# Aunt Margaret — Short Fiction character guide > Aunt Margaret in Short Fiction by J. Sheridan Le Fanu. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** Margaret, Peg O'Neill, Peg **First appearance:** 0034-my-aunt-margaret-s-adventure ## Snapshot A woman whose journey down a lonely road turns into a harrowing encounter, testing her nerve and her faith in the ordinary world. ## Who they are Aunt Margaret moves through the story as a figure of domestic authority and family connection, but her real test comes on the road, where the familiar landscape turns strange and threatening. The terror she faces is not abstract; it strikes at her sense of safety and leaves her shaken in ways she cannot easily explain to those at home. Her ordeal anchors the collection's fascination with the moment when everyday life cracks open and something else looks through. ## In the story ### [VIII: Sister Agnes and the Portrait](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/viii-sister-agnes-and-the-portrait) Old Miss Croker of Ross House, who relates the story and spoke with Sister Agnes. ### [My Aunt Margaret's Adventure](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/my-aunt-margaret-s-adventure) The protagonist and narrator of the adventure, who experiences a haunting at an inn. ### [I: Aunt Margaret at Home](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/i-aunt-margaret-at-home) The central figure of the chapter, described as clever, frugal, and resolute, with a fondness for money and a distrust of men in business matters. ### [II: My Aunt Margaret on the Road](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/ii-my-aunt-margaret-on-the-road) Impatient and stern, she waits for Tom Teukesbury with her watch in hand, then endures the slow journey and becomes increasingly frustrated upon learning the true distance to Winderbrooke. ### [III: The Moon Rises](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/iii-the-moon-rises) Traveling to Winderbrooke, anxious about being out after dark. ### [IV: Perturbation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/iv-perturbation) Aunt Margaret is the central figure, haranguing Tom and expressing fear and exasperation as they become lost on the heath. ### [V: The Good Woman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/v-the-good-woman) Leads the party to The Good Woman, negotiates with the innkeeper's maid, and is left alone with Winnie after Tom is sent away. ### [VI: The White Chamber](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/vi-the-white-chamber) The protagonist of this chapter, she is a fidgety and observant woman who scrutinizes the room and the inn yard, and is unsettled by the maid's behavior. ### [VII: An Accident Befalls the Candle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/vii-an-accident-befalls-the-candle) Defiantly keeps watch at the window, confronts the maid, and is left without light. ### [VIII: Of a Figure Seen by My Aunt](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/viii-of-a-figure-seen-by-my-aunt) The protagonist of the chapter, who experiences fear and anger while navigating the inn's dark passages and overhearing suspicious conversations. ### [IX: The Funeral Visitation](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/ix-the-funeral-visitation) The protagonist of the chapter, terrified by the events and mistaken room. ### [X: How It All Happened](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/x-how-it-all-happened) The protagonist of the tale, whose visit to The Good Woman inn is recounted; she later tells the story by the fireside. ### [Wicked Captain Walshawe, of Wauling](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/wicked-captain-walshawe-of-wauling) A relative who experiences the captain's ghostly presence and helps resolve the haunting. ### [I: Peg O’Neill Pays the Captain’s Debts](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/i-peg-o-neill-pays-the-captain-s-debts) Peg O'Neill, the heiress who eloped with Captain Walshawe and suffered his abuse. ### [II: The Blessed Candle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/ii-the-blessed-candle) The deceased wife, Peg O'Neill, who is laid out in a Carmelite habit with a blessed candle. ### [V: The Bedchamber](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/v-the-bedchamber) The uncle is the narrator's uncle, but the chapter focuses on his experience; Aunt Margaret is not directly present but is referenced as part of the family context. ### [The White Cat of Drumgunniol](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/the-white-cat-of-drumgunniol) Aunt Peg who sees the white cat after a wake and dies a month later. ### [Madam Crowl's Ghost](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/madam-crowl-s-ghost) The narrator's aunt, housekeeper at Applewale House, a stern woman who took her in as a servant. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/characters/aunt_margaret - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/characters