Rowan is the 13th-generation designee of the Mayfair family. Unaware of her Louisiana heritage, she lives in California as a highly successful medical professional. She possesses a terrifying telekinetic ability that she tries to compensate for by saving lives in the operating room. Fiercely independent and sexually liberated, she prefers casual affairs with first responders until she rescues a drowning man from the bay.

Michael is a 48-year-old architectural restorer living in California. Originally from the Irish Channel in New Orleans, he grew up with a deep affection for history and old buildings. After nearly drowning in the bay, he gains a psychometric ability, allowing him to see visions when he touches objects with his bare hands. He becomes convinced he was revived for a specific purpose related to the mysterious imagery he experiences.

Aaron is a polite British scholar working for the Talamasca, a secret organization that studies the occult. Possessing telepathic abilities since childhood, he has spent decades observing the Mayfair family from afar and compiling a massive historical file on them. He acts as a patient investigator who attempts to guide the modern Mayfairs regarding their supernatural legacy.

Lasher is an ancient, incorporeal spirit bound to the Mayfair witches since the 17th century. He manifests as a tall, dark-haired man and frequently manipulates the physical world by causing sudden storms or moving objects. He brings wealth and influence to the women of the Mayfair line while harboring an intense desire to achieve a human body.

Carlotta is a severe, highly educated attorney and the aging matriarch of the First Street house. She actively opposes the supernatural elements of the Mayfair legacy, choosing to suppress the family's occult ties through extreme control and medical interventions. She rules the household tightly, making ruthless decisions to prevent the spirit Lasher from gaining power.

Deirdre is the 12th-generation Mayfair witch and Rowan’s biological mother. Heavily medicated with Thorazine and rendered largely unresponsive for decades, she is confined to the family home in New Orleans. In her youth, she was vibrant but deeply troubled, expelled from numerous schools due to her highly visible connection with the family spirit.

Cortland is a charismatic and wealthy male member of the Mayfair family. Living in a modern suburban home, he maintains a keen interest in the family's occult traditions and actively opposes Carlotta's harsh methods of control. He plays a major role in the generational disputes over the younger witches' custody and care.

Julien is a legendary figure in Mayfair history who lived a long, luxurious life in the First Street house. Bisexual, charming, and deeply involved in the family's supernatural legacy, he frequently cross-dressed and enjoyed the nightlife of New Orleans. He leaves behind a lasting imprint on the house, appearing in visions to later generations.

Mary Beth is a powerful designee of the Mayfair legacy known for her incredible business acumen and liberated lifestyle. She frequently dresses in men's clothing to explore the city and uses her supernatural connections to amass a massive fortune for the family. She hosts large, lavish gatherings that cement her role as family matriarch.

Stella is a reckless, party-loving Mayfair witch who fully embraces the jazz age. She frequently hosts lavish gatherings at the First Street house and maintains an open, playful attitude toward the supernatural forces that govern her family. Her chaotic lifestyle causes immense friction with her conservative relatives.

Petyr is a historic member of the Talamasca who encounters the earliest generations of Mayfair witches in France and the Caribbean. An orphaned psychic who found a home in the scholarly order, he documents the witch trials and becomes intimately involved with the women he is assigned to observe.

Ellie is a distant relative of the central Mayfair line who legally adopts Rowan on the day of her birth. She moves Rowan to the San Francisco Bay Area and provides her with a massive trust fund, while forcing her to sign a legal contract promising never to return to New Orleans or seek out her biological relatives.

Graham is an attorney and the husband of Ellie Mayfair. He provides a comfortable lifestyle for his family but harbors deep resentment regarding Ellie's independent fortune, often seeking comfort in mistresses outside the marriage.

Rita Mae is a New Orleans local who witnesses the early manifestations of the Mayfair hauntings around Deirdre. She remains sympathetic to Deirdre's plight over the decades, occasionally attempting to intervene or contact the Talamasca on her friend's behalf.

Jerry is the proprietor of the funeral home traditionally used by the Mayfair family. He handles the frequent and often elaborate burials of the family members while harboring a quiet distaste for their secretive, aristocratic ways and the eerie atmosphere of their house.

Dr. Petrie is a medical professional who briefly treats Deirdre Mayfair at the First Street house. He becomes deeply unnerved by the ghostly presences surrounding his patient and eventually flees New Orleans after a series of frightening encounters in the city streets.

Father Mattingly is a Catholic priest who occasionally ministers to the Mayfair family. He struggles to reconcile the profound wealth and polite manners of the women at the First Street house with the disturbing, supernatural rumors surrounding Deirdre's childhood.

Often called Aunt Viv, she is Michael Curry's supportive relative. She helps him manage his daily life and alcohol intake after he develops his overwhelming psychic abilities, providing a stabilizing, loving presence in his chaotic world.

Suzanne is a Scottish woman who first summons and names the family spirit. Her actions bind her descendants to a supernatural legacy, ultimately leading to her execution by witch hunters in her village.

Deborah is the second-generation Mayfair witch. Known locally as a healer, she inherits her mother's supernatural companion and is later persecuted for her occult connections. She receives the ancestral emerald necklace from the spirit.

Charlotte is the third-generation Mayfair witch. She escapes Europe to establish a highly profitable plantation in the West Indies, using the family's supernatural resources and slave labor to build immense wealth.

Antha is a tragic Mayfair witch who attempts to escape the family legacy by moving to New York and pursuing a life as a writer. Following a mental breakdown, she is forced back to the First Street house, where she falls to her death from a high porch.

Beatrice is an elegant, talkative member of the extended Mayfair family. She serves as an inside source of gossip and history, bridging the gap between the isolated First Street residents and the broader New Orleans community.

Arthur is a psychic investigator for the Talamasca. He visits New Orleans to locate a missing order member and briefly interacts with Stella Mayfair before witnessing a tragedy that prompts him to advise the order against further contact with the family.

Stuart is an American member of the Talamasca who insists on traveling to New Orleans to contact the Mayfairs directly. His infatuation with the family leads to his sudden and permanent disappearance inside the First Street house.