The Runt is a ten-year-old boy whose real name is Donald, though he is universally known by the derogatory nickname given by his brothers. Small, thin, and easily overlooked, he feels utterly neglected by his parents and terrorized by his athletic twin brothers. Desperate for a life where he is valued, he packs a meager bag with beef jerky, candy, and quarters, and runs away. He eventually wanders into a dark, abandoned ghost town.

Dearly is a ghost child who died from an illness roughly a hundred years ago. Having lost his original name to time, he adopted his current moniker from the words "Dearly Departed" on his weathered gravestone. He is incredibly lonely in the quiet graveyard, where most spirits simply sleep, and eagerly guides his new living friend through the empty town.

October is the anthropomorphized personification of the autumn month and the current chair of his family's storytelling meeting. He sports a beard the color of falling leaves and offers his siblings hot apple cider and sausages. Despite his warm exterior, he possesses a melancholy nature and chooses to tell a dark, chilling ghost story to his family.

November is the anthropomorphized month and October's neighbor. He is characterized by coldness, long nights, and darkness. Scheduled to take the chair at the next monthly meeting, he feels slightly insecure about the inherently dark nature of the stories he tells, seeking comfort from his predecessor.

September is the anthropomorphized month who precedes October. He has a pencil-thin mustache and a receding hairline that makes him look wise, reflecting the year's aging and the harvest season. He is somewhat long-winded and self-important, eager to cling to the spotlight by repeating an old story about wine.

August is the anthropomorphized month of summer. He appears as a large, sunburned man who represents the peak of heat and leisure. He is outspoken and quick to enforce the siblings' storytelling rules when another month repeats an old tale.

June is the anthropomorphized month representing the beginning of summer. Dainty and clean, she embodies warmth and fleeting romance. During the meeting, she desires clear resolutions and expresses a wish for a neat conclusion to her brother's ambiguous tale.

The Twin Brothers are the athletic, popular older siblings of The Runt. They dominate their parents' attention with their sports and stereotypical teenage masculinity. They constantly bully their younger brother, culminating in a humiliating physical prank that drives him to run away.

The Mother is a woman who describes herself as a newspaperwoman, though she primarily sells advertising space. She focuses heavily on roles and expectations, dedicating her energy to her athletic older sons while thoroughly neglecting her youngest child.

The Father is a man who, much like his wife, ignores his youngest son in favor of the older, athletic twin boys. His neglect contributes to The Runt's profound feelings of isolation and powerlessness in his own home.

March is the anthropomorphized month of early spring. He is described as low and dirty, carrying a huge, filthy handkerchief that symbolizes his role in cleaning up the last muddy remnants of winter.

April is the anthropomorphized month of spring. Described as dainty and clean, she represents the precarious new birth of the season and gathers with her siblings around the fire to share food.

January is the anthropomorphized first month of the year. True to the reflective nature of his month, he stresses the importance of going over the minutes from the siblings' previous meeting.

February is the anthropomorphized month of deep winter. Small, pale, and dressed entirely in blues and grays, his appearance perfectly captures the short, cold, and bleak nature of his season.

December is the anthropomorphized winter month. He is present at the campfire gathering and remarks on the chilling nature of his brother's embedded tale.

May is the anthropomorphized spring month. After the current chairman leaves his story on an unsettling cliffhanger, May assures her siblings that it is sometimes better not to have a neat resolution.