived in the town. He often helped her with home repairs. At some point in their friendship Sam developed romantic feelings for Mary-Ann. It’s unclear as to whether he asked her out or not, but Mary-Ann made it clear to Sam that their relationship was strictly platonic.

At one point between 1996 and 2005, Sam broke his leg. Mary-Ann was the one who got him back on his feet. Mary-Ann also encouraged Sam to get his ship captain’s license and seems to have been a generally positive presence in Sam’s life.

After hearing of Mary-Ann‘s death in 2005, Sam immediately went to the Ronan home and brought Alyson and Tyler their Crafty Goblin figurines from the house.

In the years following Mary-Ann’s death, Sam‘s mental health took a tailspin and he began to drink heavily. Sam was recently heavily advised to not work as a captain anymore as a result of this.

## Episode 1

Sam is inside of 12 Cannery Road, the old Ronan home, when he finds Tyler walking in through the back door. Drunk and unable to recognize Tyler, Sam points a gun at him and says he’ll shoot in five seconds. Alyson comes in just in the nick of time, and tells Sam that this is her brother, *Tyler*. Sam is surprised and makes some uneducated and ignorant comments about Tyler’s gender identity. Tyler can choose to not respond or to Correct Sam. If he corrects Sam, he earns Sam's respect even though he still is confused and Sam says "you kids keep changing the rules" and that they can't expect them to keep up.

After this, the twins ask Sam what he’s doing at the house. Sam tells them that he comes by to do maintenance. Tyler asks Sam a few questions about Mary-Ann, but the twins ultimately decide that Sam is too drunk to continue questioning. Alyson heavily suggests that Sam go home and gets the keys from him.

## Episode 2

Sam arrives at 12 Cannery Road in the early morning. Sam gives the twins some cleaning supplies and tools. He also gives Alyson a meal kit and Tyler a knife in an awkward but sincere apology for his micro-aggressions towards Tyler the previous day. Sam tells the twins he’ll fix the house’s fuse box while he’s over. Sam and Tyler hold a tense conversation while trying to open the stuck garage door, which they eventually break. Alyson tells them that it’s their job to fix the door handle, and fixes the fuse box herself. Inside the barn, Sam is shaken by the empty shotgun rack and abruptly leaves.

## Episode 3

Sam is working on a boat engine when Alyson Ronan arrives. Alyson takes a look around his workspace for a bit, and can help him with his work on the engine. Depending on Alyson's interactions with him, Sam will ask Alyson to find a spray can or Sam will injure his hand. Alyson brings him a wrench or gauze, respectively. Alyson then asks Sam point-blank if he is her and Tyler’s father.

Sam tells Alyson that he wishes he was their dad, and that he wouldn’t have abandoned them like their real dad did. If Alyson asks Sam for proof that he's not their father, he will tell her his ex-wife Laura had him get a vasectomy after their son was born. Alyson voices frustration at not understanding who her mother was, and Sam invites her upstairs to his living area.

Sam shows Alyson some items that Mary-Ann gave him— old photographs, a carved boat, a birthday card. After reminiscing about old times, Sam shows Alyson a picture of himself constructing the loft above the Ronan home’s shed. Sam asks Alyson if she's sure about selling the house, insisting "it's all I-" before correcting himself and saying it's all the kids have left of their mother. Alyson can berate Sam for his drinking, insisting he needs to let Mary-Ann go or sympathize with his pain and suggest he talk to someone.

### Epilogue

In both versions of the epilogue, Sam writes the twins a letter and leaves it in the Ronan home. The contents of the letter are different depending on whether or not Alyson called Sam out on his drinking.

If Alyson sympathized with Sam, his letter tells the “goblins” that he’s around if they need him to fix things. He came by earlier to see if they needed help but they weren't home and he stayed waiting for them until it got late and he was tired. He apologizes for his negative actions in the past and tells the twins that he’s trying to do better "but it might be too late for an old bear like me." Sam finishes his letter with a postscript— “I wish it was as easy to fix everything as a boat”.

If Alyson called Sam out, Sam joins AA, buys a cabin near Tenaki Rivers and gets work doing maintenance on a fishing boat. He apologizes for the hurt he's caused and tells the twins they've been an important part of his life and he'd like to keep things that way, inviting the twins to visit him or offering to come to Jeanu. Sam finishes his letter with a postscript— “Got adopted by a stray mutt that hung around the docks. I named her Skipper!”

## Relationships

### Laura

Laura is Sam's ex-wife. It's not clear when exactly they were married or divorced. However, they were still together when Sam built the barn for Mary-Ann, and Laura took the photo of Sam working under the barn's loft. It's not clear what ended Sam and Laura's relationship. In chapter 3, Sam asks Alyson about Laura. When Alyson suggests Sam talk to her himself, he says that he does but she doesn't talk back. Sam's boat is named Laura, suggesting he has not gotten over their relationship.

### Mary-Ann Ronan

Sam and May-Ann had a close relationship. Sam spent a lot of time helping Mary-Ann fix things around the house. He built her barn and helped her create the puzzle door to her bedroom. Mary-Ann pressed Sam to get his sailor's license and insisted he wear a graduation cap when he did. Mary-Ann also helped Sam when he was injured and "of no use to anyone." He stayed in bed and moped for nearly a month. Mary-Ann forced him outside and told him, "You can't be defined by the things that are broken." Sam took Mary-Ann to a movie for her birthday, which she hated because "it ruined the books."

### Alyson & Tyler Ronan

Sam was a constant presence in the twins' lives while Mary-Ann was still alive. He was always at the house fixing things. After shooing a skunk out of the barn, Tyler says Sam inspired him to be "a wildlife superhero." After Mary-Ann's death, Sam kept an eye on the house, fixing things as they broke, until the twins came back to sell it. Sam seems to have a special affinity for Alyson. He calls her "princess" and takes it to heart when she calls him out on his drinking.

## Trivia

* Sam has a hatred for bananas and believes that having a banana on his ship at any point means certain danger and misfortune.
* Sam’s birthday
* Sam seems to have been the one who show Alyson and Tyler their “goblin lair” underneath the Ronan home. In the Book of Goblins, the Old Bear is the one who shows the Crafty Goblins this area; and as the family handyman Sam would likely have noticed the space and shown it to the young twins.
* In the Book of Goblins the Old Bear saves a young goat kid from danger. This seems to parallel a real-life event in which Sam leapt into the ocean to save a person.