Murder House | Asylum | Coven | Freak Show | Hotel | Roanoke | Cult | Apocalyspe | 1984 | Double Feature | NYC
open/close all folders
Counselors
Brooke Thompson
Brooke Thompson
- Portrayed By: Emma Roberts
"A day in the sun doesn't erase five years of darkness."
A girl who was part of the aerobics class and became a counselor at Camp Redwood after being attacked by the Night Stalker.- Action Girl: In the second half of the season, as she's now survived five years in a maximum security prison and can deal with fighting serial killers.
- Action Survivor: In the first half of the season, but as a tragic example: She fends off Ramirez twice and goes toe-to-toe with Montana, even killing her in self-defense. However, the arriving campers and bus driver witnessed said murder, and Brooke is not only framed by Margaret but is the sole living counselor.
- Agonizing Stomach Wound: She suffered from this when Margaret shot her. Thankfully, she survived.
- Aunt Pennybags: After surviving wounds inflicted by Margaret and marrying a successful dermatologist, Brooke starts sending Benjamin's orphaned son huge paychecks because his father was an example of how one can have a horrible backstory and a bloody history and move on and start a new life.
- Badass Adorable: Montana rightly calls her a badass for fighting back and surviving against The Night Stalker, and Brooke is also exceedingly cute.
- Blood-Splattered Wedding Dress: Brooke's flashback in episode 2 reveals that her husband-to-be, in a crazed fit of jealousy, killed her friend, her father and himself at the wedding, leaving her crying in one of these at the altar.
- Break the Cutie: She's a good hearted young woman who you just want to hug after all the trauma and chaos she suffers throughout the season.
- Celibate Hero: Appears to be one, anyway. She is a virgin who manages to fight off Richard Ramirez twice. She subverts the celibate part when she decides to have sex with Ray's ghost in Red Dawn.
- Combat Pragmatist: When she’s attacked, Brooke will use whatever means she has to escape, be it a frying pan or an oar. She even stabs Montana in the leg with a knitting needle and chucks a radio at her head.
- Cosmic Plaything: This woman's life has been pure hell from the start, and it just gets worse and worse as the show goes on.
- Disappeared Dad: Her father (who gave her away on her wedding day) was soon fatally shot by her fiancé after he went to help the fiancé's friend seconds after he was shot as well by Brooke's fiancé when he went crazy from assuming that Brooke and his friend cheated on him the night before.
- Disney Death: In the season finale, Brooke ends up being shot by Margaret after trying to ambush her. She would have been dead if it wasn't for Ray who managed to find her, tend to her wounds, and help her leave the camp.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: After all the trouble and pain she has gone through, Brooke is rewarded with a much-deserved happy life and a loving family.
- Eating the Eye Candy: Brooke has more than once been distracted by Chet’s good looks.
- Face Death with Dignity: Gets offered twice by Ramirez to sell her soul to Satan in order to escape death. She tells him to fuck off both times.
- Final Girl: Has all the trappings of a prototypical one so far: she’s nice, intelligent, and has already proven herself capable of escaping danger at least once. And she survives.
- Hero with Bad Publicity: Margaret pins everyone's deaths on her.
- Idiot Ball: Despite surviving a deadly encounter with Mr. Jingles, Brooke thinks that it's a good idea to go to a ringing telephone booth in the center of the camp in the middle of the night alone...
- Incorruptible Pure Pureness: It seems so. Despite some
Epileptic Trees that she actually did sell her soul to the Devil, she rejects all of Ramirez's advances despite his attempts to Madden Into Misanthropy. - Nice Girl: Brooke is very friendly and is also insistent on saving the hitchhiker they hit with their car.
- Older Than They Look: Even after 30 years where she had escaped from prison and survived the massacre and has kids who have grown and is in her 50s, she still looks as young as she did in the 1980s, she credits this to living the stress-free life and getting premium fillers.
- Pink Is Feminine: Is introduced wearing pink aerobics gear and even wears a pink striped sweater with other bright colors at camp.
- Sanity Slippage: While cutting off the other murderer's thumbs was a start: she admits in episode 8 that the Brooke who wouldn't kill anyone died in prison five years ago and is now much more willing to kill, making her little different from Mr. Jingles, who was also driven to murder by the abuse of the legal system.
- Too Dumb to Live: Goes out to answer the payphone after being attacked by a serial killer, and keeps her window open, despite being the person who knows that serial killers attack during the summer using open windows.
- Took a Level in Badass: By 1989 she is a hardened prisoner who replies to the jeers from her cellmates with the middle finger, spits at the two-way mirror in Margaret's direction before her execution, and even possesses the skills to deal with serial killers.
- Took a Level in Cynic: Likewise, her time in a maximum security prison along with being treated as a high profile criminal has made Brooke alot more grittier.
- Trauma Conga Line: Episode 2 revealed she went through this: She allowed one of her fiancé's friends to stay the night; with (allegedly) nothing happening between them. Her fiancé presumed the worst and thought they cheated on him. This drove him to shoot the friend and Brooke's father before blowing his own brains out right in front of his bride.
- Virgin Power: In a meta example worthy of the final girl archetype, Brooke seems to have a particular ability to survive run-ins with mass murderers due to her virginity. Subverted when she has sex with Ray's ghost in Red Dawn.
- Virgin Tension: Brooke's fiancé is driven insane just by the thought that she isn't a virgin anymore, while Brooke endures a lot of teasing by other characters for being one.
- Widowed at the Wedding: Although their wedding didn't actually get to the "I do's", she was, after her husband-to-be killed her best man, her father, and himself.
Xavier Plympton
Xavier Plympton
- Portrayed By: Cody Fern
"We're all gonna die."
A guy who was part of the aerobics class and became a counselor at Camp Redwood.- '80s Hair: He has short, feathered, frosted hair with slight brown roots showing.
- Being Good Sucks: Post unlife, he openly states that being good got him absolutely nothing; and that being bad just feels really good to him. After all that's happened to him prior to becoming a Phantom (dead spirit with a grudge), its obvious the trauma he endured broke him and now he's just lashing out.
- Camp Straight: Though he dresses and acts in a somewhat flamboyant manner, he's mentioned and shown to have had a genuine relationship with Montana.
- Classically-Trained Extra: Well, he is a Method actor but the point still stands, he is a trained actor who is making ends meet in an aerobics studio.Xavier: I'm a serious actor. I trained at Stella Adler. I'm method.
- Character Death: Stabbed in the chest by Margaret.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: Xavier and Montana ostensibly are no longer together, but he's not the least bit happy about her interest in Trevor.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Xavier was found at a park with a heroin needle in his arm and was stated to be a complete mess before that agent found him and cleaned him up. And then forced him into doing porn in "repayment". And returns to the camp to try to blackmail him into working again.
- Deadpan Snarker: Margaret gives him the opportunity to dish colorful lines.Xavier: Ever heard of the sexual revolution? Sex won!
- Face–Heel Turn: Initially he was a good guy who always cared about other people. After being horribly burned by Mr. Jingles along with being trapped as a ghost in Camp Redwood, Xavier displays a darker personality as he indulges in killing innocent people alongside Montana.
- Facial Horror: Gets locked in an oven by Jingles. Bertie manages to rescue him, but he is severely burned as a result.
- Faux Yay: A victim of this. He agreed to star in a gay porn to help bolster his career; but the "agent" in question is really just a pimp and he's using that movie to blackmail and extort Xavier into his services. He actually isn't gay.
- Heel–Face Turn: Xavier, like Montana and the other ghosts, have tired of killing innocent people and has no problem killing those like Margaret and Ramirez over and over again.
- Hidden Depths: Before killing Mr. Jingles with arrows, he reveals that he once played Robin Hood in a play production and is a trained archer.
- It's All My Fault: At the end of episode 2, Xavier blames himself for putting everyone in danger as he believes fate is punishing him for his past mistakes.
- Magnetic Hero: Played with. While he's hardly pure of heart and definitely has a Dark and Troubled Past, he's the person who gets everyone together to go to the camp.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Kills Jingles to save Margaret only to immediately get butchered by Margaret after reviving her.
- Pet the Dog:
- Cocky and self-centered though he may be, Xavier is also the only one to insist Nurse Rita stop telling scary stories when it’s clear the recently attacked and still traumatized Brooke is uncomfortable.
- He and Trevor are also the ones who rescue Chet from the pit, after he had been abandoned there by Ray.
- Predatory Prostitute: Xavier is a genuine and sweet person who was forced into doing porn after being cleaned up for a heroin addiction. He even risks his own life to save Bertie and Margaret. However, when he was murdered by Margaret, he became a vengeful and bloodthirsty ghost due to the amount of pain he suffered.
- Pretty Boy: He has an attractive face, complete with feathered hair and colorful clothes. Horribly subverted when Jingles shoves him into a running oven and his skin is severely burnt.
- He does not have any facial burns as a ghost, however, so the title applies again after his death.
- Rape as Backstory: Was coerced and manipulated into starring in a gay porno after being "saved" from the streets and drug addiction.
- Sanity Slippage: He becomes more unhinged and bloodthirsty after he's saved from the oven. He goes on to become gleefully murderous after he's killed and left as a ghost to haunt the camp.
- Sexual Extortion: See Faux Yay, above.
- Trauma Conga Line: Goes through a disastrous chain of events not unlike Brooke, but whereas Brooke refused to surrender to her anger and lash out against those who unfairly hurt and scarred her, Xavier lacks the strength to overcome what happened to him and begins to kill people who stumble onto the campgrounds indiscriminately.
- Unholy Matrimony: He and Montana rekindle their prior romance as ghosts.
- Who Wants to Live Forever?: Starts to show shades of this after the mid-season Time Skip. He said that at first, they wandered. Then, they killed. Now, they're bored and they want off of the campgrounds.
Montana Duke
Montana Duke
- Portrayed By: Billie Lourd
"The 80's will never die."
An aerobics instructor who became a counselor at Camp Redwood.- '80s Hair: Has long bleached hair with short mullet-style bangs.
- Ambiguously Bi: She shows attraction to Trevor’s penis, and seems to be interested in Brooke. No longer ambiguous given her kiss with Brooke in episode 3. But, seeing as she wants Richard Ramirez (whom she's in a relationship with) to kill Brooke as she thinks she slept with her brother Sam the night before her wedding which resulted in her brother getting murdered by her fiancé, the attempted kiss may have been an act, making this trope ambiguous once again.
- Ax-Crazy: Wants Brooke dead to the point of hooking up with a serial killer to get at her and later, as a ghost, she happily murders innocent people who wander into the campgrounds to the point that the others (bar Xavier) are repulsed by her.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: It turns out she has a romantic history with Richard Ramirez and has a murderous vendetta towards Brooke, as her brother was the unfortunate best man at Brooke's wedding.
- Character Death: Stabbed by Brooke.
- Dark Action Girl: The most scrappy of the female villains. Manages to best Rita in a fight. She nearly gets the upper hand on Brooke, whose grit and resourcefulness allows her to turn the tide and later kill Montana.
- Desperately Craves Affection: Beneath her snark and her Ax-Crazy behavior, Montana wants to be loved and cared for, especially after the only person who she felt ever believed in her, her brother, is murdered.
- Everyone Has Standards: Didn't mind Ramirez killing people if he killed Brooke. However, she wasn't cool with him murdering children and elderly people.
- Formerly Fat: Her mom sent her to fat camp when she was six years old: by Montana's own admission, she was "a bit chubs but super cute".
- Ghost Amnesia: She averts this. After Brooke murders her, Montana's ghost murders a cop; but her speech and mannerisms indicate she's aware she's dead and is going to enjoy being a ghost for all it's worth.
- Good Bad Girl: She Really Gets Around but she's also a badass with a knife under her pillow, and she's a fun, charming person. Or so she seems.
- Heel–Face Turn: Makes one after Brooke carries Trevor to the camp property line (so that they can be together in death), realizing what a hateful person she had been.
- Honey Trap: She sometimes entices her male victims with her good looks and poses, before killing them or letting Xavier kill them.
- Hopeless with Tech: Montana looks at Bobby's smartphone and can't believe that is what's being used as a phone. Justified as being stuck on the campgrounds with no television has led to the camp ghosts stuck in the 80s mentally, unaware to the world changing around them.
- Hypocrite: Calls Ray a “fucking coward” for abandoning her with Ramirez, which comes off this way after the end of the episode reveals Montana is in a relationship and cahoots with Ramirez, and therefore Ray was only one the two of them in any actual danger. However, as far as Ray knew, he was leaving her to be brutally murdered, so Hypocrite Has a Point.
- She also rants about how unfair it is that women are scapegoated for the actions of sick men, despite her murderous vendetta against Brooke for her fiancé killing Montana’s brother in a fit of possessive jealousy.
- Incompatible Orientation: When she kisses Brooke, the latter reacts by flinching away and immediately leaving the room.
- In Love with Your Carnage: Montana is turned on (and moved to tears) by Ramirez murdering a man who was rude to her, and seems to find his status as a Serial Killer erotic, and her romantic reconciliation with Xavier is not coincidentally after he becomes just as bloodthirsty as her after dying and becoming a ghost.
- Insane Troll Logic: At first, Montana wanted revenge and relished in the carnage. Come 1989, however, she just wants off the campgrounds. To achieve this, she'll kill everyone who sets foot there in hope she'll attract more people to the camp, eventually attracting someone who will be able to break the curse.
- Jerkass Realization: It took nine episodes, but her watching Brooke carry Trevor back to the campgrounds so they can be together in unlife even as she shouts at Brooke to stay away from him, makes her realize that Brooke really was such a good person, even after everything Montana did to her. She is so moved by it, she undergoes a Heel–Face Turn and gets the other ghosts in line.
- Knight Templar Little Sister: Is determined to have Brooke killed in an especially painful way, in revenge for her brother’s death which Montana feels Brooke is responsible for.
- The Leader: Becomes this to the ghosts of Camp Redwood.
- Little Sister Instinct: It's her whole motivation for unleashing the Night Stalker on Brooke, believing Brooke to be responsible for her brother's murder.
- Misplaced Retribution: She flat out states that even though it was Brooke's fiancé who murdered her brother, she holds Brooke solely responsible for it, as if she forced her fiancé to do it.
- Parental Abandonment: Told Richard Ramirez that her brother was the only one who ever loved her and Brooke that her mother sent her away to fat camp when she was no older than Kindergarten.
- Pet the Dog: Sadistic and uncaring as she is after becoming a ghost, Montana still empathizes with Benjamin’s grief over his brother’s death and his mother’s insanity and orders Xavier to take him to the latter.
- Pillow Pistol: She sleeps with a switchblade under her pillow and isn't afraid to use it; she claims to have a suspicious nature.
- Really Gets Around: Gets oral off Trevor, briefly dated Xavier, flirts/shares kisses with Brooke, and hooks up with Richard Ramirez.
- Revenge: The best man murdered at Brooke's wedding was Montana's brother, and she's furious at Brooke for thinking Brooke's infidelity with him got him killed. This leads her to enlist Ramirez in murdering Brooke.
- Remember the Dead: Her only wish to Bobby, Benjamin's son. She hopes that he'll continue to live on and tell the story of the campgrounds, the truth of what happened there, so that she and the other ghosts are not forgotten about.
- Resigned to the Call: She doesn't take it too badly, but the final episode reveals that, despite being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no television, she's ok with being a protector of the campgrounds, even though it means she'll always be a ghost.
- Sinister Switch Blade: Sleeps with one under her pillow, and has some kind of relationship with the Night Stalker, and wants him to kill Brooke.
- White Hair, Black Heart: Montana has very light blonde hair, and is also an unhinged, vengeful maniac.
- Who Wants to Live Forever?: She reveals to Trevor that, as a ghost, all pleasures she feels are fleeting ones. The only ones that stay are the moments of escapism from the reality of the afterlife. She wants to die or come back to life; whichever gets her off the campground.
- Unholy Matrimony: With Ramirez initially, then with Xavier as a ghost.
- Averted with regards to her relationship with Trevor, who she becomes romantically involved with after her Heel–Face Turn.
Ray Powell
Ray Powell
- Portrayed By: DeRon Horton
"It's Darwin, man. Survival of the fittest."
A guy who was part of the aerobics class and became a counselor at Camp Redwood.- Big Damn Heroes: Thanks to staying behind just long enough, he finds out that Brooke was still alive after her deadly encounter with Margaret. He manages to patch up her wound just enough to escort her outside of the campgrounds so she can receive help.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Despite seeming like a Nice Guy, he left one of his "friends" to die and then abandons everyone at Camp Redwood.
- Black Dude Dies First: He is the first of the counselors to die.
- Character Death: Decapitated by Mr. Jingles.
- Dark Secret: He inadvertently caused the death of a pledge in his college frat during hazing, mistaking him for dead from a fall and then failing to save him from falling off a cliff in his car while he was leaving to dump the "corpse". It has secretly really messed him up, and he's willing to do anything to avoid facing consequences.
- Death Equals Redemption: Rather than his death itself causing his redemption, it seems to be an afterlife thing with Ray, who dies in the most cowardly way but still rejects Montana's determination to kill everyone in Camp Redwood.
- Dirty Coward: He'll leave his supposed friends to die and lie about it to protect his own hide.
- '80s Hair: Has very short Jheri-curled hair.
- Fate Worse than Death: All he wants is to leave Camp Redwood, but is now stuck there forever with Montana and Xavier, who mock and laugh him off for not wanting to kill For the Evulz.
- Freak Out: He goes into panic mode when he and the other guys find Xavier's agent brutally murdered behind the showers.
- Heel–Face Revolving Door: Ray's personality and methods change every episode. At first, he's a coward who doesn't want to help people. Then, he's a ghost who doesn't want to kill people; but then the next episode airs and Ray's back to being eager to kill. It can be justified due to time skips and changing his personality but it becomes really hard to know whether or back him or be wary of him.
- Hunk: Has a very ripped body and is very handsome, even does aerobics.
- Ghost Amnesia: Happens at first, but then it seems that he becomes more aware that he's a ghost, and the only voice of reason against the other phantoms killing those who wander onto the campgrounds.
- It's All About Me: "Slashdance" reveals that he has no regard for anyone but himself and will stoop to any low to avoid negative consequences. He skips town to avoid suspicion in the death of the fraternity pledge, he tells everybody to fend for themselves when the killings start, and leaves both Chet and Montana to their apparent deaths.
- Karmic Death: After abandoning the group and being saved by Chet, he abandons Montana so he can escape...only to be killed while Montana survives.
- Off with His Head!: Mr. Jingles decapitates him after he tries to escape.
- Only Sane Man: He becomes this to the other ghosts in Camp Redwood. He's openly against killing anyone who even steps foot in the camp just for the thrill of it.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Takes a motorcycle out of Camp Redwood when the opportunity presents itself. He doesn't get far thanks to Mr. Jingles.
- The Social Darwinist: He acts like one, insisting that everyone should try to run, knowing he can outrun everyone.
- The Stoner: Mentioned that he bought a large stash of weed to Camp Redwood.
- Token Good Teammate: Of the 1984 counselors who haunt Camp Redwood after they are killed, Ray is the only one who doesn't want to kill random people for fun, recognizing it as immoral. His protests fall on deaf ears.
- Took a Level in Kindness: He becomes more genuinely sympathetic and empathetic after he becomes a sort of specter. Or, at the least, has far less interest in personal killing compared to the others. He's also the only one with empathy for the innocent Brooke. So much so that come the final episode, Ray actually is able to save Brooke's life and got her off the campgrounds.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Ray tries to convince Chet, Brooke, and Rita that they should all split and make separate runs for the cars, with the justification that letting one of them get caught and murdered will give the other three a chance to live. When the rest of them refuse, Ray decides to split from the group and run on his own, thinking that as the fastest he will have the best chance. This backfires, as he opens the door to Ramirez, who immediately starts to attack him. In spite of Ray attempting to leave them for dead, Chet turns back to save him from Ramirez. Later, Chet and Ray fall into a pit trap, with Chet impaled on one of the spikes. How does Ray repay Chet for risking his own life to save Ray (after Ray made it clear he was willing to let Chet and the others die)? By once again leaving Chet, now severely wounded and begging not to be abandoned, to his death.
Chet Clancy
Chet Clancy
- Portrayed By: Gus Kenworthy
"This sucks. Best athletes in the world in one place and I'm missing it."
An Olympic athlete who became a counselor at Camp Redwood.- Berserk Button: The US Olympics, so much so that he glares at Brooke for joking about it and throwing a crushed can at Ray for defending her, cutting the latter's hand. (He was apologetic about it afterward.) See I Coulda Been a Contender! below.
- Big Guy Fatality Syndrome: Narrowly averted in episode 3, when he falls into a pit filled with punji stakes. Fortunately, Xavier and Trevor are around to pull him out.
- Unfortunately, Chet only lives for a few more hours after that before being drowned at the hands of Margaret.
- Character Death: Drowned by Margaret.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: He describes his death by drowning in this manner, evidently still traumatized by it.Chet: Do you know what it's like for every cell in your body to scream for air but all you can taste is water?
- Hot-Blooded: Not much is required to set him off, possibly due to steroid abuse.
- Hunk: Both masculine-featured and well-muscled, and played by an Olympic athlete to boot.
- I Coulda Been a Contender!: Chet is very bitter at being removed from a US Olympics team due to failing a drug test, and goes to Camp Redwood to get away from the constant Olympics coverage.
- Immortality Bisexuality: A ghostly variation. We don't learn much about Chet's sexuality in his life, but in death, he describes himself as an "equal-opportunity lover".
- Lovable Jock: Berserk Button aside, he's a nice enough guy.
- Out of Focus: The only main character from the cast who hasn't received significant screentime or character development.
- Never Found the Body: Heavily implied considering that Margaret threw his body into the middle of the lake with his feet shackled to an anchor.
- Revenge Wants Margaret badly for his death and his miserable state of unlife.
- The Unreveal: Played for laughs in episode 2.Chet: Ok, I confess, I took steroids back then.Brooke: WE ALL FUCKING KNOW THAT ALREADY!
- Vengeful Ghost: Wants nothing more than to drown Margaret for what happened to him.
- Worf Had the Flu: He's the biggest and most athletic character, and he falls into a pit, getting badly injured, in Episode 3, before he even meets Mr. Jingles.
- His weakened state, unfortunately, means that he can't fight back when Margaret takes him out onto the lake and drowns him.
Helen
Helen
- Portrayed by: Kat Solko
"If it feels good, go with it."
A counselor of Camp Redwood in 1970.- The Bully: Made fun of the camp janitor, Benjamin, and fellow counselor Margaret.
- Character Death: Stabbed in the head by Margaret.
- Polyamory: In a relationship with Midge and Eddie.
- Only Sane Man: Similar to Ray, she and her partners are among the ghosts that disagree with Montana and Xavier about killing innocent people.
- Vengeful Ghost: She gets to spend eternity torturing her murderer.
Midge
Midge
- Portrayed by: Emma Meisel
"But we're supposed to be the responsible ones here."
A counselor of Camp Redwood in 1970.- The Bait: She is used as bait to attract Bruce so the ghosts can kill him.
- The Bully: Made fun of the camp janitor, Benjamin, and fellow counselor Margaret.
- Character Death: Stabbed in the eye by Margaret.
- Polyamory: In a relationship with Helen and Eddie.
- Only Sane Man: Similar to Ray, she and her partners are among the ghosts that disagree with Montana and Xavier about killing innocent people.
- Vengeful Ghost: She gets to spend eternity torturing her murderer.
Eddie
Eddie
- Portrayed by: Conor Donnally
"So, in the spirit of responsibility: lambskins."
A counselor of Camp Redwood in 1970.- The Bully: Made fun of the camp janitor, Benjamin, and fellow counselor Margaret.
- Character Death: Stabbed through the mouth by Margaret.
- Polyamory: In a relationship with both Helen and Midge.
- Only Sane Man: Similar to Ray, he and his partners are among the ghosts that disagree with Montana and Ray about killing innocent people.
- Vengeful Ghost: He gets to spend eternity torturing his murderer.
Camp Redwood Staff
Trevor Kirchnor
Trevor Kirchnor
"His knife versus my guns."
- Portrayed By: Matthew Morrison
- Awful Wedded Life: He convinces Margaret to marry him so he can keep quiet about her dark secrets. Despite living the life of a trophy husband, he becomes sick of it after having to put up with Margaret's awful personality.
- Bigger Is Better in Bed: His extremely large penis is apparently enough to attract Xavier's agent and Montana.
- Subverted in that he mentions that it 'takes more than it gives' since most women actually can't handle it. Later defied as despite having a veritable third leg, he's doing so much cocaine from the disgust of what he's doing and living with that it's going limp by Margaret's account.
- Character Death: Shot by Margaret.
- Dying Moment of Awesome: Trevor finally can no longer stomach his disdain of Margaret and thus saves countless lives from the intended massacre at the campgrounds. Sadly, Margaret gets wind of this and tries to kill him outside the campgrounds. Brooke brings him to the grounds and lets him die there so he can be with Montana, causing her to have both a Jerkass Realization and a Heel–Face Turn.
- Even the Guys Want Him: His rugged physique and elephant dong was enough to attract Xavier's ex-agent.
- The Farmer and the Viper: He attempts to save Margaret from Mr. Jingles and is glad to find her safe, only to be nearly killed by her.
- Gag Penis: Montana compared his manhood to a baby elephant's trunk.
- Groin Attack: Margaret shoots him in the penis (among other places) when she kills him.
- Hot Guy, Ugly Wife: Although Margaret is not physically ugly, she is a rude, cruel, murderous Christian fundamentalist who ends up married to the handsome, amiable Trevor, who it seems like everybody wants.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: When he, Xavier and Montana work out a plan to escape from the campgrounds and get help, he verbalizes his intention to save Bertie and bring her with them. When Montana condemns “saving the lunch lady,” Trevor immediately retorts that she [Bertie] is “good.” He may be full of himself, but in the end he’s not the type to withhold help from others when they need it.
- Morality Pet: Surprisingly, for Montana. When Margaret kills him, Brooke brings him back to the campgrounds and seeing Trevor brings Montana back from her homicidal rampage.
- Negated Moment of Awesome: Manages to knock Mr. Jingles into his own pit, only to realize that it was one of the impostors.
- Nice Guy: He's a little conceited, but his heart's almost always in the right place.
- Official Couple: With Montana at the end.
- Only in It for the Money: Absolutely despises Margaret to the point of wanting to die after living with her and her unscrupulous nature (not to mention the fact that she nearly killed him), but admits that the money's too good to pass up.
- Only Sane Man: Surrounded by a slightly perverted cafeteria lady, a rabid fundamentalist and a phony nurse, he seems to be the most sensible of the elder staff.
- Porn Stache: Sports one of these, which was somewhat common in the 80s.
- Together in Death: With Montana. Happily.
Nurse Rita aka Donna Chambers
Rita/Donna Chambers
- Portrayed By: Angelica Ross
"Sometimes sacrifices need to be made in the name of science."
The nurse at Camp Redwood.- '80s Hair: Has very short, yet bouncy Jheri-curled hair.
- Later on, she has grown her hair to her shoulders.
- Action Girl: She and Brooke make a very effective duo in fighting people like Margaret and Ramirez.
- The Atoner: After the first Time Skip, she becomes this due to a mix of two reasons. One, she legitimately feels remorsful about her hand in the 1984 tragedy and wants to make amends. Two, after witnessing Ramirez's revival by Satan in the woods, she's now convinced Heaven and Hell are real and does not want to go where the bad people go.
- This can also apply to her final fate in the finale. She now works as a psychologist at Red Meadows Asylum; a fitting place considering that she kickstarted the 1984 Redwood massacre by organizing Mr. Jingles' escape from the asylum.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Despite not seeming that nice, her true self is a truly foolish woman. She learns of her father being a serial killer, and her mind could not process learning such a dark side to her father existed.
- Boyish Short Hair: Rita has boyish short hair, which seems to signal her status as The Lad-ette. She grows it out later, though.
- The Conscience: She becomes this to Brooke after helping her escape her death sentence. She tries very hard to convince Brooke to let go of her dark past and make better choices.
- Daddy's Girl: A dark example - her father was a serial killer who gruesomely murdered several women, and she couldn't reconcile how her loving dad could do something so terrible.
- Dark Action Girl: Drugs and abducts Brooke and later gets into a Cat Fight with Montana, punching her in the throat via Offhand Backhand and tossing dirt in her eyes.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Mr. Jingles suggested she had one when they first met. He's right - her father was a serial killer of women and she was unfortunate enough to witness one of his mutilated victims after she followed him on suspicion of cheating on her mother. While she tries to talk him out of it, he decided to kill himself right in front of her.
- Dead Person Impersonation: She technically counts since Mr. Jingles murdered the real Rita.
- Deadpan Snarker: She has some short lines that tell it like it is about how she and the counselors got their jobs at Margaret's "Godly retreat for children". She even jokes when she ambushes Brooke.Rita: How did we get these jobs with no prior experience? That's because anybody that knows anything about Camp Redwood doesn't want to be in Camp Redwood!Rita: Athletes are skanks.
- Family-Values Villain: She claims to be one, with her stated motivation being that porn is creating serial killers, and she wants to prevent it.
- Final Girl: Explains the concept to Brooke in-universe and initially believed herself to be the only one who survived the 1989 massacre, as she didn't know that Brooke also survived.
- Freudian Excuse: The reason for her deranged quest to cure serial killers is because she discovered her father was a serial killer, and immediately after this he killed himself in front of her.
- For Science!: She wants to "cure" all serial killers by studying Mr. Jingles. Even if it means helping him escape and murder innocents, or abducting a woman herself so she can take her place as camp nurse.
- Heel–Face Turn: After the Time Skip, she wants to make amends for the Camp Redwood incident, going as far as to revive Brooke after her lethal injection to help her achieve this.
- Hospital Hottie: The camp doctor, played by the very attractive Angelica Ross.
- Insane Troll Logic: She believes pornographic depictions of women are one of the primary causes for men becoming serial killers.
- Truth in Television: This was a popular opinion of the time, and a stated claim of Ted Bundy's.
- The Medic: It was a given considering her main position. Though it's zigzagged since she only provides medical attention at her discretion. Then turned on its head when it turns out she's been helping Mr. Jingles all along, and is all too willing to willing to let him continue killing in order to study him "in his natural habitat".
- Psycho Psychologist: Her real job is actually interviewing serial killers to figure out how they tick.
- Sassy Black Woman: A particularly egregious example, despite being a trained nurse, she refuses to help someone who gets injured because "she's off the clock". In truth, it's because she doesn't know the first thing about nursing.
- Scary Black Man: Well, Scary Black Woman: she is at least just as menacing as Mr. Jingles is, once we learn the truth about her.
- Silver Vixen: In 2019, she is clearly in her 50s-60s and looks barely older than middle-aged and still very attractive.
- Too Dumb to Live: No way that helping to mastermind Mr. Jingles's escape could have backfired on her.
- Villainous Breakdown: Her world is literally shaken when she witnesses Ramirez being resurrected by the power of Satan and is later chewed out by the serial killer for her misdeeds. It reaches the point where she loses composure and is eager to accept death from Mr. Jingles.
- What the Hell, Hero?: In the finale, she calls out Brooke when she finds out that Brooke didn't die at Redwood like she initially believed. And what's more is that Brooke never reached out to her for 30 years, leaving Donna to feel guilty for allowing her to "die".
Margaret Booth
Margaret Booth
- Portrayed By: Leslie Grossman
"I win! I am the Final Girl!"
The camp director at Camp Redwood.- Ax-Crazy: Even though she tries to hide it under a Mask of Sanity and a mountain of lies, the fact that she committed the massacre in 1970, her utterly sick satisfaction in doing it, and the fact that she’s more than happy to resume her murderous ways 14 years later show an utterly psychotic woman underneath.
- '70s Hair/'80s Hair: Has shining, voluminous feathered Farrah Fawcett locks that effectively shield the fact she is missing an ear.
- By 1989, she has upgraded to a very exaggerated beehive with giant bangs.
- Bad Boss: She's generally awful to her assistant Courtney, to the point of shooting him just to vent some anger.
- Best Served Cold: In the season finale, she managed to keep her ghostly presence a secret from the other ghosts so she can strike back at them for revenge. She blows it after she tries, and fails, to kill Bobby, as it results in the other ghosts apprehending her.
- Big Bad: She's the one responsible for the massacre Jingles was blamed for, as well as the current one.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: Forms an alliance with Ramirez to commit another massacre in 1989.
- Bright Is Not Good: After the time skip, she wears brightly colored outfits.
- Character Death: Meets her end in the finale where the ghosts of her victims slowly and brutally kill her.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: She's first killed by the ghosts of Redwood hacking her limbs off and feeding it to a woodchipper. They even have the remains thrown outside the campground so they wouldn't have to deal with her as a ghost. Unfortunately for them, she managed to die one second before being tossed to the other side. Unfortunately for her, the ghosts are still hungry for vengeance and are all too happy with the opportunity to torture her for the rest of eternity as payback.
- Ear Ache: Is missing an ear due to Mr. Jingles cutting it off as a trophy during the 1970 massacre. It later turns out she cut her own ear off to cover the fact that she committed all the killings.
- Evil Feels Good: Remarks (while killing Trevor) that she missed how it felt to kill someone, taking clear sadistic pleasure in it.
- Final Girl: She is the Sole Survivor of the 1970 Camp Redwood Massacre. Although this is subverted when it's revealed she only survived because she is actually the one who committed the murders.
- Four Eyes, Zero Soul: Even before the reveal that she was the one really behind the 1970 massacre, it’s clear that she's an extremely cold and rude religious nut to everyone.
- The Fundamentalist: Very devoutly religious, and very firmly against the "decadence" of the time, most especially the sexual revolution. It's revealed in "Episode 100" that her fundamentalism was a ruse.
- The Glasses Gotta Go: By 1989, she ditches her fundamentalist persona with the glasses and develops a more glamorous look.
- Genocide from the Inside: She's the Sole Survivor of the attacks because she was the original butcher of 1970. She was a bullied youth who got her revenge against the rest of them and left Mr. Jingles to take the fall. As he was mentally disturbed and unable to fight back, nobody suspected a thing.
- Girlish Pigtails: Had these as a teenager in 1970.
- Greater-Scope Villain : Mr. Jingles is a killer, and so is Richard Ramirez... but Ramirez, for the most part, works independently, and Jingles was only made into a killer thanks to circumstances beyond his control. Margaret, on the other hand, is a murderous, serial-killing fundamentalist who committed the 1970 massacre.
- Hate Sink: Margaret is meant to be as unlikable as possible, mainly for being such a Holier Than Thou Jerkass towards everyone. She becomes even more reprehensible when it's revealed that she was the true orchestrator of the 1970 massacre while framing the innocent Benjamin/Mir. Jingles and does the same thing to Brooke in 1984, all while getting away with the atrocities. It makes watching her Cruel and Unusual Death satisfying, and the Fate Worse than Death her ghost endures even more so.
- Hot Guy, Ugly Wife: Although she is not physically ugly, personality-wise, Margaret is a rude, cruel, murderous Christian fundamentalist who ends up married to Trevor, who everybody compliments as attractive.
- It's All About Me: When told Mr. Jingles has escaped, she won't shut down Redwood because she refuses to live in fear of him. That's great, Margaret, but you're not the only one in the camp. She doesn't even tell the staff what's happened. Of course, she's always been selfish as she murdered a bunch of campers back in 1970, and let Jingles take the fall!
- Karma Houdini Warranty: After committing two massacres and getting away with both of them to become a successful real estate mogul, her warranty finally expires in 1989. Dismembered and fed to a wood chipper. And although she died just before the rest of her was fed into the chipper, she's now stuck in the camp and forever being tortured by her victims.
- Karmic Death: Is killed by her murder victims, and as a ghost, will forever be tortured by them.
- Kick the Dog: What does she say to a clearly traumatized Brooke, who is afraid there is a serial killer out there? She scolds the girl for being dirty and that "cleanliness is next to Godliness".
- Knight Templar: A Rare Female Example. She is totally motivated by purity and avoiding sinfulness... which is at least part of her motivation for the 1970 massacre. This is eventually subverted after her true nature as a greedy lover of the macabre surfaces.
- Nerd Glasses: She loathes everyone's "sinful" attitude and wears huge glasses.
- No Historical Figures Were Harmed: Despite being American and not British, she's clearly an over-the-top parody of Margaret Thatcher.
- Sole Survivor: She survived Mr. Jingles's first attack in Camp Redwood, although she lost an ear. Turns out she is the real killer there and framed it all on Jingles, and she cut her own ear off to sell the illusion.
- Talking the Monster to Death: Surprisingly, she does this to Richard Ramirez. By talking to him about his backstory and the wonders of God, Margaret not only was able to avoid a deadly encounter with him but she managed to sway him in her favor.
- Tautological Templar: She has a warped view of faith and morality, in which believing in God justifies anything she does. However, in "Episode 100", it's shown that she doesn't have that viewpoint at all.
- Trumplica: Becomes a female version of this by 1989, becoming a corrupt real-estate tycoon with garish fashion sense. She even bears a strong resemblance to Trump's first wife Ivana.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Mr. Jingles was the only person at the camp who showed her any kindness and vowed to protect her from the bullies. As thanks, she framed him for the murders because she feels he didn’t do enough to protect her (i.e., he didn’t murder her bullies).
- When Xavier saves her from Mr. Jingles, she disembowels Xavier as thanks.
- Walking Spoiler: It's very hard to talk about her without bringing up that she's the Big Bad of the season and is directly or indirectly behind most of the murders that take place in Camp Redwood during both 1970 and 1984.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: At the end of "Red Dawn", Margaret stabs herself in the thigh with a knife in order to convince the police officers that she was a victim of Brooke's murderous rampage.
Chef Bertie
Bertie
- Portrayed By: Tara Karsian
"Nothing cures acute homesickness like a bologna sandwich."
The chef at Camp Redwood.- The Bus Came Back: She reappears in the season finale alongside the Redwood ghosts as they invoke righteous justice against Ramirez and Margaret.
- Character Death: Xavier stabs her in the chest per her request, as she was going to bleed out anyway.
- Dirty Old Woman: Her first appearance involves checking out Xavier and making it very obvious. Oddly, despite her mannerisms, Margaret and Trevor speak very well of her, granted, Margaret might have deliberately hired her as a way to get murdered but later, after being a ghost, she suggests a board game with stripping for the loser to Chet. They end up making out, which distracts them from their original purpose.
- Eating the Eye Candy: She is clearly checking out Xavier.Bertie: You wouldn’t know what to do with it if you got it, handsome.
- The Lad-ette: The least feminine of the women in the cast, and is introduced looking very scruffy and grungy.
- Mercy Kill: After trying to talk Mr. Jingles out of killing her and Xavier and freeing Xavier from the oven, she encourages Xavier to stab her to put her out of the misery of dying from her injuries.
- Nerves of Steel: Has a relatively casual conversation with Mr. Jingles, maintaining eye contact and remembering old times. She only loses her cool when Xavier tips off Jingles to his presence, and even then, Bertie's more concerned about saving a life than herself.
- Nice Girl: She's a very nice and caring person who is willing to befriend you or fix you a sandwich (and remembers a person's favorite types of sandwiches after many years). Trevor even refers to her as "good people".
- Old Retainer: Has worked as a cook at Camp Redwood for years until the massacre and is brought back again to her old role.
- Took a Level in Badass: She teams up with the other ghosts to kill Margaret, Ramirez, and Bruce.
Jonas Shevoore
Jonas Shevoore
- Portrayed By: Lou Taylor Pucci
"You have to leave. Something terrible is going to happen."
A mysterious young man suffering from amnesia; in actuality, a long-deceased counselor killed during the Camp Redwood massacre.- '70s Hair: He still has the chin-length hair and headband that makes him look rather like a hippie.
- Butt-Monkey: So far, Jonas has been killed numerous times, and he keeps on returning back to life.
- Character Death: Murdered by Margaret.
- Ghost Amnesia: Jonas has a perpetual state of amnesia, his current memories became wiped after being killed, entering a new blank slate.
- Punny Name: His full name, Jonas Shevoore, is an anagram for Jason Voorhees.
- Our Ghosts Are Different: Similar to the first season, Jonas became one, much to the shock and horror of finding out about it.
- Took a Level in Badass: He teams up with both the 1970s and 1980s ghosts to kill Ramirez, Margaret and Bruce.
- Unfinished Business: He's anchored to Camp Redwood for reasons unknown to him, as are all the other ghosts due to Mr. Jingles' mother's rage-curse.
Serial Killers
Benjamin Richter/Mr. Jingles
Benjamin Richter
- Portrayed By: John Carroll Lynch
"You were right. I am a monster."
A serial killer.- Acrofatic: Mr. Jingles is a large, lumbering serial killer, but it doesn't stop him from killing a lot of people.
- Bald of Evil: He's a fairly hairy man, but he's gone bald on the top of his dome.
- Batman Gambit: By faking his suicide, Jingles is able to take an orderly by surprise and kill him instantly. Then he takes his keys and walks out of his room while also allowing all of the patients at the mental ward to leave their rooms. This provided him with an ideal distraction as he made his escape.
- Becoming the Mask: He didn't actually become a serial killer until he was put under shock therapy and was gaslit into believing that he was the monster that everyone said he is. By the time he goes back to Camp Redwood, he really is a serial killer.
- Been There, Shaped History:
- The ending of "Red Dawn" all but flat out shows him becoming Ramirez's accomplice in his historical crimes.
- On the flip side, "Episode 100" shows him tipping off a group of bystanders in Arizona to Ramirez' presence, triggering the angry mob that chased and beat up Ramirez in real life, leading to his arrest.
- Being Tortured Makes You Evil: He was innocent of the original Redwood massacre, but years of being subjected to EST and Dr. Chambers' influence have made him willing to murder people.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: After years of EST combined with the brutal therapy of Dr. Chambers as well as other doctors, he's practically warped into believing he really did the Redwood massacre. It's so bad that when he goes and confronts the original killer, he's deluded into thinking he's there to finish the job.
- Character Death: Shot with arrows by Xavier. Resurrected by Satan. Stabs himself in the stomach to protect Bobby II. The second time is permanent, but he does return as a ghost.
- Conspicuous Trenchcoat: Mr. Jingles wears one.
- Crusty Caretaker: Mr. Jingles was Camp Redwood's groundskeeper.
- Didn't Think This Through: Despite his resolve to settle things at the campgrounds, previews for the next episode yet to be aired reveals that he gets caught by the ghosts who think he killed them.
- Killing himself to give himself an extra edge against Ramirez also bound him to the campgrounds, which means there's nothing stopping Ramirez from leaving the grounds to kill his son.
- Disc-One Final Boss: Is set up as the main antagonist of the season, only for it to be revealed that he's been manipulated into acting out that role by Margaret in 1970, Donna for several episodes, and later as Ramirez's cohort.
- Expy: Mr. Jingles gives off characterizations of Ben Willis/The Fisherman and Michael Myers, in terms of appearance, backstory, and general murder. He also shares his real first name with the former.
- Faking the Dead: He creates a fake suicide by hanging in order to lower the defenses of an orderly.
- Fall Guy: Margaret framed him as the killer in the 1970 massacre.
- From Camouflage to Criminal: Mr. Jingles was dishonorably discharged from the army, and had recently returned from Vietnam at the time of the first Camp Redwood massacre. It later turns out he was innocent; Margaret committed the Camp Redwood massacre and framed him, but years of electroshock treatment and drugs have convinced him that he was guilty.
- Happily Married: After turning in Richard Ramirez to the wrath of citizens and the authorities, he starts a new life in Alaska working for a VHS rental store where he's married to a former prostitute and they have a son together.
- Heel–Face Turn: Disgusted by the murders Ramirez commits makes him realize that he's not a bad person, despite the trauma of what he went through, and not only gets Richard arrested, but he himself finds peace in a new line of work and marries a woman, going on to have a son as well.
- I Am What I Am: While brutally killing his former psychologist, he openly acknowledges himself as a monster, even though he was made that way!
- It's Personal: Despite going as far as to find a new life and family; once Ramirez murders his wife, he realizes that as long as Ramirez is alive, he'll never be free of the tragedy of Camp Redwood, and leaves his son with his sister in law to put an end to him.
- Love Redeems: Love for his wife and son stopped Mr. Jingles from killing.
- May–December Romance: After the Time Skip, he is happily married to a much younger former prostitute; she appears to be about 30 at the most while he was a preteen in 1948.
- Pet the Dog: He spares a fellow outsider who is dressed as him.
- Papa Wolf: For his son Bobby, giving him a good life and even protecting him from the past and Ramirez and the ghosts.
- Serial Killer: His primary archetype, but later episodes defy this.
- Tom the Dark Lord: A grim and sadistic serial killer who goes by the name of Mr. Jingles. "Benjamin Richter" is pretty mundane as well, though that's to be expected with real names.
- Tragic Villain: He was totally innocent, but the abuse and manipulation he suffered after being framed for the first massacre almost turned him into exactly what he was smeared as.
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: He is a middle-aged, awkward, heavy-set, balding man with coke bottle glasses and not particularly good looking while his wife Lorraine is a lot younger and very pretty, and a former prostitute to boot.
- The Un-Favourite: His mother openly favored Bobby, his younger brother, over him.
- Throw the Dog a Bone: Even though his plan to stop Ramirez by becoming a ghost failed, he gets a well-deserved happy ending where he can spend a peaceful afterlife alongside his mother and kid brother, both of whom have welcomed him with open arms.
- Villain Team-Up: After being resurrected by the dark power hidden in Camp Redwood, Mr. Jingles decides to join the Night Stalker as they leave the camp to go on a killing spree in Los Angeles. It doesn't really take, however, and Jingles has become absolutely disgusted with himself just watching Ramirez kill people, going as far to get Ramirez locked up and executed for his crimes.
The Night Stalker
Richard Ramirez
Played By: Zach Villa
"Swear to Satan you won't scream or I'll kill you."
An infamous Satanist serial killer who terrorized the residents of the greater Los Angeles area, and later the residents of San Francisco from June 1984 until August 1985.For his role in Hotel, see Serial Killers.
- Adaptational Badass: The real-life Ramirez mostly broke into unsuspecting victims’ homes and killed them by taking them by surprise, often carrying a firearm in case anyone gave him too much of a fight. One unarmed victim even chased him out of his house when Ramirez’s bullet was embedded in his face but was not lethal. The fictional Ramirez can take the physically imposing Mr. Jingles one-on-one in a knife fight and hold his own - however, Brooke did escape his initial break-in, due to a frying pan and a concerned neighbor.
- Alternate History: The original Richard Ramirez never had partners, nor did he escape from prison in 1989 and die at a camp that bonds you into being a ghost haunting the grounds, like the fictional Ramirez. He also did not have supernatural powers that would allow him to respawn.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: He is a major antagonist alongside Margaret Booth.
- The Bus Came Back: Of a sort; Ramirez was a part of AHS before in the Devil’s Night episodes in Hotel, but returns in the series proper during the 1984 season.
- Card-Carrying Villain: He takes pride in serving Satan and casually admitting to being pure and uncut evil.
- Character Death: Impaled through the back of his head on a tree branch by Mr. Jingles, but resurrected by Satan. Later killed in a bunch of ways by the ghosts every time Satan resurrects him.
- Dark Is Evil: He is black-haired, dresses in black, and when he invokes his Satanic powers, they manifest as black smoke.
- The Dragon: Serves as this for Montana, and later Margaret, but he is first and foremost a servant of Satan.
- Even Evil Has Standards: He'll kill and worship the dark lord all day and night; but he'll never lay a hand on Billy Idol. Subverted, however, as this has nothing to do with any genuine appreciation for Idol as a person and everything to do with Ramirez narcissistically projecting himself onto Idol.
- Fate Worse than Death: He cannot be permanently killed, as his satanic powers ensure that he will always be resurrected right away. To keep him down for good, the ghosts keep constant watch over him, killing him the moment he revives each time it happens. He’s been trapped at the camp this way for 30 years.
- Faux Affably Evil: Ramirez, when not horrifically killing people in the name of Satan, seems like a remarkably fun guy to be around and also is quite the Chick Magnet; but make no mistake, he is still one of the most dangerous serial killers to ever live.
- Foil: To Michael Langdon, the main antagonist of the Apocalypse season. Michael was the Antichrist, directly conceived by Satan (using Tate as a conduit), while Ramirez was born as a normal human who later became a devil worshiper. Michael initially tried to defy his destiny and be a better person, only giving into it when everyone else abandoned him and the church of Satan gave him the affection he so desperately craved; Ramirez is unrepentantly evil to the core and fully embraces his position as a servant of the devil. Michael was expected to figure out everything on his own, and every attempt he made to reach out to his father was completely ignored; Ramirez, despite having no familial connection to Satan, has his hand held by the dark lord every step of the way, and relies extremely heavily on him to get his job done.
- The Heavy: Despite being a Big Bad, he is directly responsible for a lot of events happening throughout the season.
- Historical Beauty Upgrade: The real Richard Ramirez was plainer than Zach Villa, who makes him look like a homicidal version of an 80s black-leather-clad biker bad boy. The real Ramirez also had foul-smelling rotting teeth (one of his main identifying characteristics) which the show's Ramirez clearly does not have.
- Historical Domain Character: Ramirez was a real-life serial killer dubbed "The Night Stalker."
- Hollywood Satanism: His whole shtick.
- Implacable Man: Was impaled through the mouth on a tree branch by Mr. Jingles, and walked away from it. Thanks to Satan.
- Psycho for Hire: Not only is he Satan's personal emissary and soul collector, but he also offers his skills to other like-minded psychopaths, namely Montana Duke and Margaret Booth.
- Resurrective Immortality: Possesses a form of this, as whenever he is killed, his satanic powers immediately bring him back to life. This actually plays a crucial role in his defeat, as outlined above in Fate Worse than Death.
- Retcon: Ramirez was previously seen in Hotel as a ghost. However, in this season, he cannot become a ghost, because he cannot be permanently killed, and this is still the case in 2019, four years after his ghost's appearance in Hotel (the dates were given onscreen). It isn’t clear if this is an oversight, a result of the timeline being changed in Apocalypse, or an alternate universe altogether.
- Serial Killer: Dubbed "The Night Stalker" by the media, Ramirez primarily robbed and killed people in their homes during the summers of '84 and '85, who slept with open windows.
- Sinister Shades: Commonly sports a pair of dark aviator sunglasses, which he often wears at night.
- The Sociopath: Ramirez is a realistic low-functioning example, not even trying to hide his homicidal behavior behind a Mask of Sanity and having to rely on Satan and others to compensate for his lack of long-term planning.
- Spawn Camping: The ghosts defeat him by subjecting him to this nonstop.
- Villainous Cheekbones: As played by Zach Villa, his cheekbones are prominent in addition to Ramirez's Messy Hair.
Lavinia Richter
Lavinia Richter
- Portrayed By: Lily Rabe
"The wrong son died that day, it should have been you!"
Benjamin Richter's mother, who worked at Camp Goldenstar (the original name for Camp Redwood). A widow with two sons who snapped at the accidental death of her younger son, Bobby, she retaliated by slaughtering several members of camp staff, before being killed in self-defense by Benjamin when she tried going after him as well.
- '50s Hair: In the 1950s massacre, she wears her hair in the 1940s holdover variant of poodle bangs.
- Abusive Parents: Even before she went off the deep end and tried to murder Benjamin, she very clearly played favorites, being nasty and distant towards Benjamin while lavishing affection on Bobby.
- Berserk Button: Simply being a counselor seems to be this for her, due to her partially blaming them for her son's death. Along those same lines, even mentioning Bobby's name is likely to set her off.
- Character Death: Stabbed in the stomach by Benjamin after she tries to kill him.
- The Dreaded: Even the other ghosts are frightened of her and try to avoid her.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: For all her monstrous traits even as a spirit, she genuinely loved Bobby.
- Evil Matriarch: Although she seems to have genuinely loved her younger son Bobby, her hatred towards everyone and everything cursed the campgrounds, and she bullied and abused her other son Benjamin.
- Expy : Of Pamela Voorhees. She also has elements of La Llorona
of Latin American legend. - Greater-Scope Villain: Heavily implied to be the reason the Camp Redwood curse exists in the first place, simply due to sheer rage. She even set Margaret about her path, egging her on to commit the 1970 massacre simply to ruin Benjamin's life once again.
- Hate Sink: Lavinia made no effort to hide the fact that she loved Benjamin's little brother more than him, and often subjected the former to ridicule and emotional abuse. When she discovered that Bobby was killed in a swimming accident, she immediately blamed Benjamin for it, even though the lifeguards should have been the first to be confronted about it. For the cherry on top, she even told Benjamin that she did not like him, that it should have been him who died, that she was going to work tirelessly to make him suffer, and even screams in his face that his son would be better off dead than to live with someone as toxic that she considered Benjamin to be. Overall, she was a wicked bitch who was made very easy to hate.
- Heel–Face Turn: Maybe all that time with both her sons together warmed her heart up compared to her first appearance; not only does she make peace with Benjamin in the end, but she also gets on friendly terms with the other ghosts, and was able to save her grandson's life by trapping Margaret with the other ghosts.
- Karma Houdini: Her ultimate fate is reconciliation with Benjamin and eternity with her children, albeit with one child being middle aged.
- Light Is Not Good: Blonde hair and wears a completely white nightgown in her current form but is also a rather psychopathic murderer.
- Mama Bear: She was first driven to kill over the accidental death of her son and later saves her grandson from being killed by Margaret's ghost, and even turns Margaret over to the other Redwood ghosts so they can get payback.
- Meaningful Name: Lavinia is presumably named after Lavinia Fisher, who is said to be one of the first widely reported female serial killers.
- Parental Favoritism: She blatantly did this with her sons, preferring Bobby over Benjamin.
- Pet the Dog: Even though she proudly admitted to her son that she'd sadistically destroy his life, she ultimately tells him to just give up his quest for vengeance and go back to Alaska and be a father to his son. Learning that the baby is a Dead Guy Junior for Bobby is probably the main reason.
Bruce
Bruce
- Portrayed By: Dylan McDermott
"The true evil is out there."
A serial killer.- Big Bad Wannabe: Bruce really, really wants to be in the same league as Ramirez, but quickly proves himself to be nothing but an amateur living in his shadow.
- Car Fu: Steals a police car and slams it into the back of Brooke and Donna’s car at full speed to incapacitate them.
- Character Death: Stabbed in the neck by Trevor, then toppled downhill past the property line to die outside of Camp Redwood.
- Determinator: Bruce is a lot of things, but “quitter” definitely isn’t one of them. Even being left tied up on the side of the road with his thumbs cut off is treated as little more than a minor setback in the way of his goal of upping his body count.
- Fame Through Infamy: Implied to be his motivation, given his frequent namedropping of famous serial killers, and his obsession with increasing his body count.
- Fanboy: Of various serial killers, including Richard Ramirez and Ted Bundy.
- Fingore: Loses his thumbs at the hands of Donna and Brooke.
- Hostile Hitchhiker: Definitely fits, what with his attempted murder of Donna and Brooke.
- Lured into a Trap: Trevor and one of the camp scouts bait him with his seventh kill, which allows Trevor to nearly kill him just before he kicks him off the camp grounds, making him die off the grounds and killing him off for real.
- Porn Stache: Naturally, given the 80’s setting. He gets complimented on it by Trevor, who has a Porn Stache of his own.
- The Sociopath: A superficially charming man who is nonetheless a sadistic psychopath. McDermott has stated in an interview that he imagines Bruce to have been born a psychopath like Ted Bundy, and being incapable of feeling any genuine emotions besides rage.
SPOILER CHARACTER
David Chambers
Played by: Tim Russ
Donna's serial killer father.- Affably Evil: Implied to have been the case, with Donna remembering him as a loving father, hence why she couldn't reconcile how he could also be a serial killer.
- Character Death: Stabs himself in the neck in front of his daughter.
- In the Blood: He tells Donna she's a monster like him, but whether that actually his ghost saying that to her or if it's a projection summoned by Richard is left ambiguous.
- Mistaken for Cheating: Donna thought he was going behind her mother's back, but the truth of the matter is much worse.
Other Characters
Dr. Karen Hopple
Karen Hopple
- Portrayed By: Orla Brady
"You may not know what you are... but I do."
Chief of Psychology at Red Meadows Asylum.- Character Death: Stabbed in the neck by Mr. Jingles.
- Ignored Expert: A trained psychologist with knowledge of Benjamin Richter's way of thinking that drives all the way up to Camp Redwood to warn Margaret that Richter is on the loose and will likely come after her only for Margaret to dismiss her concerns.
- The Shrink: The Chief of Psychology at Red Meadows Asylum.
- Shoot the Shaggy Dog: Drives all the way out to Camp Redwood to warn Margaret of her patient's escape only to be ignored and then killed by Mr. Jingles.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Despite dying in the supernatural demesne of Camp Redwood, she doesn't make a reappearance as a ghost like many others who die on those grounds.
SPOILER CHARACTER
Bobby Richter II
- Portrayed By: Finn Wittrock
"I'm trying to find out what happened to my father."
Benjamin's son, all grown up. He learns of the campgrounds from his dying aunt and he comes to the grounds hoping to learn what happened to his father and to learn who was sending him money.- Daddy Had a Good Reason for Abandoning You: He believes this, and wants to find out the truth of what happened to him.
- Dead Guy Junior: Benjamin named him after his dead brother Bobby.
- Determinator: Despite surviving two murder attempts on his life, he won't allow them to deter him from finding out what happened to his father.
- Legacy Character: For the Richter family, and by extension, the other spirits haunting the campgrounds.
- Morality Pet:
- For Benjamin, whose genuine love for his son motivates him, even as he's hunting down Ramirez, and stops Benjamin from going back into his previous spiral of hatred.
- For Lavinia in a funny way. She forgives Benjamin when she learns of her grandson's existence, although it seems to be partially motivated by the fact that he is named after her favorite son. Later, she saves him from being killed by Margaret and takes a moment to fawn over him, happy to see that he's a handsome, happy, and well-adjusted young man.
- Secret-Keeper: The Redwood ghosts entrust the secret of the campgrounds to him, hoping he'll find a way to share their stories to keep the memories of the victims alive.
- Skepticism Failure: He meets Montana Duke, who he learned died in 1984, and is completely aghast that she and Trevor (who died in 1989) are in front of him not having aged a day. He witnesses their apparent deaths firsthand, only to see them come back through the front door, which puts his skepticism to rest. He adapts pretty well to it too.
- The Ugly Guy's Hot Son: He is Benjamin's son, and at age 30, he looks much more handsome than his father. Granted, he likely inherited his looks from his mother, who was a former prostitute. Lavinia herself believes he's how his uncle/namesake would have looked if he'd grown to adulthood.
Stacey Phillips
Stacy Phillips
- Played by: Stefanie Black
- Character Death: Stabbed by Richard Ramirez.
- If It Bleeds, It Leads: She writes about serial killers and true crime because people are so fascinated by the morbid.
- Only in It for the Money: She has no compunctions with being sensationalistic for the sake of a buck.
- Trashy True Crime: She writes about grisly murders, criminals, and serial killers for a sleazy tabloid.
Pete
Pete
- Portrayed by: Sean Liang
- Character Death: Initially Mr. Jingles doesn't kill him, seeing as he was a rather pitiable nerd following a trend to fit in. Later, he is thrown into the spike pit by Trevor, who thought he was Mr. Jingles due to his mask and size.
Keith
Keith
- Portrayed by: Renton Pexa
- Character Death: Killed by Mr. Jingles.
Larry
Larry
- Portrayed by: Andrew Tippie
- Character Death: Killed by Mr. Jingles.
Chan
Chan
- Portrayed by: Mark Daugherty
- Character Death: A car he is in falls down a hill. Ray initially thought he was dead from a fall down the stairs in the fraternity he was pledging to.
SPOILER CHARACTER
Rita
- Portrayed by: Dreama Walker
- Character Death: An oar is put down her throat by Mr. Jingles.
- Kill and Replace: Subverted - Donna simply tied her up and kept her hidden away while posing as her.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: First appears in a flashback, then dies.
Bobby Richter
Bobby Richter
- Portrayed by: Filip Alexander
- The All-American Boy: Heavily invokes this image. It might also have played a part in why his mother preferred him over his older brother.
- Character Death: His head is chopped up by a boat propeller.
- Cheerful Child: Was a bright and happy little boy.
- Too Dumb to Live: He swims towards the dock, after he bobs up to get air and sees two guys getting into a motor boat. Granted, the boaters should have been paying attention, but still...
- Sibling Yin-Yang: He's bright and cheerful while his older brother Benji is more reserved and awkward.
Christopher Hamill
Christopher Hamill
- Portrayed by: Misha Crosby
- Character Death: Killed by Richard.
- Deal with the Devil: Made one to become famous.
Rod
Rod
- Portrayed by: John De Luca
- Character Death: Killed by Richard.
Courtney
Courtney
- Portrayed by: Leslie Jordan
- Character Death: Shot in the head by Margaret.
- Nervous Wreck: Is often panicky under Margaret.
Lorraine
Lorraine
- Portrayed by: Tanya Clarke
- Character Death: Killed by Richard.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She has blonde hair and is kind, understanding and accepting of Benjamin's past.
- Ugly Guy, Hot Wife: She's definitely much more attractive than her husband Benjamin.
Lizzie
Lizzie
- Portrayed by: Gail Rastorfer
- Killed Offscreen: She dies from old age-related causes by the series finale.
- Nephewism: Took in and cared for Bobby after Lorraine's death and Benjamin's departure.
Dorene Lioy
Dorene Lioy
- Portrayed by: Yvonne Zima
- Character Death: Dies the same way she dies in real life.
Dustin
Dustin
- Portrayed by: Eric Staves
- Character Death: Stabbed by Montana.
Ed
Ed
- Portrayed by: Don Swayze
- Character Death: Head stomped on by Mr. Jingles.
Art
Art
- Portrayed by: Mitch Pileggi
Joseph Cavenaugh
Joseph Cavenaugh
- Portrayed by: Spencer Neville
- Driven to Suicide: Shoots himself in the head at his and Brooke's wedding
- Manipulative Bastard: It's implied that he was possessive, controlling, and jealous of Brooke, and manipulated her into doing what he wanted.
Sam Duke
Sam Duke
- Portrayed by: Zach Tinker
- Character Death: Shot by Joseph. His death is the driving force behind Montana's attempts to kill Brooke.
Mr. Thompson
Mr. Thompson
- Portrayed by: Steven Culp
- Character Death: Shot in the chest by Joseph.
Blake
Blake
- Portrayed by: Todd Stashwick
- Character Death: Stabbed in the eye by Mr. Jingles.
