Marble Hornets/Characters

Characters of Marble Hornets

Jay
""Looking through some surveillance footage. Not sure what I'll find. I feel like I just have [to] know one more time what's been going on.""

A college friend of student filmmaker Alex Kralie, and possibly the last person Alex talked to before leaving town. Jay wound up in possession of the raw tapes for Marble Hornets, the original student film, but forgot about them until he read something online that reminded him of them.

"Played by: Troy Wagner"


 * Adorkable: He sometimes possesses traits of this, especially with how awkward he is with Jessica. It's also worth noting that the person who plays him, Troy, is this in spades.
 * Shh, he's watching, remember?
 * Arbitrary Skepticism: Most obviously when listening to Alex's story about the woods.
 * Bad Liar: He gives Jessica about three incompatible reasons for him being in the hotel, to her understandable confusion.
 * By season three, he's...exactly as bad at it as before. "I wasn't, like, sitting outside waiting on you or anything - I was in the area, so..."
 * Berserk Button:
 * Big Damn Heroes: . Tries to be this   in Entry #52.
 * Captain's Log: Jay's text commentary he often leaves before and/or after his videos. Justified in that Jay is talking to the viewers on Youtube.
 * Character Blog: His Twitter.
 * Character Development: Between Season 1 and 2, Jay went from being The Everyman who was essentially an audience proxy, to gaining his own distinct personality as someone who's rather awkward and not that bright, but learns from his mistakes. The writers themselves said they wanted to flesh out the characters to give more of a distinction between Jay and Alex, and to help tell some more interesting stories.
 * The Everyman: As stated above, he was very much an audience proxy in Season 1.
 * Genre Blindness: Frequently a victim to it, especially in Entries #16 and #18. An interesting case in #40, where he seems to be this, then subverts it.
 * And then goes back to being silly in Entry #46, when he . even calls him out on how stupid the idea is.
 * Jay himself and Alex lampshade his stupid decisions throughout the series in Entry #52.
 * Genre Savvy: As mentioned above, he seems to be learning from his mistakes when he in entry #40, which is probably the smartest thing anyone's done in the whole series.
 * Also, turning his cellphone to vibrate when . Sure, he could have turned it to silent, but for Jay this might as well be rocket science.
 * One of the most savvy (and gutsy) moves he makes in the series: in Entry #47,.
 * And to prove he's actually learning from his mistakes, in Entry #50  Not only that, but
 * He Knows Too Much:
 * He Who Fights Monsters: Starting with Entry #46,
 * Incurable Cough of Death: Developed a cough after getting involved with the whole escapade.
 * The Insomniac: Develops a severe case of insomnia after going through the tapes.
 * Laser-Guided Amnesia:
 * Late to the Party:
 * Never Bring a Knife to A Gun Fight:  in Entry #52..
 * Nice Hat: Often seen wearing a brown cap.
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
 * Properly Paranoid: Jay becomes suspicious . Then in Entry #47, . Comes to a head in Entry #49, when
 * In Entry #50, as he's walking through Rosswood Park with Alex, he swears he can hear footsteps behind him.
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Blue Oni to Alex's Red in Season 2. Jay's been shown to be more passive and less aggressive, (though that hasn't stopped him from being assertive).
 * Seeker Archetype
 * Shut UP, Hannibal: Gives this, of all people, to  in Entry #47..
 * So What Do We Do Now?: Spends a lot of Season 2 having these conversations with . Comes to a head in Entry #47, where he's had enough of sitting around waiting for.
 * And then,  in Entry #52,.
 * Too Dumb to Live: Protip, Jay: you've had over a year's worth of experience with malevolent and clearly paranormal stalkers. Wandering around alone in the woods is a very bad idea.
 * Took a Level In Badass: His attempt to  in Entry #52,.
 * Unreliable Narrator
 * Video Will: Jay gives a spoken monologue of his thoughts on all the events leading up to point at the start of Entry #52, just in case.
 * What the Hell, Hero?: Gets a few of these from . In Entry #42,  . Then in Entry #46,  . Then he gets called out on it again in Entry #47,.
 * Alex gives him a particularly spectacular one  in Entry #52. This time he has a go at Jay for.
 * Alex gives him a particularly spectacular one  in Entry #52. This time he has a go at Jay for.

Alex Kralie
""I thought I would be safer here, by running away, but everything's just gotten worse. I'm going back to my home, and I'm burning these tapes. All of them.""

A student filmmaker and friend of Jay. While making his first student film, Marble Hornets, in the summer of 2006, he rapidly grew stressed and paranoid. Eventually he outright dropped the project, due to "unworkable conditions" on the set, despite the fact that the set was largely in or around his home town. He soon after broke off contact with everyone and disappeared.

"Played by: Joseph DeLage"


 * Action Survivor
 * Ax Crazy: It's hinted in season 2 as early as Entry #35,.
 * Bad Bad Acting: If the mock trailer for his film is anything to go by, Alex was a really lousy actor.
 * Blatant Lies/Hypocrite: In Entry #46, . This comes to a head in Entry #47, when Jay.
 * Bigger Stick: After  in Entry #57,  . Jay even points it out.
 * Break the Cutie: His behavior near the beginning of the whole escapade (as seen in Entry #7, Entry #20 and Entry #54) is much more lighthearted and friendly. He's almost a completely different person than he is in Season Two.
 * Particularly after watching  in season 3, you can almost see the point at which Alex stops being nice..
 * Captain Oblivious: A non-humorous example. In Entry #46, Alex doesn't seem to notice.
 * Character Development: Very present in Season 2. The creators were worried the characters were too similar.
 * Deadpan Snarker: As seen all throughout season 2. He even manages to do it while.
 * Death Glare: Oh god, Entry #47. The rage on his face is palpable.
 * : Given recent developments, evidence points to this possibility. It paints his relationship with The Operator in a whole new light...
 * Four Eyes, Zero Soul: As of season two's Character Development.
 * Genre Blindness: Lampshades his own in Entry #52,.
 * Genre Savvy: May borderline as common sense, but
 * He Knows Too Much:
 * He Who Fights Monsters:
 * The Hunter Becomes the Hunted: What seems to happen from the initial entries. Alex goes out of his way to seek the Operator after encountering him once, and then in turn ends up getting stalked by him.
 * In Entry #45,
 * Hypocrite: In Entry #9, he gets on Tim and Sarah's cases for their wooden acting, but the trailer for his movie shows that he has the worst performance of all.
 * I Did What I Had to Do: His defense for.
 * Jerkass: First crops up in Entry #9 from the stress and paranoia of being stalked, but in Season 2 he pretty much plays this completely straight.
 * Laser-Guided Amnesia: Inflicted on him just before he makes his last "log".
 * Mr. Exposition: Provides Jay with some Backstory in one of the middle entries.
 * Posthumous Character:
 * Prima Donna Director: Seems like one, but he's really just freaking out over being stalked.
 * Properly Paranoid
 * Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Red Oni to Jay's Blue in Season 2. Alex has been shown to be the one taking initiative and being more hot-tempered and violent than Jay.
 * Room Full of Crazy: Pages and pages of scribbled messages and drawings. SEES ME. RUN.
 * The Stoic: Becomes this more and more over time.
 * Took a Level In Badass: As of Season 2. He's no longer as passive or scared as he was in the first season. He's also much more assertive/aggressive, though possibly to the point of Axe Crazy, as seen when.
 * Took a Level In Jerkass: Subsequently, he's become ruder, more patronizing and more secretive towards Jay. Also ties in with the above examples of heightened aggression and violence.
 * Weapon of Choice:
 * Subverted in Entry #52,.
 * What the Hell, Hero?: Gets one in Entry #36 from Jay about . Alex justifies it by saying he had no other choice.
 * In Entry #47, he gets one from Jay due to their lack of progress and his suspicious behavior.
 * Room Full of Crazy: Pages and pages of scribbled messages and drawings. SEES ME. RUN.
 * The Stoic: Becomes this more and more over time.
 * Took a Level In Badass: As of Season 2. He's no longer as passive or scared as he was in the first season. He's also much more assertive/aggressive, though possibly to the point of Axe Crazy, as seen when.
 * Took a Level In Jerkass: Subsequently, he's become ruder, more patronizing and more secretive towards Jay. Also ties in with the above examples of heightened aggression and violence.
 * Weapon of Choice:
 * Subverted in Entry #52,.
 * What the Hell, Hero?: Gets one in Entry #36 from Jay about . Alex justifies it by saying he had no other choice.
 * In Entry #47, he gets one from Jay due to their lack of progress and his suspicious behavior.
 * In Entry #47, he gets one from Jay due to their lack of progress and his suspicious behavior.

Tim
""I mean, it's several years ago and you're asking me about a guy in a suit, so...""

One of the actors of Marble Hornets. He met up with Jay in Entry #15 to discuss the circumstances surrounding Marble Hornets, but was under the impression that Jay would be continuing the project. Started developing a sickness similar to Jay's towards the end of production. Known for his sideburns.

"Played by: Tim Sutton"

"Alex: "If you got it right the first time, this wouldn't be an issue!"
 * Character Development: The creators have stated season 3 will have much more character development for Tim, in the same way season 2 developed Jay and Alex.
 * The Danza
 * Deadpan Snarker: Moreso than Alex.
 * The Danza
 * Deadpan Snarker: Moreso than Alex.

Tim: "Yeah, considering how much you're paying us and everything..."

Alex: "Why would I be paying you for what you're giving me? I mean, really!"

Tim: "Oh, thanks...""


 * Jerkass: He made numerous snippy and sarcastic comments at the expense of Alex or Jay during filming. He also mentions that he wasn't particularly fond of Alex and was only in the film because Brian was a friend of his.
 * Though, to be fair, Alex is.... well, Alex...
 * Laser-Guided Amnesia: Possibly.
 * Only Sane Man: When we get to see more of in Season Three, he's constantly questioning why Jay's having him wander around abandoned buildings with him, is quicker to pick up on the fact that something weird is going on than any other cast member so far, and wonders why Jay's trying to finish such a shitty movie. All with a quite a bit of snark.
 * Sarcastic Devotee: After Alex became snippy and controlling, Tim made a lot of disparaging comments about his attitude, but never quit the project.
 * We see a friendlier version of this in Entry #54.
 * Throw It In: In Entry #9, Tim's line to Alex about 'not having enough money to pay because he spends it all on tapes was completely improvised by Tim Sutton (as in the real-life actor) himself. They decided to add the line into the script, but first they had to stop the take and re-shoot it because the original improvisation sent Troy Wagner into a laughing fit.
 * Throw It In: In Entry #9, Tim's line to Alex about 'not having enough money to pay because he spends it all on tapes was completely improvised by Tim Sutton (as in the real-life actor) himself. They decided to add the line into the script, but first they had to stop the take and re-shoot it because the original improvisation sent Troy Wagner into a laughing fit.
 * Throw It In: In Entry #9, Tim's line to Alex about 'not having enough money to pay because he spends it all on tapes was completely improvised by Tim Sutton (as in the real-life actor) himself. They decided to add the line into the script, but first they had to stop the take and re-shoot it because the original improvisation sent Troy Wagner into a laughing fit.

Jessica
""I don't know how I got here. You're the only other person I've seen in this hotel other than the staff, and we have adjoining rooms. I don't even know you, you said it yourself, I'm a stranger!""

A girl who stayed in the hotel room next to Jay. Not much is known about her, only that

"Played by: Jessica May"


 * Break the Cutie: She completely falls apart to Jay in Entry #32 when it's revealed that
 * Chekhov's Gunman: She first appears in Entry #27 as seemingly just a random passerby.
 * The Danza: An unintentional case; her actress' name is Jessica May, but according to a panel at a con, the character was named before the actress was cast, so the similarity was completely unintentional.
 * Distaff Counterpart: To Jay.
 * Genre Savvy: Picks up on the connections and similarities between her and Jay, and even predicts that
 * Girl Next Door: Seemingly.
 * Hidden Depths: She hides it relatively well (well, better than Jay, at least) that
 * Lampshaded by Jay,.
 * Looks Like Cesare
 * Meaningful Name: Possibly accidental, given The Danza is a standard naming process in this show, but Jessica means 'one who sees' or 'one who looks out'.
 * Messy Hair
 * The Ophelia: To a degree. Saner example than most.
 * Plucky Girl: At first.
 * Protectorate: To both Jay and Alex, at least until Jay screws up and
 * The Reveal:.
 * The Reveal:.

The Operator


A tall, faceless, humanoid creature that has been stalking the cast of Marble Hornets. Alex gradually became aware of it during filming, and went from curiosity to paranoia as it kept appearing. It can appear and disappear seemingly at will, covering great distances in an eyeblink when unobserved.


 * Badass in a Nice Suit: "Badass" in the sense that he's Creepy Awesome.
 * Big Bad: He's the main cause of the conflict in the series.
 * The Blank
 * Brown Note: He might as well be a walking one. Recordings of him are subject to hellish distortions, while people suffer anything from coughing fits to complete mental blackouts (and those might be the lucky ones). Oh, and buildings associated with him develop Alien Geometries, just to confirm his contempt for natural laws.
 * Fan Nickname: Slendy
 * Ghostly Chill
 * Hidden Agenda Villain: If it has any agenda beyond just being creepy.
 * Humanoid Abomination
 * Invincible Villain: He can Mind Rape people just by standing near them, and has no known weaknesses in this, or any, continuity.
 * : In Entry #46,.
 * Lean and Mean: Not quite as mean as you might expect, though.
 * Meaningful Background Event: He is one.
 * Names to Run Away From Really Fast: "Operator" sounds much, much scarier than "Slender Man".
 * No Name Given: His name was only provided by Word of God and has never been stated In-Universe. The one time he's been referred to directly, they just call him "that thing."
 * However, totheark seems to know the Operator's title - some of his videos feature a phone's operator key (zero) in a central role.
 * Noodle People
 * Nothing Is Scarier: All he does is stand around.
 * Offscreen Teleportation

The Masked Man aka Masky


A masked person that first appeared in entry #18, who follows and stalks Jay. He has some connection to the Operator, but whether he's working for or against him is as unclear, as is everything else about the two of them.

Originally,. However, events in season 2 imply.


 * Ax Crazy
 * Bash Brothers:.
 * Cycle of Revenge: He didn't take kindly to  in Entry #35..
 * Events in Entry #56 show that.
 * Enigmatic Minion
 * Fan Nickname: Masky
 * Malevolent Masked Man:
 * : In Entry #35,.
 * Start of Darkness: In Entry #55, Jay speculates that  may have been the early stages of.
 * White Mask of Doom
 * Fan Nickname: Masky
 * Malevolent Masked Man:
 * : In Entry #35,.
 * Start of Darkness: In Entry #55, Jay speculates that  may have been the early stages of.
 * White Mask of Doom
 * Start of Darkness: In Entry #55, Jay speculates that  may have been the early stages of.
 * White Mask of Doom
 * White Mask of Doom

totheark
""From the start it's been a game for us. Not anymore.""

A mysterious YouTube poster that started responding to Jay's entries with videos of his own. His first videos were cryptic messages full of symbolism and codes, but as they progressed, totheark has shown that he is a lot closer to Jay than he originally let on, and knows a lot more about what is happening.

During Season 1, totheark provided a lot of footage that was missing from the original entries, as well as footage of him observing Jay on numerous occasions. Because of numerous hints, many people, including Jay, believed totheark and Masky to be the same individual. However, Season 2 seems to imply.


 * Ax Crazy: Some of his statements are downright malevolent.
 * The Cracker: Seems to have no problem taking over Jay's Youtube account and locking him out of it to fill it with horror.
 * Enigmatic Minion
 * The Ghost: While he is most likely someone we've already seen, he has never been identified as such.
 * Mind Screw: He is this. Every video of his is laden with codes, cryptic symbols, eerie imagery, distorted audio and strange statements.
 * Mysterious Watcher: Has been watching Jay for quite some time now. Many of his videos have been footage of him watching Jay without him knowing, as early back as when Alex was producing the student film. It's heavily implied.
 * In season 2, however, . In Entry #39, he stood right over Jay's car, filming him, and in Entry #40, Jay apparently walked by him without even noticing that he was there. The only clue in the camera is the burst of distortion.
 * Nightmare Fuel Coloring Book: A lot of his entries in Season 2 include drawings that were presumably made by him. For what it's worth, the style appears different than that of Alex's drawings.
 * Out of Character: He is surprisingly straightforward in later videos (beginning with Forecast), which somehow makes those videos creepier.
 * The inconsistency of the videos leads Jay to suspect that the account is run by multiple people.
 * Username Drop: "And you will lead me...to the ark".
 * Username Drop: "And you will lead me...to the ark".

The Hooded Masked Person
A new Masked Person first seen in Entry #41. As his name states, he wears a hoodie, and what appears to be a black ski mask or balaclava. . As of entry #58, he seems to be taking on a more prominent role. As to what still remains unclear.


 * And Now for Someone Completely Different:.
 * Bait and Switch:.
 * Bash Brothers:.
 * Enigmatic Minion
 * Fan Nickname: Hoodie (for obvious reasons), and Blasky (Black Masky).
 * He's also been called Sinclair for some reason.
 * In the Hood
 * Masked Man With Enigmatic Intentions: Again; he seems to have an inversion of the previous Mask - burlap, black, apparently sad expression.
 * The 'malevolent' part may possibly be inverted in that
 * Mysterious Watcher:.
 * Production Nickname: The Season 2 DVD commentary reveals that the crew refers to the character as "Mystery Fella."

Brian
""Are we gonna do it again? Are we?""

One of the actors in Marble Hornets. He was close friends with Alex and played the film's main character as well as helping him with production. His current whereabouts are unknown. May have disappeared even before Alex dropped the project, going by an offhand comment in Entry #20 that he is "somewhere".

"Played by: Brian Haight"


 * The Danza
 * The character he plays in Alex's film also happens to be named Brian, making him the Danza of a Danza.
 * Genre Savvy:
 * Oh Crap: Has a subtle one in #54.
 * Put on a Bus: Brian seemed to all but disappear from anything to do with the series after his only main appearance. He was mentioned in passing a few more times in season one, but never seen again.
 * Genre Savvy:
 * Oh Crap: Has a subtle one in #54.
 * Put on a Bus: Brian seemed to all but disappear from anything to do with the series after his only main appearance. He was mentioned in passing a few more times in season one, but never seen again.
 * Put on a Bus: Brian seemed to all but disappear from anything to do with the series after his only main appearance. He was mentioned in passing a few more times in season one, but never seen again.
 * Put on a Bus: Brian seemed to all but disappear from anything to do with the series after his only main appearance. He was mentioned in passing a few more times in season one, but never seen again.

Amy
""When did we get a camera?""

Alex's girlfriend, introduced in Entry #26. She was the one who found the camera Alex used during filming, inadvertently summoning the Operator. She has not been seen since.

"Played by: Bethann Williams"


 * Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Thought to be played straight until Entry #42 where Alex reveals that he has been looking for her and wants Jay's help.
 * Curiosity Killed the Cast: She came across Alex's camera and decided to take a look despite Alex's warnings. Cue the Operator.
 * Damsel in Distress:.
 * Curiosity Killed the Cast: She came across Alex's camera and decided to take a look despite Alex's warnings. Cue the Operator.
 * Damsel in Distress:.

Seth


The cameraman for Marble Hornets. He got into trouble with Alex in Entry #9 for not leaving the camera rolling, and later accompanied him to an abandoned house in the tape shown in Entry #22,.

"Played by: Seth McCay"


 * Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Appeared this way for most of season 2..
 * The Danza
 * Throw It In: A rare example of an actor being thrown in. According to the DVD commentary, Seth wasn't in the original script for Entry #7. Mary Kathleen Bishop, who played Sarah, asked the night before filming if her boyfriend could come along. Troy Wagner and Joseph DeLage agreed and let him play the role of the camera man. This could also be a minor case of Ascended Extra, as Seth returned later in Entry #22 as.
 * Throw It In: A rare example of an actor being thrown in. According to the DVD commentary, Seth wasn't in the original script for Entry #7. Mary Kathleen Bishop, who played Sarah, asked the night before filming if her boyfriend could come along. Troy Wagner and Joseph DeLage agreed and let him play the role of the camera man. This could also be a minor case of Ascended Extra, as Seth returned later in Entry #22 as.
 * Throw It In: A rare example of an actor being thrown in. According to the DVD commentary, Seth wasn't in the original script for Entry #7. Mary Kathleen Bishop, who played Sarah, asked the night before filming if her boyfriend could come along. Troy Wagner and Joseph DeLage agreed and let him play the role of the camera man. This could also be a minor case of Ascended Extra, as Seth returned later in Entry #22 as.

Sarah
""Who else is going to work with you, with this attitude?""

The only known female participant in the original film project. As well as being an actress in the film, she apparently did some camera work when Seth wasn't available.

"Played by: Mary Kathleen Bishop"

-
 * The Bus Came Back: Appears in the mock, in-universe trailer for Marble Hornets.
 * Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Played straight for the duration of season 2. However, she has recently reappeared in the mock trailer for the actual "Marble Hornets" film Alex was trying to make.
 * The Smurfette Principle: In regards to the student film. Also rang true about the series until Entry #26 and #27, which introduced Amy and Jessica respectively.

White-Shirt Man aka Beardy
""Hey man, you okay? Need some help?""

A seemingly innocent bystander who appears in Entry #49. .

"Played by: Chris Dominey"


 * Early-Bird Cameo: Appears very briefly at the end on Entry #48. At the time, fans weren't sure what to make of his presence.
 * Establishing Character Moment: His only dialogue is about helping a stranger, soldifying his innocent bystander status.
 * Although, with this series' penchant for Hidden Depths (of madness in particular), there's no telling what the real story behind this guy is.
 * No Good Deed Goes Unpunished:
 * Man in White: White here signifying innocence.
 * No Good Deed Goes Unpunished:
 * Man in White: White here signifying innocence.
 * Man in White: White here signifying innocence.