Tom is a man in his late thirties who recently lost his job as a high school English teacher and football coach in South Carolina. Currently facing a trial separation from his wife, he travels to New York to assist his twin sister's psychiatrist. He relies on dark humor and sarcasm as defense mechanisms to avoid confronting his own deeply suppressed emotional pain. Despite his flaws, he remains fiercely loyal to his siblings and deeply observant of the people around him.

Savannah is Tom's twin sister and a celebrated poet living in New York City. She frequently incorporates the natural imagery of her South Carolina childhood into her writing. Having relocated to the city to escape the oppressive environment of her youth, she struggles with severe visual hallucinations, dissociative episodes, and suicidal ideation. She possesses a brave, outspoken nature that constantly challenges the restrictive social norms of her family.

Luke is the eldest child of Lila and Henry Wingo. He acts as the family's physical protector against both internal violence and external threats. Unlike his more intellectual younger siblings, he holds no desire to leave Colleton, preferring the straightforward life of a shrimper on the local waters. He maintains a deep, unshakeable connection to the marshlands and operates with a rigid, personal moral code.

Lila is the striking, imaginative matriarch of the Wingo family. Originally from an impoverished background in the Georgia mountains, she relies on carefully constructed public personas and strategic lies to elevate her social standing in Colleton. She teaches her children to revere the beauty of the natural world, but she also uses them as emotional shields in her turbulent, abusive marriage to Henry.

Henry is an aggressive shrimper and a veteran of World War II. He constantly chases failed get-rich-quick schemes, desperate to improve his financial standing. He enforces his will upon his household through physical violence and emotional cruelty, employing a scorched-earth policy in raising his children and managing his wife. Despite his brutality, he introduces his children to the rigors of the shrimping trade and maintains a devout adherence to Catholicism.

Dr. Susan Lowenstein is a sharp, composed psychiatrist managing Savannah's case in New York. She maintains a professional distance but pushes Tom relentlessly to reveal the hidden truths of the Wingo family history. She is married to a famous, verbally abusive violinist and struggles to protect her teenage son from his father's coldness.

Otis is a massive, incredibly terrifying figure who begins stalking the Wingo family during their temporary stay in Atlanta. Described as inhuman-looking with pale skin and a red beard, he represents profound sexual menace and the intrusion of violent external danger into the children's world. His name becomes intertwined with the Callanwolde woods, turning the location into a permanent psychological code for horror among the Wingo siblings.

Sallie is a medical doctor and Tom's wife. Practical and grounded, she is deeply frustrated by Tom's emotional numbness following his family's tragedies. She initiates a separation and admits to having an affair, serving as the catalyst that pushes Tom to travel to New York and face his past.

Amos is Tom's grandfather, a Bible salesman who left his regular job during the Great Depression to become a self-styled preacher. He possesses an intense, theatrical religiosity, famously dragging a heavy cross through the streets of Colleton every Good Friday. Despite his eccentricities, he provides a gentle, non-violent sanctuary for his grandchildren.

Tolitha is the bohemian, free-spirited grandmother of the Wingo children. She rejects traditional constraints, traveling the world and taking a second husband in Atlanta without legally divorcing Amos. Like Lila, she actively maintains a web of deception to preserve appearances, introducing her visiting family members as cousins to hide her past.

Bernard is the teenage son of Susan Lowenstein and Herbert Woodruff. Oppressed by his father's rigid demands and contempt for athletics, Bernard carries deep-seated anger and unhappiness. He gradually opens up and gains confidence when Tom agrees to serve as his early-morning football coach in Central Park.

Reese is the wealthiest man in Colleton and a symbol of the town's elite aristocracy. He holds immense power over the local economy and social scene. He treats the Wingos with a mixture of condescension and hidden hostility, secretly funding business ventures designed to ruin Henry while harboring a long-standing attraction to Lila.

Herbert is Susan Lowenstein's husband, an internationally renowned violinist. He operates as a domestic tyrant, maintaining total control over his household and viewing his son's interest in sports with profound contempt. He is highly protective of his prized Stradivarius violin and frequently attempts to humiliate those he considers beneath his cultural station.

Papa John is Tolitha's kind-hearted second husband in Atlanta. Completely unaware of Tolitha's actual marital history with Amos, he happily hosts Lila and the children, whom he assigns to help care for his collection of Black Widow spiders.

Eddie is Savannah's neighbor and old friend in New York City. He acts as a caretaker for her apartment during her extended stays in the hospital, providing Tom with keys, painkillers, and occasional assistance around the building.

Isabel is Reese Newbury's wife and a leading figure in Colleton high society. She treats the Wingo family with icy disdain, frequently implying that they lack class and directly humiliating Lila regarding a local cookbook entry.

Todd is the privileged son of Reese and Isabel Newbury. He absorbs his parents' class prejudices and uses them to torment the Wingo children, prompting physical retaliation from Tom.

Benji is the son of the local Black undertaker and a gifted athlete. His arrival at the all-white Colleton High School sparks intense racial hostility from the townspeople and students, though his undeniable speed on the football field eventually forces the team to accept him.

Oscar is a large, aggressive athlete at Colleton High School. He embodies the virulent racism of the community, actively threatening Benji and verbally abusing Savannah until Tom and Luke physically confront him.

Father Kraus is an elderly German Catholic priest who rescues Henry during World War II. Haunted by his previous failure to save a Jewish family from the Nazis, he risks his own life to hide Henry and helps him escape to Switzerland disguised as a farmer.

Sarah is an 85-year-old midwife who braves a catastrophic storm to help deliver Tom and Savannah. She demonstrates immense dedication to the Wingo family during a night of extreme environmental peril.

Monique is a statuesque, deeply distressed woman who is initially introduced as one of Susan's psychiatric patients. Tom later discovers she is entangled in a complicated affair with Susan's husband.

Caesar is a captive circus tiger purchased by Henry Wingo as a promotional mascot for a gas station. Following the business's failure, the tiger is kept in a cage on Melrose Island, where he forms a powerful bond with Luke.

Snow is a rare albino porpoise considered by the town of Colleton to be a symbol of profound good luck. Her capture by a Florida aquarium sparks local outrage and prompts the Wingo children to organize a daring rescue mission.

Jennifer is the eldest of Tom and Sallie's three young daughters. She provides Tom with a crucial source of unconditional love, serving as a reminder of his responsibilities as a father.

Chandler is the middle daughter of Tom and Sallie Wingo. She represents part of the healthy, non-violent family unit Tom attempts to build in contrast to his own childhood.

Lucy is the youngest daughter of Tom and Sallie Wingo. Like her sisters, she anchors Tom to his present life and motivates him to address his lingering psychological wounds.