The Hammer

""They finished the job by cutting off his most prized possession: his hand. Crudly fastened to his severed appendage was the tool of his livelihood, the hammer, ready for one last chance at vengeance.""

- Cyrus describing the Hammer

George Markley, chosen by Cyrus Kriticos to become The Hammer, is a major character and villain in Thir13en Ghosts. He was portrayed by Herbert Duncanson.

Before death
George was a honest blacksmith that lived during the 1890's. He was wrongfully accused of stealing by a man named Nathan, and after being threatened with exile, he refused to leave the town. A gang led by Nathan kidnapped his wife and children and hanged them, then burned their bodies. Enraged, George used his sledgehammer to beat the culprits to death. He was then dragged to his shop by the townsfolk, and exposed to a severe form of frontier justice: he was bound to a tree with ropes and had railroad spikes driven into his body. As a final touch, his hand was cut and replaced with his prized hammer, handle and all.

Ghost
George's ghost is one of the most aggressive ghosts in the movie. His body is completely impaled with the railroad spikes, all of which are plainly visible, and has his own hammer for his left hand. He is the only afro-american ghost of the movie.

Role in the movie
Markley first appears on his cell, when Dennis first introduces him to Maggie, before having a vision of his death by the Juggernaut. He then corners Dennis on a hallway, where he is broken by him. He is finally seen in the climax, carrying Cyrus to his death in the Ocularis Infernum, then leaving with the other ghosts and crossing over.