Malachi Eccleston

John Bishop's grandfather (within AHC canon.) After his daughter died in childbirth, he blamed her child in his grief. John was the spitting image of his mother, all that Malachi had left of her, but he was also the reason she was gone. As John grew older and didn't behave like typical children, Malachi's resentment led him to attribute maliciousness to the boy's every action. The dissonance this caused alongside his genuine love for the child led him to believe there was a demon inhabiting his grandson, and any time he acted in a way that Malachi found frightening, he scolded him for not holding the demon back better.

Malachi's own parents were cruel to him and his many siblings. While all the others eventually realized they deserved better and left, he never did. He stayed to inherit the farm, determined to keep it running himself after his parents passed away. He was married briefly, neither party really liking each other, but his wife passed away a few years after their only child was born, a girl named Abigail. She was the only person he felt ever actually loved him, and he adored her in turn. The years he spent raising her, getting to watch her grow and marry were the happiest of his life.

And then she died. And his relationship with his grandson continued to sour until John left to never return, and Malachi died alone.