Both James and his wife strongly dislike the supernatural, being a traditional family. They love their son and are sure everyone in town envies them for having such a nice child. Still, they do not know that Alfred was turned into a fairy by the elderly Flora Goodfellow, and this might lead Miriam and James to severe problems in dealing with their son's supernatural status. It appears that James' last name "Hoppcraft" is a reference to the horror and science fiction writer, H. P. Lovecraft, famous for his Cthulhu Mythos.