Margaret Booth is the supposed sole survivor of Mr. Jinglesʼs massacre and the director of Camp Redwood. She is a character in 1984 portrayed by Leslie Grossman.
Background[]
Margaret had befriended Benjamin 'Benji' Richter at Camp Redwood, but both were constantly harassed by other counselors. In retaliation, Margaret brutally murdered them all and blamed Benjamin because he had sworn to protect her and so Margaret used his war veteran past as a scapegoat, creating an alternative version of events.[2]
According to her perspective, Margaret is the solo survivor out of the nine counselors' massacre in 1970. During the incident, she described herself "leaving her body" as Benjamin Richter, aka Mr. Jingles gashes out her ear. The massacre had since shifted Margaret's view in a religious direction and she openly rebukes the "sinful" actions by the counselors. Margaret self-assertively claims that she was reborn prior to the massacre ultimately resulted in her re-opening Camp Redwood using a portion of her late husband Walter Booth's immense fortune, with the motives of finishing what has been abandoned undone.[3]
Personality and Appearance[]
Margaret reveals her missing ear to the new counselors.
Margaret is a supposedly devout Christian who is bold in her religious views and collected regarding the re-opening prior to the infamous massacre. She devoted herself to Christ after her faith supposedly kept her alive during the massacre. She persistently is on the lookout for any "sins" and firmly expresses her disapproval of the destructive habits amongst the counselors' generation, including the trend of drugs, drinking, and pornography. Despite her harsh orders, she is frequently absent around the camp. She aims for Camp Redwood to become a "godly, decent” summer getaway for children. Margaret later explains that she is actually a Satanist and lied about Christ to kill the conselors.
Margaret has a long feathered beige hair, capable of wearing glasses resting on her ear nub, and is seen uniformed in a vest.
Story[]
The counselors arrive in noon, breaking in Margaret's wood-chopping session. She welcomes them, presenting herself as the camp owner. When questioned regarding the camp's desolated environment by Chet Clancy, she laid the blame on the Olympics, venting how their temporary jobs stole the camp's staff potentials. She then proceeds touring the group around the camp and cabins.
At night, she appears interrupting Rita Chambers' campfire tale to the counselors of the 1970 massacre, scolding her inaccurate information. She calls back the story from her point-of-view and draws back her hair, unveiling her missing ear.
Late at night, Brooke Thompson's shrieks from being chased by Mr. Jingles results in Margaret showing up at the front-door in a raincoat, irritated by the noise. The camp is investigated and appears to be clear, putting the racket to an end. Margaret reminds everyone to brace themselves for tomorrow and heads back.[3]
Karen tells Margaret to lockdown the camp but Margaret won't since she has a gun and Karen leaves. Margaret comes in the cabin and tells the boys to leave and take showers. Margaret leaves Brooke and Montana alone. Margaret goes to turn the lights off scaring the counselors. Margaret later goes in her cabin and talks to Rameriez about Jonas and God and Margaret gets Ramirez to kill Benjamin. Margaret later talks to Jonas about him being a ghost ending in an apology from Jonas.
Trevor goes to get Margaret for safety but she won't come and Trevor leaves her. Margaret goes and picks up one of the Jingles masks and she draws a bloody cross on it. Margaret starts praying in her cabin when Benjamin comes in. Margaret explains she is Jingles and she shoots Benjamin. Trevor comes in and she kills him. Margaret turns around to notice Benjamin is gone.
Margaret later knocks Xavier out in fear he would hurt somebody after he has a breakdown. Margaret and Chet go in a boat to look for help. Margaret kills Chet. Margaret is later almost killed by Benjamin until she is saved by Xavier. Margaret kills Xavier. At sunrise, Margaret stabs herself and blames Brooke for the murders.
Margaret and Trevor get married after Trevor blackmails Margaret and she explains the spouse can't testify against the other spouse. Margaret and Trevor star in an episode of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous and Margaret and Trevor fight and have sex. Courtney walks in and explains Brooke is arrested and going to be executed. Margaret holds a meeting with the press at Redwood. Margaret and Trevor later watch Brooke die.
Margaret, Trevor, and Courtney go to Redwood and they are introduced to Kajagoogoo. Margaret, the next day, yells at Courtney for Kajagoogoo's deaths. Margaret kills Benjamin's ghost and she almost kills Bruce until Rameriez tells her not to. Margaret later watches Stacey die.
Margaret kills Courtney and she then kills Trevor. Montana explains what happened to Margaret - she was stabbed by Brooke and murdered by the ghosts. When Bobby comes back to Redwood, Margaret tried to kill him but Benjamin and Lavinia stop her. Margaret is last seen moments before she is tortured by the ghosts.
Quotes[]
- Margaret: "Well, I'm not banning self-abuse. Although every stroke soils your soul."
- Margaret: "I have been fighting the Lord's fight against filth around the world for years."
- To Counselors: "This is the boys cabin. Girls are red, boys are blue. Don't even try to make purple."
- To Brooke: "Cleanliness is next to godliness. Go clean yourself up."
- To Richard: "Do you want to know the other great thing about God? You can use him to explain why something happened, but you can also use him to explain why you did something. Even something horrible. Isn't that great?"
- To Jonas: "Probably would have stayed out on that road where you died if those moron counselors hadn't picked you up and brought you to camp."
- Margaret: "I will make that fat fuck's crimes look like a Boy Scout jamboree!"
- To Trevor: "Old habits die hard, and the darkness still whispers, so don't you fuck with me!"
- Margaret: "They really should bring back the guillotine. I would've paid good money to see her head roll."
Notes[]
- She is the fourth character portayed by Leslie Grossman. For a complete list of her characters, see Cast.
- She is the fourth character named Margaret. The first is Margaret Harvey from Murder House, the second is Margaret Gibson from Hotel, and the third is Margaret from Roanoke.
- Leslie Grossman explained that Margaret keeps her glasses on even if she is missing an ear because the arm of the glasses rests on the ear nub.[4]
- Margaret would get along just fine with Joan Ramsey and Pastor Charles, following the theme of religious fanaticism within the series. However, unlike Ramsey and Charles, Margaret's devotion to Jesus Christ is actually a ploy to dissuade others from realizing that her real "Lord" is actually The Devil, as revealed in "True Killers".
- She is the second main character to have an ear cut out. The first being Lee Harris.
- Margaret is absent in only one episode throughout the season. That episode is "Slashdance". Excluding Trevor Kirchner, she is the only main character not to feature in every episode of 1984.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ In Slashdance, she appears in newspaper
- ↑ Episode: True Killers
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Episode: Camp Redwood
- ↑ How the glasses stay on (@MissLeslieG)
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