Characters in the Neighborhood

This is a strange and wonderful and terrifying world that Coraline Jones has found herself in. Instead of graduating high school and attending Widley College, a prestigious all-girls school, she just found herself in the Ethereal hinterlands of the woods between upstate New York and Vermont. Time doesn't seem to have the same flow here, and the young woman is bored out of her mind. as the story starts, she views herself as trapped here with her parents, who for reasons they haven't made clear, are preventing her from going to college.

Coraline Jones

The only child of Mel and Charlie Jones, she resembles a younger version of her mother. Tall for a girl, very lean, and unlike her mom, not very much in the way of curves. She has a razor-sharp wit and a good head for figuring out mysteries. She is both eternally bored and eternally curious, looking to find some way to satisfy both. The raven-haired young woman it was always a bit odd in school and did not have a lot of friends. She found other ways to pass her time, and as such has developed quite a vulgar mouth to go along with some of her favorite pastimes. She is brave, stoic, and sarcastic.

Mel Jones

Coraline's mother goes by "Mel" but she is most commonly referred to as "Mrs. Jones," even by her husband. She is curvy and fit, a former gymnast who had to give up her hobby as her hips widened and her chest developed. She is a source of coraline's raven black hair, and she keeps it in a neat bob unlike her daughter's long ponytail. She spends time working on her hobbies which right now includes the ancient Victorian Mansion that the Jones family just purchased and moved into. she doesn't have a whole lot of time for coraline's nonsense, it seems to be eternally busy with projects. The other project that she is most invested in, inexplicably to coraline's eyes, is her own body and wellness. She is an avid yoga practitioner and goes for long runs in the woods surrounding their new home. She works hard to maintain her body to keep the attention of her husband's wandering eyes and hands focused solidly on her. She is intolerance of coraline's potty mouth, which only makes Coraline even more vulgar around her.

Charlie Jones

Coraline's father his name is Charlie, but most often goes by "Mr. Jones," even to coraline's mom. He is tolerant of his daughters vulgar language, but only to a point. Sometimes it makes him physically uncomfortable, and really it's a turn-on but he secretly wishes his wife would employ more of. Charlie is extremely slender and freckled and pale with a mop of red hair it seems to be immune to the powers of a hairbrush. He seems to eternally have two days worth of red stubble on his cheeks and chin. He is researching a big project, and is on semi permanent sabbatical from his research position at Widley University. There are rumors that he was getting handsy with some of his students, but they we're never turned into formal charges of anyting. This was kept a secret from Coraline, what is the real reason that they moved into the middle of nowhere.

Rose and Scarlett Spink

Two retired actresses live in the closest house to coraline's. It is an adorable pink house with white trim and white gingerbread at the corners and under the eaves. It has a pink picket fence, an immaculately kept yard with a garden in the back that grows all manner of pink flowers. The small house is jam-packed full of pictures of the two aging women in their younger days. Both of them were burlesque dancers and we're pioneers in the porn industry, but they have since faded into obscurity. Secretly, they are fraternal twin sisters, but they have kept their familial relationship secret their whole lives so they may enjoy each other as a couple without scrutiny. They raise dogs, little Scottie terriers, and speak of them as if they are their children. Both women are direct and bawdy in their speech, and they have hundreds of pictures of them from early in their careers around the house. Many of the pictures have them completely nude, and most but not all of them are black and white. Both women are also nudists, and though they are in their 60s, they still rock their bodies, stay in shape buy swimming in the pool in their backyard next to the garden, as well as tending to their garden and running in the woods. When they must wear clothes, they wear as little as possible, and only if they know someone is coming over or if they are going to venture off their property.

Mr. Bobo

A retired circus impresario, Ivan Bobalinkavich, lives in the next House down from the Spinks. His house is dominated by blue paint that is faded to almost white and looks almost scabrous, existing only in small flakes on the grey brown siding boards. Mr. Bobo, as he prefers to be called, has thinning, long hair, a straggly beard, and just put on some pounds from his former glory days. The pictures in his house show his former Big top circus, some of the performers, which include animals of all stripes. It looks very cheery, and it's clear that Mr. Bobo was once a man in the very prime of physical fitness. Photo albums in his house show a slightly darker history, illustrating the freak shows and the performers there in. Some exhibit newspaper clippings, some are rather damning is they condemned the freak shows, and talk about unlawful acts being carried out within the circus grounds. Mr. Bobo has descended into a madness, and while he is harmless, he is extremely creepy, very chatty, and has some serious boundary issues.

Ms. Alice

Ms. Alice--no one knows if that's her first name or last name--is a middle-aged artist that spends every minute of her time creating paintings. She always has a paintbrush tucked behind an ear or stuffed into a pocket or...somewhere...and she is continuously working on a massive project that stretches on a huge canvas taking up a good portion of the conservatory of her home. She is a wild and eccentric blonde with a manic energy. It's hard to tell how old she is or even what drives her obsessions, but she's lived in the neighborhood for over twenty years. She's still very much in love with her late husband and her paintings reflect that, him being represented as a shadow in every painting she creates. Her manic energy and erratic mind make her forget to do things like eat or put clothes on from time to time, which has lead to some interesting encounters with strangers at her door. It is suspected that she accidentally killed her husband, but no one knows and no one in the neighborhood remembers him; he was gone before Ms. Alice moved in.