The Hound of the Baskervilles

Sherlock Holmes

Also known as Mr. Sherlock Holmes · Mr. Holmes · Holmes · the stranger on the tor · the man on the tor · the lurking man upon the moor

A London consulting detective renowned for observation and deduction. He secretly investigates from the moor and ultimately exposes the plot against the Baskervilles.

Dr. Watson

Also known as Watson

Holmes’s friend and companion, who narrates the story and assists in the investigation. He accompanies Sir Henry at Baskerville Hall and sends Holmes detailed reports.

James Mortimer

Also known as Dr. James Mortimer · Dr. Mortimer · Mr. Mortimer

A young country doctor in Grimpen and a friend and former medical attendant of Sir Charles Baskerville. He is a trustee and executor of Sir Charles’s will, and his wife lives near Baskerville Hall.

Mortimer’s spaniel

Also known as Dr. Mortimer’s dog · Mortimer’s little spaniel

Mortimer’s curly-haired spaniel, which carries his walking stick and accompanies him. Stapleton’s hound kills it, and its remains are found by the abandoned mine.

Monsieur Bertillon

Also known as Bertillon

A French expert in identification whom Mortimer regards as Europe’s foremost precisely scientific mind.

Hugo Baskerville

Also known as Hugo

A cruel, profane Baskerville who abducts a yeoman’s daughter. According to the family legend, a monstrous hound kills him on the moor.

Yeoman’s daughter

Also known as the maiden · the young maiden · the unhappy maiden

A young woman abducted by Hugo Baskerville, who escapes from Baskerville Hall but dies of fear and exhaustion on the moor.

Hugo’s companions

Also known as Hugo’s idle and wicked companions · the revellers · the drunken squires

Hugo Baskerville’s companions who join the pursuit of the abducted maiden and encounter the hound. The account says thirteen of them rode after Hugo.

The wicked companion

Also known as the drunken companion

One of Hugo Baskerville’s companions, who urges the others to set the hounds after the escaped maiden.

Hugo’s grooms

Also known as the grooms

Hugo Baskerville’s stable staff, whom he orders to saddle his mare and release the hounds.

The night shepherd

Also known as the shepherd

A shepherd on the moor who reports seeing the maiden pursued by the hounds and Hugo riding after her with a monstrous hound.

The three riders

Also known as the three dare-devil roysterers

Three of Hugo’s companions who ride down into the hollow and see the hound attacking Hugo. One dies that night from the shock, while the other two are left broken for the rest of their lives.

The rider who died

Also known as one of the three riders

One of the three riders who saw the hound attack Hugo Baskerville; he dies that night from what he witnessed.

The two surviving riders

Also known as the other twain

Two of the three riders who saw the hound attack Hugo Baskerville; they remain broken men for the rest of their lives.

Rodger Baskerville

Also known as Rodger

One of Hugo Baskerville’s sons, to whom the family account was addressed. A later Rodger Baskerville, Sir Charles’s younger brother, fled to South America and died there; Holmes reveals that he married and had a son.

John Baskerville

Also known as John

One of Hugo Baskerville’s sons, to whom the family account was addressed.

Elizabeth Baskerville

Also known as Elizabeth

Hugo Baskerville’s daughter, whom the instructions accompanying the family account say should not be told the story.

Sir Charles Baskerville

Also known as Sir Charles

A wealthy, childless baronet who restored Baskerville Hall and supported local charities. Mortimer’s friend and patient, he died of fright after Stapleton set his hound on him, leaving his nephew Henry as heir.

The Barrymores

Also known as Barrymore and his wife

The married couple who served Sir Charles at Baskerville Hall: Barrymore was the butler and his wife was the housekeeper. Both received legacies from Sir Charles and sheltered Selden.

Barrymore

Also known as the butler · John

Sir Charles’s butler at Baskerville Hall, now serving Sir Henry. He secretly signaled and fed his brother-in-law Selden, passing along Sir Henry’s old clothes to help him.

Mrs. Barrymore

Also known as Barrymore’s wife · the housekeeper · Eliza

Barrymore’s wife and the housekeeper at Baskerville Hall. Her younger brother is Selden, whom she and Barrymore sheltered and fed; she also found a remnant of Laura Lyons’s burned letter to Sir Charles.

Murphy

Also known as the gipsy horse-dealer

A horse-dealer who was on the moor near the time of Sir Charles’s death. He says he heard cries but was too drunk to identify their direction.

Mr. Frankland

Also known as Frankland · Old Frankland · the old autocrat

An educated, elderly resident of Lafter Hall who relishes litigation and amateur astronomy. He is Laura Lyons’s estranged father and observes the boy who carries supplies to Holmes.

Jack Stapleton

Also known as Mr. Stapleton · Stapleton · the naturalist · Mr. Vandeleur · Rodger Baskerville

A naturalist and former schoolmaster who lives on the moor with his wife, Beryl, whom he passes off as his sister. A Baskerville descended from Sir Charles’s brother, he plots to inherit the estate and uses a phosphorescent hound to murder Sir Charles and pursue Sir Henry; he disappears into Grimpen Mire.

Sir Henry Baskerville

Also known as Henry Baskerville · Henry

Sir Charles’s nephew and heir, recently returned from Canada to live at Baskerville Hall. Stapleton’s hound nearly kills him, but Holmes and Watson rescue him; he later travels around the world with Mortimer to recover from the shock and his wounded feelings after being deceived by Beryl.

Rodger Baskerville (Sir Charles’s brother)

Also known as Rodger Baskerville

Sir Charles’s youngest brother, described as the family’s black sheep and the image of Hugo Baskerville. He fled to South America, married there, and had a son—Jack Stapleton—before dying.

Sir Charles’s second brother

Also known as Henry’s father

Sir Charles’s unnamed middle brother, who died young and was the father of Henry Baskerville.

The three witnesses to the apparition

Also known as the three men

An unnamed countryman, farrier, and moorland farmer who separately report seeing a huge, luminous, spectral creature on the moor before Sir Charles’s death.

The countryman witness

Also known as the hard-headed countryman

One of the three people who told Mortimer he had seen a spectral creature on the moor before Sir Charles’s death.

The farrier witness

Also known as the farrier

One of the three people who told Mortimer he had seen a spectral creature on the moor before Sir Charles’s death.

The moorland farmer witness

Also known as the moorland farmer

One of the three people who told Mortimer he had seen a spectral creature on the moor before Sir Charles’s death.

Perkins

Also known as the groom

A groom at Baskerville Hall whom Barrymore sends on horseback to fetch Mortimer on the night Sir Charles dies. He drives Watson and the others from the station to the Hall.

The author of the warning letter

Also known as the unknown writer · the cutter

An unidentified, educated person who sends Henry a warning made from words cut out of a newspaper. Holmes identifies Beryl Stapleton as the person who sent it.

The bearded cab passenger

Also known as the spy · the unknown attendant · the man in cab No. 2704

Jack Stapleton, disguised with a beard, watches Henry and Mortimer from a cab and escapes when Holmes pursues him. He deceives the cabman by claiming his name is Sherlock Holmes.

Wilson

Also known as the messenger-office manager

The manager of a district messenger office who knows Holmes from a previous case and summons Cartwright for him.

Cartwright

Also known as the messenger boy · Holmes’s boy

A fourteen-year-old messenger boy who helps Holmes search hotel waste-paper for the newspaper used to make the warning letter. He travels to the moor in disguise, brings Holmes supplies, and reports on Watson’s movements.

The hotel clerk

Also known as the Northumberland Hotel clerk

An employee at the Northumberland Hotel who shows Holmes and Watson upstairs to Henry.

The hotel porter

Also known as the Northumberland Hotel porter

An employee at the Northumberland Hotel who answers Holmes’s questions about guests in the register.

The German waiter

Also known as the waiter

A waiter at the Northumberland Hotel who tells Henry that the hotel cannot find his missing boot. He denies knowing how the new brown boot later returned to the room.

The hotel boot cleaner

Also known as the chap who cleans the boots

An unnamed Northumberland Hotel employee whom Henry questions about his missing boot.

Theophilus Johnson

Also known as Mr. Johnson

A coal-owner from Newcastle, registered at the Northumberland Hotel with his family. Holmes initially mistakes him for a different man he once knew.

Mrs. Oldmore

Also known as the invalid lady

An invalid guest at the Northumberland Hotel from High Lodge, Alton. She is the wife of a former mayor of Gloucester.

Mrs. Oldmore’s husband

Also known as the former mayor of Gloucester

Mrs. Oldmore’s unnamed husband, who was once mayor of Gloucester.

Mrs. Oldmore’s maid

Also known as the maid

An unnamed maid accompanying Mrs. Oldmore at the Northumberland Hotel.

James Desmond

Also known as Mr. James Desmond

An elderly clergyman in Westmoreland and a distant cousin of the Baskervilles. He is next in line to inherit Sir Charles’s estate, but Holmes considers him amiable and not responsible for the persecution.

The postmaster

Also known as the Grimpen postmaster · the village grocer

The postmaster at Grimpen, who also runs the village grocery. He confirms that Holmes’s telegram was delivered to Mrs. Barrymore rather than directly to Barrymore.

The postmaster’s son

Also known as James

The postmaster’s son, who delivered Holmes’s test telegram to Baskerville Hall and handed it to Mrs. Barrymore.

The Stapleton maid

Also known as the maid at Merripit House

An unnamed maid living at Merripit House with Jack Stapleton, Beryl, and their elderly manservant.

The Merripit House manservant

Also known as the old manservant · Anthony · Antonio

An elderly servant at Merripit House whose name is Anthony. Formerly connected with the Stapletons during their school days, he likely cared for the hound while they were away; he later disappears from England.

Beryl Stapleton

Also known as Miss Stapleton · Mrs. Stapleton · Beryl Garcia · Mrs. Vandeleur

Jack Stapleton’s wife, whom he presents as his sister. Under his influence, which may involve love and fear, she tried to warn Sir Henry without exposing her husband; after learning of his plan to kill Henry, she confronted him, was tied up, and helped Holmes find the hound’s hiding place. Her loyalty turned to hatred when Stapleton revealed he had a rival in his love.

The escaped convict

Also known as Selden · the Notting Hill murderer · the Notting Hill criminal

A dangerous murderer who escapes from Princetown prison and hides on the moor. Mrs. Barrymore’s younger brother, he is accidentally killed after Stapleton’s hound tracks him in Sir Henry’s clothes.

The convict warder

Also known as the soldier

An armed warder watching a road near Baskerville Hall during the search for the escaped convict.

The coachman

Also known as the driver

The hard-faced driver who takes Sir Henry and Watson from the station to Baskerville Hall; he identifies the escaped convict as Selden.

The station-master

The station-master at the small wayside station where Sir Henry and Watson arrive; he and the porters help with their luggage.

The station porters

Also known as the porters

Unnamed porters at the wayside station who gather to carry the travelers’ luggage.

The scullery-maid

An unnamed servant at Baskerville Hall who sleeps in the other wing. Barrymore says the woman’s sobbing could not have come from her.

The schoolboys who died

Also known as the three boys

Three unnamed pupils at Stapleton’s former school who died during a serious epidemic, contributing to the school’s decline.

The Stapleton schoolmaster’s employer

Also known as the school proprietor

An unnamed person connected with Stapleton’s former school in the north of England, which failed after an epidemic killed three pupils.

The escaped convict’s victim

Also known as the Notting Hill murder victim

An unnamed person murdered by Selden in the crime that made him notorious.

Laura Lyons

Also known as Mrs. Laura Lyons · L. L.

Frankland’s estranged daughter, who lives in Coombe Tracey and supports herself through a typewriting business. Stapleton dictates her letter asking Sir Charles for help, then persuades her not to attend the meeting; she later reveals his deception to Holmes.

Mr. Lyons

Also known as Lyons · Laura Lyons’s husband · the artist

An artist who came to the moor to sketch and married Laura Lyons. He deserted her, and she says he has since persecuted her and may force her to live with him.

The boy who brings Holmes supplies

Also known as the boy · the child

An unnamed boy who carries food and other supplies to Holmes’s hiding place among the stone huts. He also reports Watson’s movements to Holmes.

Old Middleton

Also known as Middleton

A landowner whose park Frankland says he won a right of way through by litigation.

Sir John Morland

A landowner whom Frankland once sued for trespass after Morland shot in his own warren.

The Fernworthy picnic-goers

Also known as the Fernworthy folk

People from Fernworthy who used to picnic in a wood Frankland says he has closed; they are a group without individual identities.

The Hound of the Baskervilles

Also known as the hound · the phantom hound · the family hound · the demon dog

A huge, savage dog owned by Stapleton and hidden in Grimpen Mire. He coats it with a luminous phosphorus mixture to make it appear supernatural, and it is killed while attacking Sir Henry.

The three Vandeleur witnesses

Also known as the trustworthy witnesses

Three unnamed witnesses whose written descriptions help Holmes establish that the people known as Mr. and Mrs. Vandeleur were Jack and Beryl Stapleton.

Fraser

Also known as the consumptive tutor

A consumptive tutor whom Jack Stapleton met on the voyage to England. Fraser’s teaching helped make Stapleton’s Yorkshire school successful before Fraser died.

Ross and Mangles

Also known as the Fulham Road dog dealers

Dog dealers in London from whom Stapleton buys the hound.

Lestrade

Also known as Inspector Lestrade

A London detective summoned by Holmes to assist with the case. He helps pursue Stapleton and rescue Beryl.

The driver of the hired wagonette

Also known as the wagonette driver

An unnamed driver who takes Holmes, Watson, and Lestrade across the moor toward the Baskervilles’ case.

Colonel Upwood

A colonel whose conduct in the Nonpareil Club card scandal Holmes later exposes.

Mme. Montpensier

Also known as the unfortunate Mme. Montpensier

A woman Holmes later defends against a murder charge connected with her stepdaughter’s disappearance.

Mlle. Carére

Also known as the young lady

Mme. Montpensier’s stepdaughter, presumed murdered but later found alive and married in New York.

Rear-Admiral Baskerville

Also known as the admiral

A Baskerville ancestor depicted in the family portraits; he served under Rodney in the West Indies.

Rodney

Also known as Admiral Rodney

A naval commander under whom Rear-Admiral Baskerville served in the West Indies.

Sir William Baskerville

A Baskerville ancestor depicted in the family portraits, who chaired committees of the House of Commons under Pitt.

Pitt

Also known as William Pitt

A political figure under whose government Sir William Baskerville chaired committees in the House of Commons.

The page at Folkestone Court

Also known as the murdered page

An unnamed page who was shot by a masked burglar after surprising him during a burglary at Folkestone Court.

The masked burglar

Also known as the solitary burglar

An unidentified burglar whom Holmes suspects was Stapleton, based on his alleged involvement in several West Country burglaries.

The school proprietor’s wife

Also known as Mrs. Vandeleur

Beryl Garcia, Jack Stapleton’s wife, who lived with him while he ran St. Oliver’s private school under the Vandeleur name.

The school proprietor

Also known as Mr. Vandeleur

Jack Stapleton, who ran St. Oliver’s private school in Yorkshire under the name Vandeleur before the school failed.