Characters Later Stephen King

Professor Marty Burkett: The Mentor Who Taught Jamie the Ritual of Chüd

Overview

Professor Marty Burkett is Jamie Conklin’s elderly neighbor, a retired academic who becomes an unlikely confidant and guide. Introduced in the immediate aftermath of his wife Mona’s death, Burkett is a widower living alone in the same Manhattan building as Jamie and his mother Tia. He is described as “totally old school,” a man who uses words like “icebox” and “telefungus,” and who writes formal letters even when emailing. Despite his age and physical frailty (he walks with one or two canes), Burkett possesses a sharp, inquisitive mind and a deep well of life experience. He serves as Jamie’s teacher in the most literal sense: he introduces Jamie to the Ritual of Chüd, a supposed Buddhist practice for combating demons, which Jamie later uses to defeat the supernatural entity haunting him. Burkett represents the rationalist who, when confronted with irrefutable evidence, chooses to adapt his worldview—and in doing so, saves a troubled boy’s sanity.

Plot Role

Burkett’s first appearance occurs in Chapter 1, when a six-year-old Jamie encounters him on the street the morning Mona dies. Jamie sees Mona’s ghost and learns where she hid her rings; Burkett is initially skeptical but later forced to accept the truth when Tia finds the rings exactly where Jamie said. This incident plants a seed of doubt in Burkett’s rational mind. Years later, when a thirteen-year-old Jamie is being tormented by the spirit of Kenneth Therriault (later revealed to be a demon-possessed ghost), he decides to confide in Burkett. In Chapters 35–38, Jamie brings a casserole and unloads his entire story. Burkett listens without judgment, speculates that the entity might be a demon, and eventually teaches Jamie the Ritual of Chüd. After Jamie successfully confronts Therriault in the building’s lobby (Chapter 43), Burkett sends an email congratulating him but warning him not to summon the entity again (Chapter 46). Burkett then travels to Florida to be with a dying friend and dies offscreen, leaving Jamie to reflect on his mentor’s legacy.

Motivations and Traits Shown Through Actions

Burkett’s primary motivation is genuine concern for Jamie. He could have dismissed the boy’s story as fantasy or sought psychiatric intervention, but instead he invites Jamie to sit and talk over tea. His actions reveal several key traits:

  • Intellectual curiosity: He approaches Jamie’s ability as a puzzle to solve, referencing Ellery Queen and detective stories. He does not mock or patronize.
  • Open-mindedness despite skepticism: In Chapter 37, he admits he “leans toward the rational,” yet acknowledges that Jamie’s story contains elements “hard to explain in strictly rational terms.”
  • Paternal kindness: He supplies raisin cookies, offers tea or a soft drink, and writes Jamie thoughtful letters. He treats the boy as an equal.
  • Courage in service of others: Although elderly and physically weak, he devises a psychological weapon for Jamie to use against the demon—a risky move that could have backfired.
  • Honesty and humility: After Jamie’s victory, Burkett admits in his email that he “cannot disbelieve” the events. He also confesses his own limitations, warning Jamie not to become overconfident.

Chronological Arc

  1. Age 6 (Chapter 1): Jamie meets Burkett for the first time as a neighbor. Mona’s ghost speaks to Jamie; Burkett is puzzled by the ring revelation.
  2. Age 13 (Chapters 35–38): Jamie brings a casserole and confesses his ability and his haunting by Therriault. Burkett listens, researches the bomb incident, and decides to teach the Ritual of Chüd.
  3. Shortly after (Chapter 43): Jamie successfully confronts the demon in the building lobby, using Burkett’s adapted version of the ritual.
  4. Victory aftermath (Chapter 46): Burkett emails Jamie his congratulations and caution. Jamie visits him, but Burkett is later dead when Jamie returns.
  5. Age 22 (present-day narration): Jamie reflects that Burkett’s “magic” saved his life, even though he now knows half of what Burkett told him was invented.

Relationships

  • With Jamie Conklin: A deeply trusting mentor-student bond. Burkett becomes the father figure Jamie lacks (his real father died before his birth). He is the only adult Jamie fully confides in about his gift.
  • With Mona Burkett (deceased wife): Burkett clearly loved Mona. Jamie’s ability to relay Mona’s final messages and locate her rings solidifies Burkett’s belief in Jamie. Mona’s ghost also provides Burkett with a final, indirect goodbye.
  • With Tia Conklin: A cordial neighborly relationship. Tia trusts Burkett enough to send Jamie over with a casserole; Burkett respects her as a single mother.
  • With colleagues: His later email shows a network of old friends and colleagues; he travels to Florida to attend a dying friend’s bedside, demonstrating loyalty.

Key Decisions and Consequences

  • Decision to believe Jamie: After initial hesitation, Burkett actively chooses to accept Jamie’s story despite his rational bias. Consequence: This opens the door to teaching the ritual and ultimately saves Jamie’s sanity.
  • Decision to teach the Ritual of Chüd: Burkett invents or adapts a pseudo-Buddhist ritual, knowing it may be symbolic. Consequence: Jamie gains a concrete framework for confronting his fear; the ritual works, whether by psychological empowerment or actual supernatural mechanics.
  • Decision to warn Jamie: After Jamie’s victory, Burkett emails an urgent caution not to summon the entity again. Consequence: Jamie heeds the advice, avoiding potential disaster.
  • Decision to travel to Florida: Burkett puts loyalty to a dying friend above his own safety. Consequence: He dies away from home, and Jamie never gets to thank him in person.

Theme and Symbol Connections

Burkett embodies several of the novel’s core themes. The theme of truth and the dead is central: Mona’s ghost cannot lie, forcing Burkett to accept an impossible truth. The theme of exploitation of the gifted is subverted—Burkett never uses Jamie’s ability for personal gain, unlike other adults (e.g., Detective Dutton). Instead, he mentors Jamie for the boy’s own good. The coming-of-age under trauma theme is evident in how Burkett’s guidance helps Jamie mature from a frightened child into a capable young man. Grief and memory pervade Burkett’s character: he mourns Mona for years and later dies while honoring a friend. The confrontation with evil is personified in the demon, and Burkett provides Jamie with the symbolic tools to face it. Finally, Burkett himself becomes a symbol of the power of stories and belief: even fabricated tales, when sincerely offered, can create real change.

Five Book-Specific Questions and Answers

  1. How does Professor Burkett first learn about Jamie’s ability to see the dead?
    In Chapter 1, after Mona’s death, Jamie tells Burkett that Mona’s ghost said she hid her rings in the hall closet. When Tia finds them there, Burkett is shocked but has no rational explanation. He later tells Jamie that he suspected the boy knew something. (Explicit fact: Burkett’s suspicion comes from the rings incident.)

  2. What reason does Burkett give for not involving a priest or exorcist?
    In Chapter 37, when Jamie suggests exorcism, Burkett replies, “Probably a nonstarter. I think a priest would be more apt to send you to a child psychiatrist than an exorcist.” (Explicit fact: Burkett’s opinion on exorcism.)

  3. Does Burkett believe the Ritual of Chüd is literally true?
    No—he admits he made up many details. In the older Jamie’s narration, we learn that half of what Burkett said was true and half was “bullshit.” Burkett himself, when teaching the ritual, says the tongue-biting is “symbolic.” (Interpretation: Burkett used a fictional framework to give Jamie a mental tool; explicit fact: Jamie later confirms the ritual was partly invented.)

  4. What warning does Burkett give Jamie after the confrontation with the demon?
    In his email (Chapter 46), Burkett writes, “I did not care for the look of confidence on your face … I URGE YOU NOT TO DO IT. Tightrope walkers sometimes fall … even the best dog may turn and bite his master.” He advises Jamie to leave the entity alone. (Explicit fact: Email contains this warning.)

  5. How and when does Professor Burkett die?
    Burkett dies sometime after traveling to Florida to be with a dying friend, David Robertson. In Chapter 47, he sends an email announcing his trip; later, when Jamie tries to visit him after school, he finds Burkett dead. (Explicit fact: Jamie states, “I did speak with Professor Burkett again, but there were no drinks or snacks. He no longer used those things, because he was dead.”)