Haunting Ground/Characters
Protagonists
Fiona Belli
The eighteen-year-old main character of the game. Fiona is an ordinary girl on the way home from college, when a tragic car accident claims the lives of her parents and turns her own life into a nightmare. She awakens, wrapped only in a sheet, alone, and locked in a cage in the depths of an ancient castle. With only fragmented memories of the accident, and having no idea how she even ended up into the castle, Fiona unlocks the cage and sets out to get the hell out of the castle.
Her only ally is a dog named Hewie, who will aid her in her journey.
Fiona is a bearer of Azoth, the mystical essence of life. Everyone except Debilitas wants this for their own reasons, and they're more than willing to kill her for it. The mark on her back isn't a graphical quirk, it's actually a symbol that shows that she has Azoth within her.
- Actual Pacifist/Reluctant Warrior: "Why must I kill just to keep myself alive? I hate this place. I really do."
- Action Survivor
- Action Girl: A very, very, deconstructed example: she can fight her stalkers head on, but due to her lack of athleticism, her kicks are extremely weak (only strengthened by tougher boots) and her shoving tends to leave her exhausted, so it's not recommended. Pretty much, she's an awful fighter.
- Beware the Nice Ones: "This time... you really are dead. You bastard."
- Blue Eyes
- Break the Cutie
- Deadpan Snarker: Not in any cut scenes, but some of her thoughts and comments throughout the game definitely have a snarky element to them.
- Haunted Heroine
- Impossibly Cool Clothes
- Kick Chick: Fiona's basic attack. Gets stronger if she's wearing harder boots.
- Lampshade Hanging: "Is someone just trying to scare me?"
- Ms. Fanservice: Fiona provides quite a lot of eye candy with her miniskirt and her, uh, bounciness.
- MacGuffin Girl: Played with.
- Took a Level In Badass: By the end of the game.
- When She Smiles
- White-Haired Pretty Girl
Hewie
An intelligent white German Shepherd Fiona found tied to a tree. Seeming well-cared for, he drives off Debilitas and becomes a valuable companion to Fiona. He is able to detect traps and nearby enemies, sniff out hidden items, and get items Fiona cannot reach. Like any pet, the more Hewie likes Fiona, the faster he'll respond to her call and commands. He is Fiona's main form of attacking and can be praised for doing good things and scolded for being disobedient. This ordinary dog seems to be Fiona's very key to escaping the castle.
Being mean to Hewie will cause him to die and give you the worst ending in the game.
- Canine Companion: Hewie serves as Fiona's primary means of defense and is also required for solving many of the castle's puzzles. At other times, he's used to snag items that are in areas which are inaccessible for Fiona.
- Death by Newbery Medal A requirement to get Ending D.
- Evil-Detecting Dog: He warns Fiona before Debilitas attacks. He'll also bark and growl if there's a stalker or death trap nearby.
- For Want of a Nail: Played with in the worst ending.
- Non-Human Sidekick: Acts as this to Fiona.
- Pet Interface: As per the Canine Companion entry.
The Chasers/Antagonists/Other
Debilitas
The mentally-stunted gardener of Belli Castle. He mistakes Fiona for a big doll and pursues her, but he harbors no murderous intent, he just wants to play. Problem is that he hugs her too hard.
Fiona can choose to let him live by dropping the chandelier on him during his boss fight, or killing him with Hewie and the stun bombs she finds scattered around the castle. On the second playthrough or beyond, and if Fiona spared him on the previous cycle, using the chandelier on Debilitas will make him give you a castle key, which leads to Ending C.
- Adult Child
- And Call Him George: Thinks Fiona is a doll and his first reaction is to hug her, which can result in him incidentally crushing her body due to his strength.
- Anti-Villain: Unlike every other stalker in the game, Debilitas is not out for murder and self-gain. He just likes playing with dolls, and seems to think Fiona is a much better toy than what he already owns. Think of him as a child who does not know his own strength, and has yet to learn how not to break his playthings.
- Bear Hug: This is how he kills Fiona if he catches her, hugging her until her ribcage snaps.
- Heel Face Turn: Should Fiona spare him.
Daniella
A maid with ethereal beauty, Daniella appears mostly emotionless and harmless to Fiona... at first.
Daniella is a homunculus. Her master, Lorenzo, created her to be the "perfect woman". However, she is unable to feel pain (which explains the blood on her fingers), has no sense of taste, and cannot feel pleasure. With feelings of being incomplete, Daniella is driven to insanity. She screams at her reflection, and wants Fiona's Azoth to be a complete being... even if it means cutting out Fiona's womb while she's still alive. She tends to swing back and forth between doing her duties as a maid, and has an extremely unnerving laugh.
- Ax Crazy: She could quite easily be a contender for one of the most psychotic female characters ever in gaming. She's got a long list of mental issues that combine to make her horrifying.
- Become a Real Boy: Her ultimate goal. Except... she is already a real woman and not a homunculus as she believes herself to be, according to Word of God. And the most depressing part of Daniella's backstory is how, due to her upbringing, drug experiments, and abuse from Riccardo and Lorenzo, she never comes to realize that she was in fact human all along and didn't need to hunt down Fiona in a desperate attempt to be "complete".
- Creepy Housekeeper: Before she goes bonkers, this is the impression one will get from her.
- Giggling Villain: In her manic phases, and at the prospect of gaining Azoth.
- Laughing Mad
- Peaceful in Death
- Pinocchio Syndrome
- Princess Curls
- The Un-Smile
- Uncanny Valley Girl: An oddly pale woman who neither smiles or moves naturally.
Riccardo
The hooded castle keeper, Riccardo is fully intent on making Fiona "his". He usually acts as Mr. Exposition towards Fiona until...
...he reveals himself to be one of Lorenzo's many "failed" clones to be bearers of Azoth. Technically, he is Fiona's "uncle" and her father's "brother". His goal is to impregnate Fiona, so he can be 'reborn' with Azoth as a means to live forever. He actually succeeds in the worst ending.
- Attempted Rape: Poor Fiona. Actually happens in the worst ending, make it confirmed rape.
- Ax Crazy
- The Bad Guy Wins: In the bad ending.
- Cain and Abel: He is the Cain to Ugo's Abel. In-game, Lorenzo mentions that Riccardo has always been "a troublemaker".
- Cloning Blues
- Disney Villain Death
- Facial Horror: He has cracks all over his face.
- I Have You Now, My Pretty
- Mad Artist: A minor example. An optional cutscene (at 6:24) reveals him to be a rather good pianist and a sculptor to boot.
- Stalker with a Crush:
- Gets combined with Stalker with a Test Tube when his motives are revealed.
Lorenzo
An unseen figure who tries to help Fiona as much as he can. But what are his real intentions?
Lorenzo is actually a genius (if mad) alchemist who made an elixir of life to cheat death. He tried to make clones of himself, all of them failing to produce Azoth except Ugo, Fiona's father. Ugo, against Lorenzo's wishes, married a woman named Ayla and left the castle, eventually fathering Fiona. Fate drew the family back towards Belli Castle, and the car accident sets the events of the game in motion. Lorenzo just wants to kill Fiona for her Azoth.
- Bishounen Line: Goes through this after his old body is crushed.
- Immortality: Type X.
- Mysterious Informant: He leaves a lot of notes for Fiona to find.
- One-Winged Angel