The following is a list of characters from Piano Lessons Can Be Murder and its television adaptation in order of appearance.
This page contains spoilers! Do not read this before finishing the story.
Characters[]
| Character | Medium | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Jerome "Jerry" Hawkins
|
Book and TV episode | A twelve-year-old boy with a love for practical jokes, Jerry and his family have moved into a home in the town of New Goshen. Exploring the house, he comes across a perfectly intact piano in the attic and his father signs him up for lessons. Of course, nobody seems to believe Jerry when he begins hearing piano music late at night, nor when he sees the ghost who's been playing it. |
| Mr. and Mrs. Adele Hawkings
|
Book and TV episode | Jerry's parents, who have grown used to his constant pranks. They don't believe their son when he tells them about his ghost sightings and think the stress of moving is to blame for his fears. |
| Bonkers
|
Book and TV episode | Jerry's pet cat, who seems to love scratching him. |
| Sean
|
Book | Jerry's friend from where they use to live in Cedarville. His parents don't like him because of his constant burping. He is only mentioned. |
| Piano movers
|
Book | After Jerry shows an interest in taking piano lessons, his parents hire two workers to move the piano from the attic to the living room. |
| Dr. Shreek
|
Book and TV episode | A large, Santa Claus-like man, Dr. Shreek is Jerry's piano teacher. While he seems kind, he has some odd quirks, such as a creepy obsession with Jerry's hands, which he deems 'perfect'. When Jerry's musical skill improves, Shreek invites him to continue lessons at his school, where Jerry discovers Dr. Shreek is not what he seems. |
| Kim Li Chin
|
Book and TV episode | A classmate of Jerry's who seems frightened when he tells her of his lessons with Dr. Shreek. Kim tells Jerry that there are rumors of kids going missing at the school. |
| Mara Klane
|
Book and TV episode | The ghost of a pretty young girl, with two stumps where her hands should be. She plays the piano late at night, and warns Jerry to stay away from the Shreek School. In the episode, she is portrayed as the ghost of a music teacher. |
| Dr. Frye
|
Book | Worried about Jerry, his parents take him to see Dr. Frye, a psychiatrist. He listens to Jerry's story and tells him that the ghost he's seeing could simply be a projection created by his own fearful imagination. |
| Mr. Toggle
|
Book and TV episode | Described as a "mechanical genius", Mr. Toggle is the janitor of the Shreek School, and the creator of Dr. Shreek, one of his many robots. Toggle is revealed to be the true mastermind of the book and the one responsible for the disappearances of students at the school. |
| Ghosts
|
Book | After Mr. Toggle tries to attack Jerry and steal his hands, Mara Klane and the other apparitions of Shreek School students appear and drag him away. |