Daniel is a seventh-grade boy who recently moved from a privileged life in Connecticut to a dilapidated farmhouse in rural West Virginia. He struggles to adjust to his new surroundings and faces bullying at his new school. Curious but anxious, he senses a threatening presence in the nearby woods and worries about his younger sister's increasingly strange behavior.

Erica is Daniel's second-grade sister. She actively protests the family's relocation and refuses to unpack her belongings. Feeling isolated and unhappy, she increasingly withdraws from her parents and brother, choosing instead to communicate exclusively with her custom-made doll.

Selene is a young girl from local Woodville folklore. According to the stories shared by the townspeople, she lived in Daniel's new house fifty years ago before mysteriously disappearing into the woods. Her legend serves as a terrifying warning to the new residents about the dangers lurking near their property.

Old Auntie is a sinister woman who lives deep in the woods of West Virginia. Known to the locals as a conjure woman or witch, she uses magic to manipulate events from the shadows. She relies on unaware city people moving into the farmhouse to continue her dark, secretive operations.

Bloody Bones is a terrifying local legend brought to life. He is a skeletal razorback hog that walks on two legs, possessing bear teeth and panther claws. Reanimated by Old Auntie after being killed by a hunter, he serves as her loyal companion and enforcer in the woods.

Daniel and Erica's mother is struggling to adapt to their sudden loss of wealth. She leaves her life as a stay-at-home parent in Connecticut to take a receptionist job at a real estate office. The stress of the move and the dilapidated state of the farmhouse severely affect her mood and marriage.

Daniel's father recently lost his high-paying job, forcing the family into financial hardship. He tries to remain optimistic about fixing up the ruined farmhouse and takes a job at a local hardware store. However, the overwhelming repairs and mounting stress push him toward isolation and computer games.

Brody is a local Woodville boy who shares a bus stop with Daniel and Erica. He is the first person to warn the siblings about the dark history of their new home and the terrifying folklore surrounding the woods. Despite his initial teasing, he proves to know a great deal about the area's secrets.

Mr. O'Neill is an older local man who knows Daniel's father from the hardware store. He is deeply familiar with the region's history and warns Daniel about the dangers of the woods at night, confirming that the frightening stories about Selene Estes are entirely true.

Mrs. O'Neill is a kind, older Woodville resident whose family has lived in the area for a long time. She holds deep connections to the town's history and remembers the tragedy of Selene Estes vividly, as her own daughter was once friends with the missing girl.

Miss Perkins is an elderly woman living in a cluttered house on the far side of town. Rumored to be a descendant of Old Auntie, the townspeople consider her a crazy old lady, but she possesses genuine knowledge about the supernatural forces operating in the woods.

Little Erica is a custom-made doll given to Erica as a consolation gift for the move. Dressed in matching outfits and sharing her owner's hair, the doll becomes the young girl's constant companion. To Daniel's alarm, Erica insists the doll is alive and whispers secrets to her.

Mrs. Plummer is the local school bus driver. She tries to maintain order and protect Daniel and Erica from their bullying classmates, frequently dismissing Brody's scary stories as lies to comfort the nervous siblings.

Detective Shank is a local police officer assigned to investigate the family's property. She conducts thorough interviews and attempts to untangle the mundane facts from Daniel's panicked stories about the woods.

Eleanor is the nearly sixty-year-old daughter of the O'Neills. Decades ago, she was childhood friends with Selene Estes before the girl disappeared. She is deeply unsettled by the supernatural occurrences in her hometown.