Elsie is a pregnant, newly widowed young woman sent to live at her late husband's crumbling country estate, The Bridge. Having grown up in a working-class family that owned a match factory, she feels out of place among the upper class and struggles with painful childhood memories of parental abuse. She seeks to project composure despite her intense anxiety regarding the eerie occurrences and lifelike wooden figures appearing around her new home.

Anne is the 17th-century matriarch of the Bainbridge family whose two-volume diary Elsie discovers in the garret. She is ambitious and desires to elevate her family's social standing by hosting the king and queen of England. Possessing a knowledge of plant medicine that borders on white magic, she harbors deep anxieties about her past choices and the consequences they might have on her household.

Sarah is Rupert's unmarried cousin who accompanies Elsie to the country estate as a paid companion. Because she lacks the financial resources to live independently, she occupies a precarious social position and relies on caring for others to survive. She takes a keen interest in the house's history and Anne's diary, offering spiritual and supernatural perspectives on the strange occurrences they encounter.

Hetta is the only daughter of Anne and Josiah Bainbridge, born with a differently shaped tongue that leaves her unable to speak. She finds solace in gardening and forms a quiet attachment to the mysterious wooden figures her mother purchases for the house. Excluded by her father due to her disability, she remains an enigmatic child who communicates primarily through gestures and sign language.

Jolyon is Elsie's younger brother who took over the management of their family's match factory in London. He prioritizes business, logic, and social reputation, urging Elsie to stay at the remote country estate to avoid public gossip. Though he shares a traumatic past with his sister, he strictly enforces patriarchal authority over her decisions.

Dr. Shepherd is a physician at St Joseph's Hospital tasked by the police with evaluating Elsie's mental state following the destruction of The Bridge. He approaches her case through a medical and scientific lens, attempting to uncover the historical events that led to her hospitalization by encouraging her to document her memories.

Mrs. Holt is the long-serving housekeeper at The Bridge who has managed the decaying estate for decades during the family's absence. She holds deep, long-standing attachments to the Bainbridge family and attempts to maintain order among the easily frightened staff while harboring private knowledge about the estate's dark past.

Josiah is Anne's ambitious 17th-century husband who seeks to secure a position in court and elevate his family's social status. He prioritizes decorum and public reputation above all else, openly rejecting his daughter Hetta due to his shame over her physical disability.

Rupert is Elsie's recently deceased husband and a former investor who saved her family's match factory. He married Elsie despite their class differences and intended to renovate his decaying ancestral home, The Bridge, before his sudden and unexplained death prior to the novel's start.

Mabel is a young housemaid at The Bridge who is highly susceptible to the eerie atmosphere of the estate. She frequently expresses terror regarding the wooden figures and becomes increasingly distressed as strange occurrences escalate in the home, eventually requiring Elsie to step in and offer her a position as a lady's maid.

Helen is a maid at The Bridge who was the one to discover Rupert's dead body. She is somewhat more pragmatic than Mabel but remains wary of the estate's history, often mentioning her prior interactions with Rupert regarding the house's locked nursery and strange dust writings.

Mr. Underwood is the local vicar who assists Elsie with her charitable efforts toward the impoverished villagers. He is knowledgeable about the region's dark history and supports educating the local population to dispel their medieval superstitions regarding The Bridge.

Merripen is a young Romani boy who arrives at The Bridge in 1635 seeking work with the horses. He develops a quiet method of communication with Hetta, sharing her affinity for nature, but his presence in the household is highly contested due to local prejudices against his heritage.

Lizzy is Hetta's dedicated nursemaid in the 1630s timeline. She is practical and cautious, directly warning Anne about the political tensions among the local Puritan villagers regarding the royal family's visit to their estate.

Jane is Anne's maid who travels with her to the strange emporium in Torbury St Jude. She is highly observant of her mistress's actions and deeply suspicious of anything resembling witchcraft or unnatural occurrences in the household.

Samuels is the shopkeeper who sells Anne the collection of lifelike wooden cutouts. He claims to have acquired the detailed, painted figures in Amsterdam and persuades Anne that they will serve as excellent entertainment for the queen during her visit.

Beatrice is a scrawny cow from the village that Elsie adopts with the intention of providing milk for the locals. She serves as a focal point for Elsie's early attempts to bring life, charity, and normalcy to the decaying grounds of The Bridge.

Jasper is the resident cat at The Bridge. He quietly navigates the dark, neglected corridors of the estate, often appearing in the vicinity of the strange wooden figures.

James is one of Anne and Josiah's sons who returns to the estate for the royal visit in 1635. Having been raised away from home with other genteel families, he shares his brothers' cruel tendency to mock their sister Hetta for her disability.

Henry is another of the Bainbridge sons in the 17th-century timeline. Raised away from the estate, he absorbs his father's focus on social standing and displays little empathy for his sister's condition.

Charles is the third of Anne and Josiah's sons. Like his brothers, he represents the family's hopes for social advancement and participates in alienating his disabled sister during the preparations for the king's arrival.