Abby Brewster

In the play, Abby and her sister Martha share similar personalities, making it difficult to distinguish one from the other. Both are ironically old-fashioned, presenting themselves as conservative elderly women who cherish traditional values. Abby regularly attends church and contributes toys to the local Christian charity.

However, her traditional values do not extend to the elderly men seeking shelter in their home. While her intention to help these men find peace aligns with her Christian beliefs, she and her sister resort to modern, violent methods, including murder, to achieve their goals. Abby is the one who serves the poisoned wine to their first victim.

Jonathan Brewster

Jonathan is a ruthless criminal with a flair for torture. Little is known about his past, except for Mortimer's description of him as ‘‘the kind of boy who liked to cut worms in two—with his teeth.’’ He shows no regard for his aunts as he plans to turn their home into a surgery for criminals needing facial alterations. When Mortimer threatens to intervene, Jonathan plots a slow and painful demise for his brother. His jealousy emerges when he realizes his aunts have committed more murders than he has.

Martha Brewster

Martha, like her sister, is ironically old-fashioned, showing kindness and compassion to neighbors while adhering to social norms. She criticizes Mortimer for lacking chivalry when he asks Elaine to meet him at the Brewster's instead of calling for her at home. She also disapproves of theater and popular films for their provocative and frightening content.

Despite her charitable nature, Martha's actions are limited by the grim nature of the murders she commits and her own biases. Abby tends to ignore the devastation in Europe, considering it beyond their concern. When Jonathan arrives, Martha, with Abby's help, does everything possible to get rid of him, believing he brings too much trouble. They also show no tolerance for foreigners, refusing to let Jonathan bury one in their basement alongside their ‘‘good Methodist’’ Mr. Hoskins.

Mortimer Brewster

Mortimer is playful and flirtatious with his fiancée Elaine, showing genuine affection for her, his aunts, and Teddy. Upon discovering a dead body in the window seat, his primary objective is to protect his aunts. He courageously confronts his brother Jonathan, risking his own safety in the process.

His courage is often overshadowed by his arrogance, which sometimes prevents him from seeing what's happening around him. He insists on believing that he is far more intelligent than the plays he critiques and dismisses Elaine's assertion that they can have a humanizing influence on him. His pride lands him in trouble when he fails to exercise caution with Jonathan, nearly costing him his life. He also tends to be quite excitable and struggles to handle the stressful situation in the Brewster household with rationality. Ultimately, things work out not because of Mortimer's actions, but rather due to coincidence and the police's inability to believe that the seemingly sweet Brewster sisters could have twelve bodies buried in their basement.

Teddy Brewster

Teddy is completely disconnected from reality, fully embracing the delusion that he is Teddy Roosevelt. This unchanging character primarily serves as a plot device. He conceals his aunts' murderous activities by burying the bodies in the basement, which he believes is the construction site of the Panama Canal.

Officer Brophy

Officers Brophy and Klein, much like the Brewster sisters, lack distinct personalities and are interchangeable. They advance the plot by providing background information about the Brewster family and saving Mortimer from Jonathan's grasp. Brophy also offers foreshadowing at the play's start by mentioning that Teddy has been disturbing the...