Edgar Allan Poe, Volume 1: 'The Pit and the Pendulum', 'The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar', and 'The Cask of Amontillardo' characters

Also known as the prisoner

Appears from the start

The unnamed narrator of “The Pit and the Pendulum,” condemned by the Spanish Inquisition and confined in darkness. Frightened and physically weakened, he nonetheless observes his surroundings closely and tries to reason out the changing forms of danger in his prison.

Appears from the start

A French general whose army enters Toledo as the Inquisition loses control. He appears at the decisive moment of the prisoner's ordeal.

Also known as P.

First appears in chapter 2

The unnamed narrator of “The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar,” an investigator of mesmerism who proposes testing whether a person can be placed in a mesmeric state at the point of death. He approaches the experiment as a matter for careful observation and recruits medical witnesses.

Also known as Ernest Valdemar

First appears in chapter 2

A writer and compiler suffering from advanced tuberculosis. Interested in mesmerism but never previously placed fully under its influence, he agrees to the narrator's proposed experiment as his physicians expect his death within hours.

First appears in chapter 2

One of Valdemar's attending physicians. He helps establish the patient's grave condition and witnesses the mesmeric experiment.

First appears in chapter 2

A medical colleague called to examine Valdemar during the experiment. His observations provide an additional professional witness to the patient's extraordinary state.

First appears in chapter 2

A medical student invited to record the experiment with Valdemar. He assists the narrator and physicians as an independent observer.

First appears in chapter 3

The narrator of “The Cask of Amontillado,” a nobleman who believes Fortunato has injured and insulted him. He conceals his desire for revenge beneath courtesy and plans to punish Fortunato without exposing himself to retaliation.

First appears in chapter 3

A wealthy acquaintance of Montresor who prides himself on his judgment of wine. Encountered in carnival costume after drinking heavily, he is eager to prove his expertise when Montresor claims to have acquired a rare cask of Amontillado.

First appears in chapter 3

A wine connoisseur whom Montresor repeatedly names as an alternative judge of the supposed Amontillado. Fortunato's rivalry with him helps Montresor draw Fortunato onward.