October in the Chair

Neil Gaiman often describes his works as fairy tales for adults and says his goal is to deliver wonder and fantasy to older readers. “October in the Chair,” is one of Neil Gaiman’s many fantastical short stories and features many qualities belonging to the fantasy genre that are present in his other works. For example, abstract concepts are anthropomorphized. In the case of “October in the Chair,” the months are brought to life. In other works by Gaiman, concepts such as technology are anthropomorphized into gods. 

Gaiman often employs magic and the supernatural in his works. “October in the Chair” features a supernatural plot with spirits as characters and a graveyard setting. His novel American Gods includes coin magic and necromancy, and Stardust features faeries as they appear in English and Celtic folklore traditions. “October in the Chair” also shares many qualities with Gaiman’s later novel, The Graveyard Book. Published two years after Fragile Things, in which “October in the Chair” was anthologized, The Graveyard Book follows a living boy raised among the ghosts of a graveyard.

Finally, this story features another prominent quality of Gaiman’s work: frame stories. “October in the Chair” has a story within a story and features multiple narrative layers. Gaiman uses this device in novels like American Gods and Anansi Boys, using myths and stories not only to bring characters to life, but to deepen characterization, provide context for readers, and enhance themes. His works often build on existing stories like real myths and fairy tales, but he also creates stories that are original to his fictional worlds to further develop the plot and characters. In this story, October’s story stands on its own, but it also characterizes the frame story characters, as each month’s identity is based on its reaction to it.