# Colonel Wragge — John Silence Stories character guide

> Colonel Wragge in John Silence Stories by Algernon Blackwood.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Colonel Wragge, the Colonel

**First appearance:** 0002-case-i-a-psychical-invasion

## Snapshot

A bluff retired soldier who summons Dr. Silence to his isolated house, where military certainty meets something his rank and experience cannot command.

## Who they are

The Colonel belongs to the world of order, duty, and plain speech, and he approaches the disturbances around his home the way he would approach a tactical problem — with suspicion of anything he cannot see or shoot. His daughter's involvement sharpens his helplessness, since protecting her is precisely what his training cannot accomplish here. He matters because his very rigidity makes him the perfect foil for Silence's methods, and because his household becomes the proving ground where rational authority must yield to stranger expertise.

## In the story

### [Case III: The Nemesis of Fire](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/john_silence_stories_se/chapters/case-iii-the-nemesis-of-fire)

Host of the manor, describes the fires and accompanies the investigation.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/john_silence_stories_se/chapters/i)

Host of the manor, he reluctantly describes the unexplained fires and the heat, and shows concern for his sister's safety.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/john_silence_stories_se/chapters/ii)

Hosts the investigation, waits at the edge of the wood with the dogs.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/john_silence_stories_se/chapters/iii)

Participates in the vigil, shows signs of being possessed or obsessed, struggles to maintain composure.

### [The Unearthing of the Mummy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/john_silence_stories_se/chapters/iv)

Participates in the dig, expresses horror at his sister's involvement, and agrees to have the scarabaeus returned.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/john_silence_stories_se/characters/colonel_wragge
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/john_silence_stories_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/john_silence_stories_se/characters