The Devil and Tom Walker characters

Appears from the start

A miserly New Englander who lives with his wife in mutual suspicion and poverty despite their fierce attachment to every possession. After meeting a supernatural power in a swamp, he is offered wealth at a price that tests how far his greed will carry him.

Also known as Mrs. Walker

Appears from the start

Tom's equally miserly and strong-willed wife. The couple hides valuables from each other and quarrels violently. When she learns of the offer made to Tom, she decides to seek the same supernatural bargain for herself.

Also known as Old Scratch

Appears from the start

A soot-darkened woodsman whom Tom encounters at an abandoned fort in the swamp. He claims power over the land and the hidden treasure there, marks prominent men for ruin, and offers Tom riches in exchange for corrupt service and eventual possession of his soul.

Appears from the start

The pirate said to have buried treasure beneath a great tree near Boston with supernatural assistance. His death leaves the hoard available for the devil to use as bait in a later bargain.

Appears from the start

A prominent religious man whose flourishing tree bears the devil's mark. The tree's hidden decay represents the moral corruption concealed beneath Peabody's public standing.

Appears from the start

A wealthy man whose recent death is announced as Tom leaves the swamp. A marked and newly fallen tree shows Tom that the woodsman's claims reach beyond threats and legends.

Appears from the start

A distressed land speculator who owes Tom money and pleads that his family will be ruined by foreclosure. His appeal provokes Tom into a reckless oath denying responsibility for profiting from the man's hardship.