The House on the Borderland · Characters
Character guide
Key figures in The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson.
Skim names here — open a free preview to see character cards and Character Web beside the page as you read.
The Recluse
major
Also known as Unknown, me, I, mine, myself
He lives quietly with his sister Mary and his dog, yet admits he nearly fled the house before the visions began. Love for a woman who warns him against the place—and who can only reach him there—binds him to it against all reason. His stubborn vigil opens the door to the Sea of Sleep and everything that follows.
Pepper
supporting
Also known as old Pepper
Pepper is the narrator's constant companion, dozing nearby through nights of strange light and stranger sounds. When his master finally stirs him, the old dog crumbles to dust—proof of ages passing in moments. His small, ordinary presence makes the story's vast temporal horror feel intimate and personal.
Tonnison
supporting
Also known as Messrs. Tonnison, himself
Tonnison and his friend discover the old gardens and the manuscript during a holiday, and he spends an afternoon reading it alone. Where his companion doubts the writer's sanity, Tonnison answers with flat certainty: no, the man was not mad. His refusal to revisit the spot gives the frame story its lingering chill.
Mary
supporting
Also known as herself
Mary lives with her brother in the isolated house and is the sole confidante of his grief over the woman he loved and lost. She stays through the visions and the siege, bound to him by kinship rather than by any pull of the supernatural. Her quiet presence makes the house a home even as it becomes a trap.
Tip
minor
Also known as its
A small creature or entity mentioned briefly in the narrative.
Hush
minor
A name or exclamation appearing in the text, possibly a character or sound.
William Hope Hodgson
minor
The author, mentioned as the editor or discoverer of the manuscript.
The Swine-Things
supporting
Also known as VI The Swine - Things, Things
The Swine-things come out of the darkness in numbers, jabbering below the windows and forcing the study door inward inch by inch. The recluse fights them with rifle, crowbar, and falling stone, never sure how many wait beyond the candlelight. Their assault turns the house from refuge into fortress and sets the rhythm of the middle chapters.
The Dead
minor
Ghostly or spectral figures encountered in the house or visions.
Hark
minor
A name or exclamation, possibly a character or sound in the narrative.
Seth
minor
A biblical or mythological name mentioned in passing.
Souls
minor
Abstract entities or spirits referenced in the narrative.
Dear One
minor
A term of endearment used by the narrator, possibly for Mary.
Jupiter
minor
A celestial entity or planet personified in the narrator's cosmic visions.
Jesus
minor
A brief religious allusion in the narrator's thoughts.
Good Lord
minor
An exclamation or personification used in the text.
Halloween
minor
A reference to the holiday, possibly in the narrator's setting.
Kali
minor
A mythological allusion in the narrator's cosmic visions.
Whistling
minor
A sound or entity associated with the house's eerie phenomena.
Jove
minor
A mythological reference to Jupiter in the narrator's visions.
Saturn
minor
A planet or deity personified in the narrator's cosmic journey.
Messengers
minor
Beings or entities that appear in the narrator's visions.
