# Tonnison — The House on the Borderland character guide

> Tonnison in The House on the Borderland by William Hope Hodgson.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Messrs. Tonnison, himself

**First appearance:** 0004-i-the-finding-of-the-manuscript

## Snapshot

A fishing companion who finds the manuscript in the ruined house and reads it through, then refuses ever to go back to that place.

## Who they are

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.

## In the story

### [The House on the Borderland](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_on_the_borderland_se/chapters/the-house-on-the-borderland)

One of the discoverers of the manuscript in the ruins.

### [I: The Finding of the Manuscript](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_on_the_borderland_se/chapters/i-the-finding-of-the-manuscript)

Tonnison finds the manuscript and expresses unease about the location.

### [II: The Plain of Silence](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_on_the_borderland_se/chapters/ii-the-plain-of-silence)

Mentioned indirectly as part of the house's history; the narrator bought the house from those who had avoided it for over eighty years.

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

The narrator's companion, who insists the manuscript is true and refuses to revisit the site of the house.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_on_the_borderland_se/characters/tonnison
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_on_the_borderland_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/the_house_on_the_borderland_se/characters