Aside from writing Mechanisms and Characteristics of the Undead, Dr. Standish also kept several personal journals, and wrote many letters to friends and family. Although the majority of the journals disappeared along with Standish in the Caribbean, many of his letters were saved by those to whom he sent them.
After starting in his work, Standish became alienated from most of his family, including his parents. His Aunt Miriam, though, was a bit of a black sheep herself, and was also more tolerant of Otto's strange interest. The following is a letter that he sent her while attending medical school.
Dear Aunt Miriam,
I am pleased to inform you that I am still doing quite well in school, which is fortunate, since it makes up for the displeasure that I give my teachers by the questions that I ask. Just the other day in Anatomy class, I asked Prof. Herkley if there was a particular part of the brain that compelled people to eat each other, and if so, how could it be stimulated? He did not seem to understand the purpose of the question, and when I began to explain, he told me that he had heard about me and my questions, and was not going to put up with that nonsense in his class.
How I wish that there were some way of showing these closed-minded fools that re-animation is indeed possible. If only I remembered more of the voodoo rituals that I saw when I was younger!
My classmates seem likewise disquieted by my interests. I tried to get a few of them to assist me in delivering jolts of electricity to the brain of a cadaver I obtained. When I explained that I was trying the techniques of Dr. Frankenstein, they shook their heads at me and left without speaking.
I console myself with the thought that one day I will show them what I am talking about. I will show them all.
Your nephew,
Otto
P.S. I hope that the police have stopped asking you questions about you-know-what.
Aside from writing Mechanisms and Characteristics of the Undead, Dr. Standish also kept several personal journals, and wrote many letters to friends and family. Although the majority of the journals disappeared along with Standish in the Caribbean, many of his letters were saved by those to whom he sent them.