# Captain Barton — Short Fiction character guide > Captain Barton in Short Fiction by J. Sheridan Le Fanu. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Barton, poor Barton, Mr. Barton, The Watcher Mr. Barton **First appearance:** 0108-the-familiar ## Snapshot A retired captain of reckless charm and ruined finances, he marries a timid heiress for her money and finds himself stalked by something he cannot see. ## Who they are Barton rules his household through bluster, drinking, and threats, keeping his terrified wife shut in her room while he feuds with her old Irish servant, Molly Doyle. He is a man of appetite rather than conscience, and the cleric who glides through his passages is the one presence he treats with uneasy courtesy. His cruelty and self-pity set the stage for a haunting that will answer his treatment of others. ## Relationships ### [General Montague](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/characters/general_montague) _professional_ Captain Barton and General Montague are military colleagues, with Barton likely subordinate to Montague. ### [Doctor Robertson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/characters/doctor_robertson) _friendship_ Captain Barton and Doctor Robertson are close friends, with Robertson providing medical and emotional support. ### [General Montague](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/characters/general_montague) _professional_ Captain Barton and General Montague are military colleagues, with Barton likely subordinate to Montague. ### [Doctor Robertson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/characters/doctor_robertson) _friendship_ Captain Barton and Doctor Robertson are close friends, with Robertson providing medical and emotional support. ### [Doctor Robertson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/characters/doctor_robertson) _friendship_ Captain Barton and Doctor Robertson are close friends, with Robertson providing medical and emotional support. ### [General Montague](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/characters/general_montague) _professional_ Captain Barton and General Montague are military colleagues, with Barton likely subordinate to Montague. ## In the story ### [An Account of Some Strange Disturbances in Aungier Street](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/an-account-of-some-strange-disturbances-in-aungier-street) The narrator of the story, who suffers from recurring nightmares of a sinister portrait. ### [I: The Judge’s House](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/i-the-judge-s-house) The elderly man who tells the ghost story; he is the tenant in the haunted house and witnesses the apparitions. ### [The Familiar](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/the-familiar) Central figure in the supernatural events, experiencing haunting and dread. ### [Prologue](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/prologue) Subject of the case study, though not directly appearing in the prologue. ### [I: Footsteps](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/i-footsteps) Protagonist; a reserved, skeptical naval officer recently engaged to Miss Montague. He experiences mysterious footsteps on his walk home. ### [II: The Watcher](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/ii-the-watcher) Receives warning letters from 'The Watcher' and is haunted by unseen footsteps. ### [III: An Advertisement](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/iii-an-advertisement) Experiences a violent reaction to a stranger on the street, later consults a physician with strange questions, and appears to be the author of a cryptic advertisement. ### [IV: He Talks with a Clergyman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/iv-he-talks-with-a-clergyman) Consults a clergyman about his supernatural persecution, experiences a murder attempt, and encounters the mysterious figure again. ### [V: Mr. Barton States His Case](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/v-mr-barton-states-his-case) Visits Doctor ⸻ in a state of terror, describing his demonic haunting and pleading for spiritual aid. ### [VI: Seen Again](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/vi-seen-again) The haunted protagonist, increasingly depressed and agitated by the recurring apparition; his health and spirits are visibly failing. ### [VII: Flight](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/vii-flight) Protagonist who attempts to flee his supernatural pursuer but encounters it again in Calais, leading to utter despair and passive submission to his friends' care. ### [VIII: Softened](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/viii-softened) Experiences a softening of his despair after a vision of a girl singing by a lake, which he interprets as a sign of forgiveness. He now speaks of his impending death and a final encounter with his tormentor with a strange tranquility. ### [IX: Requiescat](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/ix-requiescat) Dies in his bed after a night of terror, haunted by a supernatural presence and his past sins. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/characters/captain_barton - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/characters