Jane is a 39-year-old archivist who takes a leave of absence from Harvard's Schlesinger Library following her mother's death and a workplace incident. She wrestles with an alcohol use disorder that she minimizes, leading to a recent separation from her husband. Back in Maine, she accepts a freelance research project investigating the history of a local Victorian house that has fascinated her since childhood.

Allison is Jane's steadfast best friend who has lived in Awadapquit her entire life. She married her childhood sweetheart and helps run her family's local business, the Saint Aspinquid Inn. She provides a grounding, supportive presence for Jane, often acting as a voice of reason while dealing with her own family responsibilities.

Genevieve is a wealthy Boston vacationer who recently purchased and extensively modernized the historic Lake Grove house. Accustomed to privilege and eager for recognition, she attempts to have her home featured in a magazine. When she and her son experience unexplained phenomena in the renovated house, she hires Jane to uncover its history.

Eliza is a former Shaker who leaves her strict religious community at age eighteen to experience the outside world. Finding urban life harsh, she accepts a position as a maid for the Littleton family in Awadapquit. She brings a perspective grounded in progressive Shaker values to the isolated seaside household.

Marilyn is a talented painter who previously owned the Lake Grove house. She gave up her art career years ago for reasons she keeps private. Currently living a reclusive life, she holds artifacts and knowledge about the house's past but remains hesitant to share them.

Holly is Jane's older sister and a single mother who runs a successful resale business in Awadapquit. She shares a closer bond with their late mother than Jane did, giving her a different perspective on their family's history. Generous and laid-back, Holly frequently takes in neighborhood teenagers who need a safe place.

Naomi is a citizen of the Penobscot Nation and a dedicated historical consultant. She specializes in gathering the stories of Indigenous cultures in Maine, working to ensure accurate representation in museums and local records. She connects with Jane to investigate the area's early history and correct the historical record.

David is Jane's handsome, kind husband who lives in Boston. He deeply loves Jane but struggles with the strain her alcohol use places on their marriage. He attends Al-Anon meetings to better understand addiction and focuses on his own well-being during their separation.

Shirley is Jane and Holly's late mother, who ran a local resale business. She raised her daughters as a single mother while struggling with a severe alcohol use disorder. Her erratic behavior left a lasting impact on her children, shaping their adult lives in vastly different ways.

Mary is Jane and Holly's late grandmother, who made a life for herself in Awadapquit as a single mother cleaning houses. Jane idealizes Mary as the opposite of Shirley, remembering her home as a place of regular meals and strict bedtimes.

Hannah is the 19th-century wife of Captain Samuel Littleton. Left alone for years at a time while her husband is at sea, she experiences intense isolation and grief in her cliffside home. She forms a deeply loving and enduring domestic partnership with her maid, Eliza, to raise her children and run the household.

Samuel is a 19th-century sea captain who constructed his family's home on the cliffs of Awadapquit. He spends years away on mercantile voyages, attempting to provide for his family while remaining oblivious to the emotional toll his absences take on his wife.

Paul is Genevieve's husband, who remains primarily in Boston for work while she manages their vacation home in Maine. He is dismissive of Genevieve's concerns about the supernatural, viewing the house purely as a real estate investment and a point of pride to share with friends.

Benjamin is Genevieve and Paul's young son. He claims a small room behind a hidden door as his bedroom and calmly reports speaking with a ghost. His experiences prompt his mother to temporarily move them out of the house.

Clementine is a psychic medium who spends her summers at Camp Mira, a Spiritualist gathering place. She relays highly specific messages from deceased family members, challenging Jane's skepticism and offering unsettling insights into the spirits lingering around Awadapquit.

Betty is Allison's mother and the former manager of the Saint Aspinquid Inn. During Jane's childhood, Betty provided a stable, welcoming environment that contrasted sharply with Jane's own home. She currently lives with dementia, requiring care from her family.

Herbert is a painter and Marilyn's ex-husband. Once a prominent artist and faculty member, his career declined as Marilyn's flourished. He purchased the Lake Grove house on a whim, moving his family to Awadapquit where he engaged in affairs and complicated the family's dynamics.

Daisy is Marilyn and Herbert's young daughter, who lived with them at the Lake Grove house. She loved playing with glass marbles and claimed the home's hidden space as her bedroom.

Kanti is an Abenaki woman who lived near the cliffs of Sawadapskw’i during the early days of English exploration. After her husband is tricked aboard a foreign ship, she spends her summers watching the sea, hoping for his return.

Manedo is Kanti's husband, an Abenaki man who is abducted by British explorers. Tricked into boarding a ship under the guise of shared meals, he is taken across the ocean, leaving his family behind.

Lydia is an Awadapquit resident who oversees the town's historical archives. She provides Jane with books, pamphlets, and local knowledge about the area's early settlers, recognizing Jane as a kindred spirit who values history.

Abe is a local boat captain who runs lobster tours in Awadapquit. He employs teenagers to recite local lore to tourists, preferring to stick to the established, comfortable scripts rather than dig into the potentially unpleasant truths of the town's history.

Melissa is Jane's boss at Harvard's Schlesinger Library. She has actively worked to diversify the library's collections. She places Jane on an unpaid leave of absence following an incident at a major work event, forcing Jane to face her professional and personal issues.

Chris is Allison's husband, having known her since kindergarten. He helps run the Saint Aspinquid Inn and offers a grounded, supportive partnership that Jane frequently envies.

Emily is Eliza's older sister. Indentured to the Shaker community at a young age after their father abandons them, Emily chooses to remain in the community when she turns eighteen, setting her on a different path from her sister.

Agnes is Hannah Littleton's sister. She frequently visits the cliff house and holds strong, sometimes abrasive opinions about society, war, and the local Indigenous population.

Thomas is a local antiques dealer in Awadapquit. Jane discovers he is embroiled in legal disputes regarding the sale of Indigenous artifacts, raising questions about the provenance of the items he sells to wealthy vacationers.

Jason is Holly's teenage son and Jane's nephew. He is allergy-prone but generally easygoing, benefiting from his mother's relaxed and welcoming household.

Caitlin is Marilyn's supportive neighbor in Philadelphia. She acts as a confidante for the reclusive artist, encouraging her to show her work and helping manage her correspondence regarding the house in Maine.

Evan is a friend of Jane's from graduate school who works at the Maine Historical Society. He helps her access archives about the Littleton family and introduces her to exhibits focused on Wabanaki culture, connecting her with Naomi Miller.

Barbara is Naomi's distant cousin and a retired librarian living in California. She works closely with Naomi to uncover Indigenous stories, utilizing her exceptional research skills to track down forgotten artifacts and maps.

Archibald Pembroke is a 17th-century British explorer celebrated in Awadapquit's accepted history. The town's lore praises him, but deeper historical documents reveal a much darker legacy involving the abduction of local Indigenous men.

Ethel is a descendant of Samuel Littleton and the author of a highly sanitized, romanticized book about Awadapquit's history. Alongside her sister, she once ran the Lake Grove Inn, shaping the town's accepted narrative to favor early English settlers.