Peter David revealed that the idea of the Sin-Eater came from an identically-named character in the 1979 television film "The Incredible Journey of Doctor Meg Laurel", as well as claiming that "virtually no readers, judging by the letters, tumbled to Stan Carter being the Sin-Eater, even though much of his dialogue fairly screamed it. I knew they wouldn't. First off, I named him Stan. Stan is a friendly name to readers after years of association with Stan Lee. Second, I made him Jewish. Isaac Asimov said if you want to have someone who evil intent must be hidden, make him Jewish and have him speak in semi-Yiddish inverted sentence order. You know. Like Yoda. ("So a murderer that makes me?") Readers will mentally categorize this as someone who is friendly and even comic relief."