Character guide

Unknown Narrator

major

Also known as myself, me, I

The unnamed first-person narrator in several Poe stories, often a focal character.

C. Auguste Dupin

major

Also known as Monsieur C. Auguste Dupin, Dupin, the Chevalier C. Auguste Dupin

Brilliant amateur detective who solves mysteries using ratiocination.

William Legrand

major

Also known as Mr. Willis, Mr. William Legrand, Legrand, Mr. Legrand

Eccentric naturalist who deciphers a cryptogram to find buried treasure.

Jupiter

supporting

Also known as the terrified Jupiter

Loyal freedman and companion to William Legrand, speaks in dialect.

Edgar Allan Poe

major

Also known as Poe, Mr. Poe, Edgar Poe, Edgar, Edgar A. Poe

Authorial persona appearing as a character in some stories.

Roderick Usher

major

Also known as Usher

Hypersensitive aristocrat suffering from a mysterious malady in his decaying house.

Marie Rogêt

supporting

Also known as Marie, the unfortunate Marie Rogêt

Young woman whose mysterious murder is investigated by Dupin.

Madame Lalande

supporting

Also known as de Madame Stephanie Lalande, Madame Stephanie Lalande

Witty French widow who tricks a vain suitor in 'The Spectacles'.

Ligeia

major

Also known as the lady Ligeia

Beautiful and learned woman who returns from the dead through willpower.

William Wilson

major

Also known as William, Wilson

Narrator haunted by his exact double who thwarts his misdeeds.

Fortunato

supporting

Also known as the Lady Fortunato

Proud wine connoisseur lured into a catacomb and walled up alive.

Hop-Frog

major

Dwarf jester who exacts a fiery revenge on a cruel king and his ministers.

Morella

supporting

Wise and mysterious woman whose death leads to her reincarnation in her daughter.

Eleonora

supporting

Ethereal cousin and lover of the narrator, dies but returns as a spirit.

Berenice

supporting

Also known as the changed Berenice

Woman whose cousin obsessively fixates on her teeth after her illness.

Monsieur Maillard

supporting

Also known as Maillard

Director of a madhouse who participates in a bizarre patient revolt.

M. Valdemar

supporting

Also known as M. Ernest Valdemar, Valdemar

Man mesmerized at the moment of death, speaking from a suspended state.

Prince Prospero

supporting

Also known as the Prince Prospero

Wealthy prince who holds a masquerade while plague ravages the land.

Thingum Bob

supporting

Also known as Thingum, Bob, Mr. Bob, Mr. Thingum Bob

Ambitious literary hack who rises to fame through plagiarism and puffery.

Pierre Bon-Bon

supporting

Also known as Bon-Bon, Bon, the philosophic Bon-Bon, Monsieur Bon-Bon, Monsieur Bon

Philosopher and restaurateur who debates with the Devil.

Toby Dammit

supporting

Also known as Toby, Dammit

Reckless man who bets his head and loses it to the Devil.

Mr. Shuttleworthy

supporting

Also known as Mr. B Shuttleworthy, Mr. Barnabus Shuttleworthy, the missing Mr. B Shuttleworthy

Wealthy merchant who is murdered, leading to a comic investigation.

Charles Goodfellow

supporting

Also known as Mr. B Charles Goodfellow, Charley Goodfellow, Old Charley Goodfellow, Charles

Eccentric friend of Shuttleworthy who helps solve the murder.

Cornelius Wyatt

supporting

Also known as Mr. Cornelius Wyatt, Wyatt, Mr. Wyatt

Artist traveling with a mysterious oblong box containing a secret.

Doctor Ponnonner

supporting

Also known as Ponnonner, little Doctor Ponnonner

Scientist who unwraps a mummy that comes back to life.

Allamistakeo

supporting

Ancient Egyptian mummy revived by scientists, who criticizes modern civilization.

Scheherazade

supporting

Also known as the fair Scheherazade

Legendary storyteller who tells tales to the Sultan for a thousand nights.

Von Kempelen

minor

Also known as the now immortal Von Kempelen, Kempelen

Inventor who allegedly discovers the secret of transmuting lead into gold.

Monsieur Bon-Bon

minor

Also known as Monsieur Bon, Bon-Bon

Restaurateur and philosopher who encounters the Devil in his kitchen.

Mr. Crab

minor

Also known as the eminent Mr. Crab

Eccentric businessman who appears in 'The Business Man'.

Pompey

minor

Also known as the gallant Pompey

Servant who assists his master in a comedic misunderstanding.

Madame L'Espanaye

minor

Also known as Madame L., Madame

Victim of a brutal murder in the Rue Morgue, along with her daughter.

Mademoiselle L'Espanaye

minor

Also known as Mademoiselle L., Mademoiselle L’Espanaye

Daughter of Madame L'Espanaye, also murdered in the Rue Morgue.

Beauvais

minor

Also known as M. Beauvais

Friend of Marie Rogêt who assists in the investigation of her death.

St. Eustache

minor

Also known as M. St. Eustache, Monsieur Jacques St. Eustache

Fiancé of Marie Rogêt, suspected in her murder.

Adolphe Le Bon

minor

Also known as Le Bon

Bank clerk briefly suspected in the Rue Morgue murders.

Monsieur G——

minor

Also known as G——

Prefect of the Parisian police, often consulting Dupin.

Mr. Talbot

minor

Also known as Talbot, drop Talbot

Friend of the narrator in 'The Spectacles', advises against the marriage.

Mr. Bullet-head

minor

Also known as Bullet-head

Editor of a newspaper who engages in a typographical feud.

Mr. Oppodeldoc

minor

Also known as Oppodeldoc

Apothecary who appears in 'The Business Man'.

Thomas Bob

minor

Also known as Thomas Bob, Esq., Tom, Bob

Literary figure and rival of Thingum Bob.

Dr. Templeton

minor

Also known as Templeton, Doctor Templeton

Physician who treats the narrator in 'A Tale of the Ragged Mountains'.

Mr. Augustus Bedloe

minor

Also known as Bedloe, Mr. Bedloe, Mr. Augustus Bedlo, Bedlo

Man who experiences a strange mesmeric journey into the past.

Mr. Silk Buckingham

minor

Also known as Buckingham, Mr. Buckingham

Traveler and companion in 'Some Words with a Mummy'.

Mr. Gliddon

minor

Egyptologist who assists in unwrapping the mummy.

Pundit

minor

Scholar in the futuristic tale 'Mellonta Tauta'.

Hans Pfaall

minor

Also known as One Hans Pfaall

Man who claims to have traveled to the moon in a balloon.

Hugh Tarpaulin

minor

Also known as Tarpaulin, the acute Tarpaulin

Companion of Hans Pfaall on his lunar voyage.

Agathos

minor

Spiritual being who discusses the power of words with a companion.

Eiros

minor

Also known as Eiros True, Eiros In Aidenn

Spirit who recounts the destruction of Earth by fire.

Charmion

minor

Also known as Charmion Dreams

Spirit who converses with Eiros about the apocalypse.

Monos

minor

Deceased narrator who describes the experience of death and decay.

Una

minor

Also known as the radiant Una, Una Monos, sweet Una, Una Death

Spirit who converses with Monos about life after death.

Mr. John Smith

minor

Also known as the said John Smith, Mr. Smith, John

Narrator of 'The Angel of the Odd', a victim of absurd mishaps.

Mr. Blackwood

minor

Also known as Blackwood

Editor who advises on writing sensational articles.

Miss Psyche Zenobia

minor

Also known as Miss Zenobia, Miss Psyche, Psyche Zenobia, Psyche, Zenobia, the Signora Psyche Zenobia, Signora Psyche Zenobia

Ambitious writer who follows Blackwood's advice with disastrous results.

Madame Joyeuse

minor

Friend of Psyche Zenobia in 'A Predicament'.

Pompey

minor

Servant who accompanies Psyche Zenobia on her misadventure.

Diana

minor

Also known as Duke Di Broglio

Newfoundland dog who saves his master from a maelstrom.

Mr. Thomas Hawk

minor

Also known as Thomas Hawk, Tommy

Editor of the Lollipop newspaper in 'X-ing a Paragrab'.

John A. B. C. Smith

minor

Also known as General Smith, General John A. B. C., John A. B. C., Smith, John, Brigadier-General John A. B. C. Smith

War hero revealed to be entirely composed of prosthetics.

Pluto

minor

Black cat beloved by the narrator, later killed and avenged.

The Orangutan

minor

Also known as the Orangutan

Feral beast that commits the murders in the Rue Morgue.

Madame Deluc

minor

Also known as a Madame Deluc

Innkeeper who provides testimony in the Marie Rogêt case.

Madame Rogêt

minor

Also known as Madame

Mother of Marie Rogêt, grieving her daughter's death.

Mademoiselle Rogêt

minor

Sister of Marie Rogêt, mentioned in the investigation.

Mr. Kissam

minor

Also known as a Mr. Kissam

Man who testifies about seeing Marie Rogêt after her disappearance.

Captain Hardy

minor

Also known as good Captain Hardy

Ship captain who assists in the voyage in 'MS. Found in a Bottle'.

Professor Rubadub

minor

Also known as Rubadub

Eccentric scientist in 'The Angel of the Odd'.

Captain Pratt

minor

Also known as Pratt

Ship captain in 'The Oblong Box'.

Trippetta

minor

Dwarf dancer and friend of Hop-Frog, abused by the king.

Annabel Lee

minor

Beloved of the narrator, whose death is mourned in a poem.

Ethelred

minor

Hero of a romance novel read aloud in 'The Fall of the House of Usher'.

Mentoni

minor

Husband of the Marchesa Aphrodite in 'The Assignation'.

The Marchesa Aphrodite

minor

Also known as the Marchesa, Aphrodite

Beautiful woman who dies in a tragic love affair in Venice.

Lady Rowena

minor

Also known as Rowena

Second wife of the narrator in 'Ligeia', who dies and is possessed.

Madeline Usher

minor

Also known as the lady Madeline

Twin sister of Roderick Usher, buried alive and returning from the tomb.

Virginia Clemm

minor

Also known as Virginia

Wife of Poe, appears as a character in biographical sections.

Mr. Allan

minor

Foster father of Edgar Allan Poe, mentioned in biographical sections.