Manuel Silva is a fictional character created by the late American author H. P. Lovecraft for his 1921 short story "The Terrible Old Man". He was a literary representation of the animosity felt by Lovecraft towards the non-white immigrants of the time, who he believed were polluting the genetic pool of the United States.
Overview[]
In Lovecraft's story Silva, along with fellow criminals Joe Czanek and Angelo Ricci, intended to rob the titular Terrible Old Man of Kingsport, an elderly recluse reputed to be extremely wealthy. What they did not bargain on was the man's true nature, and the gang's corpses were found washed ashore, horribly mutilated, shortly afterwards.
Silva was one of the more thuggish of the trio, appearing entirely willing to cause the old man any bodily harm necessary to persuade him to give up the location of his fortune.