# Wicked Captain Walshawe — Short Fiction character guide

> Wicked Captain Walshawe in Short Fiction by J. Sheridan Le Fanu.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Captain Walshawe, the gay Captain Walshawe, old Captain

**First appearance:** 0045-wicked-captain-walshawe-of-wauling

## Snapshot

A bloated, spiteful old captain who hated nearly everyone, died without a will, and left his heirs a house full of missing leases and uneasy shadows.

## Who they are

Captain Walshawe is a man whose wealth has dwindled and whose temper has curdled into a general loathing of nearly everyone around him, including his own heir-at-law, Mr. Watson. His death brings his relatives to Wauling not for grief but for the funeral and the anxious business of the estate, where the missing leases and the absence of a will turn inheritance into a moral and legal quagmire. His malignity outlives him, and the house he leaves behind becomes the stage for a haunting that tests the conscience of the living.

## In the story

### [The Spectre Lovers](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/the-spectre-lovers)

Referred to as 'the wicked Captain Devereux' by Major Vandeleur's mother; the ghostly figure associated with the ruined house and a tragic love story.

### [Some Gossip About Chapelizod](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/some-gossip-about-chapelizod)

Mentioned in the context of local ghost stories and the supernatural atmosphere of Chapelizod.

### [Wicked Captain Walshawe, of Wauling](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/wicked-captain-walshawe-of-wauling)

The titular wicked captain, whose cruel and dissolute life leads to his haunting after death.

### [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)

The scampish Captain who eloped with Peg O'Neill, spent her fortune, and broke her heart.

### [II: The Blessed Candle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/ii-the-blessed-candle)

Drunkenly disrupts his wife's wake, confiscates the blessed candle, and shows a mix of rage and superstitious reverence.

### [III: My Uncle Watson Visits Wauling](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/iii-my-uncle-watson-visits-wauling)

The deceased captain, whose long, sinful life and bloated corpse are described.

### [IV: In the Parlour](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/iv-in-the-parlour)

The deceased Captain whose will and leases are missing, his enmities shifting perpetually.

### [Conclusion](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/conclusion)

The phantom exhibited a grotesque but unmistakable resemblance to him in various stages of his life.

### [Madam Crowl's Ghost](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/chapters/madam-crowl-s-ghost)

Referenced as Dame Crowl's grandson, Squire Chevenix Crowl, who owned the estate at the time.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/characters/wicked_captain_walshawe
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_31_se/characters