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Titular Character
Scary Godmother
Voiced by: Tabitha St. Germain
The titular character.
- Ambiguously Human: While she is the most human-like of the main cast from the Fright Side, odds of her being human is very slim.
- Author Avatar: She's the spitting image of her creator, Jill Thompson.
- Beware the Nice Ones: She's very friendly and nice, but she does have her limits. When Harry crosses one too many lines in the first movie, she restrains him while the other characters take the pizzas away from him and she runs off a list of chores he'll have to do to make up for all the trouble he caused her. It's also worth noting that she helps formulate the plan to scare Jimmy and his friends to get back at them for trying to scare Hannah.
- Dark Is Not Evil: She's a witch, wears all black, and is nice person.
- Doorstop Baby: She was left on the front steps of an academy for witches and fairy godmothers.
- Fiery Redhead: Of the more fun variety.
- Flying Broomstick: While she still has functioning wings, she uses a flying broomstick for faster travel.
- Genki Girl: Has a lot of energy.
- Happily Adopted: Played with. She was abandoned as a baby on the front steps of a magic academy, so the two headmistresses were the closest thing she had to parents. Her childhood and adolescence proved difficult because the two teachers weren't sure where she belonged, until they split the difference and realized she was an entirely new class of magical being and deserved to be acknowledged as such. As such, Scary Godmother never mentions wanting to know who her birth parents are and is content with the adult figures she did have growing up.
- I'm Melting!: Mocks this when Hannah shines her flashlight on her "killing" her.
- Mama Bear: One surefire way to get on Scary Godmother's bad side is to threaten or be a bad influence around Hannah. The one thing that managed to break her out of her hypnotized stupor following weeks of fairy cake poisoning was Hannah calling for help. It wasn't enough to fully cure her, but it showed that Scary Godmother's desire to protect Hannah is just that powerful.
- Messy Hair / Quirky Curls: As a means to show how non-human she can be, her hair would be considered a mess by human standards.
- Mysterious Past: She doesn't know a thing about where she came from or who her biological parents are, so there's no explanation given as to how she was born with the traits of both a fairy and a witch.
- Nice Girl: She's fun, polite, and knows what to say at the right time.
- Noodle People: Extremely tall and skinny.
- Our Fairies Are Different: Acts as a Fairy Godmother to Hannah Marie, although she's more visually similar to a witch.
- In the comic books explaining her origin, she grew up at an academy for training witches and fairy godmothers, but the sisters (a witch and a fairy) who ran the school couldn't figure out where to place her because she had characteristics of both. The title of "Scary Godmother" was created literally just for her, because they decided she's literally both a witch and a fairy godmother instead of being one or the other.
- Parental Substitute: A second mother to Hannah.
- Platonic Life-Partners: With Skully.
- Potty Emergency: Played with as a slight running gag in the comics, in that she apparently has a bladder the size of a walnut. While on a road trip, she needed to make several bathroom stops despite that she only had one cup of tea when the trip began.
- Secondary Character Title: She's the title character of the entire book series and animated film adaptations, but Hannah, is the real heroine.
- Shipper on Deck: For Hannah/Orson.
- Take a Third Option: How she was christened "Scary Godmother." All of her attempts at being a witch were too fairy-like while all of her attempts at being a fairy godmother were too witch-like—but when her teachers realized that her efforts fit all the criteria for both a witch and a fairy godmother (despite being somewhat unorthodox), they created the role just for her.
Characters of the Mortal Realm
Hannah Marie
Voiced by: Britt McKillip
A young girl that Scary Godmother befriends and the main protagonist.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: More like "Annoying Younger Cousin" to Jimmy. She's far from it though.
- Brainy Brunette: In the first book (and special), not so much... but in the sequels, when she's a little older and more used to the spooky stuff she turns out to be very clever and creative.
- In the first special, she's the one who said that Bert should be an "Evil" piece of candy, showcasing that she had some hints of creativity in her. She also convinces Orson to not let him share his slice of pizza (covered in blood) by convincing him that she just ate some garlic.
- Break the Cutie: Being locked up in an old abandoned house and tortured by "monsters" certainly wasn't any fun for her. Her crying did attract the attention of Scary Godmother though, so at least some good came out of it.
- Character Development: She goes from being a naïve and easily scared little girl in the first installment to being more mature and outgoing in the sequels. The book and comic version of her becomes downright badass, though in a Guile Hero kind of way.
- Curtains Match the Windows: Brown hair and brown eyes.
- Establishing Character Moment: In the first special, she's first seen sweetly following her cousin Jimmy (unaware that he's a jerk) and handing out large candy bars to his friends. She also shows off her fears of monsters and her creative mind (she convinces Bert that he's scary because he's a piece of candy that gives cavities) before going into the spook house. Through there, she defies Jimmy's expectations that she'll run out of the house screaming on first notice, proving that she's not a scaredy cat as he initially assumed.
- Guile Hero: What she eventually becomes in the books and comics. Her greatest feat is probably managing to trick the Master, the oldest, most powerful and most evil vampire, into believing Orson was more powerful than him and immune to sunlight (luckily the Master had never heard of sunblock).
- Kid Heroine: The heroine and is a pre-teen.
- Nice Girl: One of the sweetest kids you'll meet.
- Pink Is Feminine: Her pink fairy princess costume and her casual clothes has a pink jacket.
- Ship Tease: With Orson the teen vampire.
- Token Human: To the monster-group.
- Took a Level in Badass: Not only did Hannah go through major Character Development, she also managed to unknowingly out-think the scheming plans of her cousin to ruin Halloween by using just her creativity and love for Halloween.
Jimmy Brando
- Voiced by: Alex Dodok (Halloween Spooktakular) Alexander Ludwig (The Revenge of Jimmy)
Hannah's older cousin.
- Big Bad: Jimmy is the main antagonist of both animated movies.
- Big Brother Bully: A cousin variant. Jimmy acts like a real jerk to Hannah and it was his idea to lock her in the scary house in the first film.
- Even Evil Has Standards: While he’s more mean than evil, he gradually starts worrying about his cousin when she doesn’t come out of the house after his cruel prank.
- Evil Makes You Ugly / Evil Makes You Monstrous: He gets progressively uglier and more devil-like as he attempts to destroy Halloween. By the end, he has pointed ears, a unibrow, a scrunched-up nose, and sharp teeth. He returns back to normal once his love for Halloween comes back.
- Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: He smacks all three of his friends when they start panicking over monsters being real.
- Trademark Favorite Food: As revealed in the sequel, barbecued chicken and macaroni and cheese. The animated adaptation changes it to spaghetti and meatballs.
- Took a Level in Kindness: In the books more than in the animated movies, though even post-Kindness-level he would occasionally lase back into Jerkass behavior.
Daryl, Bert, Katie
From left to right: Katie, Daryl, and Bert.
- Daryl Voiced by: Noel Callahan (Halloween Spooktakular) Nathan Tipple (The Revenge of Jimmy)
Bert Voiced by: Danny McKinnon (Halloween Spooktakular) Dexter Bell (The Revenge of Jimmy)
Katie Voiced by: Brittney Irvin
Jimmy's three friends.
- Brainy Brunette: Katie is the most mature and reasonable of the group.
- Curtains Match the Windows: Katie is the only one to fit this trope, having brown hair and brown eyes.
- Everyone Has Standards: They progressively get more worried about Hannah in the first movie when she doesn’t come running out of the house.
- Peer-Pressured Bully: Only went through with Jimmy's cruel prank on Hanna because he forced them to.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Bert considers booking it when he worries that monsters are going to devour every kid because they weren’t given enough candy.
- Ship Tease: The first special hints that Daryl and Katie have feelings for one another; one of the most blatant pieces of evidence is Katie wanting one of Daryl's candy in exchange for three kisses (and not the chocolate ones). Later when they're hiding in the basement, Katie's performing a Bridal Carry with Darryl in her arms.
- Smurfette Principle: Katie is the only girl in Jimmy’s group of friends.
- Sweet Tooth: Daryl has such a strong love of candy that he dresses up as one for Halloween in the hopes that he'll get more of them.
- Token Minority: Bert is the only non-white member, being African-American.
- Took a Level in Kindness: In the sequel, all three of them (with Katie actually saying it out loud) acknowledge that they deserve what they got for how they treated Hannah. Now they're friends with her.
Characters of the Monster Realm
Mr. Skully Pettibone
Voiced by: Scott McNeil
Scary Godmother's broommate; a talking skeleton.
- Affectionate Nickname: In Jimmy's Revenge, Skully takes to calling Hannah "Sweetie".
- Ambiguously Gay: Well, they can't come right out and say it, but it's heavily implied, given his highly flamboyant personality and his job as a "skeleton in the closet". There's also his little quip about "almost" everyone having a skeleton in their closet, implying he's "come out" of one by now.
- Berserk Button: Anything to do with Harry. Whether it be his rude behavior or his constant eating of his food without consideration of others, it's enough for Skully to (jokingly) suggest they make werewolf kabobs out of him.
- Brain Bleach: He has the misfortune of getting a good look at Harry's rear end while hanging onto his tail for dear life, and is pretty thankful he doesn't actually have eyeballs.
- Deadpan Snarker: Has a rather dry sense of humor when he feels like it.Scary Godmother (after learning Harry ordered twelve pizzas): Psst, Skully! You got any money?Skully: No. I left it in my other pelvis.
- Dem Bones: He's a skeleton, with no muscle tissue whatsoever.
- The Fashionista: The comics demonstrate he's got an amazing sense of style and gives Ruby a spooktacular makeover.
- Friendly Skeleton: Very much so.
- Last-Second Word Swap: When being told that Jimmy won't get a pumpkin because he refuses to celebrate Halloween, Skully starts saying that without a pumpkin, "you don't have Jack-" only to be reminded by Scary Godmother to watch his language around Hannah, so he awkwardly peters into "o-lantern".
- Meaningful Name: His full name is basically a pun on being an actual living skeleton.
- Nice Guy: All-around fun guy to be around, unless you're Harry.
- Platonic Life-Partners: With Scary Godmother. They live together in the same house and they’re close to each other, but there isn’t a trace of a romantic interest in their relationship.
- Wholesome Crossdresser: A short comic story involving a tea party shows Skully also wears feminine clothing.
Harry
Voiced by: Gary Chalk
A talkative werewolf who wears a blue, lamb-patterned shirt.
- Achievements in Ignorance: In Wild About Harry he tries everything he can think of to get out of working as a professional monster, and spends his time robbing campsites for food. He accidentally becomes the scariest, most mysterious monster the Fright Side has ever heard of, and everybody's greatly shocked when they learn the "Mystery Monster" is Harry.
- Basement-Dweller: In the comics he leeches off his mother and lives in her basement. The kicker is his mother lives in a cave, and said basement is a hole dug in the ground.
- Big Eater: He devours the entire party buffet, then orders twelve pizzas.
- Breakout Character: Of the original comics. He wasn't present at all in the very first book, but has made at least a cameo in every single Scary Godmother story since, often playing a crucial role in the story. He even had his own mini-series, Wild About Harry, and Jill Thompson has described how she had to fight to keep him at arm's length at times because he would threaten to dominate any story he appeared in. Lampshaded and parodied in the Revenge of Jimmy animated special, where he tries to insert himself as the star in the opening credits.
- The Chew Toy: Because he spent much of the first special being a nuisance with his Big Eater tendencies and It's All About Me attitude, culminating in leaving Scary Godmother and friends to pay off a $236 pizza bill, Scary Godmother gets back at him by forcing all sorts of miserable menial tasks onto him throughout the second one.
- Freudian Excuse: Wild About Harry reveals the reason he's such a lazy, wasteful jerk is because his mother unintentionally spoiled him when he was a baby instead of letting him learn to do things for himself.
- The Friend Nobody Likes: Everyone in the Fright Side considers Harry a nuisance. Mr. Pettibone and Count Max especially can't stand his presence.
- It's All About Me: All Harry ever thinks about is himself, and there is no one he will not inconvenience to serve his desires. Especially if it involves filling his fat belly.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Harry is a loudmouthed, inconsiderate, greedy and utterly self-centered nuisance who thinks nothing of exploiting and taking advantage of anyone who will let him... but he's not really a bad person. He's very friendly and easygoing, and in his own way he can even be quite helpful, when the mood takes him.
- Large Ham: Harry speaks like a wannabee Shakespearean actor, especially prevalent when he's pretending to be killed by Hannah's flashlight.Harry: Look how that light radiates into my countenance! Tis too much for me and my pithy soul, the light burns! It burns worse than the worst burn ever! Mercy me, is this the end of poor Harry? It seems so! Goodbye, mother! I can see a long tunnel with a bright light! I move towards the light! (Scary Godmother gives him a "Get on with it" motion) Oh, alright! I die! I flail! Then I die.
- Motor Mouth: Boy, can he talk.
- No-Sell: Tinkaree tries to keep him quiet with fairy cakes in Ghoul's Out for Summer, but the trance Harry is put into never lasts and he keeps quickly asking Tinkaree for more fairy cakes.
- Odd Friendship: Forms a small one with Katie in the Revenge of Jimmy, inviting her to be his dance partner during the party.
- Spotlight-Stealing Squad: In the comics. Jill Thompson herself has commented on how easily Harry would grab the spotlight, and she had to put in some considerable effort in order to not center all the stories around him.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: In the comics, he wasn't so annoying in his earlier appearances, but the more focus he got, the bigger an asshole he became.
- A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: He's a werewolf wearing a shirt that has pictures of sheep on it. A wolf in ''sheep'' clothing.
- Wolf Man: Obviously, although he doesn't go through any kind of transformation.
Bug-A-Boo
Voiced by: Gary Chalk
Scary Godmother's broommate; a huge, round monster with multiple yellow eyes, fur, a pointy tail, horns and a huge mouth with sharp teeth.
- Dark Is Not Evil: He may look scary and scare kids for a living, but he's a real nice guy.
- Extra Eyes: Bug-A-Boo usually has five eyes, although he's shown to have more hidden away, which reveal themselves when he's surprised.
- Gentle Giant: The biggest of his friends with a kind heart.
- Nice Guy: As he puts it, "Monsters are never mean. Big and scary, sure. But never mean!"
- Punch-Clock Villain: In a sense. His literal job is scaring children, but he's affable off-hours. When he first meets Hannah and inadvertently scares her, he's confused about whether it's overtime.
- Things That Go "Bump" in the Night: Bug-A-Boo's job is to scare kids, and it seems he's able to travel from house to house from underneath kids' beds.
Count Maxwell and Countess Ruby
Voiced by: Scott McNeil (Maxwell), Tabitha St. Germain (Ruby)
A married vampire couple.
- Amazingly Embarrassing Parents: Maxwell is this to Orson, with his poor attempts to use modern slang, like "groovy". Ruby can be this, too, in a more standard "doting mother" kind of way.
- Friendly Neighborhood Vampire: They may look scary, but they are harmless vampires...well, mostly. They were ready to chow down on Hannah until Scary Godmother intervened to tell them that she's a guest and not the food.
- Happily Married: They are open to showing affection to each other.
- Hidden Depths: Max prefers things to be old-fashioned and expresses disdain for modern things, but is secretly insecure about being out of touch with the times and gets self-conscious about it.
- Hypnotic Eyes: Maxwell can hypnotize people with his eyes, which turn into red and yellow spirals when he uses this ability. He uses this to put Harry to sleep.
- Looks Like Orlok: Maxwell is a bald vampire with pointed ears, so he clearly looks like the vampire from Nosferatu.
- Mama Bear: In Ghoul's Out For Summer, after learning Orson has been abused and mistreated by their so-called vampire master, the moment Max and Ruby arrive to save Orson, Ruby has to be physically restrained from destroying the vampire she mistakenly assumes is the Master.Ruby: Get your claws off him, you wretched being!Max (restraining Ruby): Calm yourself, my Tyson-esque treasure!
- Noodle People: They're tall, skinny and constantly hunched over.
- Opposites Attract: Their relationship is expanded on in the comics, and it is revealed that Max is very close to traditions, while Ruby is more open to modern things. While spending some time separated because of a fight over putting an entertainment system in the castle, they realize that their differences is what they love most about each other.
- Papa Wolf: Don't threaten Max's family, even on accident.Harry: Now, who wants garlic?Max: [grabs Harry by the shirt and looms over him] What are you, a maniac? Are you trying to poison my family?
- And in the comics, he's prepared to murder his former master for abusing and using Orson and several other vampire fledglings as his slaves. Specifically, Max promises to "Rend him limb from limb!"
Orson
Voiced by: Adam Pospisil (Halloween Spooktakular) Richie Warke (The Revenge of Jimmy)
The only child and son of Count Maxwell and Countess Ruby.
- Friendly Neighborhood Vampire: Like his parents, Orson is a friendly vampire kid, although he and his parents were ready to eat Hannah until Scary Godmother said Hannah is a friend and not food.
- Nerd Glasses: Round glasses to be exact.
- Perky Goth: Orson dresses like a typical Goth while acting like a laid-back and occasionally mischievous boy.
- Ship Tease: With Hannah the pre-teen human. In the books, it's confirmed that he does in fact have a crush on Hannah.
Comic Exclusive Characters
Madame Irene LeGevaudan
Harry's mother, a human fortune teller who lives in a cave and operates a business out of a caravan. She's sick of Harry leeching off her and wishes he'd get a job, but secretly doesn't mind mothering him except he's never appreciative.
- Demoted to Extra: She does not appear in the animated specials aside from Scary Godmother mentioning her in the first one.
- Empty Nest: She's got a lot of free time on her hands when Harry leaves the cave and doesn't come back, but she's not happy about it because she misses doing all her usual mom stuff. She ends up doing anonymous mothering to a lot of men around the Fright Side to keep busy.
- Mama Bear: In a sense. The woman is practically addicted to being a mom and, while Harry has disappeared, she goes around the Fright Side performing random acts of mothering.
- My Beloved Smother: Subverted. She wouldn't have a problem taking care of Harry even though he's an adult, but what she really wants is for him to at least say "Thank you."
- Parents as People: She's a good person and while she's vocally unhappy with Harry's attitude and behavior, it's clear he turned out that way because she spoiled him.
- Pushover Parents: She gave in too easily when Harry asked her to do stuff when he was young, and is now regretting living with a Lazy Bum who treats her like crap.
- So Proud of You: She beams with pride when "The Mystery Monster" turns out to be Harry, since he's now the most accomplished, popular monster on the Fright Side.
- Token Human: She seems to be the only human character (albeit one who predicts fortunes) who lives on the Fright Side, with the implication Harry's a werewolf solely due to his Disappeared Dad.
- Where Did We Go Wrong?: She's still wondering why her son is such an inconsiderate, lazy jerk, though this is because she accidentally spoiled and enabled him when he was a baby.
Tinkaree
A fairy who attended school with Scary Godmother, and was one of her two best friends. Years later when they're adults, she's struggling to find a Fairy Godmother job for herself... so she tries to steal one from Scary Godmother.
- Beauty Equals Goodness: Averted. Tinkaree's pretty, but she's vengeful and neurotic and almost ruins Scary Godmother's good name.
- Bright Is Not Good: In contrast to Holda, Scary Godmother's witch friend who demonstrates Dark Is Not Evil.
- Easily Forgiven: Subverted. Scary Godmother admits she does have some unresolved rage issues regarding what Tinkaree did, but helps her get her Godmother job when she realizes it's the best way to quell Tinkaree's Entitlementitis.
- Evil Former Friend: She was one of only two friends Scary Godmother had back in school, and years later after they drifted apart she tries to steal her identity.
- Fairy Godmother: Well, she studied to be one, but unfortunately there aren't a lot of jobs open. And the ones that are available go to classic Godmothers like Glinda and the Blue Fairy. Scary helps her become a different kind of Fairy Godmother, however.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Her jealousy and embitterment over her lot in life led her to try and steal Scary Godmother's identity.
- Heel–Face Revolving Door: She was Scary Godmother's fairy friend, then she stole Scary Godmother's identity, and then Scary Godmother helped set Tinkaree up with a different kind of Godmother role.
- I Just Want to Be You: She was only using Scary Godmother's identity to find her own Godmother position, but then decided to keep Scary Godmother's for herself.
- It's All About Me: She rants about how she was entitled to get a sweet Godmother job for herself, claiming it's not fair Scary Godmother got such a good gig when Tinkaree did "So much" for her. In fact, it's said she developed a disease called "Entitlementitis" which got worse over the years.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Thinks she deserved a lot more than Scary Godmother because of little things she did, even though she only graduated as a Third Class Fairy Godmother while Scary busted her ass on every course the school offered.
Holda
A witch who attended school with Scary Godmother, and was one of her two best friends. Years later, Holda's a high ranking witch who organized the convention for fairies and witches where Scary Godmother was invited to speak. Unfortunately, Holda didn't realize Scary Godmother had been replaced by Tinkaree.
- Beauty Equals Goodness: Averted. She's always looked like a hag, but is incredibly sweet.
- Dark Is Not Evil: She looks like a classic Wicked Witch, but she went out of her way to befriend Scary Godmother when they were kids and still thinks very highly of her friend even when they're adults. A far cry from how nasty Tinkaree turned out.
- Nice Girl: She wasn't grossed out by Scary Godmother's fairy qualities when they were kids, and is eager to help when she realizes Scary was framed by Tinkaree and spent weeks getting poisoned by mind controlling Faerie Cakes.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: She was all set to have Scary Godmother locked in a dungeon for the damage she supposedly did to the convention, until she realized Tinkaree was impersonating her. She then spent months working to undo Scary's Faerie Cake poisoning with help from the other witches and fairies.
- Wicked Witch: Subverted. She looks like one, and it seems all witches in their world study to be fairy tale witches, but Holda is incredibly nice.
The Master
The oldest living vampire, and the one whom Max and Ruby defer to. He teaches fledgling vampires in "The old ways," but his "Summer Ghoul" program is a scam to get him young slaves to do his bidding.
- Broken Ace: He's bested by Orson when he uses Hannah's sunscreen to brave the "Trials of Transylvania," allowing him to stay in the sun without getting burned. Once Max, Ruby, and the other adult vampires learn the Master abused his authority and tormented their kids, they're ready to rip the bastard apart.
- Dark Is Evil: The one character to play this straight.
- Go Mad from the Isolation: It's implied he went crazy after spending centuries living in a cave.
- Hate Sink: He's a vile, loathsome, gluttonous monster using kids as slaves.
- Karma Houdini: While Orson beat him, the Master tunneled out of his hole in the ground before the other vampire parents could get their hands on him for torturing (and killing) their kids. To make matters worse, the tunnel he dug ended up right outside Scary Godmother's house.
- Knight of Cerebus: The darkest character in the series, a legitimately hateful and sadistic fiend who uses vampire children for slaves and even murders them when they get on his bad side. Not even Tinkaree was so bad.
- Manipulative Bastard: Max, Ruby, and the other adult vampires put their faith in him simply because he's the oldest of the old and was once their master. He spent years lying to some of the parents saying their kids "Needed more training." Yet when the parents learn how horribly he's treated their kids, they wanted him dead.
- The Svengali: While it's implied that he was not always like this, the entire "Summer Ghoul" program is nothing more than a scam to accumulate slaves through the vampire children to dig his grave and hunt for him, any resistance met with Disproportionate Retribution.
- Villainous Glutton: While noticeably skinny, he uses Orson, Hans, Michael, and Anastasia to hunt prey for him. He then drains every meal of blood while leaving none for the kids.
- Would Hurt a Child: His "Trials of Transylvania" test are set up to murder any kid he puts through it. In at least one instance, when his charge Anastasia was begging the Master to help her brother Ivan while the sun burned him to death, the Master stuck her face in the light and scarred her permanently.
