Perpetually unseen characters in literature.
- In The Ambassadors by Henry James, the mother of Chad Newsome, who guides much of the novel's action by sending her fiancé Strether to Europe, never appears in the book.
- Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe: Bernardo, Ari's brother who is in jail. It is mentioned that there are no pictures of him and his family won't talk about him. Ari can't even remember exactly what he looks like. While he doesn't show up in person, and in fact apparently refuses to be visited in prison, Ari learns what he looked like when his mother allows him to see pictures of him.
- In the Backstrom novel The Dying Detective, the abominable policeman Evart Bäckström is this. His only actual appearance in the book is, very briefly, in the epilogue. What makes him a central character is the amount of time the competent coppers spend cursing his incompetence and the way he bungled a case so badly it is still cold twenty-five years later. Johannsson and others exorcise this malevolent ghost by putting things to rights.note
- Regular Barkwire contributor BiGDOG can't get through one post without praising Panzer, but never provides any detail. The only image ever posted of Panzer only shows as an error symbol.
- In Breakfast at Tiffany's and its movie adaptation, it's Fred, Holly's mentally retarded brother who joined the army. In both versions, he dies: killed in action overseas in the original (set during World War Two), perished in the road accident in the adaptation.
- The Cask of Amontillado has Luchesi, a fellow wine aficionado and acquaintance to both Montresor and Fortunato who is often named but never seen. Montresor lures Fortunato deeper into the catacombs by frequently claiming he'll get Luchesi to do the tasting, which only makes the latter want the Amontillado more because he thinks Luchesi is a drunk and won't be able to savor it.
- The Chronicles of Prydain: in The Black Cauldron, Adaon is betrothed to a young woman named Arianllyn. He references her repeatedly, and it's heavily implied that he loves her very much; but since he dies two-thirds of the way through the book, the reader never gets to meet her.
- In The Catcher in the Rye, Jane Gallagher is one of the few people Holden respects and admires. Thinking she might have had sex with Holden's boorish roommate sparks the fight that sets the plot in motion. Holden considers or tries to call her at various points during the novel, but never reaches her.
- The Cemeteries of Amalo: Two major villains of the second book, an exploitative pornographer and his brother/enforcer, are frequently mentioned but never physically appear.
- In his Confessions (Saint Augustine), St. Augustine neglects to mention his pre-conversion girlfriend even though his relationship with her is one of the greatest regrets of his life. She is never given a name, a line of dialogue, or a description outside of vague references to Augustine's sin.
- The eponymous character of Daddy-Long-Legs, by Jean Webster. Since almost the entire Epistolary Novel consists of protagonist Judy's letters to her unknown benefactor, this makes sense. Subverted in the end, however, when it's revealed that "Daddy" is Jervis, the man she's in love with and has written about extensively.
- Discworld:
- Bergholt Stuttley "Bloody Stupid" Johnson, the most infamous inventor. His works are present throughout the series, but Johnson himself never makes an appearance. It's pretty strongly implied that he's been dead for decades.
- It's mentioned that Sybil Ramkin's father shot the man when he started to work his particular landscaping genius on their estate, although whether this is what killed him is unclear.
- Mrs. Colon was The Ghost up to Snuff; often mentioned, but part of the joke was that she and Fred barely saw each other, since she worked days and he worked nights, and the two communicated almost exclusively through notes left about the house. Vimes at one point wondered how they managed to have kids, eventually chalking it up to some very persuasive notes.
- Gravid Rust is mentioned several times, and has a major role in Snuff, but is never seen.
- Old Man Trouble, an Anthropomorphic Personification of, well, trouble, who never actually appears, but is referenced several times when discussing anthropomorphic personifications. All that is known of him is that he takes the form of a figure in a ragged coat and broad brimmed hat, those who lack both musical ability and love may find him knocking on their door, and — even by the standards of anthropomorphic personifications — he's considered a bit weird.
- The Soul Cake Duck is the Anthropomorphic Personification of Soul Cake Tuesday and pretty much the Disc's equivalent to the Easter Bunny. However, the duck doesn't appear in any of the books, even though Susan claims to have met the Soul Cake Duck in Thief of Time.
- Doctor Who New Adventures had Johnny Chess, an 80s pop star who was frequently referred to (Ace had met him once, and hadn't been impressed) never appeared on page, and who may or may not have been born John Chesterton, son of Ian and Barbara.
- Don Quixote: Dulcinea — or, to be more precise, the peasant woman whom Quixote renames "Dulcinea" — never appears.
- Dragaera: Show Within a Show example: In The Phoenix Guards, Paarfi compares one of his own characters to the Marquis of Havenwood, The Ghost from the in-universe play The Return of Duke Highwater.
- In If I Go It Will Be Double by ML Lanzillotta, Laura keeps her ex-roommate (and maybe-crush) Mary. Apparently they went to a reform school together. Of course, Mary never actually shows up.
- The Hittite king Suppiluliuma I is a constant presence throughout The Egyptian — we hear of his plans, we see his armies and what he does, but he never appears on-stage himself.
- Eleanor's father in Eleanor & Park. He is never actually seen in the book. In fact, we never learn his name. Everything we know about him comes from off-screen details.
- Emma:
- Augusta Elton is expecting a visit from her fashionable sister Selina and her husband, and she never hesitates to mention them, but they never arrive.
- Frank Churchill's aunt and uncle are mentioned frequently but never seen.
- Frank himself had been The Ghost in Highbury for several years prior to the events of the novel.
- Fangbone! Third Grade Barbarian has its Big Bad Venomous Drool. Fangbone came to Earth from Skullbania to hide his Toe of Evil from him, and Drool regularly sends monsters to attack Fangbone and Bill on Earth, but aside from a few details of his backstory and his reputation as Sullbania's vilest villain, he's entirely absent. This stands in contrast with the Animated Adaptation Fangbone! where Venomous Drool is seen in person regularly throughout the show and actually interacts with Fangbone and Bill on several occasions.
- Harry Potter has several Ghosts (apart from the ones who haunt the school):
- Eloise Midgen. We know that she has unfortunate acne, that Ron doesn't want to go with her to the Yule Ball, and that she's one of the first to go home in the sixth book during Voldemort's reign of terror, but we never see her. (She does appear in one of the films, however.)
- Nicholas Flamel, from the first book. Very important to the plot, having created the eponymous MacGuffin, but never actually appears in person (until Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald).
- Professor Aurora Sinistra, the Astronomy teacher, is mentioned but never shown, except for one brief mention of her dancing with Moody at the Yule Ball.
- Aside from a tiny mention where she's almost concussed by Hagrid, Professor Vector, the Arithmancy Teacher, is the same.
- Ron's Great-Auntie Muriel is this until Book 7.
- Played straight in the books with Newt Scamander, the writer of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, but averted in the filmverse with the release of the ninth movie.
- Hermione’s parents are mentioned in passing but never really introduced. All that’s known is they’re both dentists. They do appear briefly in the early chapters of the second book, when they meet up with the Weasleys in Diagon Alley; Arthur Weasley is delighted to have the chance to become better acquainted with some Muggles. However, very little is shown of the interaction. Hermione was supposed to have had a sister as well, but Rowling gave up on introducing her when she got to the fifth book without having found a way to do so.
- Headmaster Dippet, Dumbledore's predecessor, is mentioned a lot and appears in his portrait and via a few flashbacks but never appears in the present.
- Bathilda Bagshot is mentioned a lot as a historian and Harry learns in the last book she was friends with Dumbledore’s mother but she technically never appears in the books since she’s been dead for at least several months and was being impersonated by Nagini by the time Harry and Hermione “meet” her.
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is brimming full of ghosts. There's ex-president of the galaxy Yooden Vranx, acclaimed writer Oolong Colluphid, the long-lost Guide editor Lig Lury Junior, and of course, Eccentrica Gallumbits, the triple-breasted whore of Eroticon VI.
- Iggie from Judy Blume's Iggie's House is never seen in the story, as she moved away from the neighborhood sometime before the Garbers moved in. The story's protagonist, Winnie Bates, constantly tries to write her a letter, but ends up having to start over whenever some new development happens in the story. By the time the story ends, Winnie has finished writing her final version of the letter.
- Jaine Austen Mysteries: Stacey Lawrence from This Pen For Hire and Garth Janken from "The Dangers of Candy Canes" are the only main murder victims Jaine does not meet before they are murdered.
- The letters that Last Dragon consists of are addressed to Esumi, a character we never meet in the story and about whom we learn very little.
- The Lord of the Rings:
- Sauron, the titular Lord of the Rings, never appears in the story's plot. Not so much in The Film of the Book. Many mistakenly believe that Sauron either has no visible form at all, or that his visible form is the Eye of Barad-dur (the films in particular encourage the latter interpretation). However, a couple of passages in the books make it clear that the Eye existed before Isildur cut the ring from Sauron's finger, and Gollum says that while he was tortured in Mordor, Sauron personally tortured him, and confirms he has a physical body. Indeed - the third film briefly shows his physical form holding his palantir. The only actual physical description we have of him, courtesy of Gollum, is that his "black hand" only has four fingers.
- Same with Radagast, whom we only knew from Gandalf's words. As with Sauron in the previous film trilogy, he is rescued from this status in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, where he appears onscreen and has a fairly prominent role.
- In The Machineries of Empire, the Kel Command is the one to approve Jedao's usage, give Cheris her orders and keep tabs on them both, eventually sentencing them to death, but Cheris only ever interacts with one of the lesser command composites.
- In The Maze Runner Trilogy, Chancellor Paige is never seen or interacts with anyone, only having her memoirs at the end of each book. This is averted in the movie.
- Mistborn: The Original Trilogy:
- Lord Hasting, a powerful noble, is never met by the main characters. He was originally going to have a one-shot appearance when Kelsier was posing as an informant, but his role was given to the much more important Straff Venture.
- Crews Geffenry, a Mistborn and knife fighter who Kelsier frames for an assassination. He never actually appears in the story, unless he was the Mistborn aiding Lady Shan Elariel when she tried to assassinate Lord Elend Venture near the end of Mistborn: The Final Empire.
- The Neverending Story: The Manipulators that Gmork works for are never seen or even mentioned after his death.
- Nightfall (Series): Lucien. He is mentioned as one of the vampires hoping to take Vladimir’s place. The Prince seems to think he is worse that the Duchess, who is already terrifying.
- Nory Ryans Song: "Da," the father to Maggie, Celia, Nory, and Patch, is discussed frequently but never once makes an appearance in person.
- Jasper Fforde Nursery Crime: Professor Angus MacGuffin in The Fourth Bear. He almost appears near the end, but has vanished when someone turns to introduce him - because, of course, he's just a plot device and doesn't have to actually exist.
- Old Kingdom: In the prequel Clariel, Princess Tathiel went missing some years before. Even after she returns and takes the throne near the end, she doesn't appear in any scenes.
- Orphan Island has Abigail, a girl who lived on, and left, the island before any of the cast showed up. The only evidence she was ever there is the annotations she left in all the books in the reading cabin, and the letter she wrote that was left in-between the cushions of the reading cabin's chair.
- Our Wives Under the Sea: A constant source of noise is from Miri and Leah's upstairs neighbors and their TV that's always on. Miri notices that she's never actually met the neighbors and knows little about them, even though Leah has apparently visited them a few times. We never see the neighbors during the story.
- Margaret, the mother of Alison in The Owl Service. Many of the events pan out as the characters try desperately to keep her happy, but she never appears in the book. Similarly occurs in the TV series, to the extent that you see parts of her clothing and even hear her play piano in the same room, but never actually hear or see her.
- In Pinkie Pie and the Rockin' Ponypalooza Party, Pinkie's third sister, Maud Pie, is only mentioned (and not by name). She's running the rock farm while her relatives are visiting Ponyville.
- Redwall: There are many characters mentioned from long ago that never appeared. "King Mortspear" "The First Reguba" "Almost all the Badger Lords/Ladies before Stonepaw" whom if Brian Jacques hadn't passed away, they may have likely got a chance for a story. But then again, he seemed to have made it clear he was finished with prequels.
- Safehold: Despite the importance of the Kingdom of Dohlar, and various people from it, to the series' plot, the nation's ruler, King Rahnyld III, never once appears on page. This fits with his being described at one point as a man who never wanted to be king. Hell, he doesn't even appear when Earl Thirsk stages a coup in book 9 and persuades him to abdicate in favour of his son.
- Sense and Sensibility has Doctor Davies, the gentleman with whom Anne Steele is infatuated. He's mentioned several times, but never actually makes an appearance.
- A Series of Unfortunate Events has a wide backstory and several characters are only ever referred to. The most notable example is probably R., the Duchess of Winnipeg.
- In A Song of Ice and Fire:
- Howland Reed of Greywater Watch is a longtime friend of Eddard Stark, and is mentioned a number of times throughout the story, but he has yet to appear himself. He's the only surviving member of Eddard's group of men who went to the Tower of Joy, making him the only person who might know what promise Eddard made to his dead sister, Lyanna.
- Willas Tyrell, heir to Highgarden, brother to Loras, Garlan, and Margaery, friend to Oberyn Martell, Gentleman and a Scholar, the hero of Sansa Stark’s dreams, if only for a short while… has yet to make an appearance.
- Teen Power Inc.: In Danger in Rhyme, the perpetrator of the crime spree is not present during the denouement where he is identified, is arrested offscreen, and never encounters the narrator beforehand (although he is mentioned by name in one earlier chapter).
- Inversion in Thursday Next: First Among Sequels: Jenny never appears because she's actually a mindworm implanted in the first-person narrator's mind. This was revealed when her family explained it to her to stop her freaking out over an abandoned Jenny — only to have the mindworm blank out her memory of the conversation afterwards.
- Erzo Gwyn-Raven from the Tower and the Hive series. The youngest of the Rowan and Jeff Raven's kids, he's only ever mentioned in passing or in context to events that happened off screen.
- Silver's unnamed wife in Treasure Island. All we know is that she's "a woman of colour" and is trusted with Silver's finances while he's on the Hispanola (specifically, to sell everything, clear the account, and meet up with him somewhere).
- True Grit: In the book and both films, Harold and Farrell’s mother and brothers and Rooster’s fellow marshals William Waters and Lt Quinn don't appear but are mentioned with varying degrees of detail.
- Prismia is only mentioned in a flashback and does not make any sort of present day appearance in Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell.
- Whale Talk: Alicia's ex (Heidi's father) left town after being paralyzed in an accident and never physically appears.
- What The Hell Did I Just Read: A Novel of Cosmic Horror: Played for comedy with Nicky, John's on-again, off-again girlfriend. Dave describes her as pure evil and says that the reason she hasn't shown up in any of his previous books is because he tries to avoid even talking about her. It's subverted in the end, when she actually does shows up at the very end and seems perfectly normal.
- When Zachary Beaver Came To Town: Vietnam soldier Wayne McKnight is only present through his letters to his family, until his body comes back in a coffin.
- The Witch of Knightcharm: The incoming class of rookie witches at an evil Wizarding School includes a Finnish witch named Elea Korhonen, but before the reader ever sees her it's's mentioned that she was already killed in an offscreen Wizard Duel .
- The Witchlands: Ragnor the Raider King is the Big Bad of the series, and his lackeys often discuss him and busy themselves making life harder for the heroes in his name, but the man himself doesn't appear or even send a letter to someone on-page until Bloodwitch. He also plays a role in the prequel Sightwitch, as the Rook King's general.
