Imagine this macabre tale: a young Jewish man, persecuted by Germans, escapes his homeland. He eventually ends up in Romania, where he falls in love with a native. They marry. With World War II about to break out, the two, together with the woman's father, flee to America.

There, the family tries to build a new life for themselves. A son is born. There is some trouble fitting in, of course.

So why is the story macabre? Isn't it just a typical immigrant tale?

It is and it isn't: the story is that of Herman, the patriarch of the Munsters from the television show of the same name. No, Munster is not outwardly Jewish (he's outwardly a Frankenstein monster, his wife a vampire, his son a werewolf — how exactly did that work out?), but there are some hints. For one, his original last name is not Munster, but Malkin, a rather Jewish name. Munster was the name of the British family that adopted Herman after he left Germany (and of course, "The Malkins" doesn't send shivers down anyone's spine).

But most importantly, "The Munsters" is a tale of assimilation: Herman, like many Jewish immigrants of his time, just doesn't fit into American society, but has trouble seeing that himself.

Yes, a macabre tale indeed.