Hester

Hester is the "old nurse" of the story's title. She is also the narrator of the story. When Hester is seventeen, she becomes a nursemaid for a young girl named Rosamond. After Rosamond's parents both die unexpectedly, Hester becomes Rosamond's primary caregiver. Together, the two move to Furnivall Manor, Rosamond's maternal family home. Hester starts noticing strange things happening in the house, and eventually pieces together that the house is haunted with ghosts from the Furnivall family's past. She does everything in her power to protect Rosamond from the influences of these ghosts and keep her safe.

Hester often serves as a stand-in for the reader, as we learn information about Furnivall Manor at the same pace that she does. For this reason, Hester is often left confused by the nature of strange circumstances at Furnivall and unable to draw connections between pieces of information she receives sporadically...