The Rats in the Walls characters

Appears from the start

An American of English ancestry and the last adult member of the Delapore line. After losing his son, he restores his family's long-abandoned estate, Exham Priory, despite the hostility and dark traditions surrounding the name nearby.

Appears from the start

A British officer who became a close friend of Delapore's son during the First World War. He helps Delapore learn about Exham Priory and remains a trusted companion when disturbing events begin at the restored house.

Appears from the start

Delapore's only son, who serves as an aviator during the First World War and befriends Edward Norrys. His death leaves his father without a direct heir and helps prompt the older man's return to England.

Appears from the start

A seventeenth-century lord of Exham Priory and an ancestor of the narrator. Local history remembers him for killing the rest of his household and fleeing to Virginia, where his descendants adopted the surname Delapore.

Appears from the start

An archaeologist invited to investigate the ancient structures found beneath Exham Priory. His expertise helps establish that the underground remains span several very different periods of human occupation.

Appears from the start

Delapore's black cat, brought with him to Exham Priory. The animal senses movement within the walls before the human occupants can hear it and repeatedly tracks something through the restored rooms.