Writing a 'Hidden' Character

[RetroFan]

For one of the upcoming contests I'm planning on writing a story in which there is a character whose presence is not disclosed to the readers, but a series of small clues easily overlooked point to them existing before a surprise reveal at the end, similar to tropes used for characters revealed to be hidden villains, dead all along or figments of another character's imagination.

To clarify, I don't mean an unseen character - like Maris Crane from Frasier - I've written these in the past, sometimes they form part of the plot without making an appearance, other times they are simply referenced but don't make it onto the page in person. I've called them 'hidden characters' because I really wasn't sure what else to call them, somebody else might know the correct term.

Has anyone ever written anything like this, or read a book, or seen a movie or TV show where this happened? If so, what did you think of it?

 

[Kumquatqueen]

For one of the upcoming contests I'm planning on writing a story in which there is a character whose presence is not disclosed to the readers, but a series of small clues easily overlooked point to them existing before a surprise reveal at the end, similar to tropes used for characters revealed to be hidden villains, dead all along or figments of another character's imagination.

To clarify, I don't mean an unseen character - like Maris Crane from Frasier - I've written these in the past, sometimes they form part of the plot without making an appearance, other times they are simply referenced but don't make it onto the page in person. I've called them 'hidden characters' because I really wasn't sure what else to call them, somebody else might know the correct term.

Has anyone ever written anything like this, or read a book, or seen a movie or TV show where this happened? If so, what did you think of it?

I'm not sure what qualifies - Dennis the poltergeist in Angel, maybe, because no-one knows there's a sentient being there for nearly a whole episode?

I suspect there's a big risk of it feeling that the character has been made up as a kind of deus ex machina and the reader/viewer feeling cheated - eg Eurus in the last series of Sherlock, or the soaps where a long-lost twin or the husband-presumed-dead turn up.

 

[RetroFan]

I'm not sure what qualifies - Dennis the poltergeist in Angel, maybe, because no-one knows there's a sentient being there for nearly a whole episode?

I suspect there's a big risk of it feeling that the character has been made up as a kind of deus ex machina and the reader/viewer feeling cheated - eg Eurus in the last series of Sherlock, or the soaps where a long-lost twin or the husband-presumed-dead turn up.

I guess one example - albeit not a very good one - would be Dawn Summers from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the younger sister of the titular Buffy shown to be and specifically stated to be an only child in previous seasons before Dawn suddenly showed up one day as though she had always been there, although some minor clues were given about her arrival late in the prior season. Fans of the show didn't really like this change all that much.

 

[NuclearFairy]

I guess one example - albeit not a very good one - would be Dawn Summers from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the younger sister of the titular Buffy shown to be and specifically stated to be an only child in previous seasons before Dawn suddenly showed up one day as though she had always been there, although some minor clues were given about her arrival late in the prior season. Fans of the show didn't really like this change all that much.

Except she didn't actually exist before that. She was a ball of energy until some monks turned her into a teen and implanted fake memories into the slayer and all her friends so that they'd protect her from a literal goddess.

 

[CalBishForNow]

I'm not sure what you're suggesting/asking. It reminds me of this TV Tropes page; while that's nominally about characters who don't appear at all, there are several who have late, minor appearances in the work, and that could be what you're talking about.

Something about the way you're asking it makes me think you're thinking about some narrative trick, like the story seeming like 3rd person until the narrator speaks up and it turns out it was 1st person all along and the narrator just wasn't doing anything important until that. N.K. Jemisin did something sort of like that in The Stone Sky.

 

[Britva415]

I don't know what such a character's role in the particular story is, but I'd be cautious that the reveal and the character's effect in the story post-reveal don't come off as a cheap deus ex machina technique for resolving plot lines.

Again, without knowing the function you intend for such a chartacter in your story, my general opinion is that instead of

a series of small clues easily overlooked point to them existing

the clues would be better as genuine clues with lampshades on them, rather than as sneaky gotcha's you can rub the reader's nose in when the significance is revealed.

 

[KittyOfSteele]

Has anyone ever written anything like this, or read a book, or seen a movie or TV show where this happened? If so, what did you think of it?

In Mass Effect there's the Shadow Broker, a mysterious person who was pretty much the galaxy's Big Brother, having eyes and ears in every single corner. He is an information broker, and dealt all the intel he gathered through the criminal underworld. While in the first game he didn't have a major impact on the plot, he became important on Mass Effect 2's DLC "The Lair of the Shadow Broker," where it was revealed who he was, and in Mass Effect 3 the Shadow Broker becomes a very important character for the plot, but now you can see him and he has a key role in the plot.

If you, the one reading this, played the game, don't spoil the fun, even if the game is like over ten years old already.

If this isn't what you're looking for, well, I'm currently running a D&D game where I managed to hide the true nature of a ghost ship to be a grand illusion made by its captain to abuse the supersticious nature from the dictators that are currently running the world for... not so long because they decided to investigate, and still got quite the surprise that what they feared the most were actually allies instead of enemies (I still remember them screaming like they were about to die). However, my BBEG is, right now, a behind the curtain. My group still has no idea on who the BBEG is, and the clues that I've dropped only left them with more questions than answers. The BBEG however is constantly acting on the shadows.

To write things like that, you either have to keep some sort of track in your mind that is a parallel story, and tie knots from it to the main story, or to think of the character you're hiding more as a posthumous character. Even if they're actually dead, just because they are, doesn't mean they can't influence the plot from the grave. Just look at Laura Palmer and how much the whole plot of Twin Peaks stands on her shoulders.

 

[Kelliezgirl]

What if the character is a Pooka?

 

[NotWise]

Are you talking about a character who has an effect in the story, but is never named and never appears until near the end?

 

[TheRedChamber]

To clarify, I don't mean an unseen character - like Maris Crane from Frasier

@RetroFan - as this is Literotica, our go-to example for a character who is talked about a lot, but never actually seen on screen would be Mrs Slocombe's pussy.

It seems like this is something which would be pretty tricky - if you want to never see a character, never directly mention a character, never have the on-screen character wonder about the clues to this character's existance - but have the reader pick up on it enough that when you do reveal the character's existance the reader does cry foul. Plant too many clues and the reader is going to wonder why the characters aren't putting two and two together - too few and you might as well not bother.

There must be a ton of Loving Wives stories here where the lover is only slowly revealed as the poor cuckold only gradually uncovers the irregularities in his wife's behaviour.

There are more than a couple of Star Trek episodes which end with the main character saying something like 'Okay, aliens, come out, I know all the weird shit that's been happening all episode is just you dicking with me'

I'm vaguely thinking of the Maskerade, the Terry Pratchett parody of the Phantom of the Opera, where the (SPOILERS) big reveal is that there are two phantoms - a nice one who teaches singing and the one who has been doing all the murders - though both of these are existing characters just dressing up.

 

[wet_ann]

I think if the series of clues are woven in appropriately and the hidden character adds values to the plot in a 'show not tell' manner, it would be a fun little twist to your story! 'Hidden' characters, as you call them, are one of my favorite devices in a story, both as a reader and writer. The only times I have disliked this trope is when the character is thrown in the end of the story with a written explanation of why they are so important and why their absence + sudden appearance both have an impact on the story/characters.

As someone mentioned BBC sherlock, I do feel that Eurus is an example of a badly done hidden character -- the shock value of her appearance depended heavily on the simple fact that she was Sherlock's sister. There had been a lot of clues alluding to things Eurus had done that impacted Sherlock, but no proper incorporation of her as a character with a role greater than the average villain facing off with Sherlock.

I feel that it is not only easier but there is also a greater pay off in the proper utilization of partially hidden characters, who are like a page of text with key words and information blacked out but the visible text still makes sense. But there are still enough clues for someone to either pick up on the vibe as the story progresses or for the lightbulb to go off rapidly when the reveal happens.

Two great examples of this in BBC Sherlock: Moriarty and Mary. Of these two, I feel that Mary was the the more fun reveal because she was a likeable character, she was supposed to be a good person and a character that solely stood in the light for Sherlock and John, and the hidden stuff made soooo much sense. The reveal also utilized the hidden character device to hit back at her, with John sitting in on Mary's conversation with Sherlock, and it was just a wow! scene for me as the viewer.

In the written format, I love the use of hidden or partially hidden characters because it reminds the readers of the author's power. That the narrator may not be on the same side as the reader by actively misleading or being stupid or also the victim of hidden information. And that the way the characters are written, depending on point of view, the neither the readers nor the characters may not be getting the full story but the author knows everything.

 

[wet_ann]

For one of the upcoming contests I'm planning on writing a story in which there is a character whose presence is not disclosed to the readers, but a series of small clues easily overlooked point to them existing before a surprise reveal at the end, similar to tropes used for characters revealed to be hidden villains, dead all along or figments of another character's imagination.

All in all, I say go for it. If it doesn't work out, you can scrap the hidden character or rework them into the story. I believe at the very least it will be a fun exercise and opportunity for you to grow as an author writing complex characters with nuanced plots.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

The Hitchcokian technique of having some hinted at, but unrevealed character appear near the end of a story, either as a savior or as the villain is not unique.

I employed it successfully in Murky Water. If I could do it, anyone can.

 

[sirhugs]

The Hitchcokian technique of having some hinted at, but unrevealed character appear near the end of a story, either as a savior or as the villain is not unique.

I employed it successfully in Murky Water. If I could do it, anyone can.

"Mother" from Psycho?