Character guide

Rachel Innes

major

Also known as Unknown, Aunt Rachel, Aunt Ray, O Aunt Ray, Poor Aunt Ray, Ray, Rachel

Rachel Innes narrates with the dry wit of a woman who has learned to take cooks on faith and detectives with a grain of salt. She is fiercely protective of her nephew Halsey and niece Gertrude, yet her curiosity keeps pulling her past the yawning blackness of the circular staircase when prudence says stay put. Her running battle of wits with Mr. Jamieson—she hoards clues, he probes—makes her the reader's skeptical, indispensable guide through Sunnyside's deepening mystery.

Halsey Innes

major

Also known as Halsey, Mr. Halsey, Halsey B. Innes, XI Halsey, Poor Halsey

Halsey is the energetic, well-liked young man of the household, whose gloom over Louise Armstrong and unexplained absences unsettle his aunt long before any crime does. When a scream rings out, he takes charge without hesitation—yet his own movements that night, and the revolver found in the tulip bed, quietly implicate him. His divided loyalties between family, romance, and some secret obligation make him both the story's most capable protector and its most suspicious figure.

Gertrude Innes

major

Also known as Gertrude, Miss Gertrude, Miss Innes, Miss Gertrude Innes, Gertrude Innes, Innes, Trude, Poor Trude

Gertrude is a young woman with a fiancé, a sprained ankle, and a habit of being exactly where she shouldn't—limping up the drive when she should be in bed, fleeing the detective's questions. Her engagement, once the family's happiest concern, becomes entangled with the murder of Arnold Armstrong in ways she refuses to explain. Her evasions force Rachel to suspect her own niece, turning domestic loyalty into one of the mystery's sharpest tensions.

Mr. Jamieson

major

Also known as Jamieson, that Jamieson, Mr. В Jamieson, Mr. В

Mr. Jamieson arrives at Sunnyside with professional calm and a disarming smile, patiently interrogating servants while quietly cataloguing the lies of his social betters. He is certain Arnold Armstrong was admitted from within the house, and he says so plainly, even when it means accusing Gertrude to her aunt's face. His sparring with Rachel—she withholds, he probes—drives the investigation forward and makes him the story's cool, unsettling counterweight to her amateur sleuthing.

Liddy Allen

supporting

Also known as Liddy, Liddy Allen, XV Liddy Gives the Alarm, Miss Liddy

Liddy is the household's barometer of dread: she sees the ghost, she insists upon it, and she will not be persuaded into the corridor for anyone's convenience. Her terror is comic and genuine at once, and it repeatedly forces Rachel to choose between comforting her maid and pursuing the strange noises herself. In a house full of secrets, Liddy's plain, unpolished fear keeps the supernatural menace feeling immediate and human.

Arnold Armstrong

supporting

Also known as Mr. Armstrong, Arnold, Mr. Arnold, Mr. Arnold Armstrong, Mistah Armstrong, Armstrong, that Mr. Armstrong

Arnold Armstrong lived apart from his family for years after trouble with his father, and his reasons for returning to Sunnyside the night he died remain stubbornly unclear. His handsome, dissipated face and the turned-up collar of his dinner coat tell of a man accustomed to late hours and bad company. Because he was admitted from within—no key, no forced entry—his murder instantly implicates the household, making his corpse the hinge on which the entire mystery turns.

Louise Armstrong

supporting

Also known as Louise, Miss Louise, Louise That, Mis ’ Louise

Louise moves through the household as a woman already promised to Doctor Walker yet visibly undone by the arrangement, refusing to see Halsey while her family pressures her toward another match. When Gertrude breaks the news of Paul Armstrong's death, Louise receives it with a stillness that looks uncomfortably like relief, hinting at what her stepfather truly was. Her silence about the stormy interview with Arnold the night he died makes her both a victim and a keeper of the mystery's central secret.

Thomas Johnson

supporting

Also known as Thomas, Dear old Thomas, Poor Thomas, No Thomas, poor old Thomas, old Thomas, That old Thomas

Thomas Johnson arrives at Sunnyside with immense personal dignity and a hesitating confession that something in the house 'ain't natchal' — doors squealing, windows closing, nobody near them. He agrees to serve but draws a firm line at sleeping on the premises, retreating each night to the gardener's lodge while Rachel and Liddy barricade themselves inside. His quiet dread gives the household its first real texture of fear, and his movements around the lodge later become a thread the family pulls on.

Alexander Graham

supporting

Also known as Alex

Alex Graham belongs to the small circle of men Halsey trusts to guard the house against intruders, sharing the rotating watch through the night while Sam signals from outside. He is practical rather than dramatic, awake and moving the moment the fire bell sounds, one of the few figures in the household whose role is simply to be where he is needed. His presence matters because the early arc depends on this improvised defense — and on how easily it is breached.

Jack Bailey

supporting

Also known as Jack, Mr. Bailey, Bailey, Mr. Jack Bailey, John Bailey, Mr. John Bailey, III Mr. John Bailey Appears

Jack Bailey is the man Rachel means to judge without faith, a lover whose disappearance from the bank on Monday and shared railroad speculations with the dead president have made him the papers' favorite culprit. His surrender at the point of departure reads to Rachel as the calculation of a clever rascal, though Gertrude's loyalty never wavers. Around him the detective's evidence tightens, and the question of his guilt or innocence becomes the engine of the middle chapters.

Doctor Walker

supporting

Also known as young Doctor Walker, Walker, this Doctor Walker, XX Doctor Walker, this young Walker, Young Walker

Doctor Walker is known to Rachel only through gossip — a Stanhope car, a chauffeur named Riggs, a summer spent hovering near the Armstrongs, and a supposed engagement to Louise that no one will confirm. His rumored house on the property, drawn by Huston in town, proves impossible to trace, and Rachel's instinctive dislike hardens into suspicion. He hovers at the edge of the case as the man whose intentions toward Louise may explain far more than anyone admits.

Mrs. Watson

supporting

Also known as Mis ’ Watson

Mrs. Watson moves through Sunnyside with a composure that cracks only when Halsey intercepts her on the stairs, blanket in hand, claiming she was carrying it to the ailing Thomas. Her story collapses the moment Thomas is seen standing under the magnolia, and her white face above the black dress betrays more than shock. She is the household's quiet hinge — the woman who knows where the lodge's hidden occupant is, and who has done all she could to keep him there.

Warner

minor

A servant at the country house.

Rosie

minor

A maid in the household.

Eliza Klinefelter

minor

Also known as Eliza

A former servant with knowledge of the Armstrongs.

Doctor Stewart

minor

Also known as Stewart

A doctor who assists with the investigation.

Paul Armstrong

minor

Also known as Mr. Armstrong, Paul, Mr. Paul Armstrong

The patriarch of the Armstrong family.

Mr. Harton

minor

A lawyer involved in the Armstrong estate.

Lucien Wallace

minor

Also known as Lucien, Wallace, little Lucien

A young boy who appears briefly.

Riggs

minor

A servant at the country house.

Winters

minor

Also known as Mr. Winters

A man who works at the Traders Bank.

Mary Anne

minor

Also known as Mary

A servant in the household.

Mr. Jarvis

minor

Also known as a Mr. Jarvis, Jarvis

A man who provides information about the Armstrongs.

Mrs. Armstrong

minor

Also known as The second Mrs. Armstrong

The second wife of Paul Armstrong.

Mrs. Tate

minor

A neighbor who visits the house.

Mr. Innes

minor

Also known as Send Mr. Innes

The narrator's brother and father of Halsey and Gertrude.

Nina Carrington

minor

Also known as Carrington

A woman with a connection to Halsey's past.

Mrs. Ogden Fitzhugh

minor

Also known as Mrs. Fitzhugh

A society woman who appears briefly.

Sam Bohannon

minor

Also known as Sam

A local man who helps with the investigation.

Anne Watson

minor

Also known as Anne

Mrs. Watson's daughter, who tells her story.

Anne Haswell

minor

Also known as Anne

A friend of Louise Armstrong.

Sam Huston

minor

Also known as Huston, Sam

A man who provides information about the Armstrongs.

Mr. Jacob Trautman

minor

Also known as Mr. Trautman

A man who appears in connection with the bank.

Mr. Burns

minor

Also known as Burns

A man who assists the detective.

Matthew Geist

minor

Also known as Geist

A man who works at the Traders Bank.

Flinders

minor

Also known as XXIV Flinders

A man who appears in connection with the stables.

Beulah

minor

A servant mentioned briefly.

Mattie Bliss

minor

Also known as Bliss

A woman who appears in a minor role.

Fanny Armstrong

minor

Also known as Fanny

A relative of the Armstrong family.

Barbara Fitzhugh

minor

A daughter of Mrs. Ogden Fitzhugh.

Lucy Haswell

minor

Also known as Lucy

A friend of Louise Armstrong.

Jonas

minor

A servant mentioned briefly.