The Haunted Hotel · Characters
Character guide
Key figures in The Haunted Hotel by Wilkie Collins.
Skim names here — open a free preview to see character cards and Character Web beside the page as you read.
Agnes Lockwood
major
Also known as Agnes, Miss Agnes Lockwood, Miss Lockwood, Miss Agnes, Dear Aunt Agnes, Aunt Agnes
Clear-eyed and quietly courageous, Agnes Lockwood returns to the Venetian hotel where her former suitor died, only to find its secrets reaching for her again.
Henry Westwick
major
Also known as Henry, Master Henry, Mr. Westwick, Westwick, Mr. Henry Westwick
Henry Westwick arrives at the hotel determined to protect Agnes and probe its mysteries, his brother's haunted history sharpening every question he asks.
Francis Westwick
major
Also known as Francis, Mr. Francis Westwick, Francis Westwick, Mr. Francis, Westwick, dear Mr. Westwick, dear Mr. Francis Westwick
Francis Westwick, whose earlier stay at the Venetian hotel left him shaken, remains entangled in the family tragedy that draws his brother Henry back to its walls.
Lady Montbarry
major
Also known as Montbarry, the new Lady Montbarry, Young Lady Montbarry
The new Lady Montbarry, black-robed and glittering-eyed, arrives at Agnes's door with a question — and a reputation that precedes her across Europe.
Mrs. Ferrari
supporting
Also known as little Mrs. Ferrari, Ferrari, the lost Ferrari, Little Mrs. Ferrari, timid little Mrs. Ferrari
Timid Mrs. Ferrari clings to three letters and a vanished husband, turning to Agnes for help when the Venetian palace swallows her courier without a trace.
Lord Montbarry
supporting
Also known as Montbarry, the late Lord Montbarry, The late Lord Montbarry, the English Lord Montbarry, the first Lord Montbarry, the deceased Lord Montbarry
The late Lord Montbarry, whose secluded Venetian death and foreign burial leave more questions than grief, haunts the living long after his funeral.
Doctor Wybrow
supporting
Also known as Doctor Wybrow
Doctor Wybrow belongs to the circle of respectable professionals drawn into the strange business at the Venetian hotel, where his medical authority is quietly tested against events that resist ordinary explanation. His instinct is to diagnose, to name a cause and close the case, which puts him at odds with evidence that keeps refusing to behave like an illness. He matters because his presence measures how far the mystery has spread beyond the family into the sober, skeptical world outside.
Mr. Troy
supporting
Also known as dear Mr. Troy, All Mr. Troy
Mr. Troy serves as a steady, practical presence among the Westwicks, the kind of man consulted when a family needs sense rather than sensation. He approaches the hotel's strange reputation the way he would a dubious contract, testing every clause, which makes his gradual entanglement with the uncanny all the more unsettling. His role in the early arc is to anchor the story in credible, worldly judgment before that judgment starts to fail.
Mrs. Rolland
supporting
Also known as Mrs. Rolland
Mrs. Rolland moves through the hotel's social world with the ease of someone who knows its corridors and its secrets better than she admits. Her connection to the Westwicks places her at the intersection of family loyalty and the hotel's darker claims, and her guarded manner invites the reader to wonder what she is protecting. She matters because the mystery's human stakes run through her, making the supernatural feel personal rather than merely atmospheric.
Emily Bidwell
supporting
Also known as Emily, Dear Emily
Emily Bidwell is the kind of young woman the Westwicks would naturally wish to shelter, which is precisely why the hotel's influence over her becomes so troubling. Her youth and openness stand in sharp contrast to the stale, secretive atmosphere around her, and the affection she inspires raises the stakes of every strange occurrence. In the early and middle arc, she embodies what the haunting threatens to take, giving the mystery a warmth and urgency beyond mere curiosity.
Mrs. Norbury
minor
Also known as Mrs. Norbury
A friend or acquaintance of the main characters.
Arthur Barville
minor
Also known as Arthur, Mr. Arthur Barville
A gentleman connected to the Montbarry family.
Baron Rivar
minor
Also known as The Baron, Rivar, the Baron, The cautious Baron
A foreign nobleman with a role in the hotel's history.
Countess Narona
minor
Also known as the Countess Narona, Countess Narona, Countess, The Countess, the Countess
A mysterious woman with ties to the Montbarry affair.
Miss Haldane
minor
Also known as the fair Miss Haldane
A young woman briefly mentioned in the narrative.
Mr. Ferrari
minor
Also known as Mr. Ferrari
The missing husband of Mrs. Ferrari, a key figure in the mystery.
Mrs. Westwick
minor
Also known as Mrs. Stephen Westwick, Stephen, Mrs. Henry Westwick
The wife of a Westwick brother, appears briefly.
Stephen Robert Westwick
minor
Also known as Stephen Robert, Stephen, Stephen Robert Westwick
Another brother of the Westwick family.
Sir Theodore Barville
minor
Also known as Sir Theodore Barville, Sir Theodore
A baronet connected to the story.
Marian
minor
Also known as Little Marian
A child or young relative of the characters.
Mrs. Carbury
minor
Also known as A Mrs. Carbury, Mrs. Carbury
A minor acquaintance of the Westwick family.
Torello
minor
Also known as Doctor Torello
An Italian doctor involved in the hotel's backstory.
Mrs. James
minor
Also known as Mrs. James
A minor character, possibly a servant or neighbor.
Lady Barville
minor
Also known as Lady Barville
Wife of Sir Theodore Barville, appears briefly.
Doctor Bruno
minor
Also known as Doctor Bruno
A doctor mentioned in the narrative.
Number Fourteen
minor
Also known as Number Fourteen
A mysterious figure or room number in the hotel.
