This is the characters page for the 2021 TV series. For the 2019 TV series, click here. Beware of Unmarked Spoilers.
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The Living
Samantha "Sam" Arondekar
Played by: Rose McIver
UK Counterpart: Alison Cooper
A freelance journalist who inherits the Woodstone country estate from a distant relative and is excited at the opportunity to abandon the rat race and build a life outside the city.UK Counterpart: Alison Cooper
- Ambiguously Related: When Sam gets the notification that she is the last living relation to the recently deceased Woodstone owner, she mentions "kinda" remembering the great-aunt (maybe) and possibly going to the estate as a child.
- Adaptational Nice Girl: Downplayed, while Alison like Sam, is in general very friendly and kind, Samantha has a lot more patience when it comes to the ghosts than her British counterpart.
- All for Nothing: Sam's investigation into Alberta's murder and the podcast surrounding it turn out to big waste of time in "Whodunnit" because Hetty knew who it was the whole time and it wasn't any of the suspects Sam came up with.
- Blessed with Suck: She's able to communicate with the dead. Unfortunately, they're like a group of demanding toddlers, each vying for her attention over the others.
- Her "power" makes her unable to live in large cities, as the sheer number of ghosts in more populated areas like New York City is absolutely overwhelming.
- Calling the Old Woman Out: Does this to her mother after they start fighting again, but they make up in the end.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She's a beautiful blonde, with a cheerful and kind disposition.
- Hypocrite: Sam styles herself as an activist and rallies against cultural apportion, but when Thorfinn points out how many of Norse traditions have been appropriated by Christmas traditions, Sam's love of Christmas makes her deflect Thor's criticisms.
- In the Blood:
- Discussed in "The Family Business" after Hetty intercedes once more in the running of the B&B, she manipulates Sam into yelling and chastising Freddy for his emotional outburst and apparently screwing up the reservation system on an incredibly busy weekend (in truth Hetty convinces Trevor to do it). When the truth comes out and Sam calls out Hetty for this interference, she adds she kind of like blowing up in that way. Hetty notes Sam took to her anger quite easily and has a certain ruthlessness when it comes to her business. She is happy to see Woodstone blood still has this cutthroat drive for business in one of her descendants.
- It's revealed that Hetty could see ghosts as a child but lost the ability when she grew up. Given that it's confirmed that not all people who had near-death experiences can see ghosts, this potentially implies that Sam got the gift from Hetty's side of the family.
- I See Dead People: Due to her near-death experience, Sam can now see and converse with ghosts that hang around after death.
- Jerkass Ball: In "Whodunnit" Sam is very excited at the prospect that Alberta's beloved sister could be her killer because she thinks it would be a good twist to the story for the podcast. She gets even more excited when Jay says that it could be made into a movie and that she could be allowed to write it. All of which she says in front of Alberta no less.
- Ms. Fanservice: Sam is often seen dressed in short skirts and tight blouses.
- Mundane Utility:
- In "Flower's Article", her ability to see and speak to the dead ends up being used to ferry romantic messages between ghosts as if she was in the middle of a schoolyard romance.
- In "Sam's Mom", it also enables her to reconcile with her deceased mom's ghost, who's taken up residence at a diner, allowing her to get sucked off.
- Sam is not above using the ghosts as spies to make sure the first B&B guests enjoy their accommodations.
- Nice Girl: She's usually very friendly, and treats the Ghosts like family.
- Parental Issues: Had a tense relationship with her mother before she died, because her mother wanted her to quit journalism and go to law school. this gets resolved in "Sam's mom, where they reconcile, and she gets sucked off.
- Pop-Cultural Osmosis Failure: She is unfamiliar with Newhart when Pete brings it up in conversation, saying she wasn't alive when it was on the air. This means she was born no earlier than 1990, when Newhart concluded.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Sam loves being in the spotlight and receiving praise.
- In "Alberta's Podcast", when on the titular podcast, Sam suggests that she should be considered some sort of hero for starting the podcast and explaining Alberta's big secret in a way that makes her look good.
- In "The Tree" Sam clearly loves the praise she was given for writing an article to save a Lenape tree. So much so that she doesn't back down when an actual Lenape tells her that she's wrong until Sass admits he lied about the tree being important.
- In "Dumb Deaths" she insists that the production crew on the titular show cast her as Flower and then brags about have been in drama club in high school despite having only done sets (a fact pointed out by Jay).
- In "Isaac's Book", when the ghosts use Trevor's power post on Facebook about Sam's book being published (it wasn't, she lied), she eats up the praise her friends and family give her. The ghosts also mention that she previously bragged all about some banana bread she made on the site as well.
- In "Whodunnit" she is more interested in what it would mean for her and the podcast if Alberta's sister is Alberta's killer than Alberta's feelings on the matter.
- Straw Feminist: Sam's position as a feminist isn't taken very seriously by the other characters. When she gives a long-winded rant on how unfair the system Hetty and Molly the maid lived in, Hetty dismisses her as showing off (though not the point about Elias being the real problem).
- Throw the Dog a Bone: In a variation, she agrees to continue helping Jay play D&D with the ghosts despite how mind-numbingly boring she finds it, because she sees how lonely Jay is living at Woodstone and that playing the game makes him feel like a part of the relationship she has with the ghosts.
- Tomboyish Name: She's mostly addressed as "Sam".
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Downplayed. While Sam mostly retains her Nice Girl personality in season 2, she becomes more ego-driven. When high on her ego trips, she's more prone to make things about her and less prone to think about other people's feelings (see Small Name, Big Ego for more details).
- Tragic Keepsake: A bottle of perfume given to her by her late mother.
- True Companions: With the Ghosts. She comes to love them all like they were her family, in particular she begins to look upon Hetty, her ancestor, like a mother figure.
- "Well Done, Daughter!" Girl: Seeks her mother's approval, and to prove that her journalism career is working out for her.
- Womanchild: Despite being in her thirties, Sam is madly in love with the holiday season: she likes to leave up Christmas decorations until Groundhog Day and goes out of her way to leave milk and cookies for Santa Claus.
Jay Arondekar
Played by: Utkarsh Ambudkar
UK Counterpart: Mike Cooper
Samantha's husband. He's a chef who's leery about the financial cost of taking on a property as big and rundown as Woodstone.UK Counterpart: Mike Cooper
- Adaptational Intelligence: Never quite reaches Mike's occasional Too Dumb to Live moments.
- All for Nothing: As with Sam, Jay's involvement in the investigation of Alberta's murder and the podcast turns out to be a waste of time because "Whodunnit" reveals that Hetty knew who it was the entire time, and it wasn't any of the suspects they had. Bonus time wasted points for Jay because he wasted 8-plus hours putting together a murder board with all the evidence and suspects.
- Big Eater: He can put away large amounts of snack food very quickly — such as a big packet of Oreos and multiple cupcakes — and him being a professional chef feeds this obsession. He tries to lie about it to Sam, but the ghosts always rat him out.Trevor: This is not a man destined to keep it tight, Sam.
- The Friends Who Never Hang: He generally likes the Ghosts and the stories his wife tells him about them, but since he can't see or hear them, they have very limited interactions.
- Innocently Insensitive: Since Jay can't see the ghosts, he doesn't really know how upset they get when he says something they don't like (like how early on he would call Pete "Arrow Guy" or how he says "pip pip cheerio" whenever Sam tells him Nigel has entered the room).
- I Just Want to Be Special: He's a bit miffed that he can't see the ghosts his wife constantly sees.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: When Sam and Jay are going over the booking system, they find out that the maximum occupancy was changed from 4 to 69. Jay immediately tells Trevor that it would be traced back to him, but since Sam just talked to him, it's reasonable to Jay that Trevor would be somewhere in the room.
- Manchild: Jay has an unhealthy attachment to his mom, whom he calls regularly to hear her praise him over everything (including finishing crossword puzzles).
- Nice Guy: While he is Innocently Insensitive to the ghosts at times, Jay is otherwise a really good sport about the ghosts' zany antics. He only gets angry at them or Sam when they actually deserve it.
- Odd Friendship: He and Pete, due to their mutual love of D&D and basketball, and though Jay can't see Pete, the two even have a handshake that they perform together.
- Possession Burnout: When possessed by Hetty, he quickly becomes worn out by being a prisoner in his own body, not helped by the fact that she takes the opportunity to eat and drink everything she can lay her hands on.
- Sweet Tooth: He loves snack foods and prefers sugary coffee beverages.
- Understanding Boyfriend: He ultimately comes to accept Sam's ghost powers and considers the ghosts his friends, too. He does his best to help Sam navigate the pitfalls of seeing the dead.
- Ungrateful Bastard: In "The Heir", Jay hopes that Trevor is the ghost who gets sucked off despite the fact that Trevor is the only reason they managed to save the house.
The Farnsbys
Played by: Mark Linn-Baker (Henry) and Kathryn Greenwood (Margaret)
UK Counterpart: Barclay and Bunny Beg-Chetwynde
Sam and Jay's annoying neighbors.UK Counterpart: Barclay and Bunny Beg-Chetwynde
- Adaptational Jerkass: Barclay and Bunny were not particularly mean people and the worst Barclay has done is talk a lot in front of Alison and Mike. Henry and Margaret are openly antagonistic to Sam and Jay, wanting them to leave.
- Dirty Old Man: As revealed in "The Baby Bjorn", they host orgies once a month.
- Hate Sink: All the arrogant classism of Hetty and Isaac with none of the good intentions, they twice try to prevent Sam and Jay from opening the B & B, partly because they want no noise whatsoever and partly just because of a sheer hatred of the middle-class. It says a lot that the only time they were truly nice to Sam and Jay was when they thought that Sam and Jay wanted in on their orgies.
- Nosy Neighbor: The both of them try to prevent Sam and Jay from opening the B and B.
- Not in My Backyard!: Their motivation for trying to stop the B & B.
- Old Money: Descended from Robber Barons.
- The Rival: Double Subverted. Their family are ancestral rivals to the Woodstones, but they don't seem to care too much. Their concern is more with the B and B, but this leads to them becoming thorns in Sam and Jay's sides.
- Upper-Class Twit: In spades.Henry: We just don't want to deal with the headache of living next door to a B and B. I mean; the traffic, the noise...
Margaret: The middle-class trudging past in their Volvos.
Bela Arondekar
Played by: Punam Patel
UK Counterpart: Mike's Sisters Angela & Leila
Jay's Sister who gets catfished by Trevor. Sam tells her the truth about her talking to ghosts, and while Bela is at first skeptical, Sam is able to convince her with the help of the ghosts. She later returns in the Christmas Special trying to get Trevor to possess Eric, her new boyfriendUK Counterpart: Mike's Sisters Angela & Leila
- Adaptational Nice Girl: Overall, she's much nicer to Jay and treats him with more respect compared to Mike's sisters, though the two get into arguments sometimes.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Brings a friend, Eric, to the Woodstone for Christmas, but wants Trevor to posses him to have time with a "bad boy." After Eric dies for a short time, she sees him in a new light.
- Catfishing: Was in an online relationship with whom she thought was a corporate banker in New York. Turns out to have been Trevor, who used the only picture of him that was ever placed online: his obituary picture.
- Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: She's the foolish to Jay's responsible. She has a history of bad relationships and once left her car in a private parking lot long enough for them to put a boot on it.
- Secret-Keeper: After finding out Trevor's communications were coming from Sam's tablet, she was ready to leave and never speak to them again. Sam and Jay tell her of the existence of the ghosts, but she doesn't believe them until Pete describes the contents of her purse, including some "personal massaging items."
Freddie
Played by: Mike Lane
UK Counterpart: None
A former food-app delivery driver. He is hired by the Sam and Jay to be their assistant in running the B&B in the second season. He is unaware that there is a ghost haunting his restored car.UK Counterpart: None
- Butt-Monkey: Ghosts make his life hell on two occasions, manipulating Sam and Jay into disciplining him only for them to apologize for their mistakes.
- In "The Perfect Assistant" Jessica, who haunts his car, fabricates a story that Freddie killed her so he wouldn't retain his new job because she enjoys his life delivering food and seeing different places. He is let go until Sam and Jay learn the truth and make a grand gesture of amends.
- In "The Family Business" Hetty dislikes Sam's growing friendly attitude with "the help" and with Trevor's help sabotages the website that Freddie revamped. This causes Sam to blow up at him in the main hall before the customers who are frustrated over this perceived screw-up as well. He leaves but comes back when they apologize and tell him somehow the registration laptop got accessed well past when he left and they know it wasn't him.
- Eventually, all of this leads to him quitting for good in "Ghost Hunter".
- Chekhov's Gun: In "The Family Business" he installs a security camera over the check-in desk and at the end of the episode notices in a recording of when the system got sabotaged the keys seemed to move on their own.
- Promoted Fanboy: In-Universe. He has a dream of running his own B&B and happily works for Sam and Jay, despite the two misunderstandings that cause his life serious stress.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After everything he has been through working for them, let alone how frightened he is by the fact that the manor is haunted, by the end of "Ghost Hunter", he decides to quit. Though Sam and Jay try to talk him out of it, Alberta definitively scares him off.Sam: What the hell, Alberta!
Alberta: He nearly killed three of us!
Sam: That's fair.
Carol Martino
Click here to see Carol as a young woman*
Era: 2020's
Pete's wife who had an affair while Pete was alive. She shows up at Sam and Jay's mansion as a tribute to her husband Pete.- Adaptational Expansion: Carol's marriage to Pete is explored much more than Pat and his Carol, down to revealing that an argument over donut holes is behind Pete's death. She even becomes a ghost after she suddenly dies from choking on a donut hole.
- Ascended Extra: Unlike the British Carol, the American Carol makes much more of a recurring role here down to dying and becoming a prominent ghost in the show.
- Composite Character: She shares the same method of death as Annie in the UK version as they died from choking on a piece of food.
- Death by Adaptation: She dies in this version choking on a donut hole. Because of what kind of show this is, she sticks around.
- Does Not Like Spam: Hates doughnuts, despite loving doughnut holes.
- Expy: While the other Ghosts US characters have been developed beyond their British inspirations somewhat, she remains essentially a direct copy of Pat's wife, down to having the same name as her. This changes once she dies.
- Sympathetic Adulterer: Carol was having an affair with Pete's best friend when Pete was alive. While Pete is obviously and understandably deeply hurt by this, the show doesn't paint Carol as a villain, either. She's still harboring a lot of guilt for betraying Pete, because she knows he didn't deserve it, and comes to Woodstone partially to get it off her chest and find some form of closure that way. She and Pete's best friend genuinely fell in love, and are still together all these years later, showing that she didn't just betray Pete for a fling. Ultimately, Sam and the others help Pete forgive her. Subverted a few years later. In "Halloween 3: The Guest Who Wouldn't Leave" she ends up becoming a ghost on Woodstone’s property and subsequent episodes show she has become incredibly shameless about her affair. When she thinks Pete is cheating on Alberta, she gives him advice on how to cover his tracks this makes him realize how deceptive Carol was all along and he calls her out on it stunning her into silence. Later on, she sleeps with Thor (as part of a very miss aimed loyalty test on Thor's part) after Pete gives her another chance at a relationship.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Loves doughnut holes, despite hating doughnuts. She ends up dying while choking on a doughnut hole.
Mark
Played by: Tristan D. Lalla
UK Counterpart: Terry
Sam and Jay's general contractor and is the person who is handling most of the renovations at Woodstone B&B. Starting in the final episode of season 2, he and Jay become partners to renovate the barn into a restaurant.UK Counterpart: Terry
- Collector of the Strange: Collects expensive sneakers with Jay, who allows him to store his collection at the mansion.
- Crooked Contractor: Averted; he knows that Sam and Jay are struggling and helps them prioritize the renovations to remain a viable business.
The Ghosts
In General
From left to right: Pete, Isaac, Flower, Hetty, Thorfinn, Sasappis, Alberta and Trevor.
The undead residents of Woodstone Manor who weren't lucky enough to get "sucked off" to Heaven. As they all hail from different time periods, they're a colourful, eccentric lot, yet they all get along fairly well. Together, they find a purpose in the afterlife by protecting Sam, the only person who can see and interact with them.- Barred from the Afterlife: For reasons that aren't entirely clear, they are unable to pass on, perhaps due to Unfinished Business.
- Cast Herd: Almost completely Averted. All of the Woodstone ghosts have uniquely fleshed-out dynamics with each other and episodes that see them separated into smaller pairs or groups will usually reconfigure them into different combinations. That said, it's clear that some pairs are closer than others (e.g. Pete and Trevor, Flower and Thorfinn). However, this is very much played straight with the Cholera Ghosts, who exclusively hang out with each other in the cellar and only occasionally interact with the rest of the cast.
- Cast of Snowflakes: You can recognise most of them by their silhouette alone. It helps that they are physically unable to change clothes from whatever Iconic Outfit they died in.
- Dysfunction Junction: They all have their fair share of trauma and baggage, most of which isn't immediately obvious on the surface.
- Everyone Has Standards: They may have prejudices and beliefs from their own times but weaponising someone's trauma, as Stephanie tricked them into doing in Attic Girl, is a line not one of them will cross. Every single one of them, including both Trevor and Flower - who were both high on drugs at the time of their deaths - are furious.
- Friendly Ghost: Aside from that one time Stephanie attempted to cruelly prank Sam, they're all pretty harmless and friendly.
- Getting Crap Past the Radar: the older ones refer to ascending to Heaven as being "sucked off." Alberta later says that Elias "went down on us" after being dragged down to Hell.
- In "The Polterguest," Saul uses the term "jerk off" to describe detaching himself from a host.
- Hidden Depths: Initially, the ghosts appear to be fairly cartoonish stereotypes from the respective eras they hail from, but over time, they all receive substantial development as more details about their backstories come to light.
- Intangibility: They can walk through walls and phase through objects, much to their own frustration, yet they are able to sit down on chairs and lie on beds and can't fall on the floor. At one point, Pete lampshades that the mechanics don't make much sense and points out that there isn't a ghost manual. Living people unknowingly passing through them is noted to be especially uncomfortable for them.
- Invisibility: The Ghosts can only be seen by Sam, and occasionally, by young children. There are some minor inconsistancies, such as having their images reflected by mirrors and glass door panels. They also cast shadows when walking in front of a room light or outside in the sun. The budget probably doesn't allow for these anomalies to be digitally removed, but as most viewers won't notice, it's probably not worth the effort.
- Invisible to Normals: Ghosts are completely invisible to normal humans.
There could be a whole gaggle of them surrounding you right now and you'd never know. Most of the show's comedy comes from Sam being the only person aware of them, while other people are oblivious to their voyeuristic antics. - Locked in a Room:
- They are physically unable to leave the grounds of Woodstone. Any attempt to escape simply reverses them back to face the house. As a result, they are forced to spend eternity together as housemates, so they try to make the best of the situation.
- There also exist rooms that the ghosts cannot enter by phasing through the walls. The hidden vault in Woodstone is one such room as it will keep any ghost inside trapped until the door opens. None of the ghosts know why this is the case although it is attributed to a special type of metal.
- Mundane Fantastic: The reality that ghosts A) exist, and B) are everywhere, quickly becomes a tedious fact of life that the main characters accept. The ghosts find much amusement in modern music, TV and pop culture.
- Politically Incorrect Hero: Since they all hail from past eras, many of them understandably don't have the most progressive moral or political views. Thorfinn has uncomfortable tendencies and suggests violence easily, Hetty is vocally disgusted by the Irish, and Trevor is a sexist, classist, debaucherous Upper-Class Twit of the highest order.
- Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: The Ghosts are from different eras of history, social classes and, for Thorfinn and Sasappis, cultures. Trevor is the token Jew while Isaac is the token homosexual of the main Woodstone ghosts. Alberta, Sasappis, and Flower are people of color: black, native, and Hispanic. And Pete is of Italian descent. They all died on the property and became a found family along with Sam.
- Who Wants to Live Forever?: While being a ghost isn't entirely unpleasant, it means you are doomed to exist in perpetual boredom while almost completely unable to interact with the living world. Prior to Sam's arrival, the only way for the ghosts to pass the time was by talking to each other about various things.
Woodstone Estate Main Ghosts
Alberta Haynes
- Big Beautiful Woman: She's a full-figured, attractive woman, who in death has caught the attention of Pete and a poltergeist who visits Woodstone in Season 3. Deconstructed in "Alberta's Podcast", where she reveals, for all her beauty, hard work, and talent, fat women had a hell of a time trying to make it show business in her day, and she was frequently ignored in favor of skinnier women who weren't nearly as good. She eventually got so frustrated with being passed over that she resorted to outright sabotauge so she could finally get her chance.
- Composite Character: Because it was fitting for her character, Alberta got Jemima the Plague victim child ghost's ability to communicate with the living by singing when the latter's counterpart got Adapted Out. She also physically resembles Kitty in the UK version, being a Big Beautiful Woman of color, though Flower has a lot more of Kitty's naïveté. She also shares a bit of Thomas’ back story as they were killed because they were in the way of the person their murderer desired.
- A Day in the Limelight:
- We learn more about her in "Alberta’s Fan" thanks to a jazz historian.
- "Alberta's Podcast", explores how she rose to fame and introduces a suspect to her murder.
- Her bootlegging experience comes in handy in “The Liquor License” as Sam and Jay have to run a speakeasy to avoid being caught by the inspector because they don’t have a liquor license.
- She finds out she has a great-grandniece in “Alberta’s Descendant”. At the end of the episode, another suspect to her murder is introduced after Sam and Jay worked out that the person being referred to as T in the letter, found along with the hidden liquor in “The Liquor License”, could mean Alberta’s sister and Alicia's great-grandmother Theresa.
- "Whodunnit" reveals that Hetty’s son Thomas killed Alberta by leaving the poisoned moonshine, that she drank, outside of her room. It turned out he was so upset that his lover, Albert’s boyfriend Earl, didn’t break up with Alberta that he decided to get rid of the person who was in the way of his lover.
- The Diva: She's convinced that she's a singer of great fame and talent and that her death has to be the result of murder instead of something as mundane as a heart attack. Turns out, she's right.
- Hidden Depths: When Alberta plays D&D with Pete, Sass, and Jay, she is surprisingly very into it.
- Hypocrisy Nod: She hates "rats", and fully admits to having dabbled in organized crime back in the day. Turns out, she got her start because she caused her rival to miss a performance... by telling the cops her rival was involved in bootlegging. Alberta admits the hypocrisy and clearly isn't proud of it, even though the rival sort of had it coming.
- Knew It All Along: Alberta was the only one who'd believed she was murdered. It turns out, she was right.
- Murder the Hypotenuse: Her boyfriend was cheating on her with Hetty's son, Thomas. Which is why Thomas murdered her.
- Rejected Apology: After finding out that Hetty’s son killed her, she doesn’t forgive her for hiding the truth for nearly a hundred years. Sasappis, Flower and Pete try to settle the dispute by a ghost court. She still wants Hetty to be punished despite Hetty explaining that her past self would stay silent but now she’s different thanks to the other women in the house and a washing machine. Subverted when she drops the charges against Hetty when she realises that she can’t meet up with her when she is banished to the woods.
- Removing the Rival: She was unfairly passed over for a job in favor of a less talented but more conventionally beautiful woman. After two years of paying her dues in the chorus, hoping her hard work and talent would eventually be rewarded, she finally got sick of it and arranged for her rival to spend a night in jail so she could swoop in and fill in for her at that night's show, thus beginning her rise to fame.
- Ship Tease: While she claims she doesn't have romantic feelings for Pete and only thinks of him as a friend, she also doesn't hide her admiration for him, and openly speaks of how she thinks he's a good man.
- She also reacts with a romantic look towards Pete when he removes his neck arrow and brushes back his hair (in slow motion, no less) in "The Silent Partner."
- Whodunnit to Me?: Alberta is convinced she was murdered and asks Samantha to solve her murder, even though the other ghosts say she just had a heart attack. In "Alberta's Fan", it's discovered that she was right.
Flower (Susan Montero)
- Ambiguously Bi: Implied when she bemoaned about how the other two members of her throuple once made love without her.
- A Day in the Limelight:
- "Flower’s Article" gives a small insight into her life in the commune and the time she and her hippie friends robbed a bank.
- "Dumb Deaths" opens with her death. She was initially going to be the subject of a documentary called Dumb Deaths. The documentary producers decided to go back to their original idea after Sam and Jay made a deal that they would not sue them for Jay’s injury during the shooting of the documentary, on the condition that they do not do it about Pete’s death. However, they still needed the money so the documentary episode went with Flower’s one.
- "A Date to Remember" reveals why she joined a polyamorous cult.
- The season 3 premiere deals with the ghosts and Sam coming to terms over the fact that she moved on.
- Ascended to a Higher Plane of Existence: The Season 3 premiere reveals her to have been the one who moved on ..or not, as the Halloween episode ends with her voice coming from the bottom of the well.
- Attention Deficit... Ooh, Shiny!: She has a rather short attention span and is easily distracted by things that pass by her line of sight. This is mainly due to the hallucinogenics swilling inside her system which gave her a perpetual drug-filled daze in the afterlife.
- Bears Are Bad News: Flower died from being mauled by a bear.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Flower does have her limits, rare though it is that someone actually pisses her off to take action. At the end of "Ghost Father of the Bride" when she and Crash are watching a show alone, he starts serenading her once more. He fails to realize her discomfort and dislike and her face goes hard. She rips off his head to do something with it once more.
- Composite Character:
- She shares a character trait with The Captain in the UK version as in death, they feel ashamed and not worthy of themselves as they had stolen something with good intentions but it turned out to be fruitless. After the disclosure, the other ghosts reassured them that they shouldn’t feel ashamed about their past and that they are a good person.
- She also shares the fact that like Mary, she is the first ghost to move on. The remaining ghosts and the woman who can see them even hold a memorial service for her. However this turns out not to be the case as she’s actually stuck in a well.
- The Ditz: She is by far the most clueless and dumb of all the ghosts. Granted, this is partly due to having died while high and thus is permanently high as a ghost, but what we know of her past doesn't exactly paint the image of a brain trust. For one, she got high in the middle of one of her high school basketball games, and for another, she showed her face and said her real name during a bank robbery. And as a side effect of being high, she often completely forgets what she is doing or saying at any given time. She doesn't even consistently remember Sam and Jay's names, her own real name, or that a bear ate her.
- Even the Loving Hero Has Hated Ones: She was one of the only two ghosts to be wholly good people in life and gets along with all the main ghosts well (then being frustrated at her poor memory aside). However, she seems to dislike Crash (At least his head part) given that she confesses that she hid Crash's head for a year when it was actually Issac and she later tosses his head out the window when he is annoying her.
- Given Name Reveal: "Flower's Article" gives her first name Susan in her first flashback and her last name is disclosed as Montero later on.
- Hidden Depths:
- Due to having grown up with all brothers, she is a huge fan of basketball, having played it in high school, and is heavily well-versed in the history of the sport. She knows even more than Pete, a fellow aficionado, possibly due to having died 20 years before him. Overlaps with Passionate Sports Girl.
- "A Date to Remember" shows a tragic story behind her Polyamory. The last monogamous relationship she had was with a man named Michael. She was genuinely happy with him, with them even planning to marry after college. He died before they could do so, and since then Flower has been terrified of dating a single person for fear of getting hurt again.
- Hippie Name: She changed her name to Flower. Genius Bonus comes from how it likely originated in the explanation below.
- Meaningful Name: Her real name, Susan, can be translated from many languages to flower. This is probably where her nickname is derived from. And, of course, "flower child" is a common turn of phrase referring to a hippie.
- Mushroom Samba: She died while on an acid trip and the effects kick in fairly often. She can pass the high onto any living people who pass through her.
- New-Age Retro Hippie: She was a habitual user of hallucinogenics who'd lived in a commune and a cult, and was a part of multiple group marriages.
- Nice Girl: While she can be annoying at times, Flower is a genuinely good person. She is also the only house ghost who would go into the basement and be friendly to the Cholera Ghosts.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: She nearly gets Sam killed in the episode "Halloween 2: The Ghost of Hetty's Past" when she completely forgets what they were doing and shuts Sam in Elias' air-tight vault.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: While most of the time she really is just that dumb, occasionally she does take advantage of the fact everyone knows she forgets things constantly. This is best seen in "A Date To Remember" where she pretends to forget going on a date with Thor because she doesn't want to end up liking him and get hurt again.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Her real name is Susan Montero, but everyone calls her Flower so much so that she herself forgets it's a nickname.
- Only Sane by Comparison: In her commune, she was the only one who tried to use the money for practical good deeds. One of her comrades, Brenda, wanted to spend it on saving narwhals, which was ALSO sane in comparison to the rest of the commune, who wanted to spend it on aiding feral cats (an invasive species) in Costa Rica.
- Only Sane Woman: She was this in her commune when she wasn't high.
- Polyamory: She says she used to be a part of two group marriages.
- Running Gag: "Did I ever tell you guys about the time I robbed a bank?" Only once a week for the last fifty years!
- The Stoner: She's assumingly been doing drugs in high school and even died while high.
- Too Dumb to Live: She died by getting high on mushrooms and then trying to hug a bear. At the same time, she's such a ditz, Alberta noted it's impressive she lived as long as he did.
Henrietta "Hetty" Woodstone
Click here to see Hetty as a child*
Played by: Rebecca Wisocky, Alice Manning (young)
UK Counterpart: Lady Fanny Button
Era: The Gilded Age
The former owner of Woodstone and an ancestor of Samantha. She is the fourth oldest of the main ghosts and the last of them to die before the 1900s, making her the last of the older ghosts.UK Counterpart: Lady Fanny Button
Era: The Gilded Age
- A Day in the Limelight:
- "Possession", due to possessing Jay she is able to experience sensations she hadn't been able to since dying, and recognizing that she wasted her life, attending to her husband and never pursuing her own dreams. She advises Sam not to make the same mistake.
- "The Vault", explores her relationship with her husband. She confronts him again in “Weekend From Hell” when he ask her forgiveness to stay out of hell.
- "Halloween 2: The Ghost of Hetty’s Past", has her having to come face to face with Molly, the maid who had an affair her husband.
- "The Family Business" reveals that she was a neglectful mother. She regrets it in death so she tries to persuade her son Thomas not to marry the woman he was thinking of because she was a gold digger, with Thorfinn’s help. However, Thomas mistook Thor’s light flicking trick as a sign of approval.
- "He Sees Dead People" explores her relationship with her father. Especially since he threatened to cut ties with her, when Hetty wants to marry the artist who painted a provocative (by late 19th century standards) portrait of her showing an ankle, since she loved him.
- “Holes are Bad” shows how she died; she committed suicide via strangulation to avoid the consequences of her and Elias’ repeated law-breaking in their businesses. She thought that her son Thomas would have a better life inheriting the family money and house, which would have been seized as punishment for her and Elias’ actions.
- Adaptational Angst Downgrade: Only in two aspects as her marriage was arguably worse than Fanny's overall. Hetty wasn't murdered by Elias after discovering an affair and since Elias wasn't a Depraved Homosexual like George, she never developed Fanny's homophobia.
- Adaptational Nice Girl: While still as elitist as Fanny, she's less obnoxious about it than her British counterpart and much more accepting of Samantha as her descendant, than Fanny is of Alison.
- Awful Wedded Life: Her husband made their marriage All About Him.
- Big Eater: When she possesses Jay, she delights in being able to taste food after 130 years and indulges in everything Sam and Jay have at home.
- …But He Sounds Handsome: Inverted. She describes how poorly a guest was at a party only for Thorfinn to note she's describing her own actions.Hetty: You don't want to be the guest who ruins a party by doing too much cocaine and cornering someone to go on and on about how great Gilbert & Sullivan are.
Thorfinn: That was you. - Cargo Ship: With the broken washing machine.
- Composite Character: She shares a bit of Humphrey’s backstory as they took the blame for a crime they didn’t commit. In both cases, it resulted in the deaths.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: Her trans-Atlantic counterpart Fanny was murdered by her cheating husband. Hetty's cheating husband Elias predeceased her. Here she takes her own life with a telephone cord as she had no one turn to when the police came to punish her for Elias's business crimes.
- Double Standard: She needles Pete over being cheated on. Pete points out that Elias cheated on her with far greater frequency than Carol cheated on him.Hetty: I'm a lady, it’s to be expected. Your thing is just weird and sad.
- Everyone Has Standards:
- Despite her regressive attitudes towards women, poor people, and the Irish, she isn't racist to any other cultures and is surprisingly open-minded towards homosexuality for her time. When Isaac comes out to her, she's disappointed that he isn't interested in her (and a little embarrassed that she didn't catch on earlier), but otherwise accepts him instantly. Similarly, when revealing her son Thomas was having an affair with Alberta's at-the-time boyfriend back in the 1920s, she doesn't seem particularly scandalized by her son being in an interracial gay relationship, even during the flashbacks to the actual time period.
- While she kept her mouth shut about the nature of Alberta's death for a century, not wanting to admit her own son killed her, she cracks when the evidence seems to point towards Alberta's sister. Knowing Alberta would never recover from the pain of believing her own sister killed her, Hetty finally comes clean.
- Fag Hag: When she discovers that Isaac is gay, they quickly start to gossip over men they both find attractive.
- Female Misogynist: She has a low opinion of women in general. She thinks that they shouldn't have the right to vote, hold positions of authority (beyond master/servant relationships) or express opinions of any kind lest their brains break. She slowly learns to get over it as the series goes on.
- Functional Addict: Frequently talks about her love of cocaine. However, since she didn't die while high like Flower did, her drug use in life doesn't seem to affect her ghost.
- I See Dead People: When she was a little girl, she could see Thorfinn.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She's elitist, slightly racist and a little selfish, but she does care about her friends and has become very fond of Sam as well.
- Kissing Cousins: She and her husband Elias were cousins.
- Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: Well, she's a ghost so her entire existence is supernatural, but it's unknown if she sent her evil husband Elias to hell, or if it was because of his refusal to change himself. Though she immediately tries it out on Trevor, to everyone's horror, she jokes she knew it wasn't going to work. Or did she?
- My Greatest Failure: Her failure to raise her son Thomas properly to the point that he was the one who murdered Alberta haunts her deeply.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: She committed suicide so Thomas would have a better life; as he would lose his inheritance if she got arrested for her and Elias’ frequent lawbreaking. However this turns out to be worthless as Thomas eventually murdered Alberta.
- Parental Substitute: Sam begins to see Hetty as this after her own mother gets sucked off.
- Racist Grandma:
- Her views are not very progressive, even for her time. She has a strong disdain for the Irish and doesn't even believe women should be allowed to vote or go to college.Hetty: The Irish are people, too, apparently...
Sasappis: She says it, but I don't think she believes it. - Curiously, in spite of her dated ideas on women and Irish people, she is fairly progressive in other areas. While she has her problems with Alberta, it has nothing to do with her being black, she never says anything derisive to Sasappis for being a Native American or Trevor for being Jewish, she gets over the shock that Isaac is gay very quickly and she doesn't seem to have a problem with her last living descendant being in an interracial marriage. In the case of the first four, it could just be because she has been around them long enough to look past whatever prejudices she may have had, and may be ignorant enough to not be able to tell that Trevor is Jewish.
- Her views are not very progressive, even for her time. She has a strong disdain for the Irish and doesn't even believe women should be allowed to vote or go to college.
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: She didn't want her son to marry his girlfriend because she was poor. The fact that he was secretly gay would have been a much better reason.
- So Beautiful, It's a Curse: She was the one who had to marry Elias, as of her father's daughters, she was the most beautiful.
Capt. Isaac Higgintoot (né Higginbottom)
- Accidental Murder: In 1777, he used a gun's scope to admire Nigel from afar. When he sneezed, he accidentally pulled the trigger.
- A Day In The Lime Light:
- "D&D" gives a small insight into his life serving in the Continental Army as well as his feelings towards Nigel.
- In "The Liquor License" he tries to start a ghost fraternity with Trevor because he wanted to be a Freemason but was rejected by Benjamin Franklin. The only reason he wanted him at the Masonic lodge is to transport a desk to John Jay and give other Freemasons a ride back to their home using his carriage.
- “The Christmas Spirit, Part Two” explores his marriage to Beatrice and how it’s affecting his relationship with Nigel.
- Affectionate Nickname: His wife Beatrice gave him the nickname "Cricket" and had a dead cricket sewn onto a napkin before he died. It's now part of his ghost being.
- All Gays Love Theatre: He states that musical theatre is a passion of his and desperately wants a Broadway musical about him, just like Alexander Hamilton.
- The Beard: In life, he was married to Beatrice despite the fact that he was gay. Justified as being gay in Colonial America was punishable by death. In death, he feels guilty that he ruined Beatrice’s life because he was gay and therefore was not able to love her.
- Cannot Spit It Out: Try as he does, he won't come out about his sexuality or his crush on Nigel. It takes a while for him to reveal his feelings to Isaac.
- Composite Character: He combines the military background and closet sexuality of the Captain with Mary's ability to manifest a smell among the living, as well as Thomas’ hatred of a more famous contemporaneous figure (In Thomas’ case it’s Lord Byron while Isaac hates Alexander Hamilton). He also shares a part of Humphrey’s backstory as he was trapped in an Arranged Marriage with a woman he didn’t love but still cared for her.
- Coming-Out Story: Not fully so, but he does come out to Hetty, stating he's in love with Nigel. Hetty simply lets him know that she cares about him, loves him dearly as a friend, and since they're already dead, that he can take all the time he needs before he tells Sam, Nigel, and the rest of the Ghosts.
- Dirty Coward: Twice in "Ghost Hunter" when it comes to Freddie's ghost trap. First is when they were getting near an Oreo placed on the trap to smell it and then later when Jay suggests sending in another ghost to overload the trap. Both times, Isaac states that as "The Leader" he should delegate the dangerous tasks to one of the other ghosts.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: A fixture of Isaac's personality. In his life, Isaac was a member of the Second Continental Congress, a captain of his own company in the Continental Army, and even invented the sniper rifle 80 years before Joseph Whitworth. And yet no one knows who he is, something Isaac is very bitter about (especially since Alexander Hamilton, a man Isaac hated, is famous to the modern day).
- Gasshole: As a result of his death by dysentery, he emits a foul stench if a living person happens to pass through him.
- Gentleman and a Scholar: Implied as he went to Dartmouth College.
- Happily Married: "The Christmas Spirit" reveals that his marriage to Beatrice was essentially this despite it being built on a lie. Beatrice obviously knew Isaac was gay, and treated him very lovingly regardless, giving him the Affectionate Nickname "Cricket" and embroidering his handkerchiefs with them. She loved him so much that she made her way to the battlefront to be with Isaac in his final hours as he lay dying of dysentery and had him changed back into his uniform so he could die with his dignity intact.
- I Just Shot Marvin in the Face: Isaac used the attached scope of his rifle, a sniper prototype he christened the "Eye-saac", to clandestinely spy on his crush Nigel. This proved to be a very bad idea.
- I Never Said It Was Poison: In "Ghost Father of the Bride" when he and Alberta are looking for the culprit in who stashed Crash's head in the woods, Alberta realizes it was Isaac after the man noted what tv show was on the screen when Crash's head was taken, something only Crash and his abductor would know.
- Innocently Insensitive: He refers to Sam and Jay moving in as their land being taken, clearly not realizing the connotation that carries for Sasappis (a member of the Lenape).
- Ironic Name: His name means he who laughs. However, he becomes someone to laugh at due to his undignified death of dysentery.
- It Amused Me: His justification for tossing Crash's head into the woods. He figured it would be a fun adventure for the ghosts to look for his head. However, soon after he did it, living with Sam and Jay became funner and his relationship with Nigel started to heat up, so he ended up completely forgetting about stashing Crash's head.
- Jack of All Trades: Not only he was an army officer in life, he was also a squirrel taxidermist, an attorney and a barber.
- Shed the Family Name: His surname was originally Higginbottom but his parents changed it due to some outstanding bank debts.
- Transparent Closet: In contrast to his UK counterpart, who's repressed his sexuality so much that his speech and mannerisms come off as straight, Isaac doesn't do a very good job of hiding his sexuality or his crush on Jay and speaks more like an 18th-century dandy. Hetty is the only Woodstone resident (alive or dead) who has to be told that he is gay.
- Unfortunate Names: His surname is the nonsensical Higgintoot. His original one, Higginbottom is even more unfortunate since he’s become the subject of fart jokes due to his death by dysentery.
- Unknown Rival: He had a one-sided rivalry in life with Alexander Hamilton and is devastated to learn that Hamilton is well-known centuries later (Complete with his own hit musical) while he's barely even a footnote in history.
Peter "Pete" Martino
- A Day in the Limelight:
- "Pete’s Wife" explores his family and shows his death.
- "Dumb Deaths" reveals the truth behind his death thanks to one of his Pinecone Trooper girls who is now an adult.
- "Ghost Father of the Bride" involves him trying to get his ex-wife to arrange their daughter’s wedding at Woodstone B&B so he can see her getting married. In the end he does.
- "The Traveling Agent" has Pete finally discover his ghost power: He can leave the property and go anywhere he wants to.
- Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: He isn't Heterosexual Life-Partners with Isaac to the degree Pat was with the Captain, instead being best friends with Jay.
- Ambiguously Bi: In "The Liquor License" after Jay explains his plan, he openly states that he's a little turned on by him. He also seems to get very jealous when Jay hangs out with Mark instead.
- Annoying Arrows: How he died is that one went straight through his neck. He gets a bit touchy about the subject when Jay calls him "Arrow Guy".
- Extreme Doormat: Pete is the ghost who most values compromise and getting along with people, and the other ghosts take shameless advantage of his good nature.
- Good Is Dumb: When he hears that his grandson was in an accident, he makes a Deal with the Devil to ensure that he would be okay, without even checking to see if his grandson was injured in any way.
- Gosh Dang It to Heck!: He has a habit of never full on swearing with phrases like "Gosh Darn", "Holy Guacamole", "Son of a B word" and the list goes on. Even Sasappis gets tired of it.
- Heroic Sacrifice: When Sam gets an email saying that Pete's grandson is in the hospital following an accident and might not make it, Pete desperately wishes there was something he could do. Elias, visiting from Hell for the weekend, says that Pete's could potentially make a Deal with the Devil; his immortal soul in exchange for the kid's life. Pete doesn't even hesitate before agreeing. Turns out Elias sent the message and Pete's grandson was never in danger, leading the ghosts to have to save Pete from Hell. Still, the fact remains that Pete was more than willing to endure eternal damnation to save his grandson.
- The Incorruptible: On Elias' return trip from hell, he tricks Pete into selling him his soul. Elias later says that if they do get sucked back to hell, the demons will be impressed that Elias brought Pete back with him as Pete is such a good person that his soul is nearly as pure as a newborn's.
- Nice Guy: The friendliest of the Woodstone ghosts. When Samantha first asks him what he wants from her, he says he just wants to say "Hi" and "Welcome".
- Odd Friendship:
- He and Jay, due to their mutual love of D&D and basketball, and though Jay can't see Pete, the two even have a handshake that they perform together.
- He is one of the ghosts closer to Trevor. On the one hand, this sort of makes sense as he and Trevor are the ghosts closest in terms of death date, so Pete is the most up-to-date on modern culture and pop culture. On the other hand, Pete is nice to a fault while Trevor is dripping in sleaze.
- Only Sane by Comparison: Pete is overly chipper, to the point it's kind of unhealthy, and just lets the other ghosts walk all over him. However, it's those same qualities that make him more reasonable and less demanding than the other ghosts.
- The Pollyanna: He's always cheerful, upbeat, and encouraging everyone to do their best.
- Rage Breaking Point: Let it be said that even Pete has limits for how far you can test his patience:
- Nancy pushed Pete to this point by repeatedly degrading him on top of blackmail him into refusing to compromise with the other ghosts.
- After Carol becomes a ghost, Pete accidentally gets both Alberta and Nancy to pretend to be his girlfriend. When Carol believes Pete is cheating on Alberta with Nancy, she has the audacity to try to give him pointers on cheating. Pete can only take it for so long before he reveals the actual true so he can vent his frustration at her.
- Scout-Out: He was a leader in a Scout-style organization called "Pinecone Troopers".
- Ship Tease: After making peace with his feelings about his wife, he inadvertently lets Sam know he's in love with Alberta, and though she says that she only thinks of him as a friend, there's no doubt Alberta does admire him for being a kind and good man.
- Strange Minds Think Alike: A somewhat meta example. Pete says his approach to women is to befriend them, which he admits often results in them losing the ability to see him as a romantic option. He calls this strategy getting into the "friend zone". He died about a decade before the term "friend zone" was actually coined in an episode of Friends
Sasappis
- A Day in the Limelight:
- He gets some focus in "Flower's Article" when Sam runs into the ghost of a Lenape woman he was attracted to in life, and while working on her article Sam delivers messages back and forth between the two. In the end, he realizes that the two never actually knew each other all that well. Then immediately changes his tune to anger, after learning that Sam's forwardness on "his" behalf is what actually turned his crush off.
- "Ghostwriter" details his history, as he wanted to be his tribe's storyteller, but his father, who had tried and failed, worried his son would follow in his failure. When Sam starts to show the same fears of failure concerning the B&B and the website, Sasappis reveals he feared it too, thanks to his father's words, but reveals his father later had a change of heart and gave his confidence in his son, which Sass gives to Sam with the website.
- "The Tree" explains that every time he saw Shiki, he caved it into the tree that Sam and Jay’s neighbours want to come down. The episode is notable for featuring Lenape culture.
- Braids, Beads and Buckskins: He is dressed in this manner. Somewhat Justified, since Native Americans actually dressed like that in the period Sasappis lived, though certain details of his costume are inaccurate to the Lenape specifically.
- Deadpan Snarker: Is the most sarcastic member of the ghostly gang.
- Decomposite Character: Since all the other main male ghosts have exact or nearly exact UK counterparts, it would be reasonable to assume by process of elimination that Sass is the American counterpart to Thomas Thorne, as they both love different forms of storytelling. However, Thomas's crush on the living girl and rivalry with a much more famous contemporary are instead given to Trevor and Isaac, respectively.
- Did Not Get the Girl: While in life he ends up in a relationship to another woman, he never acted on his feelings for Shiki and still carries a torch for her centuries after their respective deaths. That said, when Sam gives Shiki Sass' unrestrained message and the depths of the feelings Sass still has, Shiki ends the correspondence.
- Dream Walker: As revealed in the episode "Man of Your Dreams," his ghost power enables him to enter the dreams of Livings. He can also influence their decisions in the waking world via convincing them in their dreams.
- The Gadfly: He tricks Sam into believing he's actually an accountant from the '90s who died during a costume party for a few seconds just because he could.
- I Coulda Been a Contender!: He wanted to be his tribe's storyteller but died before he got the chance. Sam and the other Ghosts arrange to hear one of his stories, which moves them all deeply.
- In-Series Nickname: Sasappis usually goes by "Sass" which is quite fitting given his snarky nature.
- Meaningful Name: His name is an old Latin script writingnote of a Lenape word for "firefly", fitting his personality. His nickname, Sass, fits as well as the word means someone with a sharp, sarcastic tongue and he's often the snarkiest of the ghosts.
- Mr. Exposition: He's the ghost who witnessed and explains both how Trevor lost his pants and how Isaacs's wife showed up to dress him in his final moments. This is also fitting given Sass' aspiration and role to be his tribe's storyteller back when he was alive.
- New Powers as the Plot Demands: In "Man of Your Dreams", Sasappis has a never-before-seen power to enter people's dreams and influence them, telling Pete that he has had this power all along with only Thorfinn knowing about it. However, given Sam and Trevor immediately exploit this power on Jay for their own gain upon learning its existence and that he needs his target's trust and for them to be incredibly susceptible to work, it's clear why Sass had kept his power to himself until that episode.
- Of Course I'm Not a Virgin: He rather forcefully insists that he's not a virgin, going so far as to say that he'd had sex 43 times before he died. Thorfinn later backs this up, saying he'd watched Sasappis having sex.
- Only Sane by Comparison: Sass is by far the most well-adjusted to modern times of the older ghosts (and even some of the younger ones), to the point he talks just like Sam and Jay do. He also lacks outdated values (like Thor, Isaac, and Hetty) and an over-the-top personality (like Thor, Alberta, Flower, Pete, and Trevor), so he often comes off as more reasonable than the others. That being said he is obsessed with frozen pepperoni pizza, to the point he uses Trevor's power to bother Jay after showering to make some.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Thor's red.
- Secret Secret-Keeper: Because he stays in the room when Trevor gives his pants to coworker Pinkus, he is the only one besides Trevor to know this good deed, and later witnesses Trevor's "friends" agree to hide Trevor's body in the lake and not call the cops.
- Stepford Snarker: His insecurities kept him from being his tribe's storyteller and pursuing Shiki. After he died, he had to watch helplessly as his people were driven off their ancestral land. He buries these feelings under a layer of sarcasm.
- Superpower Lottery: Sass has arguably the best ghost powers out of the cast where it's usually determined by the circumstances of their death or the way they live. In his case, he can enter the dreams of the Living and influence their decisions upon awaking provided they are susceptible enough which is by far the most reliable power with the least problematic setbacks compared to flickering the lights, emitting a noxious odor or making others high when passed through and physically moving objects with only one finger under great amounts of effort.
- Trademark Favourite Food: Pepperoni pizza. While he's physically incapable of eating, he loves the smell and requests for Samantha or Jay to put some in the oven. It's also the reason why he reveals his Dreamwalker powers upon trying to influence Jay into buying a pizza oven for his restaurant in "Man of Your Dreams".
- Troll: Likes to playfully mess with people for his own enjoyment.
Thorfinn
- A Day in the Limelight:
- "Viking Funeral" explains a bit of his backstory as his bones are uncovered.
- "Thorapy" reveals that he has nightmares about his guilt of killing his friend Oskar, who was a squirrel, after he went hungry during a harsh winter.
- "The Baby Bjorn" reveals that he has a son who came looking for him but died in what later became the Farnsby house. Later, we learn that Thor had not seen his son since he was an infant. In the end, Thor manages to talk to his son via a window on the upper floor of the houses they reside in.
- He talks about his father during his date with Flower in "A Date to Remember".
- Berserk Button: Danish people. Thorfinn spent a lot of his adult life murdering Danes due to Norse's prejudices. A thousand years later, he still hates Danes and tells many stories about dismembering them with pride. The fact that his son Bjorn married and fathered children with one nearly causes Thor to disown him.
- Bruiser with a Soft Center: He's a big guy with a love of fighting (he is a Viking, after all), but he's ultimately a good-natured person who is loyal to his friends and capable of being very sensitive.
- Call a Rabbit a "Smeerp": He calls cars "land ships." Pete suspects he does it on purpose, at least some of the time.
- The Ditz: He is only slightly less clueless than Flower (which isn't a high bar). He refers to cars as land-ships, forgets that as a ghost he can't kill people, speaks with almost no tact, and forgets to tell the others that his best friend Oskar is a squirrel before talking about how he killed and ate him.
- Electro Magnetic Ghosts: He can, with great effort, cause lights to flicker.
- Everyone Has Standards: Thor may have spent his life raiding and killing, but he is taken aback when Elias celebrates the extinction of the white rhino.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Not among the ghosts (who have grown to love him over the years) but seemingly among his shipmates, who sailed off without him and didn't turn back when he called out to them.
- Friend to All Children: Implied. When encountering a young child who can see ghosts (which happens rarely), he takes the time to sing them to sleep with a lullaby. This included a young Hetty, and he was heartbroken when she didn't regain her memories of him after she died as he'd hoped.
- Hazy-Feel Turn: Downplayed. While befriending the other ghosts has brought out the best in Thor and he has many redeeming qualities, he often talks about his days pillaging with pride and always suggests killing people as the first solution to a problem. While he is becoming a better person over time, it's for the best that, as a ghost, he can't act on his worst instincts.
- High-Voltage Death: He was stuck by lightning after his shipmates abandoned him.
- Hollywood Costuming: Thor's short hairstyle would have been very out of place among his people, given Vikings saw long hair as being manly and popular at the time.
- Murder Is the Best Solution: Always his first idea to solve problems with living people, regardless of the fact that he is literally incapable of doing so.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: He may be based on Viking Thorfinn Karlsefni
, who attempted to truly colonize the New World and set the longest-lasting known European colony before the 15th century and died the same year and also had two children, though Karlsefni was Icelandic instead of Norse. - No Indoor Voice: Most of his dialogue involves him shouting almost every line.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Probably. Seeing as Thor insists on calling cars "land-ships" despite everyone else calling them cars right in front of him, sometimes even seconds before he does, and that he knows other words referring to cars, the other ghosts believe Thor is actually actively choosing not to say it correctly. This is further evidenced by Thor pretending not to know the word leather despite having said it before.
- Also when Alberta asks what DNA stands for, Thor immediately responds "Deoxyribonucleic acid" and says it flawlessly, stating that he heard it on a TV show about O.J. Simpson.
- Odd Friendship: Considering that he is 1000 years older than more than half of them, all of Thorfinn's friendships are this in some way.
- While they're not the closest of the ghosts, Sasappis was still Thor's first friend in 500 years. Considering one was born on a completely different continent and loves violence and killing while the other grew up in a more peaceful time and desired to tell stories as a job, it's definitely a very unconventional friendship. One must wonder what they talked about in the time it took for the next ghost to show up.
- It's certainly surprising that a thousand-year-old Proud Warrior Race Guy like Thor would form a friendship and eventually fall in love with Flower,a peace-loving hippy from the 1960s.
- The Pig-Pen: He admits that the pelts he wears smell bad to other ghosts because they were soaked in wolf urine to ward off bears.
- Proud Warrior Race Guy: He's deeply proud of his people's history of fighting and the glory associated with it in their culture.
- Taught to Hate: Inverted. Thorfin hates Danes, and is deeply disappointed to find out his son (who was a baby when Thorfin died) married a Dane and had three children with her. At first, Thorfin wants to disown his son, but eventually gets over it.Thorfin: I was not there for Bjorn when he was child. Children are not born with hatred in their hearts. They must be taught hatred!
- Third-Person Person: He alternates between using first-person pronouns and speaking about himself in the third person. Justified since English is not his first but third languagenote and had to learn it slowly over the years.
- Trademark Favorite Food: Several types of North Atlantic fish, especially cod.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Sass's blue.
- Vikings In America: He's a Viking who died in upstate New York.
Trevor Lefkowitz
Click to see his younger self.
Played by: Asher Grodman, Sam Ashe Arnold (young)
UK Counterpart: Julian Fawcett MP
Era: Turn of the Millennium
A hard-partying Wall Street financier who died pantsless. He is the most recently dead of all the ghosts and the only one of them to die in the year 2000.UK Counterpart: Julian Fawcett MP
Era: Turn of the Millennium
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Overall, he's a lot more pleasant than Julian ever was. Whereas Julian outright tried to murder Alison by pushing her out a window, Trevor causing Sam's fall was an accident, as he was only trying to scare her away. More so, while Julian, who openly preached family values to parliament, died in the midst of sexual debauchery while neglecting his wife and daughter, on Christmas no less, Trevor merely made up his sexual exploits to save face with his cruel-hearted friends, when actually doing an act of kindness towards the young associate they were trying to haze.
- Broken Pedestal: In the span of two days he finds out that his father cheated on his mother and his childhood hero, Mel Gibson, is an anti-Semite.
- Chivalrous Pervert: He's a horndog who shamelessly hits on Sam and makes crude remarks about the women he sees on TV and the Internet. However, he absolutely refuses to try anything with Stephanie (despite her constantly coming on to him) because she was still biologically underage when she died.
- Composite Character:
- He takes on Thomas Thorne's crush on the living female main character.
- Like Julian, he is pantless and can move objects in the living world.
- He takes Sir Humphrey's Body's role in having an affair with the former owner
- A Day in the Limelight:
- "Jay's Sister" has him recognizing he was so busy being a lady's man, he never had the chance to find actual love with someone.
- "Trevor's Pants" finally reveals how he died, and why he died pantsless.
- "Trevor’s Body" features him trying to get his parents, who are visiting the house after discovering their son’s body was found in the nearby lake, back together again after learning that they divorced after he died.
- “Hello, Brother” explores his relationship with his younger brother Jeremy as he checks into Woodstone due to a loophole.
- Deadly Hazing: Trevor ended up without his pants when he died because of his efforts to avert this. He gave them to Pinkas, a young recruit at his Wall Street firm, when the others tried to make Pinkas run through the freezing night without his clothes, and Trevor realized he'd likely die of hypothermia. Trevor also OD'd on that same night of excess.
- Handsome Lech: Trevor acts like this but really isn’t. During his life, he pretended to be a playboy who used his dashing good looks to exploit girls so he could fit in with his work friends who were downright cruel. This is shown where he saved from humiliation a Naïve Newcomer who his friends were playing a cruel joke, seems to hold sincere feelings for Sam (even if nothing will ever happen) and refuses to accept Stephanie’s romantic feelings because when she died she was only a teenager (even if they are technically the same age).
- Hidden Depths:
- There are some hints that, underneath the Handsome Lech routine, he has sincere romantic feelings for Sam, even if he knows nothing will ever come of it.
- On the night he died, he gave his pants (and boxers) to his new work-bro, Pinkis, because he remembered how bad it was during his hazing.
- Hopeless Suitor: Often makes playful passes at Samantha, despite her being happily married, and you know, not a ghost.
- Ignorant of Their Own Ignorance: He's obviously pretty out of it when it comes to the current business world and doesn't know how out-of-date his knowledge of the markets is. In one episode, he boasts he can help Sam by giving her access to his top three stocks: Circuit City, Enron and Blockbuster Video. In another, he suggests getting in touch with Bernie Madoff.
- Innocently Insensitive: When talking about the British ghosts, Trevor twice talks about how this land has always been American. Sasappis is unamused.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold:
- He's a bit of a sleazebag, but not a bad person. Dying is implied to have made him a nicer person overall.
- While he can often be chauvinistic, his goodbye speech to Bela was surprisingly genuine.
- "Trevor's Pants" reveals just how great a person he was. On the night that he died, his "friends" cruelly attempted to haze a young associate, by having him run all the way back to the city from Woodstone Manor in only his undershirt. After realizing the kid would most likely succumb to hypothermia, Trevor gave him his money clip, pants and underwear so that he could get a cab while making up a story that he had slept with the limo driver.
Sam: (after hearing the full story) Trevor... You're a good guy!
Hetty: I had no idea!
Trevor: (sheepishly) A little less surprise would be nice. - Last Disrespects: His "friends" didn't even try to revive him after he OD'd, nor did any of them call 911, afraid of what the consequences might be, and instead called their fathers, before ultimately chucking Trevor's body in the lake on the Manor's grounds.
- Lighter and Softer: Trevor is much nicer than Julian, his UK counterpart. He's often seen reacting happily when something nice happens to one of the others, like Pete meeting his grandson, and he's genuinely upset when he realises what he's done to Jay's sister.
- My God, What Have I Done?:
- He felt terrible when Sam tripped over the vase he worked so hard to knock over, and had to be rushed to the hospital.
- Finding out he has a daughter makes him see his previous misogynistic behavior in a new light, and he does not like it.
- Pants-Free: Trevor died naked from the waist down. His shirt covers his genitals most of the time... unless he raises his arms, to the horror of the others.Pete: (to Sass before his story) If you're nervous, just imagine us in our underwear.
Trevor: (wistfully) I wish I had underwear.
Hetty: We all do, Trevor. - Parental Sexuality Squick: Played with. He’s okay with his parents having sex, he even encourages it. What disturbs him is all of his fellow ghosts watching.
- Poltergeist: He can physically move objects, although this requires great effort.
- Pretty Boy: Even Jay openly comments on how handsome he is, after seeing a picture of him. Of course this later turns to horror and disdain when he realizes this is the same handsome ghost, with no pants, that is constantly hitting on his wife.Jay: (defensively to Sam) Why didn't you tell me about those cheekbones?
- Raging Stiffie: One downside to his pantless situation is there is no cover to hide his penis when he becomes excited. After trying to play down his sleeping with Hetty on Christmas and feigning disinterest afterward, his one-time lover notes it would be easier to believe that if they couldn't see his erection.
- Replacement Goldfish: Implied. He bears a striking resemblance to Stephanie's boyfriend before she died. However, given that she was a teenager when she died, he's not into it.
- Hetty openly states that she sees him as a replacement for the washing machine.
- Running Gag: Trevor seems to have a very poor track record when it comes to picking stocks or just making recommendations in general.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: When he was alive, Trevor was a driven finance bro. His brother is a Basement-Dweller.
- The Un Favourite: Not among his parents (who loved him very much), but he is by far Jay's least favorite of the ghosts. Considering he hits on Jay's wife and catfishes and later tries to sleep with Jay's sister, this isn't shocking in the least.
- What You Are in the Dark: How he really lost his pants. When Pinkus is about to leave for his "run of fun" (aka running back to city in the freezing cold naked from the waist down), Trevor stops him away from the others and gives him money for a cab and his pants and underwear so he can still get his promotion without catching hypothermia. Trevor's only stipulation was that Pinkus never tell anyone. Even twenty years later, Trevor never confessed his good deed to the other ghosts, with only Sass knowing the truth due to having seen it first-hand.
- Yiddish as a Second Language: He peppers his speech with Yiddish phrases and exclamations.
Woodstone Estate Minor Ghosts
Crash
Played by: Hudson Thames (head in pilot), Alex Boniello (head in season 2+), Matt Keyes (body)
UK Counterpart: Sir Humphrey "Headless Humphrey" Bone
Era: The '50s
A beheaded greaser from the '50s who spends most of his time wandering headless in hopes of reuniting with his head.UK Counterpart: Sir Humphrey "Headless Humphrey" Bone
Era: The '50s
- Ambiguously Bi: In "Trevor's Pants", Flower asks him to be in a polyamorous relationship with herself and Thorfinn. He seems to be interested but is unable to clearly communicate the nature of his interest since he's separated from his head.
- The Bus Came Back: After an extended absence, he reappears with his head in "Ghost Father of the Bride".
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: His head only appears briefly in the pilot but goes missing when Thorfinn accidentally knocks it off his neck. Only his headless body appears two more times in the rest of the first season, with his head never to be found, and it took until the NINETEENTH episode of season two for him to appear again (although at least it made him the star of said episode's B-plot, with his head finally being found).
- Demoted to Extra: Unlike Sir Humphrey Bone, whose head is seen and heard regularly, Crash's head was missing for most of the first season.
- Flat Character: He is the ghost we know the least about. We don't know how he died or what his life was like when he was alive, and there are barely any scenes between him interacting with the other ghosts.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Implied. The ghosts (except for Flower) don't seem to actively dislike him, but none of them noticed or cared that his head was missing for over a full year.
- Greaser Delinquents: He was evidently one of these in life.
- Losing Your Head: He died in this manner, presumably in a vehicular accident.
- No Celebrities Were Harmed: He is modeled after James Dean, with his name even referencing how Dean died.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: His actual name has never been revealed.
Stephanie
- '80s Hair: Stephanie, as an 80s mean girls based on Heather Chandler she has a big, frizzy perm.
- Abhorrent Admirer: To Trevor, as she's still stuck in the body of a teenager.
- Alpha Bitch: Befitting her '80s "mean girl" image, she has not matured since her death and treats the ghosts and livings like various cliques she had in high school. She is resentful of Sam for trying to say the living had a bad prom experience making Stephanie show her mortal wound and calls Stephanie "creepy."
- Dick Dastardly Stops to Cheat: She had already convinced the other ghosts to come to her ghost prom and exclude Sam from it. When she tricks the ghosts into pulling a mean prank on Sam, all it does is convince them not to go to her prom.
- Evil Is Petty: She is more mean than evil, but she intentionally makes Sam relive a traumatizing memory. She did this either because Sam called her creepy, or because Trevor has a crush on Sam and not her (or maybe both).
- When she learns that Trevor is in a relationship with Hetty, she decides to try to break up all the heterosexual couples in Woodstone, because she doesn't want anyone to be in a relationship if she can't be.
- Expy: Of Heather Chandler, as she was a teenage "mean girl" who got brutally killed and also has long, curly hair styled like her.
- Fangirl: Of U2.
- Insult Backfire: After her mean prank on Sam, Pete called her "Chainsaw Madonna". Being a teen girl from the '80s, she took being compared to Madonna as a compliment.
- It's All About Me: Naturally as an 80's mean girl, Stephanie puts herself at the center of the universe and will only let people be happy if she's happy.
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: When Pete told Stephanie about Sam's prom trauma, she instead uses it to cruelly trick the ghosts to prank Sam by having baguettes delivered to her, and never apologizes for it.
- She also never apologizes for trying to break up the Woodstone couples in "Woodstone's Hottest Couple".
- Karma Houdini: She tricked the ghosts into playing a mean prank on Sam that made her relive a childhood trauma in "Attic Girl" and actively tried to break up the couples at Woodstone in "Woodstone's Hottest Couple". Both times she is rewarded instead of punished.Justified as she's already dead and intangible and (short of throwing her in the vault maybe, and even that wouldn't mean much since she sleeps 364 days of the year) there's nothing anyone can really do to "punish" her.
- Poke the Poodle: Her "evil" plan to break up all the couples in Woodstone amounted to pointing out the glaring obvious issues in their relationships, which they needed to work out anyway.
- Precocious Crush: On Trevor. Zig-zagged, in that they were born the same year, but Trevor still sees her as a child because of how her body looks like her teenage self.
- Really Fond of Sleeping: The reason Sam hadn't met Stephanie for a long while, is that Stephanie usually sleeps for months at a time. Comments from the other ghosts indicate that this is typical of those who die in their teens.
- Remember the New Guy?: She appears in the show mid-season and is treated like she always existed. Justified as the ghosts point out that she sleeps for months without waking up.
- Token Evil Teammate: She's by far the most amoral of the regular house ghosts, as slimy in death as she was in life.
- Ungrateful Bastard: In "Woodstone's Hottest Couple", Stephanie actively tries to ruin the relationships of everyone at Woodstone despite Sam and the other ghosts throwing her a prom last time she was awake.
- Wrong Genre Savvy: She treats the ghosts, Sam, and her own prom idea like she’s still the typical '80s popular high school mean girl who rules over the other students and always gets what she wants. Naturally, as every one of the other ghosts is much older than her and has bonded with Sam, they have none of it once they get wise.
The Cholera Victim Ghosts
Played by: Nigel Downer (Nigel), Stuart Fink (Stuart), Arthur Holden (Creepy Dirk), Cody Crain (Cody), Cat Lemieux (Catherine), Richie Moriarty (Unnamed Cholera Ghost), Tyler Alvare (Ralph)
UK Counterpart: Plague Victims
Era: Antebellum Era note
A group of ghosts who died in a pest house that was used to house cholera patients before Woodstone Manor was built. They inhabit the basement and the upstairs ghosts pay little attention to them.UK Counterpart: Plague Victims
Era: Antebellum Era note
- Creepy Basement: They reside in the mansion's creepy basement, and going down there creeps out even the upstairs ghosts.
-
The Danza: Nigel Downer plays Nigel, Stuart Fink plays Stuart, and Cody Crain plays Cody. Downplayed with Cat Lemieux who plays a ghost named Catherine. - Nice Guy: They are all pleasant and soft-spoken, with little in the way of demands for Sam other than wishing she'd keep the basement light on when she leaves.
- Smarter Than They Look: They know how the hot water heater works and relay instructions via Samantha so it can be fixed.
Nancy
- Girlfriend in Canada: After Pete claims to be in a relationship with one of the basement ghosts, he has to go downstairs to see if anyone will play along. She's the only one who steps forward.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: She's loud, obnoxious, and runs Pete ragged, then lets him know just how proud she is of him, for sticking to his kindhearted nature before returning to the basement. Outside of that, she's a generally nice, kind woman who just happens to be a tad annoying and is always happy to help if possible.
- Odd Friendship: It isn't elaborated on in great detail, but she gets on well with the refined and somewhat pompous Nigel.
- So Proud of You: She lets Pete know she's proud of him for finally standing up for himself against her, before returning to the basement.
- The Thing That Would Not Leave: She finds living in the main house to be great and refuses to leave even after wearing out her welcome.
Nigel Chessum
- Accidental Murder: Nigel died when Isaac accidentally shot him in the chest while Isaac was spying on him with a looking glass attached to a musket and then sneezed causing the gun to go off.
- Closet Key: It's Isaac's attraction to Nigel that finally forces him to admit he is gay after denying it for his whole life.
- Eternal Sexual Freedom: Despite being from the same era as Isaac, there's no evidence that he ever struggled with his sexuality.
- Incredibly Lame Fun: He finds watching ants to be an enjoyable and engrossing activity, considering he has little else to do as a spectre.
- Meaningful Name: One of the meanings of his name is dark or black. Somewhat fitting as he spent season 1 and the first half of season 2 living in a dark and gloomy shed.
- Will They or Won't They?: Throughout the first season it is very obvious that he and Isaac like each other, but Isaac is too afraid to admit it. In the season one finale Isaac admits that he likes Nigel, to which Nigel admits he likes Isaac back. Season Two has them as an active couple, complete with lovers' tiffs. At the end of the season 2 finale, he becomes engaged to Isaac.
The Redcoat Ghosts
Played by: Christian Daoust (Jenkins), Chad Andrews (Baxter in season 1), Steven Yaffee (Baxter in season 3+)
UK Counterpart: None
Era: American Revolution
Nigel's subordinates, Jenkins and Baxter: two British redcoats who died where Woodstone now stands during the Revolutionary War in the same rough time period as Isaac and Nigel. They normally keep to themselves in a garden shed that had previously been their wartime barracks, occasionally coming to the house to rehash the war.UK Counterpart: None
Era: American Revolution
- Green-Eyed Monster: In "Farnsby & B" Jenkins tells Isaac that Nigel had been sucked off and Nigel that Isaac was dating Thorfinn out of jealousy of them possibly getting together. Then, in "Trevor's Body", Jenkins lets slip to the other ghosts that he and Nigel slept together on Christmas Eve when Nigel and Isaac were broken up to once again try to destroy their relationship.
- Instant Death Stab: Baxter seems to have died this way since he has a bayonet sticking out of him.
- Leitmotif: Courtesy of Baxter, a fife rendition of "The British Grenadiers."
- Satellite Character: Neither Jenkins nor Baxter seems to have much of a life outside of their service to Nigel (or in Jenkins' case, his one-sided crush on Nigel). In fact as of current, Baxter still has only spoken four words on screen.
Elias (Spoilers)
- Adaptational Sexuality: While he still cheated on Hetty, he's not homosexual like his UK counterpart.
- And I Must Scream: Died while locked inside a vault made out of a material that even ghosts can't move through, leaving him trapped inside even after death.
- Ascended Extra: George never became a ghost like Elias did.
- Asshole Victim: The contractor he hired to build his vault locked him inside it. No one missed him.
- Buried Alive: The builder who made the vault for Elias locked him in to suffocate over the affair Elias had with the builder's wife.
- Decomposite Character: His sexuality was given to his and Hetty's son Thomas.
- Dragged Off to Hell: After he announces his intent to continue to be an evil pain in the ass for the rest of his existence, Hetty tells him to go to hell, thus he "went down on them".
- Evil Counterpart:
- To Trevor as both were wealthy hedonists who died in strange and embarrassing circumstances (Trevor while not wearing pants, Elias being trapped in a vault), but Elias was far more cruel than Trevor. While Trevor has his Pet the Dog moments, Elias has none.
- To Hetty, as both did cruel things as robber barons and had terrible beliefs regarding the poor and minorities. But while Hetty is willing to change, Elias refuses.
- Also, to Sam's mother, Sheryl. Both had a tumultuous relationship with their loved ones when they were alive (Elias to Hetty, Sheryl to Sam), both made a one-off appearance, and both died in a horrific circumstance that they caused. But while Sheryl is able to make up to Sam and gets ascended, Elias refuses to change and continued to insult Hetty, causing Hetty to snap and cause Elias to get dragged to hell. Elias is essentially what Sheryl could've been if she refused to change and admit her mistakes.
- Extreme Omnisexual: Got trapped (and died) after the contractor found out Elias had slept with his wife. After being "rescued," asks Hetty if their maid was a ghost also. Just wondering...
- Fantastic Racism: He hates the fact that his home is now owned by livings, and openly states he will do whatever it takes to ensure Sam and Jay are forced to move. He never gets the chance.
- Good Hair, Evil Hair: Elias maintains a well-groomed handlebar mustache and plots harm against the living members of the household. At one point he even twirls the ends of his mustache, something which the other ghosts point out as an evil trait.
- Hate Sink: Cheated on Hetty, tries to drive Sam and Jay out because he didn't like that she now has self-confidence, used a violent gang to deal with a labor union, and hunted endangered animals. He expressed glee when he found out that white rhinoceros are now extinct, due in part to him.
- Innocent Innuendo: After being dropped, Alberta says that he "went down on them". Sam starts to correct her but Trevor stops her, again.
- Instantly Proven Wrong: Claims that there is no good or evil and that he knows better. Then is immediately Dragged Off to Hell, proving definitively that there is good and evil, and everyone is being judged for it.
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: He revels in being rude and condescending to everyone around him and rejects the opportunity for self-improvement.
- Karma Houdini Warranty: Twice over.
- After years of getting away with his many crimes and affairs, Elias' life finally came to an end when his Vault Maker sealed him inside where he suffocated and then became a ghost trapped inside the vault for a hundred years with nothing to do and no one to talk to.
- Just as it seems like he will become this again by using his ghost powers to ruin Sam and Jay, the universe decides that he has had enough chances and he is Dragged Off to Hell.
- Karmic Death: For a man who spent his life abusing and stealing from his workers and cheating on his wife, no death could have been more fitting than being locked inside a vault he made to horde his riches by a man whose wife he slept with and whom he tried to cheat out of his wages.
- Karmic STD: He forced the maid to have sex with him under the threat of losing her job. She gave him syphilis.
- Lethal Harmless Powers: When he walks through a living, whether animal or human, the subject becomes extremely horny. He declares that he will ruin every event that Sam and Jay may book at Woodstone because he doesn't want his house "defiled" by commoners.
- Manipulative Bastard: He tricks Pete into selling his soul to help his grandson (who was never in danger as the email about his grandson’s health was from Hell) just to get Hetty to sign a forgiveness declaration that would get him out of Hell.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Just before going back to hell, he decides to use his ghost powers one more time as a final "screw you" to Sam and Jay. Fortunately, he used them on a food critic while she was trying Jay's food. She ended up giving a review in which she called Jay's cooking "orgasmic".
- One-Shot Character: Introduced and dispatched in "The Vault". He makes a return in "Weekend From Hell" as he's on a 48-hour furlough, only to go back to Hell because he can't behave.
- Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: When Molly the maid shows up on earth in "Halloween 2: The Ghost of Hetty's Past" she reveals that the only reason she slept with Elias was because she knew he'd fire her if she didn't and she needed the money to take care of her child (which Elias knew).
- Redemption Rejection: After Hetty offers him a chance at becoming a better person, he proudly boasts that there is no such thing as good or evil, and he will never change. Then he "went down on them."
- Rejected Apology: In “Weekend From Hell”, he begs Hetty to truly forgive him so he can stay out of Hell. Hetty refuses but things get complicated when Pete is threatened to go to Hell after he tricked him into selling his soul. It takes Alberta to convince Hetty to forgive him.
- Small Role, Big Impact: His watch is the reason that Sam and Jay are able to get out of debt concerning the Manor, but he goes down on them by the end of his first episode.
- Taking You with Me: Attempts this on Pete near the end of his second appearance, tricking him into shaking his hand so Elias can drag him down into Hell with him. Fortunately, Thorfinn's advice of protecting yourself in Hell with eye gouges and Groin Attacks allow Pete to save himself.
- Tempting Fate: When he declares that he is never going to improve himself, like Hetty and the other ghosts, he is immediately dropped through the floor, amid red light and screaming (mostly by the house ghosts who had no idea that could happen.)
Molly
UK Counterpart: Lady Fanny Button's Groundskeeper & Butler
Played by: Hannah Rose May
Era: The Gilded Age
A maid who worked at Woodstone, who Hetty’s husband had sex with. She was summoned from the afterlife by accident.Played by: Hannah Rose May
Era: The Gilded Age
- Macguffin: Jay let a neighbor borrow Molly's feather duster to use as part of a Halloween costume. He then had to get it back because the ritual that summoned her couldn't be reversed without it.
- One-Shot Character: She is accidentally summoned from the afterlife on Halloween, and sent back the same night.
- Sexual Extortion: She had sex with Elias because she knew he would fire her if she refused. Her husband was dead and she had a child to care for.
- You Are a Credit to Your Race: Hetty is amazed that the only Irish person she ever bothered to get to know is the only good one.
Luela and Flat Maria
Played by: N/A
UK Counterpart: None
UK Counterpart: None
Era: Unknown
Two ghosts who were previously romantically involved with Thorfinn.- Body Horror: Flat Maria got her nickname because she died in a cattle stampede.
- Composite Character: They take on Annie's role as the house ghosts that moved on before Sam and Jay arrived.
- The Ghost: In addition to being literal ghosts, they have never been seen, only mentioned. They moved on to the afterlife sometime before Hetty's death.
Patience
Played by: N/A
UK Counterpart: None
UK Counterpart: None
Era: Colonial
A Puritan ghost who roams the soil of Woodstone Mansion, having been trapped there when Isaac let go of her hand when they were escaping from a hole in the ground.- Composite Character: She's a puritan ghost like Annie who would be gone before Sam and Jay arrive.
- The Ghost: In addition to being a literal ghost, she have never been seen, only mentioned.
Farnsby Estate Ghosts
Judy Farnsby
- And I Must Scream: Played for Laughs. As she is unable to leave the property and can only be seen and heard by Sam, she is powerless to stop her son from hosting orgies and can only wait for them to be over.
- Housewife: She was apparently one in life as the outfit she's wearing as a ghost indicates. It's justified given she died at some point in the fifties when that would have been the most likely traditional gender role open to her.
- Laser-Guided Karma: She openly wonders if her lack of breastfeeding her son caused him to become the hidden swinger he is today.
- Tsundere: In "The Perfect Assistant" she has gotten to bullying Bjorn and causing her fellow ghost distress. At the end of the episode, Bjorn tells Thor after talking things out with Judy that she only bullies him because she has a crush on him.
Bjorn
Click here to see Bjorn as an infant*
Thorfinn's estranged son, who last saw his father when he was very small and died after voyaging to North America to find his father in adulthood.
- Dating What Daddy Hates: He married a Danish woman and fathered three children with her, much to Thor's outrage. It isn't known if he knew his father would have been upset by this marriage.
- Missed Him by That Much: Towing the line between ironic comedy and genuine tragedy is the fact he and his father ended up as ghosts within shouting distance of one another when they died at separate times, yet they never managed to get close enough to see one another or interact for over a thousand years.
George
- Armored Closet Gay: As a Puritan, he would have had to have been this when he was alive.
- Break the Believer: When a lifetime of following Puritan beliefs didn’t get him into heaven, he went in the extreme opposite direction and became all about sex all the time.
- New England Puritan: Humorously averted as although he is dressed like one, he doesn’t behave like one. Isaac, the other gay ghost, finds him a bit too much for his liking.
Other Ghosts
Sheryl
- Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence: Happens to her after she reconciles with Sam.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Fakes this at first with Sam in "Sam's Mom", in an effort to get sucked off to the afterlife but has a real one at the end of the episode.
- Limited Social Circle: Because she's dead, she can only talk to the few other ghosts who hang around the restaurant, as well as her daughter.
- One-Shot Character: Introduced and written out within the space of a single episode.
- Parental Issues: The source of Sam's parental issues.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Learns to accept her daughter's path in life, enabling her to finally get sucked off.
Shiki
- Childhood Friend Romance: Sass and Shiki knew each other since they were kids. However, she doesn't appear to have realized Sass' feelings about her until Sam tells her centuries after their respective deaths.
- Did Not Get the Girl:
- In life, Sass gets involved with another woman. It isn't known if Shiki had a spouse.
- Sam's ended up blurting out Sass's feelings in front of her, ending that potential correspondence awkwardly.
Jessica
UK Counterpart: None
Played by: Nichole Sakura
Era: Recent
A woman who died in a drunk driving accident and now haunts the car she died in.Played by: Nichole Sakura
Era: Recent
- The Alcoholic: All of her stories about her life involve drinking or being in a bar. She died driving drunk.
- Asian Airhead: She is Asian, and thanks to her perpetual buzz, not that bright.
- Closed Circle: Zigzagged. She haunts a car instead of a house, so she can go to different places, but once there, she is stuck in a five-foot radius of the car.
- Composite Character: She takes on Maddocks's role as the outside ghost that can only move a few meters, though unlike Maddocks she is not annoyed by the house ghosts.
- Did Not Get the Girl: After Freddie sells his car, Sam and Jay buy it back so Sass can still be with Jessica. However, since they already have a better car, the car that Jessica is bound to is mostly just going to sit in the yard. Since Sass can't ask her to be okay with being trapped in a 5-foot radius in the yard and she can't ask him to hang out with her in the yard for hours and miss stuff happening in the mansion, they decided to end their relationship and have Jay resell the car.
- Foil: For Flower. Both died as a result of chemical-induced stupidity, which will now never wear off. While Flower is a Kindhearted Simpleton, Jessica is selfish and deceitful.
- Karma Houdini: She doesn't receive any comeuppance for lying about being run over and almost costing Freddie his job. Although he gets it back, she didn't really intend for him to and she gets nothing worse for it than a bit of a dressing down from the other ghosts. Though given that she's already dead and intangible, there's not really much more anyone can do about it.
- It's All About Me: She tried to get Freddie fired so he would be forced to continue working as a food delivery driver, which he hates but allows her to travel and smell a variety of foods.
- Never My Fault: She swears the telephone pole she crashed into “came out of nowhere”. Though she at least admits that she should have taken an Uber to bottomless mimosas.
David Woodstone
Hetty’s descendant and Sam’s cousin once removed (though she refers to him as her uncle).
- Hell of a Heaven: Inverted. Like all ghosts, he is stuck in the place he died. He died in a strip club and is actually surprised when Sam tells him it isn't heaven.
- It Runs in the Family: Like Elias and Hetty, he likes drugs and has very little regard for people he considers beneath himself. Also like Elias, he habitually harasses women.
- Karma Houdini: Was a huge jerk in life, and was never punished for not calling an ambulance when Trevor died. He's the only ghost who is happy about where he is stuck forever.
- Upper-Class Twit: He grew up rich and worked on Wall Street. His hobbies include doing cocaine, harassing women, accepting stupid dares, and hazing coworkers. Even Hetty, his ancestor, describes him as a louse.
Background Ghosts
Played by: Various
The true curse of Samantha's unique power is that she sees ghosts everywhere, not just in Woodstone Manor. Throughout the series, she has brief encounters with various unnamed ghosts, including a doctor at a clinic, an impaled construction worker, two walking pedestrians Jay drives through, a woman who died of a heart explosion after eating a "cheese hurricane", a waitress who died in a diner wearing skates while stabbed by a car tailfin, and a 12-year-old boy that was run over.- Dead All Along: The doctor reveals this to Sam during her visit.
- Funny Background Event: Sometimes, their antics aren't even verbally acknowledged.
- You Can See Me?: The minor ghosts often react with surprise and excitement whenever Sam sees them.
