List of Minor Characters

This is a list of minor characters in Until Dawn.

List of Minor Characters

Adam White

Adam White was a worker at the Blackwood Pines Sanatorium, who was killed by a patient who turned into a Wendigo on February 24th, 1952. His name can be seen in the Makeshift Graveyard on a wooden cross.

Bob Washington

Bob Washington (as depicted in the Until Dawn: Your Companion App)

Bob Washington is the husband of Melinda Washington and the father of Josh, Hannah, and Beth Washington. He is a known horror movie director and Hollywood mogul who produces films through Washington Pictures Incorporated in Burbank, California. In 1997, he purchased Blackwood Mountain and had a ski lodge built as a winter getaway for his family, despite being warned by the Stranger not to build on the sacred land. Chris describes him by saying, "he thinks he's like, Grizzly Adams," indicating that Bob is a tough, outdoorsy person or at least fancies himself to be.

While looking at the baseball bat near the boiler with Sam, Josh can either share warm memories of playing baseball with his family or explain that his father no longer has time for him. Bob appears in the family portrait clue and is referenced in the film trophy clue which mentions his film Blood Monastery. The basement is filled with many of his old movie props and costumes, and Chris finds one, the monk costume which he uses to spook Sam and Josh.

Charles Miller

Charles Miller was a worker at the Blackwood Pines Sanatorium, who was killed by a patient turned Wendigo on February 24th, 1952. His name can be seen in the Makeshift Graveyard.

Chuck Bernstein

Chuck Bernstein was a reporter for the Alberta Post who was sent to Blackwood Pines to interview the rescued miners who were being treated at the Blackwood Sanatorium. Mike finds an Old Newspaper  which suggests that Bernstein was assaulted on the grounds of the Sanatorium and his camera was confiscated, suggesting that the Sanatorium administrators were engaged in some sort of cover-up.

Cree

Main page: Cree

The Cree is a group of Algonquin-speaking Native American people, who inhabited Blackwood Mountain long preceding the events of the game. The Cree believed the mountain was sacred and anyone who harmed an animal on it would be cursed. The Wendigos in Until Dawn are based on the legends of the Cree, which tell of a tall creature born in ice. When prospectors came to mine the mountain in 1893, the Cree say the mountain cried out and the Wendigo spirit was unleashed.

Dr. Bowen

Dr. Nicholas Henry Fowlis Bowen was a doctor who worked at Blackwood Pines Sanatorium in 1951, and in 1952. A medical report found by Mike in the Sanatorium, dated January 6th, 1952, suggests Dr. Bowen supervised the arrival of the surviving miners at the facility on the previous day. He was killed on the 24th of February, 1952, according to his mortuary tag in the morgue.

Dr. W.B. Cathcart

Doctor W.B. Cathcart was a psychiatric doctor who worked at the Blackwood Pines Sanatorium in the psychiatric ward in early 1952. He was placed in charge of studying the patients' unusual physical changes. His name appears on most of the patient reports, and is listed in the Makeshift Graveyard. His name is implied to be from Dr. Cathcart, a character from Algernon Blackwood, who is referenced in the game several times (such as the mountain's name)'s short story The Wendigo. Interestingly, Blackwood's Dr. Cathcart is an author of a book on collective hallucination, while Until Dawn's Cathcart was a psychiatric doctor.

Evelyn Daniels

Evelyn Daniels was an employee of the Blackwood Pines Sanatorium, whose occupation was unknown. She was killed by a patient on 24 February 1952, being listed in the Makeshift Graveyard.

Dark Wolf

Wolfie looking at the Dark Wolf's remains.

The dark wolf, also known as Oakley, was one of two northwestern wolves in company with the Stranger, the other being Wolfie. The dark wolf can first appear in the Prologue if Beth chooses to follow a shadow. Beth never gets to see whose shadow it was, but freecam shows it was the dark wolf. The wolf is also briefly seen at the start of Chapter 5 with Wolfie and the Stranger at the Sanatorium. Inside the Chapel, Mike sees the Stranger throw both wolves food. It is likely that the dark wolf, along with Wolfie, stayed in the Sanatorium while the Stranger was in the mines and in the lodge warning the protagonists about the Wendigo. The dark wolf's remains are then discovered by Mike and Wolfie in Chapter 9. It had been killed by one of the miner Wendigos, potentially Billy Bates.

James Fiddler

Jack Fiddler's grandfather, James Fiddler, is mentioned in a news article on the Clippings Wall Mike can find in the Sanatorium. The news item, announcing his death, states that he was nicknamed by Blackwood natives as Mad Dog Fiddler, and that he was known for his tales of mythical creatures and curses, which are described in the article as wild claims. The article furthermore states that he met his end due to an animal attack that partially disemboweled him. Jack wrote LIARS on the paper, suggesting a cover-up of his real cause of death, which was by the Makkapitew. He is also mentioned by Jack in The Events of the Past.

Jeanie Simmonds

Jeanie was a girl from Chris and Josh's third grade class. Chris brings her up while he and Sam are talking in the cable car. Because Jeanie was being harassed by a boy behind her, the teacher swapped said boy with Chris, which placed him next to Josh and caused them to become best friends. Chris uses Jeanie as an example of the Butterfly Effect, telling Sam that, if not for her, Sam could be sitting next to another person in the cable car or riding up to the lodge alone.

Melinda Washington

Melinda Washington is the wife of Bob Washington and the mother of Josh, and twin sisters Hannah and Beth Washington. She appears in the Family Portrait. As shown in the Native American Letter, Melinda sympathizes with the Cree. She is glad to hear the tribes that once lived on Blackwood are still attached to the mountain despite it's problems, seeing as it is their ancestral home. She mentions that she has contacted the decedents of the tribe and made a donation to their elder council.

The reverse side of the Native American Letter shows that Melinda has spotted the Stranger on the Washington's property. She describes him as a "crazy guy" and decides to start keeping a record of him.

Sarah Smith

Sarah Smith may have been a nurse who worked at the Blackwood Sanatorium. Her death certificate, found by Mike, implies she was attacked and killed, along with the names listed on the Makeshift Graveyard, on February 24, 1952, during the miner Wendigos escape out of the facilities.

Nature

Bird

The bird before getting hit by Jessica's snowball.

The bird, an American robin, makes an appearance in Chapter 1 during Mike and Jessica's snowball fight. It is part of the tutorial which tells the player that sometimes doing nothing is the right thing to do.

Hitting the QTE will trigger Jessica to throw the snowball at the bird, killing it, also triggering a scream in the distance. Mike will scold Jess and she will claim she didn't do it on purpose. The pair will face bad luck shortly after, as an icicle falls down upon them, forcing them to dodge just in time.

Not hitting the QTE, however, will allow the robin to fly away unharmed and nature to remain in balance. Part of this scene can be observed when one of the guidance totems is found.

Crow

The crow appears in Chapter 1 at the shooting range. If Chris decides to shoot the squirrel in the tutorial, the crow will attack Sam, scratching her face, leaving a cut above her right eyebrow. As a a result of this unbalancing of nature, Sam’s cut will cause her to be unable to escape the Psycho, regardless of player decisions.

If Chris leaves the squirrel alone, the crow will also leave Sam and Chris alone and harmlessly fly above them.

See Butterfly Effect: Rats with Bushy Tails.

Elk

The deer of Blackwood Pines are Rocky Mountain Elk (scientific name: Cervus canadensis nelsoni), and appear consistently throughout the game. 

The elk cornering Matt and Emily.

They are first seen in the Prologue: in the 2024 remake, Beth will approach an elk who was closely watching her throw away litter outside of the lodge. She will hold her hand out to the animal and touch its snout if a Don’t Move segment is successfully completed, but it will eventually scare off. If Beth chooses to follow the footsteps in either version of the game, a jumping elk will once again be seen.

The elk are then seen in Chapter 3 when Mike and Jessica are on their way to the cabin. They are one of the three animals displayed on the information board, and numerous of them will pop out at Mike and Jess on multiple occasions. The transcript of the information board reads as follows:

The magnificent Elk has roamed these lands for thousands of years. Though they are often quite docile creature, the males ('bulls') are known to aggressively defend their harem from any intruders, leading to brutal bouts of headbutting and charging.

The couple will also hear an elk get attacked, combined with Wendigo screeches, before finding the animal laying on top of a rock, seriously wounded on the neck by deep scratches. Mike will have the choice to kill the dying elk, comfort it, or do nothing. Killing it will make Mike pull off the head of the elk, disgusting and shocking both Mike and Jessica. Regardless, the elk will then swiftly be pulled away by the Wendigo that attacked it.

A herd of elk next appear in Chapter 5, cornering Emily and Matt to the edge of a cliff, as an end to the segment. They reappear at the beginning of Chapter 6. If the player killed the squirrel as Chris and the bird as Jess, the elk will be aggressive and seek retaliation because of the harm caused to nature.

If Matt chooses to kill an elk with the axe when prompted, the rest of the herd will push him back, causing him to fall off. Matt can fall to his death if he misses a QTE. The elk will leave regardless if he falls or is pulled up by Emily. If Matt decides not to kill an elk, Matt and Emily will walk past the herd calmly. 

In the remake, Emily may later find a mysterious elk-shaped whistle. If she blows on it, an elk call will be reverberated.

See Butterfly Effect: In Self Defense.

Grizzly Bear

The Grizzly Bear (Ursus arctos horribilis) is a North American subspecies of a brown bear.

When Mike and Jessica are on their way to the cabin, Mike could have the option to look at a board which gives a brief summary on the grizzly bear.

Transcript: An omnivore with a strong prediction toward scavenging, the Grizzly is not known to turn down any meal. Its preferred diet is fish (salmon, bass, trout), and the animal is often found near rivers or mountain streams. Though extremely dangerous, Grizzly bear attacks on humans remain rare.

The bears are not physically seen in the game (likely due to hibernation season), but after an elk is suddenly dragged away into the woods by an obscured and quick Wendigo, Mike and Jess believe it to be a bear.

Northwestern Wolf

The Northwestern Wolf (Canis Lupus Occidentalis) is a subspecies of wolf in western North America and Canada. When Mike and Jessica are on their way to the cabin, Mike has the option to look at a board which gives a brief summary on the northwestern wolf.

Transcript: A legendary carnivore, this powerful predator is known to attack elk, caribou, and any stricken animal they come across. In Alberta, the hunting and baiting of wolves is permitted on private land. You'll be glad to know that wolf numbers are kept well under control here in Blackwood Pines.

The Stranger had tamed a number of these northwestern wolves at the Blackwood Pines Sanatorium. He used them as his own personal guard dogs, before he died at the Washington Estate. One of those wolves is Wolfie, as well as his previously mentioned (deceased) gray-furred companion.

Squirrel

The squirrel appears at the beginning of Chapter 1 and will be seen by Sam. She will then have an attempt to give the squirrel an acorn. This will be the tutorial for the mechanics of the Don't Move segment. The squirrel will either run away if the player fails to not move, or will get the acorn from Sam's hand if the player succeeds on their first Don't Move segment.

The squirrel then reappears in Chris' tutorial segment at the shooting range. The player will have an option to shoot it. Shooting it will make Sam scold Chris for killing it. A crow then attacks Sam due to the act of unbalancing nature. Not shooting at all or shooting the bag instead will let the squirrel run away again, and Sam will be impressed.

See Butterfly Effect: Rats with Bushy Tails.

Wolverine

In Chapter 2, a wolverine cub startles Chris when he is looking for a can of deodorant to unfreeze the lock on the lodge's front door. Later, it rushes past him when he opens the door to let the others in.

Trivia

• Dr. Nicholas Bowen was named after Until Dawn lead design Nik Bowen.
• Bob Washington's name appears alongside the highest score in Until Dawn: Rush of Blood.
• Slightly different designs for Bob and Melinda Washington are shown in the PlayStation 3 Beta version of the family portrait.
• During a Twitch stream, developers Tom Heaton and Jez Harris spoke a little bit about the wolverine.
  • They were asked if Josh put the wolverine in the bathroom cabinet. They said no, and that it had tunneled in.
  • The wolverine jump-scare concept was nearly cut from the game because the developers struggled to find a good place to put it.
• Several last names of minor characters — namely characters mentioned on the crosses Mike can find in the Sanatorium's Makeshift Graveyard — were re-used for characters in the Until Dawn prequel The Inpatient: Abe White (Adam White), Suzanne Daniels (Evelyn Daniels), and David Miller (Charles Miller). These are most likely Easter eggs, as it is unknown if the staff members are related.
• In the cancelled 2012 PlayStation 3 version, Mike actually encounters a bear after Jessica is caught, and kills it with a gunshot when it is about to attack him. Chris and Ashley also find a taxidermy bear in the basement when searching for Sam in this version of the game.
• In some cut dialogue, Josh explains that the props and costumes in the basement came from his parents' productions, implying that Melinda also worked at Washington Pictures Incorporated. However, in the final game only Bob is associated with movie-making.