Characters / Lorelai

The characters of Lorelai. Some spoilers may be left uncovered here.

Laura "Lorelai" Wood

Voiced by: Maisy Kay

The protagonist/playable character of the game, Lorelai is a young woman who has a difficult home life and dreams of escaping with her little sister, far away from her abusive stepfather and vacant mother. When tragedy strikes, she finds herself in a surreal afterlife and embarks on a journey to return to the real world, get revenge on those who have wronged her, and rescue the people she cares about.

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• Action Girl: While Lorelai is not a fighter by nature, she does have to become this by the end of the story to make it out alive.
• The Apprentice: It gradually becomes clear that the Queen of Maggots has this role in mind for Lorelai, referring to her as the Princess of Maggots. If the player follows her orders and carries out her plan for Al, she will reveal that she has no intention of letting Lorelai return permanently to the real world. By killing John, Lorelai will renounce her mortal life and become the next Queen of Maggots, which she definitely doesn't want.
• Back from the Dead: Lorelai is able to accomplish this more than once, thanks to the Queen of Maggots and her stew.
• Coming of Age Story: Having recently turned 18, the entire game serves as this for Lorelai. At the end, Jimmy can comment that her experience has led to her growing up.
• Deadpan Snarker: Lorelai has a sharp sense of humor and is prone to making wry asides on very morbid subjects.
• Determinator: As the game's tagline states, even death cannot stop Lorelai.
• Disappeared Dad: Lorelai lost her father to cancer when she was only 12, and it's clear that she still struggles with this in the present day.
• I Did What I Had to Do: In the chapter with Al, Lorelai can fit this trope depending on the player's dialogue choices. There is the option to tell Jimmy that she has no choice but to follow the Queen of Maggots' orders; otherwise, her loved ones are going to pay the price, and she won't hesitate to prevent that. While her conviction is unwavering at the time, she does regret Al's eventual fate if he commits suicide, though, and can even say that she will never forgive herself for it later on.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: Lorelai insists on this point a few different times throughout her ordeal, despite the Queen of Maggots granting her some pretty impressive powers in her "Princess of Maggots" state. In the end, she gives it all up to go back to the real world and her regular life, which is a completely nonsensical choice to the Queen of Maggots.
• Lethal Chef: It's implied that Lorelai may be this, considering the scene in all endings where she accidentally burns some type of food in the oven beyond recognition.
• No Sympathy: The player can also have Lorelai exemplify this trope during the Al chapter, putting all the blame squarely on him for his circumstances and refusing to accept responsibility for leading him down a dark path. While harsh, it is a justifiable characterization for her, considering that she's currently dealing with a monstrous alcoholic in the real world and may not have much compassion left for someone in a similar position.
• Not Quite Dead: The whole concept of the game is based around her death not being permanent.
• Only I Can Kill Him: In one possible dialogue branch, the Queen of Maggots tells Lorelai that this trope is in play between her and John. No one else is capable of stopping him; if she wants him to pay for his sins, she'll have to kill him with her own hands. And she does at the end of the game. It turns out this is also the case with Lorelai and the Queen of Maggots herself, or the real version of her.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Lorelai's real name is Laura. It is never explained how she got the nickname (although we do see her writing it on her arm in a quick flashback, which suggests she may have made it up herself) or why she prefers it. She uses her real name when introducing herself for the first time (and when speaking to the police), but only Zoe actually calls her Laura beyond that.
• Promoted to Parent: It's made clear very early on that Lorelai does a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to taking care of Bethany, her baby half-sister, and is often even the only person to realize or care that she's in distress. The backbone of the game revolves around Lorelai's desire to take Bethany away and give her a better life.
• Refusal of the Call: Lorelai is extremely dubious at first about the Queen of Maggots' insistence that she's not like her parents and is actually meant for something much greater. She doesn't get on-board with the adventure in front of her until the Queen of Maggots reveals that Bethany is going to be killed otherwise.
  Queen of Maggots: Perhaps you are stronger than them. When someone's will is strong enough, even the death cannot stop them.
  Lorelai: I think you are really overestimating who I am, strange lady...
• Resurrective Immortality: Lorelai is granted immortality by the Queen of Maggots and can return to life even after being killed multiple times...although not without paying a price.
• The Runaway: Lorelai wants to become this at the beginning of the game. While she's 18 and an adult who's free to leave, she also plans to basically steal her baby sister in order to save her from a life of neglect and abuse.
• Sole Survivor: Lorelai becomes this in the worst possible ending. Every other significant character (excluding the ladies at the care home) can die and stay that way.
• Took a Level in Badass: Just a normal girl at the beginning of the game, Lorelai is basically forced into this trope by her tragic circumstances, her desire for revenge against her stepfather, and her drive to rescue Bethany and Zack from certain death. That doesn't mean she doesn't take to it well, though. By the climax, she's ruthlessly stabbing John through the neck with a broken bottle and blowing up the real Queen of Maggots, a GIANT monster, with a Molotov's cocktail. After her ordeal, she gets through the tough moments of everyday life by remembering that she's proven herself to be a survivor and a powerful, unstoppable being.
• Used to Be More Social: Lorelai's old friends have all moved on to college and adult life, leaving her much more isolated than she used to be. In one dialogue branch, she can say that it's fine because she has too much going on at home to maintain friendships in the first place.

Zack

Voiced by: Peter Kingston

Zack is Lorelai's next-door neighbor and friend...although it's clear that his feelings for her go a lot deeper than that. When she comes to him for help with getting a locked bathroom door opened, he ends up being unexpectedly roped into the night's increasingly horrific events.

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• Back from the Dead: While there is no way to prevent Zack's death at the climax of the game, Lorelai can bring him (and Bethany) back to life if she gets his lighter and relights their candles in the afterlife, leading to a happy reunion once she also revives.
• Cannot Spit It Out: He gets multiple chances to tell Lorelai how he feels but never quite manages it before giving up or being interrupted. In the game's climax, he says he could never find the courage to put it into words. He finally admits that he loves her when he's on the verge of death, having been impaled with a metal rod by John.
• Distressed Dude: While Zack does get to help Lorelai save the day in the first half of the game, he becomes this in the second half. Not only are he and Bethany threatened and eventually murdered by John in the real world, but the Queen of Maggots uses them both as hostages as well to manipulate Lorelai into following orders.
• Everyone Can See It: Zack's feelings for Lorelai are painfully obvious. Even the Queen of Maggots knows, referring to him as Lorelai's "goofy boyfriend to be" and "that nice young gentleman that adores you so much."
• Geek: He has movie and videogame posters all over his room and references Star Wars, Breaking Bad, and Game of Thrones at different points in the game. He can even refer to himself as a geek at one point, and Lorelai does (affectionately) as well.
• House Husband: In the golden ending where Lorelai and Zack end up together and raise Bethany as a little family, it's mentioned by Lorelai that he fills this role (at least regarding childcare). He's still working, but since making videogames can be done from home, he takes care of Bethany during the day so Lorelai can keep her job at the care home.
• I Know Mortal Kombat: Zack offers to pick the lock to Lorelai's bathroom door and insists he's done it lots of times....in Skyrim. It ends up not working, unsurprisingly.
• I Regret Nothing: Zack has this attitude throughout the game about everything that's happened to him and brushes off Lorelai's tearful apologies for getting him involved, even when he's on the verge of death from being violently impaled by John. He just loves her THAT much, saying he'd do it all a thousand times over with no hesitation.
• Nice Guy: He comes across as a genuinely kind and decent person who is willing to help out in a crisis.
• Satellite Love Interest: You could argue that Zack falls under this category. He doesn't get much character depth outside of his love for Lorelai and his passion for videogames/popular culture.
• Understanding Boyfriend: Even though he's not technically her boyfriend although it is possible for the two to have confessed their love for each other and kissed by this point, Zack still does a good job of filling this role if the player chooses for Lorelai to tell him all about her supernatural adventures and the Queen of Maggots. He takes it all in stride and genuinely believes her, much to her surprise, even offering very helpful advice for how to destroy the Queen's real form in the tunnels.

The Queen of Maggots

Voiced by: Margaret Cowen

The Queen of Maggots is the only character to appear in a prominent role throughout the Devil Came Through Here trilogy. When Lorelai is murdered, she welcomes her into her otherworldly realm and gives her a chance to return to life and have her revenge. However, what she offers doesn't come without a price, and her motives may not be as benevolent as they first appear...

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• As Long as There Is Evil: While Lorelai does successfully kill the Queen of Maggots at the end of the game, she basically sums up this trope in a rather unnerving speech before disappearing. As a metaphor for depression, it makes sense that she can always return, as long as humans continue to struggle and suffer and hurt one another.
  Queen of Maggots: Soon, I will be gone. All of this, just a memory, and even that will fade sooner than you think. Until one day, you look in the mirror and realize that I can never truly die. My roots grow deep, and my thorns leave scars that you can never quite heal.
• The Chessmaster: Jimmy reveals to Lorelai that the Queen of Maggots bringing her back to life is just part of a larger game that she's playing. She also knew that Lorelai would be killed a second time, which means that her initial gift of a new life for a surprisingly easy price was pure manipulation and a necessary step towards a greater, darker goal.
• Deal with the Devil: This is the Queen of Maggots' whole shtick. She can grant immortality, but it always has strings attached...and they're usually pretty unsavory.
• Evil Counterpart: In their final confrontation, the Queen of Maggots takes Lorelai's form so that she can look herself in the eye one last time. This drives home the fact that the Queen of Maggots is a metaphor for one's own depression and mental health struggles above all else. Lorelai can even banish her with the words "Goodbye, Lorelai," bidding farewell to her old self as well.
• Evil Laugh: The Queen of Maggots indulges in some of this when accompanying Lorelai through her last living memory.
• Evil Mentor: It slowly becomes clear that this is what the Queen of Maggots is trying to become for Lorelai. You even find out in the story path where Lorelai follows her orders in regards to Al that her eventual goal is to groom Lorelai into her successor and the next Queen of Maggots.
• Forced Transformation: It turns out that this is one of the Queen of Maggots' powers when she captures Jimmy and transforms him into a crow, locking him in a cage as punishment for interfering with her plans for Lorelai. She messes with his mind as well, giving him the insatiable urge to eat fertilizer and making him believe that perfectly edible pumpkins are filled with blood. This ends up being a trap for Lorelai, as Jimmy will beg her to feed him the fertilizer when she encounters him. The player can choose to do so, or they can simply walk away and ignore his cries. If you feed him three times, he will explode...and so will his human body in the real world, leaving Lorelai to discover the mangled pieces later.
• I Have Many Names: The Queen of Maggots is called many things, although she seems to prefer her current moniker. Surprisingly enough, one of her names is Lorelai, which can be mentioned by Jimmy and then confirmed by the Queen of Maggots if you choose to ask her.
• I Will Punish Your Friend for Your Failure: The Queen of Maggots is not above threatening to snuff out Zack or Bethany's lives if Lorelai doesn't accept her fate as the Princess of Maggots and drive Al to alcoholism again. She presents it matter-of-factly as Balancing Death's Books: If Lorelai doesn't want to sacrifice a stranger's life, then someone else has to die in their place. The fact that the alternative just happens to be the two last living people Lorelai cares about and wants to protect is clearly intentional, though. She even wonders aloud which loss would hurt Lorelai more.
• Lack of Empathy: The Queen of Maggots feels absolutely nothing in regards to Al's struggles. She just thinks of him as a sad, little man and someone who does not deserve happiness after what's he done, despite genuine efforts to turn his life around. It's up to the player whether Lorelai follows her example or shows him compassion.
• Manipulative Bastard: The Queen of Maggots is good at being this, probing Lorelai's weak points like her lack of a reliable parent figure and appealing to her desire for revenge. As Jimmy tells you in a possible dialogue branch, she's trying to strip away Lorelai's humanity until she's nothing but a slave.
• Master of Illusion: It turns out that the Queen of Maggots' humble abode and her general appearance as an old woman are just illusions, or "a dream within a dream," as Jimmy calls it. The real her is a horrific, man-eating monster, hidden away deep in the tunnels.
• Non-Linear Character: As revealed by Jimmy, the Queen of Maggots already knew that Lorelai would die again before she even sent her back the first time, which strongly suggests that this trope fits her. There are a few other small hints that she's aware of the future (or at least possible versions of it), such as when she refers to Zack as Lorelai's "boyfriend-to-be."
• Parental Substitute: The Queen of Maggots WANTS to be this for Lorelai, trying to show her "motherly love" at several points. Lorelai's not really into it, though.
• Playing Both Sides: While never explicitly confirmed in the game, it's very possible that the Queen of Maggots was doing this with Lorelai and John, considering that he somehow survives being stabbed, serious blunt force trauma to the head, and being crushed by a shipping container. If she was reviving him, that certainly made it much easier for her to push Lorelai to the breaking point and keep her desperate enough to go along with Queen of Maggots' wishes. It's notable that he only stays dead after Lorelai kills the Queen of Maggots as well. Another clue is that John does not seem at all surprised to see Lorelei coming back from what were obviously fatal injuries... because he has been doing the same thing too.
• Satanic Archetype: Jimmy alludes to the Queen of Maggots being the devil or a devil-like figure, at the very least.
• Throne Made of X: If you look closely, the Queen of Maggots' entire throne is made of coffins, including the steps leading up to it, which is very fitting for a supernatural entity that has control over death.
• Unexplained Accent: The Queen of Maggots has an unique accent that's hard to pin down. The most common interpretation is that she sounds German or Austrian. There's never any reason given for why she has an accent in the first place.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: On the surface, the Queen of Maggots' desire to rid the world of despicable people like John seems reasonable and even righteous. However, Lorelai is considerably more conflicted when she insists that Al (a man who has done bad things but is genuinely trying to atone and better himself) also doesn't deserve a happy ending. One must ask the question: where exactly is the line for when someone becomes truly irredeemable? And of course, there's also the part where the Queen of Maggots is willing to kill innocent people (including a baby) to get what she wants in the end...

Jimmy the Traveler

Voiced by: Yong Yea

Lorelai finds a kindred spirit in Jimmy, who's trapped in the afterlife just like she is despite the small fact that he's not actually dead. He enlightens her on the true nature of the Queen of Maggots and enlists her help with destroying her once and for all.

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• Distressed Dude: Jimmy eventually becomes this in the last two chapters when the Queen of Maggots successfully captures him and renders him helpless.
• Dream Walker: Jimmy explains to Lorelai that he's been able to enter into other people's dreams his whole life. It was fun at first...until one day, he accidentally traveled to the Queen of Maggots' realm. He hasn't been able to wake up since, which is bad news for his human body back in the real world.
• Forced Transformation: Jimmy is transformed into a crow and caged by the Queen of Maggots. She also does a number on his mind, giving him the insatiable urge to eat dangerous fertilizer and making him think that he's been trapped for years and years, while barely any time at all has passed for Lorelai.
• Ludicrous Gibs: If Lorelai feeds Jimmy fertilizer three times, his crow form will explode...and so will his actual human body in the real world, leaving a very gruesome mess of blood and body parts when she finds him in the last chapter.
• The Promise: Before they part ways in Chapter 5, Jimmy asks Lorelai to promise him that if she finds a way out of her predicament and gets back to the real world, that she will find him and wake him up. She keeps this promise in all endings, although other choices will determine whether she's actually able to wake him or not.
• Mr. Exposition: Jimmy uses the long walk to the tunnels as an opportunity to become this, basically explaining everything Lorelai needs to know about the Queen of Maggots and why she can't be trusted in one conversation.
• Spirit Advisor: Jimmy works as this for Lorelai. She's the only one who can interact with him, and he gives her helpful advice and even serves as her moral compass during the Al chapter (although whether he's successful or not at that depends on the player).

Al

Voiced by: Jonny Knowles

Al works as a chef at the care home where Lorelai has recently gotten a job. In the 5th chapter, she is unexpectedly tasked by the Queen of Maggots to sabotage his attempts to overcome alcohol addiction, basically ruining his life in the process. It's up to the player whether Lorelai succeeds at this goal or goes rogue and attempts to support him instead.

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• The Alcoholic: A recovering one, although his path towards this goal is definitely precarious.
• Driven to Suicide: This is Al's eventual fate if Lorelai chooses to follow the Queen of Maggots' orders.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Basically, Al had a moment like this that led to him trying to get his life back on track. He often argued with his girlfriend/fiancé about his drinking habits, which led to him losing his temper and hitting her hard enough that she fell with a burst lip. It turned out she was actually pregnant and ended up miscarrying as a result of the fall. She left him the next day.

Bethany Wood

Bethany is Miranda and John's baby daughter, as well as Lorelai's half-sister. Lorelai comes home from her first day of work only to find that she's fallen out of her crib with no one being the wiser, which makes her all the more determined to take her sister away from a life of neglect and abuse.

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• Back from the Dead: There is no way to prevent Bethany's death at the climax of the game, but you CAN bring her (and Zack) back from the dead by relighting their candles in the Queen of Maggots' home before eating the last of the stew.
• Happily Adopted: In the best possible ending, Lorelai and Zack get together and commit to raising Bethany. She presumably has a much better life with them than she would have had with her actual parents.
• Moment Killer: Bethany has truly impeccable timing when it comes to interrupting Lorelai and Zack talking about their feelings for one another.
• Offing the Offspring: John tries to kill Bethany, his own child, multiple times. He does eventually succeed at it. As Lorelai says at one point, he's always hated her and thought of her only as a burden.
• Surprise Pregnancy: It's made pretty clear that this was how Bethany came to be. Lorelai outright states that John would never have stayed if Miranda hadn't gotten pregnant. There's also the following (possible) dialogue between Lorelai and her mom.
  Lorelai: You're too old for babies. What were you even thinking? I love Bethany. You know I do. She's my little sister, and it's not her fault that she's here. But YOU should have known better!

Miranda Wood

Voiced by: Abigail Turner

Miranda is Lorelai and Bethany's mother. Struggling with poverty and a physically/emotionally abusive partner, it's clear that life has beaten her down to the breaking point, but she's unwilling to stand up for herself, despite Lorelai's constant pleas.

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• Parental Neglect: While Miranda clearly loves Bethany, she's also emotionally checked out enough that she doesn't even realize it when the baby is in actual danger or distress. She also waves off Lorelai's concerns about Bethany falling out of her crib (which could have easily lead to serious injury or death), calling her a "drama queen" when she gets mad.
• Plot-Triggering Death: The game's plot doesn't really get started until the end of the first chapter, when Miranda kills herself. Discovering this causes a scuffle between John, Zack, and Lorelai, which ends in Lorelai's accidental murder.
• Posthumous Character: Miranda commits suicide by hanging herself in the bathroom at the end of the game's first chapter. She still appears regularly in both the real world and the afterlife as a corpse throughout the rest of the story, allowing Lorelai to sadly reflect at several points.
• Rage Breaking Point: Miranda finally loses it in a big way in front of Lorelai, screaming about how much she hates her life and all the people in it (including Lorelai herself). A stunned Lorelai leaves her alone as a result, with tragic consequences.
• Smoking Is Not Cool: Miranda is such a heavy smoker that Lorelai notes their living room couch reeks as a result. It's made pretty clear that she's using the habit as a vice for her own anxieties and despair.

John Doe

Voiced by: Johnnie Hurn

John is Lorelai's stepfather and Bethany's biological father, as well as one of the main antagonists of the game. An unemployed alcoholic who's a domestic abuser to boot, he's incredibly unpleasant from his very first appearance in the game, and things only go downhill from there. After ending up on the wrong side of his drunk anger, Lorelai has to stop him before he destroys everything and everyone she cares about.

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• The Alcoholic: His status as this becomes very obvious before he even appears in-person, considering how the flat is absolutely riddled with empty beer cans.
• Crime After Crime: John is determined to get away with his crimes, even if he has to kill every person who's aware of them. He goes from assault and accidentally killing his stepdaughter to murdering multiple police officers without any hesitation whatsoever.
• Evil Counterpart: You could say that John serves as Al's evil counterpart, or at least a dark mirror of what his future could look like. Both are alcoholics and have abused others because of that addiction. However, Al is actually making valiant attempts to turn his life around and better himself, while John is too far gone to even acknowledge the monster he's become.
• It's All About Me: This is basically the answer John gives when Lorelai begs to know why he's done such horrible things during their final confrontation. He says that she and her mother/sister never really loved him and ruined his life, even though from what we've seen, he never did anything to inspire feelings of love in the first place.
• Made of Iron: John survives some pretty intense injuries, including being stabbed in the back, having his head slammed into a toilet seat, and being crushed by a shipping container. This can be somewhat explained by him being a veteran who's experienced in combat, although one popular theory is that he had help from the Queen of Maggots too. He certainly seems suspiciously unsurprised at seeing Lorelei alive after he inflicted clearly fatal injuries on her and at one point being alone with her corpse and presumably able to check to see she was dead.
• Offing the Offspring: John tries to drown his own baby daughter in a bathtub. After being thwarted the first time by Lorelai and Zack, he successfully drowns her later on in a pond by the brick factory where he used to work.
• Parental Neglect: While John doesn't seem to abuse Bethany in the same way that he does Miranda, he clearly does not care about her wellbeing and barely even acknowledges that she exists in the beginning of the game.
• Shell-Shocked Veteran: It's mentioned that John served in Afghanistan, and some of Miranda's dialogue implies that she gives him a lot of leeway because she thinks of him as this. Whether he actually IS is debatable, as this facet of his character doesn't get any further focus. The only other (possible) reference to it is some optional dialogue during John and Lorelai's final fight at the end of the game, where he says that he's killed people with his bare hands before. It does explain why he's so resilient, even after experiencing serious injuries.

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