Maniac at Large story
Margaret, a meek librarian in an inner-city library, learns that a serial killer is loose in the area, and begins believing that she will be the killer's next victim. To make things worse, head librarian Mrs. Pritchard forces Margaret to work late one night. Left alone after closing time in a library that is usually frequented by suspicious characters and not knowing exactly who the serial killer is, Margaret's paranoia ends up overwhelming her. Directed by: John Frankenheimer. Story by: Mae Woods.
19 total · 2 choice · 4 major · 13 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| descent into madness | choice | Fear of the notorious serial killer, and being frequently disheveled by unsympathetic oddballs at the library where she worked, caused Margaret to become evermore unstable until she finally flipped out and stabbed her boss, Mrs. Pritchard, to death in a paranoid delusion. |
| serial murder | choice | There was a serial killer on the loose as alluded to in the title. |
| acute anxiety | major | Margaret became increasingly paranoid that there was a serial killer lurking outside the library. |
| coping with a bad boss | major | The story culminates with the mild-mannered Margaret repeatedly stabbing her stern and unsympathetic boss, Mrs. Pritchard. |
| fear for one's life | major | The story turns on the mild-manner librarian Margaret becoming consumed with the idea that she'd be the serial killer's next victim. |
| fear of being alone | major | Margaret became even more fearful when she was left alone for various reasons, notably when Mrs. Pritchard went out and the security guard had abandoned his post. |
| alcohol abuse | minor | The security guard Grady had some hard booze stashed in the library basement. |
| bureaucracy | minor | Mrs. Pritchard mentioned that Grady, the boozed up, lazy, and incompetent security guard was neigh impossible to get rid of through official channels. She hinted that she had "her own ideas" for how to deal with him instead. |
| coping with an incompetent coworker | minor | Margaret and Mrs. Pritchard both exchanged complaints about the drunk, incompetent and lazy security guard they had at the library. |
| coping with unwelcome romantic attention | minor | The security guard Grady made a pass at Margaret in the library basement. |