The following is a categorical list of all the characters appearing in, or mentioned in, Nathaniel J. Nelson's 2017 psychological horror novel Quantum Flight 888. Non-point of view characters are listed alphabetically by surname.
Point of view characters[]
- Delilah Arain – A Pakistani-Canadian YouTuber struggling with her loss of faith in Christianity.
- Joshua Teller – A burnout archaeology student and renaissance man who believes he is cursed.
- Eva Van Savage – A flight attendant for Quantum Airlines and aspiring author.
- Neil Munster – A former English teacher jailed for his sexual relationship with a student, now suicidal and losing his mind.
- Jessi Gibson – A radical college student transferring schools after her protest was shut down.
- Caleb Poore – A incredibly powerful and mentally handicapped sixteen-year-old.
- Robert Noran – A Boston general practitioner who becomes the de facto doctor aboard Flight 888. Doctor Noran previously appeared in Erogrendel.
Supporting characters[]
- Craig Bennecker – A British man in the Economy cabin, Craig sends Joshua to spy on Premium Economy after the first death.
- Caroline – A novice flight attendant who finds herself overwhelmed by the night's events.
- Agent Kowalczyk – A government agent sent to watch over Caleb on the flight. Caleb refers to her simply as "Agent."
- Jared – The pilot aboard Flight 888 who refuses to turn back after the deaths due to his orders from above.
- Jeff – The copilot aboard Flight 888.
- Joan Krantz – The senior flight attendant who has an antagonistic relationship with Eva. Joan appears to be the only one among the crew with knowledge of what is causing the deaths.
- Olivia Lillee – An older woman, the second passenger to die aboard the flight.
- Angel Moreland – The young daughter of the first passenger to die, Angel was sent into a catatonic state after her mother's death and was protected by Eva and Doctor Noran.
- Annie Moreland – The first passenger to die aboard Flight 888, Annie was flying with her young daughter Angel.
Characters by flashbacks[]
The following characters appear only in the book's flashback or flashforward sequences, and are categorized by the point of view character of their respective chapters. Unnamed characters are listed last.
Delilah Arain[]
- Colleen – Ralph Woodsmith's assistant, present at Delilah's Demons in Dover audition.
- Jordan DeLinko – Delilah's overbearing father, a zealous and fundamentalist Nova Scotia Christian.
- Marika DeLinko – Delilah's mother, a refugee from Pakistan who ran away with Jordan to escape her abusive father.
- Diane – A producer present at Delilah's Demons in Dover audition.
- Jasper Hardy – Truman Hardy's brother who died when Truman was in high school, leading him to find solace in Delilah's YouTube videos.
- Truman Hardy – Delilah's husband, married in Amherst between 2016 and 2026.
- Jon – A resident of Centennial, Wyoming and Delilah's roommate. The two had a sexual, but not romantic, relationship, apparently involving BDSM.
- Johnny Martin – A successful and affluent Hollywood producer, Johnny picked up Delilah at a bar and later used his influence to get her an audition for Demons in Dover.
- Brandy Michaels – A fellow YouTuber, Brandy and Delilah have an antagonistic relationship due to Brandy's higher follower count and method of sexualizing herself for attention.
- Elijah Wells – The son of Amherst Parish's liberal pastor, Elijah is a devout Christian but does not demonize premarital sex, and eventually takes Esther's virginity.
- Ralph Woodsmith – A famous Hollywood director, Delilah auditioned for Demons in Dover in front of him.
- unnamed characters
- barista – An unnamed Boston barista who confronts Delilah about her debit card bearing the name Esther DeLinko.
- cameraman – An unnamed cameraman present at Delilah's Demons in Dover audition.
- old couple – An old man Esther sees in a nursing home as a child, speaking to his wife, who has apparently lost her memory. The man tells his wife the story of their first date, though Delilah realizes he is improvising based on a painting that hangs in the hall.
Joshua Teller[]
- Alice – A cocktail waitress working at the Linebacker bar in Los Angeles, Alice is shocked to realize that Joshua has been leading a double life.
- Molly Denere – A longtime math teacher at Boston International High School, Molly believes Joshua to be brilliant but undedicated.
- Don – An English professor at the University of Southern California, Don was the first person to read Joshua's theory on Freudian psychoanalysis.
- Jeremy – Joshua's friend in Los Angeles, Jeremy works as a tutor for child actress Emily Trapp, and invites Joshua to the set of Spirit Dwellers after Emily expresses an interest in archaeology.
- Mrs Robideau – An art teacher at Boston International, Mrs Robideau holds the same opinions of Joshua as Molly Denere.
- Jenna Sanchez – A young, attractive teacher at Boston International High School, Jenna takes a particular interest in Josh. After graduation, while on a bender, Joshua has sex with Jenna.
- Maria Teller – Joshua's mother. A stern but fair parent, Joshua doesn't seem to appreciate his mother in high school, but later realizes his mistake.
- William Teller – Joshua's father, an unsociable but kind man. His death of a heart attack leads Joshua into believing he is cursed.
- Emily Trapp – An eleven-year-old actress and millionaire, Emily Trapp starred in the American reboot of Spirit Dwellers as April Thompson.
- Oliver Witt – An employee of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Witt was called to Hollywood as a consultant for the supernatural elements in the American reboot of Spirit Dwellers. Joshua meets him on set and later consults him about his possible curse.
- unnamed characters
- two unnamed male students who sit in the Linebacker and debate the authenticity of Shakespeare's work
Eva Van Savage[]
- Shawn Carrol – A higher-up at Yggdrasil Publishing, Carrol signed the rejection letter for Eva's novel An Eerie Sunbeam.
- Terri Eckleman – The bookkeeper for the Abbot House crash pad.
- Jane – A United Airlinesf flight attendant staying in the Abbot House in 2014.
- Josie – A flight attendant staying in the Abbot House in 2014.
- Mister Kent – Eva's senior year English teacher.
- Mrs Norton – Eva's teacher in fifth grade, Mrs Norton discovers the manuscript of Eva's first book, Gemini, and confronts her about the disturbing content.
- one-night stand – An attractive man Eva wakes up beside the day after being rejected by Yggdrasil Publishing.
- Christian Van Savage – Eva's father, a young millionaire who made his fortune off winning the lottery and investing well.
- Eddie Van Savage – Eva's brother, younger by fourteen years.
- Margaret Van Savage – Eva's mother, with whom she had a rocky relationship, made worse when Eva caught her cheating on Christian.
Neil Munster[]
- Derek – A resident of Bowditch, Maine, Derek is a middle-aged man who sells weed to many of the locals, apparently including the police.
- Joe Deutschendorf – Neil's cellmate at Cumberland County Jail.
- Annette Poore – Maryanne's mother, a sturdy and outgoing woman who attempts to kill Neil after he's released from prison, only relenting when he agrees to kill himself.
- Henry Poore – Maryanne's father who adopted Caleb after Maryanne's suicide.
- Maryanne Poore – A sophomore at Lydia Dunn High School, Maryanne seduced Neil for better grades, and ended up killing herself. She serves as the primary antagonist of the novel, both in the main storyline and in Neil's flashbacks.
- Ryan Sampson – A student of Neil's who apparently tries too hard to sound intelligent.
- unnamed characters
- unnamed Bowditch resident, a bearded man who gives Neil a ride to Maryanne's house.
- unnamed Maine local, a man in his forties who gives Neil a ride to the tavern.
- two unnamed police officers who arrest Neil in 2000.
Jessi Gibson[]
- The Clown – A clown performing in the traveling circus attended by Jessi and David Gosselin, the Clown apparently shares similar powers with Caleb Poore and uses them to hypnotize his audience into believing his simple act is very impressive.
- Brian Gibson – Jessi's father, a wealthy man and stern father, Brian refuses to humor Jessi's rebellious behavior, pulling her out of Boston College after she led a protest against the school's treatment of Professor Glasgow's sexual assault case.
- Professor Glasgow – A teacher at Boston College, Glasgow was accused of rape by a female student.
- David Gosselin – Jessie's first boyfriend, David took Jessie's virginity before breaking up with her, which contributed to her jaded personality.
- Mrs Gosselin – David's mother, who drives Jessi and David to the circus.
- Jason – A new member of the paranormal survivor's group Jessi attends in Los Angeles.
- Mac – The leader of the paranormal survivor's group Jessi attends in Los Angeles.
- Tiger – Jessi's best friend at BU, Tiger is even more radical and socially-conscious than Jessi. Her name comes from the character Tiger Lily from Peter and Wendy, a novel Tiger had stricken from their high school's curriculum due to its portrayal of Native Americans.
- unnamed characters
- Jessi's paternal aunt who she is sent to live with after being pulled from Boston College.
- an unnamed "person of color" who yells at Jessi and Tiger during their protest, surprising them.
- unnamed Boston College security officer who tells the protestors they will all be suspended
- unnamed dean of students at Boston College.
Caleb Poore[]
- Evan – A government agent who Caleb psychically sees talking to his grandfather.
- Jason Dufresne – A government agent who tests Caleb's powers.
- Martin Handle – A government agent who tests Caleb's powers and is outed as a pedophile.
Unnamed characters[]
The following characters appear in the novel but are never given names. Unnamed characters who appear in the flashback or fantasy sequences are categorized into their respective sections.
- An unnamed black woman and middle-aged man occupying the seats beside Neil Munster. As Neil begins his downward spiral, the man asks Delilah permission to take up her unused seat to get away from him.
- Seven unnamed passengers who die following Eva's decision to quit her job.
- An unnamed Asian man sitting across from Delilah in the Front-Facing Business cabin.
Fictional characters[]
- Meredith Antwon – Protagonist of the upcoming film Demons in Dover, a single mother who strikes up a romance with a monster hunter. Delilah Arain auditions for the role of Antwon and is rejected, though she is later given a callback, leading to her to Flight 888.
- Frank Gowser – Deuteragonist and primary love interest of Demons in Dover, Frank is a monster hunter whose sister was apparently abducted by aliens.
- Cassandra Iliana – Protagonist of Eva's seventh novel, The Mile-High Murder Club: a blonde flight attendant and self-insert character. In the film adaptation of The Mile-High Murder Club, she was played by Brandy Michaels.
- Akari Sugimoto/April Thompson – Protagonist of the Spirit Dwellers franchise, Akari is a young girl who accidentally resurrects her mother as a revenant and is guided by her ghost. In the American reboot film, Akari is played by white actress Emily Trapp and renamed April Thompson.
- Akari's mother/Mrs Thompson – The mother of Akari Sugimoto in Spirit Dwellers, Mrs Sugimoto apparently died before the events of the series and is accidentally resurrected by Akari as a revenant. As her living corpse attempts to kill Akari, Mrs Sugimoto returns as a ghost to guide her daughter.
- Eito Yagami – Only referenced once, Eito Yagami is a character in Spirit Dwellers who apparently has the ability to infiltrate dreams as a conscious entity.
- Jingie – Protagonist of The Adventures of Jingie, a book written by Josh Teller at age six.
- demon clown – A demon clown appearing in a children's book read to Jessi Gibson by her father, this character sparked her later coulrophobia.
Fantasy characters[]
The following characters only appear in the book's fantasy sequences, and are categorized by the point of view character of their respective chapters.
Delilah Arain[]
- The Wooden Man – A man made of wood who sits on a fence on Last Chance Island, directing Delilah to the church castle. He is based on Papa Gúede, a psychopomp from Haitian mythology.
- The king – A projection of Delilah's father, the king entertains his guests (all the men from Delilah's past) in his castle shaped like a Christian church.
Joshua Teller[]
- The shape – A dark shape stalking Joshua through the shadows of the labyrinth, this shape is later revealed to be a projection of Craig Bennecker and Joshua's guilt over killing him.
- The sphinx – A massive sphinx implied to have the face of Jenna Sanchez who tests Joshua with a riddle.
- Anubis – A projection of the Egyptian psychopomp of the same name, Anubis questions whether Joshua is ready to be judged for his sins.
- jury – A jury of terracotta soldiers who judge Joshua, one of them giving him his final sentencing.
Jessi Gibson[]
- Justina – A woman in Jessi's fantasy world who Jessi believes to be a projection of her mother, whom she has never met before.
- book merchant – An old woman selling books at the festival, she shows Jessi copies of The Scarlet Letter, Gulliver's Travels, and The Witch of Blackbird Pond before showing her an antique copy of The Mile-High Murder Club.
- flower merchant – A man selling flowers who gives Jessi a free tiger lily.
- pumpkin girl – A little girl sitting in a pumpkin patch and carving jack-o-lanterns for Halloween. She is implied to be a projection of Jessie herself.
- the Stone Woman – A woman who guides Jessie into confronting her deepest fears, her skin is made of half black stone and half ceramic, split down the middle. She is based on Hel, a psychopomp from Norse mythology and the daughter of Loki.
- the Clown – A demonic clown Jessie faces in her fantasy world, this entity appears to be a projection of all Jessi's insecurities regarding her persona and the way she is viewed by others.
Non-human characters[]
- Lily (cat) – A white cat belonging to Delilah Arain. Lily was killed by a car in Centennial, Wyoming just after Delilah found out about her mother's death.
- Lily (AI) – The home assistant used in the apartment shared by Delilah and her husband, Truman Hardy.
- Several unnamed cats living in the Abbot House.