Mary Katherine Blackwood

Mary Katherine Blackwood, known to her family as Merricat, is an eighteen-year-old girl who seems much younger than she is. She is the youngest daughter of the well-known Blackwood family. When she was twelve years old, everyone in her family except her older sister Constance and her Uncle Julian were killed at dinner one evening when arsenic was sprinkled on the blackberries along with the sugar.

Mary Katherine is very superstitious and believes that all the villagers hate her. She buries things all over the Blackwood property and nails items to trees in an effort to keep harm away. When her cousin Charles Blackwood comes to visit, she immediately dislikes him and tries to get him to leave. Mary Katherine leads a very simple life and follows her own rules of conduct strictly. She also has rules imposed on her by her older sister Constance. Merricat...