Character guide

Lucetta

major

Also known as Loreen, Miss Lucetta, Miss Loreen, Poor Miss Lucetta

Lucetta is one of the sisters holding together a household already shadowed by the lane's ugly reputation, and she meets every new arrival with visible dread. Where Loreen endures quietly, Lucetta's nerves give way — she faints, begs to restrain William, and cannot hide her fear that outsiders will expose what the family has buried. Her fragility and fierce loyalty make her the emotional barometer of the mystery: when Lucetta breaks, the reader knows the secret is close.

Mr. Gryce

major

Also known as Gryce

Mr. Gryce arrives at the Knollys house with men of his own and a warrant of quiet authority, treating the anxious sisters with a smiling patience that never quite disguises how thoroughly he means to search. He is unhurried and unreadable, pausing over a coil of rope in the cellar while others tremble, and his calm is itself a kind of pressure on the household. His presence turns private grief into official inquiry, forcing the family's secrets toward the light.

Amelia Butterworth

major

Also known as Miss Butterworth, Amelia, Dear Miss Butterworth

Miss Butterworth comes to the lane as a guest and quickly becomes an investigator, watching the sisters, testing the household, and refusing to be managed. She is vain about her own perspicacity yet genuinely compassionate, and her sympathy for the grieving women wars with her determination to know the truth. Her first-person narration gives the mystery its voice — part gossip, part detective, wholly unwilling to look away.

William Knollys

supporting

Also known as William, Mr. William, little William

William is the volatile male presence at the gate and in the stable, mocked as foolish yet clearly trusted with the family's heaviest errands. He resents the restraint imposed on him, snaps at Lucetta's fears, and lets slip remarks that make even a neighbor start with horror. His unpredictability keeps the household on edge and gives the investigation its most dangerous loose end.

Mr. Trohm

supporting

Also known as Trohm, A Mr. Trohm, Master Trohm

Mr. Trohm lives just beyond the hedge, offers fruit and polite conversation, and seems eager to be on easy terms with the family — yet Lucetta is visibly afraid of him and the sisters speak of him as the man they fear. He is courteous, watchful, and oddly relieved when Miss Butterworth already knows the lane's reputation. Whether neighbor or menace, he stands at the center of the question of who, or what, is making people vanish.

Mother Jane

supporting

Also known as Old Mother Jane, the real Mother Jane

Mother Jane is the lane's resident specter, the sort of woman villagers blame when men vanish and no explanation satisfies. Miss Butterworth weighs her as a possible culprit before turning her suspicions toward the Knollys household itself, and the old woman's ambiguous presence keeps the reader guessing which fears are superstition and which are justified. She matters as the story's first suspect and its measure of how easily a community converts a lonely old woman into a monster.

Miss Knollys

supporting

Also known as the elder Miss Knollys

She is the composed, watchful sister in a household already whispered about for the disappearances along the lane. Where Lucetta trembles and William blusters, Miss Knollys holds herself still, and that stillness makes her harder to read than either of them. Her guarded courtesy toward Miss Butterworth signals that the family's isolation is not merely rural shyness but something chosen, maintained, and possibly necessary.

Deacon Spear

minor

Also known as Deacon, Spear, The Deacon

A local deacon who interacts with the Knollys family.

Simsbury

minor

Also known as Mr. Simsbury

A man who appears in connection with the ghostly coach legend.

Hannah

minor

A servant or helper in the Knollys household.

Charles Knollys

supporting

Also known as Charles

He is the first of the lane's vanished men, the disappearance that taught the village to distrust its own road. His fine watch and valuable ring never surfaced at any pawnbroker, which means whoever took him wanted more than money or wanted nothing at all. His fate hangs over every later case, the original wound that turned a country town into a place where neighbors count their strangers.

Althea Knollys

minor

Also known as Althea, Poor Althea

A tragic figure from the Knollys family's past.

Rob Allers

minor

Also known as Rob, little Rob

A young boy who appears in the story.

Mrs. Carter

minor

Also known as Carter, old Carter

The owner or manager of Hotel Carter.

Saracen

minor

A dog belonging to the Knollys family.

Mr. Ostrander

minor

A man who appears in connection with the investigation.

Young Mr. Chittenden

minor

Also known as Mr. Chittenden

A young man who shows interest in one of the Knollys sisters.

Obadiah Trohm

minor

A relative of Mr. Trohm, possibly deceased.

Old Mr. Knollys

minor

Also known as Mr. Knollys, papa Knollys

The elderly patriarch of the Knollys family.

Silly Rufus

minor

A simple-minded man living in the Knollys household.

Mrs. Knollys

minor

The mother of the Knollys family, often mentioned but not seen.

Elizabeth D. Shepard

minor

Also known as Lizzie

A woman mentioned in connection with the Knollys family.

Althea Burroughs

minor

Also known as poor Althea

A woman from the past, possibly connected to Charles Knollys.

Mrs. Jenkins

minor

A local woman who provides information.

Lena

minor

A young girl mentioned in the story.

Meeley Butterworth

minor

Also known as Meeley, Butterworth

A relative of Amelia Butterworth.