Stephen King Nightmares and Dreamscapes

Dedication: In memory of THOMAS WILLIAMS, 1926-1991: poet, novelist, and great American storyteller.

Description:Elizabeth Robinson was to testify against James Dolan when she was killed when her car blew up. Her husband began to plan his revenge, watching Dolan for years, until he got the chance.

Working with a highway repair gang, he constructed a pit which was just big enough for Dolan's Cadillac to crash into, but not big enough to allow escape. Trapped in the hole, Dolan pleaded for his release, but the hole was filled in by Robinson, burying him in his car.

?, Bill	Name used by Robinson to gain info about Dolan's return to home
Blocker, Harvey	District Foreman with Nevada Highway Department
Dolan, James (Jim)	Owner of the Cadillac. Murderer that had Elizabeth Robinson Killed. He was eventually buried alive in his car beneath the road
Robinson, ? (Bubba)	Guy trying to kill Dolan
Robinson, Elizabeth	Killed by Jim Dolan after she testified at Dolan's trial. Her car was blown up by sticks of dynamite attached to the ignition of her car. She was a first Grade teacher at the same school as her husband.
Tinker	Held the watch used for the bet between Robinson and his boss Harvey Tinker. Worked on the road crew
Urich, Timmy	Child that was frightened by a vase shattering. Student of Robinson's

Description: Bobby Fornoy discovers a substance in the water of La Plata, Texas, that helps reduce violence to almost non-existent levels. The substance is concentrated and transported to a volcano near Borneo, and in 2007 the volcano erupts, spreading the substance around the world.

One side effect of the substance is senility and early death, and the worlds population slowly fades out of existence. The story is written by Bobby's brother Howard.

Da Vinci, Leonardo	Mentioned in passing
Dangerfield, Rodney	Mentioned in passing.
Edison, ?	Mentioned in passing
Einstein, Albert	Mentioned in passing
Fife, Barney	Mentioned in passing
Fornoy, Howard (Bow-Wow)	Former Freelance writer, and brother of Bobby Fornoy. He slowly looses his ability to write
Fornoy, India	Mother of Howard and Robert and wife of Richard. CPA in D.C
Fornoy, Richard	Father of Howard and Robert and husband of India. History professor, and vice-administrator of the National Archives.
Fornoy, Robert	The Messiah. Shot by his brother Howard.
Gould, Jay	Owned a parlor car in a train.
Newton, ?	Mentioned in passing
Rogers, John Paul (Duke)	Geology Professor.

Description: Robert is a little boy with a big secret - he can change from a human form to something else, and his teacher, Emily Sidney saw it. This made her lose her mind, slowly, and she took 12 of her students into a room and killed them.

?, Edward	One of Emily Sidney's students at the Summer Street School.
?, Jane	One of Emily Sidney's students at the Summer Street School.
?, Robert	Small boy with a big secret. One of Emily Sidney's students at the Summer Street School who can change from a human form to something strange. Emily Sidney seen this change.
Crossen, Margaret	Teacher that helped bring Miss Sidley around with smelling salts after she fainted
Hanning, Mr	School Principal at the Summer Street School
Jenkins, Buddy	Psychiatrist who worked with Emily Sidley.
Sidley, Emily	Teacher at the Summer Street School. She saw one of her students, Robert, change from a human into a strange form, then back. This made her loose her mind, slowly, and she took 12 of her students into a room and killed them.
Sidley, Jim	Brother of Emily, and owned a gun he took off a dead German soldier. This was the gun Emily used on her students.

Description: Richard Dees, a reporter for a 'Inside View' is searching for what he thinks is a serial killer. Dwight Renfield is no serial killer - he is a modern day vampire, but there is no turning into a bat and flying - this guy uses a Cessna to cruise around the north-east United States !

Bowie, Claire	The Night Flier's victim
Dees, Richard	Veteran reporter
Frye, Dwight	Actor who's name was used to get the fictional name Dwight Renfield.
Grannit, Libby	Comes up with paper headlines
Hannon, Ezra	Mechanic
Kendall, Buck	The Night Flier's victim
Kendall, Jenna	Wife of Buck Kendall
McCammon, Selida	Friend of Ellen Sarch
Morrison, Merton	Freshman Editor that discovered the pattern of deaths
Renfield, Dwight	The name that was given as the Pilot of the Night Flier
Sarch, Doug	Son of Ray and Ellen, died smuggling drugs.
Sarch, Ellen	Ran Duffrey airfield with husband Ray
Sarch, Ray	Ran Duffrey airfield with wife Ellen
Walsh, Dottie	Took a bath with a dry-cleaning bag over her head
Wilson, Norm	Owner of Duffrey's Texaco station

Description: Sheridan gets more than he asks for when he kidnaps a small child from a shopping centre. Sheridan takes the boy towards Mr Wizard's home, where he was to get paid for the delivery, but he never makes it. On route a large winged animal stops the van and cuts Sheridan 's throat. Popsy had delivered the drink he had promised the boy.

Description: Old men gathered at Brownie's Store in Castle Rock talk about the strange house built by Joe Newall. Each time a person dies, the house is extended in some way, even though the house has no tenants and no owner. Gary Paulson dies in his sleep and soon after a new cupola is started at the Newall house.

Bowen, John	In McKissick's General Store. Drove a pickup
Budreau, Phil	Owned some land that was foreclosed on by the First Bank in Lewiston.
Campbell, Nickerson	County Sheriff
Clutterbuck, Andy	Grandson of John
Clutterbuck, Clayton	John Clutterbuck's father
Clutterbuck, John	Customer in Brownie's store
Clutterbuck, Melissa	Andy Clutterbuck's wife.
Corliss, Paul	Customer in Brownie's store
Corriveau, Ken	Country singer, now selling fords.
Coy, Alvin	Only person from Harlow to attend Joe Newall's funeral
Ellis, Benny	Claimed that Joe Newall had gouged out his daughters eye.
Gates, Gabe	Carl Stowe's partner in the Gates Mills. Died of Parkinsons disease and Uremic Poisoning at 79 years old. Head Selectman up until death.
Gingercroft, Doris	Nurse for Dr Robertson
Leonard, Cora	Niece of Carl Stowe. Married Joe Newall. Got pregnant in 1920
Matterly, John	In Brownie's store. Had a large depression in the side of his forehead from a 1953 car accident.
McKissick, Bill (Brownie) (IRV??)	Owner of the Brownie's store.
McKissick, Harley	Owner of the Brownie's store. Son of Bill
Newall, Cora	Married name of Cora Leonard. Wife of Joe Newall. Fell down the stairs and broke her neck in 1924.
Newall, Joe	Owned Castle Rock from 1904. Husband of Cora from 1914 and he hung himself in 1929.
Newall, Sarah Tampson Tabitha Francine	Deformed child of Cora and Joe born 14 January 1921. She lived for only 6 hours, and had no arms.
Ouelette, Sally	Gary Paulson's first lover
Partridge, Lenny	Customer in Brownie's store
Paulson, ?	Son of Gary Paulson. Died in WWII along with his brother.
Paulson, ?	Son of Gary Paulson. Died in WWII along with his brother.
Paulson, ?	Son of Gary Paulson. Died in a car accident in 1955 on the Maine Turnpike, near Clinton.
Paulson, Gary Martin	Antique dealer and drove an old Chevy
Robertson, Dr	Local doctor
Roy, Dana	Electrician who died of Intestinal cancer in 1971. Worked as an electrician for Gates Mills until 1930, then for US Gypsum until he retired in 1956.
Roy, Eddie	Father of William and Dana
Roy, Lucy	Wife of Dana. Died in Childbirth in 1948
Roy, William	Brother of Dana, threw skunk (Dead Chicken) at the side of Joe Newall's house.
Stowe, Carl	Uncle of Cora Leonard, and her only living relative. Co-Founder of the Gates Mill.
Torbutt, Cleveland	Joe Newall's partner, and the person who found Joe's body.
Upshaw, Clem	County health officer from Bowie Hill. Had a court order to see the dead cows.
Upshaw, Noble	Clem Upshaw's brother
Wing, Benny	Horror magazine fan.

Description: Bill Hogan, a salesman with a dislike for flying, buys a set of broken novelty teeth at a small store in the desert. Picking up a hitchhiker, they drive into a sandstorm when the hitchhiker tries to kill him. The chattery teeth come to life, killing the hitchhiker, and dragging him off into the desert.

Description: Housekeeper Martha Rosewall tells the story of her sons conception, the loss of her husband while she was pregnant, and about his "natural father", a writer with whom he had many striking similarities.

?, Bradford	Martha Rosewall's Brother
?, Cassandra (Kissy)	Martha Rosewall's older sister
Aaronson, Bedilia	Kitchen hand at Le Palais
Beck, Billy	Worked at the Le Palais
Brown, Rita Mae	Author
Buckley, Mr	On the front desk at Le Palais
Delorme, Mama	Spooky old Woman
Jefferies, Althea Dixmont	Peter Jefferies mother.
Jefferies, Peter	Peter Rosewall's "Natural" father according to Mama Delorme. He stayed in a suite that was cleaned by Martha Rosewall. He wrote "Blaze of Heaven", "Boys in the Mist"
Kinsolving, Octavia	Lived in same building as Martha Rosewall
Naylor, Gloria	Author
Parker, Mrs	Worked at the Le Palais
Proulx, Roberta	Martha Rosewall's boss
Reed, Ishmael	Author
Rosewall, Johnny	Peter Rosewall's father
Rosewall, Martha	Chief Housekeeper of 3 floors of Le Palais
Rosewall, Peter	Wrote a novel called "Blaze of Glory". Son of Martha Rosewall
Sagamore, Darcy	Friend of Martha Rosewall
Walker, Alice	Author

Description: Most fingers are only a few inches long, but there are always exceptions to the rule as Howard Mitla finds out when a strange finger appears from the drain. Howard tries to destroy the finger with drain cleaner, and then cuts a few feet off its length with the hedge clippers.

A policeman arrives, alerted to the noise by a nosy neighbour, and finds Howard's bathroom covered in blood. But there is something strange trying to escape from the toilet.

?, Ginger	Member of The Dead Beats band
Beatles, The	Band mentioned in passing
Butthole Surfers, The	Band mentioned by Paul Jannings
Clapton, Eric	Paul Jannings recorded one of his sessions
Daltrey, Roger	John Tell and Paul Jannings worked on one of his albums
Dead Beats, The	John Tell missed this bands album
Dylan, Bob	Paul Jannings recorded one of his sessions
Fogerty, John	Singer mentioned by John Tell
Iovine, Jimmy	A music producer
Jannings, Paul	He hired John Tell. The ghost in the stall told Tell that Jannings had murdered him in about 1972. He was a cocaine addict at the time of the murder, but got himself clean soon after.
Kooper, Al	Paul Jannings recorded one of his sessions
Lennon, John	Paul Jannings recorded one of his sessions
McCartney, Paul	One of the Beatles
McLean, Don	Mentioned in passing
Nelson, Sandy	Mentioned in passing
Rolling Stones, The	Band mentioned in passing
Ronkler, Georgie	Member of the Dead Beats band. He told John Tell the story about the ghost in the toilet stall
Satin Saturns, The	John Tell played bass for them occasionally
Spector, Phil	Record producer
Springsteen, Bruce	Singer liked by John Tell
Steinbrenner, George	Mentioned in passing
Superman	Mentioned in passing
Tell, John	He was hired to work at the Tabori Studios by Paul Jannings. He saw sneakers under the toiler stall, and was later told the story about the dead drug pusher
Tell, Mr	Father of John Tell
Trump, Donald	Mentioned in passing
Vivaldi, ?	Composer
Who, The	Roger Daltrey sung for them
Wyman, Bill	Bass player for the Rolling Stones

Description: Maddie Pace lost her husband Jack, to a lobstering accident off Gennesault Island. Soon after the funeral, the world was awash in Zombies, and suddenly found herself confronted by the zombie of her husband. She chopped up his body and put the pieces in the cellar.

Arsenault, Matt	At town meeting
Brokaw, Tom	Television reporter
Campbell, Orrin	At town meeting
Ching-Ling, Soong	Chinese Astronaut
Cook, Pop	Old man
Crane, Johnny	18 Year Old
Dagbolt, Humphrey	Astronomer
Daggett, Bob	Called Town meeting
Daggett, Frank	Bob Daggett's great uncle
Dorfman, Burt	Only Jew on the island
Dotson, Sonny	Ran Island Amoco
Eamons, Dave	Seen Jack Pace die
Fournier, Michael	A dead person who came to life as a zombie
Gotrocks	Destitute family
Hanratty, Mabel	Had a yard sale where Maddy bought a table.
Harkness, Buck	Seen his dead wife shot while she was a zombie
Johnson, Reverend	Local reverend who visits Maddy Pace
Kingsbury, Andy	At town meeting
McElwain, Dr	Mainland doctor
Meecham, Bud	Found a hole in his shirt from a bullet
Nedeau, Bob	Owns local supermarket. Father of Charlene
Nedeau, Charlene	Works in local supermarket
Pace, Jack	Maddy's husband
Pace, Maddy	Compulsive person.
Partridge, Cal	At town meeting
Pulsifer, Brian	Friend of Maddy's
Pulsifer, Candi	Friend of Maddy's
Pulsifer, Cheyne	Friend of Maddy's
St George, Selena	Writer from Little Tall Island.
Sullivan, George	Maddy's father
Sullivan, Maddy	See Maddy Pace
Wirley, John	School Principal
Yang, Lin	Chinese Astronaut

Description: George Banning tells his young grandson, Clive, about the different sorts of time. A young person sees time as slow, but as you age, time seems to flutter past very quickly.

Banning, Bill	George's Son. Killed in a motor vehicle accident
Banning, Clive	Grandson of George
Banning, Don	Clives Uncle
Banning, George	Explained the meaning of time to his grandson Clive
Banning, Patty	Clives sister
Brandy	Patty's Dog (A poodle)
Brannigan, Foxy	Owner of a "Model Delight" magazine
Brinkmayer, Johnny	Died of cancer
Brown, Mrs	Widow who hit a man in the backside with a broomstick
Chadband, Reverend	Local Reverend
Davis, Frank	Ran Davis Drug.
Hayden, Mr	Suffered from Alzheimer's or similar
Osgood, Alden	Caught Clive in a game of hide and seek
Radwick, Mr	A local butcher who cheated customers
Warburton, Tim	Looking for work

Description: Kate Weiderman receives a telephone call from a hysterical woman who sounds vaguely familiar. After the call is cut off and they are unable to establish the connection again, they forget about it. That night Kate's husband Bill dies of a heart attack.

Five years later Kate accidentally calls her old phone number and is connected with herself 5 years in the past, and frantically tries to warn her of the tragedy that will occur later that night. After the call is terminated she is unable to reconnect.

The Ten O'Clock People

Description: Brandon Pearson began seeing bat-like people while outside his office having a cigarette. Duke Rhinemann explained that they could only be seen by smokers who had given up, but then started again. Brandon attended a meeting of other people that could also see the bat-people, but the meeting was attacked and all but 3 of the attendees were killed.

Brandon and two others moved to Omaha to start the fight against the bat people in a new area.

Characters:

Brightwood, Janet	Could see the 'Bat people'
Buddy	Brandon's childhood dog.
Carstairs, Buzz	Given some work by Brandon
Delray, Robbie	Could see the 'Bat people'
Fine, Donald	Works in Securities - A 'bat person'
Flanders, Timmy	Could see the 'Bat people'
Grosbeck, Carl	Chairman of the board - A 'bat person'
Holding, Suzanne	'Bat woman'
Keefer, Douglas	CEO of the First Mutual Bank of Boston - A 'bat person'
Kendra	Could see the 'Bat people'
Olson, Lester	Could see the 'Bat people'
Pearson, Brandon	Discovered that he could see the 'Bat people'
Pearson, Lisabeth	Brandon's wife
Rhinemann, Dudley	Could see the 'Bat people'
Rhinemann, Wendy	Dudley's Wife
Richardson, Moira	Could see the 'Bat people'
Stevens, Cameron	Could see the 'Bat people'

Description: Lonnie and Doris Freeman were left stranded in Crouch End. As they walked along the path, they heard strange noises from behind the hedges, and Lonnie went to investigate. He came back through, screaming for her to run, but they soon became lost and separated.

Doris told her story to the local police, and it was said that Crouch End was separated from another world by the thinnest of barriers, one that was sometimes breached. The younger police officer investigated the disappearance, but was also lost between the worlds.

?, Evvie	Woman who helped direct Doris to police. About 60 years old. Gave Doris the Fork sign of the evil eye.
Blind Piper, The	The ruler of the "Thin" part of Crouch End.
Coppola, Francis Ford	Film direction spoken about by 2 children
Farnham, ?	2 Daughters of Robert and Sheila
Farnham, Robert	27 year old Police Constable who Works with PC Vetter, but then disappeared while looking for Lonnie Freeman. Has twin girls. Husband of Sheila, who later divorced him on the grounds of desertion
Farnham, Sheila	Wife of Robert Farnham. She wanted him to leave the police force. Divorced him on the grounds of desertion after he was lost in Crouch End Towen. Married Frank Hobbs
Freeman, Donnie (Or DANNY???)	Child of Doris and Leonard
Freeman, Doris	Wife of Leonard - seen police and told them of the disappearance of her husband. 26 years old.
Freeman, Leonard (Lonnie)	Husband of Doris, who disappeared in Crouch End. He was taken to "Him Who Waits". A Lawyer from Milwaukee
Freeman, Norma	Child of Doris and Leonard
Gordon, ?	Police Sergeant in Crouch End who's hair went white at the age of 40.
Hackett, ?	BBC reporter renowned for taking odd assignments
Him Who Waits	Ruler of the "weird" part of Crouch End, and Lonnie Freeman was taken to him
Hobbs, Frank	Sheila Farnham's second husband. He worked on the assembly line of Ford.
Lovecraft, H P	Author mentioned in passing.
Petty, ?	Police officer that committed suicide in 1976
Raymond, Sid	Police Sergeant that liked to break the fingers of Pickpockets that he caught
Squales, John	Leonard Freeman's lawyer friend. The Freeman family were going to see him.
Vetter, Ted	Police Constable who is told the story of Leonard Freeman's disappearance. About 54 years old, and took early retirement and moved to Frimley. He died of a heart attack 6 months later.

Description: Trent Bradbury locates the control panel of a spaceship in his house, and along with his 3 siblings, discover that their house is actually an alien spaceship readying itself for takeoff. The children get their mother out of the house, and coax their evil stepfather back inside as the house takes off.

Bradbury, Bill	First husband of Catherine. Died
Bradbury, Brian	Child of Catherine and Bill
Bradbury, Catherine	Beaten wife of Lewis Evans
Bradbury, Laurie	Child of Catherine and Bill
Bradbury, Melissa	Child of Catherine and Bill
Bradbury, Trent	Child of Catherine and Bill
Evans, Lewis (Daddy Lew)	Stepfather of the Bradbury Kids, and a wife beater
Kitt, Mrs	School nurse
Krutchmer, Mrs	Catherine spilled some food on her dress. Wife of Stephen
Krutchmer, Stephen	Head of history department
Redland, Mrs	Neighbour
Slattery, Mr	Neighbour

Description: On his deathbed, Barney told his friend about a map in 4 parts that showed the location of the money from an armoured car robbery. His friend decided to revenge the murder of Barney and went after the gang, and the 4 parts of the map

Description: 40 years after the death of Sherlock Holmes, Dr Watson tells the story of the solving of a murder by himself, and not Sherlock Holmes. Lord Albert Hull was murdered by his son Jory, but the simple clues point Dr Watson to the murderer in short time.

Barnes, Mr	Hull's solicitor, who witnessed his new will disinheriting his family.
Hemphill, Mrs	Owner of a cat boarding house
Holmes, Sherlock	Private Detective
Hudson, Mrs	Sherlock Holmes' housekeeper.
Hull, ?	Brother of Albert. Lives in Wales.
Hull, Jory	Second son of Albert. He was the one that actually killed his father, although the rest of the family knew it was him. He was born dead, but was revived by putting his legs in hot water.
Hull, Lady Rebecca	Albert Hull's wife. 45 years old, and was beaten by her husband.
Hull, Lord Albert	65 year old husband of Lady Rebecca Hull and father of Stephen, Jory and William. He was the founder of Hull shipping, and was found murdered. He was stabbed by his son Jory.
Hull, Stephen	Youngest son of Albert Hull. 28 years old.
Hull, William	Oldest son of Albert Hull. 36 years old.
Lestrade, Inspector	Police inspector that often asks Holmes for help, even though he does not really like him.
Stanley, Oliver	Lord Hull's Valet
Swinburne, Algernon	Jory Hull looked like him.
Watson, Doctor	Holmes' colleague, and the one to solve the case this time, before Holmes did.

Description: Clyde Umney is a private detective who discovers that he is actually the character in a book written by Samuel Landry. Landry arrives and wants to swap places with him - and does!

Umney suddenly finds himself living as a real person, not a storybook character, and must learn many things we take for granted. Umney begins to learn to write, as he intends to go and take his life back, and kill Landry in the process.

Brunner, Harris	Owned a houseboat
Buster	The Demmick's dog
Cain, Arlene	See Candy Kane
Charles, Nick	The man who George Demmick was based on
Charles, Nora	The woman who Gloria Demmick was based on
Corrigan, Hap	Painters boss
Demmick, George	Unmey's neighbour. Husband of Gloria
Demmick, Gloria	Unmey's neighbour. Wife of George
Hatfield, Tom (Big Tom)	Character in a previous case
Kane, Candy	Umney's secretary. See Arlene Cain
Klein, Vernon	Elevator operator
Landry, Danny	Samuel's son who died of AIDS
Landry, Linda	Samuel's wife
Landry, Samuel	The owner of the building where Umney worked. It turns out that he is the creator of the Umney books: Scarlet Town, How like a fallen angel.
Luciano, Lucky	Owned the Red Door nightclub
McGill, Ardis	Friend of Umney
Smith, Francis	See Preoria Smith
Smith, Fred	Preoria's uncle
Smith, Preoria	Blind Paperboy
Sternwood, Agnes	Supposedly drank Drain Cleaner
Tuggle, Bill	An accountant
Umney, Clyde	Private detective who meets his maker
Verrill, Mr	Landry's agent
Weld, Mavis	A character in a previous case

Arnold, Matt	Played on the Bangor West Team
Arnold, Mike	Played on the Bangor West Team
Auger, Jason	Played on the Lewiston Team
Bittner, Chuck	York Manager
Bouchard, Dan	Played on the York Team
Carson, Jeff	Played on the Hampden Team
Dorr, Arthur	Played on the Bangor West Team
Estes, Andy	Played on the York Team
Fernald, Ryan	Played on the York Team
Fiddler, JJ	Played on the Bangor West Team
Fisher, Roger	Played on the Bangor West Team
Francke, Matt	Played on the York Team
Gagnon, Carlton	Played on the Lewiston Team
Gervanis, Randy	Played on the Lewiston Team
Hoyt Matt	Played on the York Team
Hutchins, ?	Played on the York Team
Iarrobino, Ryan	Played on the Bangor West Team
Jamieson, Josh	Played on the Hampden Team
Johnson, Brett	Played on the Hampden Team
King, Kyle	Played on the Hampden Team
King, Owen	Played on the Bangor West Team
Kinney, Casey	Played on the Bangor West Team
Kinney, Matt	Played on the Bangor West Team
Knaide, Matt	Played on the Hampden Team
Laurita, Tim	Played on the Westfield Team
Mansfield, Dave	Bangor West head coach
Moore, Fred	Played on the Bangor West Team
Noyles, Matt	Played on the Lewiston Team
Paradis, Bill	Played on the Lewiston Team
Pelkey, Mike	Played on the Bangor West Team
Philbrick, ?	Played on the York Team
Rochefort, Kevin	Played on the Bangor West Team
St Pierre, Ron	Coach of Little league
Stevens, Josh	Played on the Bangor West Team
Streeton, Ryan	Played on the Lewiston Team
Sturgis, Stanley	Played on the Belfast Team
Tarbox, Phil	Played on the York Team
Tardif, Mike	Played on the Bangor West Team
Trzaskos, Nick	Played on the Bangor West Team
Waterman, Neil	Field coach for Bangor West
Waterman, Neil	Paramedic
Wentworth, Mike	Played on the Hampden Team
Wilcox, Joe	Played on the Bangor West Team
Witcomb, Chris	Played on the Hampden Team
Wyatt, ?	Played on the York Team

Description: Brooklyn August is an interesting freeform poem about a Baseball game at Ebberts field. It pares well with the previous story - Head Down as a pair of Baseball stories. Really this poem defies an accurate description, but is an interesting dream like sequence of a baseball pitch.

Description: King writes: 'This little story - a Hindu parable in its original form - was first told to me by Mr Surendra Patel, of New York City. I have adapted it freely and apologise to those who know its true form, where Lord Shiva and his wife, Parvati, are the major characters.'