Kitty

Katherine Higham
Alias(es)	Katherine (by The Captain)
Nicknames	Kitty Atomic Kitty (herself)
Family	Eleanor (adoptive sister) Mr. Higham (adoptive father) Mrs. Higham (adoptive mother)
Biographical information
Era	Georgian
Born	29 June 1758 (TV series) 1768 (book)
Died	8 March 1780 (aged 21)(TV series) 1790 (aged 22)(book)
Cause of death	Bitten by venomous spider
Status	Deceased
Physical description
Species	Ghost
Gender	Female
Portrayal information
Portrayed by	Lolly Adefope
Series	Ghosts
Season(s)	Series 1 • Series 2 • Series 3 • Series 4 • Series 5
Debut	"Who Do You Think You Are?"
Final	"A Christmas Gift"

"I know what I almost saw."

— Kitty to Julian and Robin, The Grey Lady

Katherine "Kitty" Higham is the ghost of a Georgian noblewoman who died in 1780. She is portrayed by actress Lolly Adefope.

Biography

History

Kitty was born circa 1758 in The British colony of Jamaica, during the late reign of George II and clearly lived at Button House with the rest of the Higham family. She was adopted by Mr. Higham, who also had a biological daughter (Eleanor) around the same age as Kitty. Kitty was very sheltered and was loved as a biological daughter by her adoptive parents. Her mother died at some point when Kitty and Eleanor were children. She often played with her sister Eleanor under the illusion that she was a caring girl rather than a resentful and jealous one. The two played hide and seek but Eleanor would leave Kitty out in the gardens - once for a full day and night - instead of trying to find her. During this time, Kitty befriended a statue, which she named Florence, and considered it to be her best friend for a while.

Eleanor was usually malicious and enjoyed tricking her sister, even telling Kitty that babies were made by pressing ears together. This was something that Kitty believed even after her death. She also enjoyed reminding Kitty that she was a child not born into wealth, stating on numerous occasions that she was their mother's "true" daughter. At Christmas, she would enter Kitty's bedroom and choose which presents to take from her. Though Kitty clearly knew this was unfair, she seems to bear no ill-will to her sister and maintains that Eleanor was lovely.

On the 4th of April 1779, Kitty and Eleanor went into town to look at fabrics at Grantham & Son. Any fabrics that Kitty liked Eleanor would tell her that she was wrong to like them and that her tastes were "Unfathomable and Disgusting". So, Kitty didn't pick her favorite fabric but instead a very heavy dark burgundy fabric. While Eleanor picked a shimmering golden fabric and said it would not be fair if she had the same fabric as Kitty.

On the 27th of July 1779, Kitty and Eleanor was talking a walk around the grounds and came to the lake. Eleanor said how inviting the lake looked and that they should go on a swim. Kitty who never learned how to swim and Eleanor response to this was to push her in the lake. Causing Kitty to swallow a lot of water and almost drown. She was screaming for help, but Eleanor stood on the jetty and said, "That's how you learn to swim!". Eventually Kitty managed to find her way to back to shore. She threw up and Eleanor told Kitty to not tell their father about the whole ordeal.

On the 24th of September 1779, Eleanor offered to Kitty to play a game of Hide and Seek. So, they played before they had breakfast and Kitty found Eleanor immediately. Just outside the bedroom Kitty was counting in. Eleanor told Kitty to go hide and that she can use the grounds. Kitty ran to the gardens and hid behind Florence the Statue. Kitty sat their board. Only having Florence and the bees for company. At about noon she got thirsty and hungry. So, she drank some rainwater out of Florence's hand. To satisfy her hunger she nibbled on her purse. She would hear footsteps, but it wasn't Eleanor's but instead Perigrave the footman. He told her she must go back inside as her father started to worry. She saw Eleanor sitting by the fire reading. She had "forgotten" about their game of hide and seek. She spent the day talking with a boy who was visiting the mansion on the request of his mother to "make acquaintance with the Higham Girls".

On the 7th of March 1780, Eleanor and Kitty went to The Pleasure Gardens at Vauxhall for a ball. When the music paused Eleanor said that they should go on a dark walk. They were walking through the woods alongside with some other people. Kitty got distracted and the path had many turns. She realized that Eleanor was almost out of view and Kitty told her to slow down but she ignored her and walked faster. Kitty tried to run after her, but she tripped over her skirt. But she was caught in the arms of a young gentleman. According to Kitty he had kind and gentle eyes, and he asked her if she was alright. Kitty told the man that she lost Eleanor and that she feared she could not find her way out of the woods and back to the pavilion. He offered to escort Kitty and even though he did not know the way himself at least they would be lost together. While they walked, they spoke to each other. They found out they were very similar. Sharing many of the same interests. They found their way back to the pavilion and the man introduced himself to Kitty's father as Ernest Moore. Her father said that he knew his parents and that he welcomed to go the house anytime he wanted. He said he would like to and excused himself so Kitty and her father would enjoy the music. Then fireworks started bursting in the sky. Eleanor crying would find Kitty and her father and that she was lost in the woods all that time. Kitty had forgotten all about her.

She did not begin to question her obviously abusive relationship with her sister until the Season 3 episode Something to Share? , in which Alison holds a therapy session for her. Kitty describes the events surrounding a ball she was meant to go to with her sister and father when they were in their teens but wasn't able to due to her sister's manipulation. However, she somewhat humorously ends this revelation with "Oh well, at least she was nice the rest of the time", much to the ghosts' relief.

Kitty died on the 8th of March 1780, aged 21. In Season 5 episode 3 “Pineapple Day”, it is shown that Kitty died from a venomous spider bite after handling a pineapple presented to the banquet Kitty was attending at Button House, presented to the table by Lord Bummenbach. After being bitten, Kitty fell ill, dying shortly after in her bedroom with her sister, Eleanor, at her side.

Death

Kitty ended up making some true, good friends in the ghosts, who weren't deceiving or mean like Eleanor.

When Alison and Mike arrive after Lady Heather Button's death in Who Do You Think You Are?, she becomes instantly fascinated by her. She's the only ghost other than Pat and Fanny who is against trying to kill Alison to get rid of her and is highly concerned that they'd hang for such an act, even though she is already dead. Later, when the ghosts decide to haunt Alison in an attempt to scare her out, Kitty takes no active part in it, although she does stand with Cap and Fanny to eagerly see what will happen. She's outraged when Julian pushes Alison out of the window and thinks it a horrible act just as Fanny does.

At the beginning of Gorilla War, Mike makes a hole through the wall Kitty's bedroom shares with Fanny's. This hole quickly grows to almost the entire height of the wall, creating what is essentially a large window. While Fanny is horrified by this, Kitty looks on the bright side and happily names it 'the smile hole' before doing a series of mimes to joke about it. Kitty isn't bothered even when Fanny insults her by saying they aren't friends.

Kitty's naïvety is displayed in Happy Death Day when she tries in vain to figure out how babies are made. She asks just about everybody, including Fanny - who goes off on a tangent while explaining the birds and the bees - and Julian, who spends time telling her about exotic sex positions. It is eventually Alison who reveals the secret to her by showing her a video of two monkeys in a zoo. Upon seeing the video, Kitty asks if the monkeys love one another.

Kitty is very excited when the camera crew arrives to film 'The Life of Byron' at Button House in Free Pass and quickly becomes enthralled by the plot, even though they only film one scene there. She avoids the Captain when he refuses to let the ghosts in to view the sex scene being filmed, and so sneaks around and through a wall so she can watch it all. This means she is there to witness Toby Nightingale fall through the floor.

She agrees to take part in Robin's Moonah Ston Ritual during the eclipse after having caused Alison to break a bottle of wine brought by Barclay Beg-Chetwynde when she asks to see it. When Alison yells at them for interrupting her dinner party, she does seem apologetic since she believes Alison to be her new best friend. However, she still stands firm with her fellow dead, folding her and Humphrey's hands across their chest to protest. Like the others, she is quickly distracted from the ritual by a DVD of Friends which she claims to be 'all the colours at once'. Once watching the show, she likens all the ghosts to the characters; she believes herself to be Phoebe, Lady Button to be Monica - which they all agree to - and the Captain to be Ross, though he insists he's Chandler.

She stands up to Cap in Getting Out when he again wants to try and get rid of Alison and Mike by saying 'well I don't like you', this shocks everybody because it's so out of character for her, Mary soon backs her up though both women are awkward about it and Cap is essentially outed from their group when Kitty says Pat should be the new leader. Later when Fiona Legge offers the Coopers a substantial sum for Button House and it looks like Alison will really leave Kitty runs away to cry as she's devastated and her suggestion to have a bake sale is utterly useless to raise money. The Captain finds her soon after and calms her down by questing if she cares more about Alison remaining or being happy, her choice for Alison to be happy allows him to then manipulate her into telling Alison there is a lot of space for swimming baths in the cellar and that Fiona is trying to swindle them. Having thanked Kitty for her help surveyors are brought in where the plague pit is revealed and Fiona runs from the building. When questioned Kitty insists she didn't do it on purpose and points out that the Captain was the one to tell her what to do, she's angry with him for manipulating him, however, instantly forgives him when he points out it means Alison would stay.

Kitty's memory of the day Thomas died in The Thomas Thorne Affair as a jovial thing, she remembers the food and that Thomas' poem must have been funny because people were laughing. She is the only one who remembers that the officer Thomas challenged to a duel had been speaking of Mary Shelley and not Isabelle Higham as Thomas thought, this becomes the first step in Thomas discovering what really happened and caused his death.

When burglars break in to Button House she initially mistakes it all for a masked ball though is quickly set straight. She's then given the task to help Mary keep a record of the things taken by Cap, but as the list of things starts to mount up she comes up with the idea of putting the first letters into a sentence the same way Alison had taught her to remember the colours in a rainbow - which she still gets wrong - although this is next to useless and just ends up confusing them more.

Cap announces they would be commandeering the ballroom for the wedding of Sam and Clare in Perfect Day due to the snow and Kitty is instantly excited to be part of it all, causing her to throw up some kind of dusty ectoplasm. This shocks everybody as it had never happened before; this doesn't appear to hurt her as it dissipates and Kitty goes straight back to grinning. She begs Alison to be a bridesmaid when she learns the others are all wearing burgundy like she is and then runs around with them all day as if she's really part of the bridal party. During the party afterwards she gathers to catch Clare's bouquet but it goes straight through her to the girl behind her, clearly upset she congratulates this other woman - Debbie - and carries on.

Appearance

Kitty is a black British young woman who displays no outward signs of how she died, suggesting it could have been illness or some kind of non-invasive accident. In Pineapple Day, it is revealed she died by spider bite. Her hair is styled in an up-do and decorated with large feathers, while her dress is expensive and made of a rich burgundy fabric trimmed by lace with four bows down the front. She is wearing a fisu – a large, square kerchief – which 18th century women would wear at the neckline of their bodice for modesty. It was usually worn during the day, though was also worn in winter for warmth, suggesting she died in the daytime.

Personality

Kitty is almost always smiling. She has a very happy and innocent nature, to the point of naïvety, which indicates she probably had a sheltered upbringing. Unfortunately this has also left her easily manipulated. Her extremely cheerful disposition and eagerness to join in often irritates the other ghosts, usually Fanny. She is kind to everybody she meets and speaks to them as though they are her new best friends. However, Kitty has been known to occasionally point out the flaws of others such as with The Captain and Thomas. She dislikes 'bossy' people and makes a point of telling Cap this when he goes too far.

Kitty obsesses over ballroom dances and having lots of friends. She doesn't seem to understand the idea of personal space or social conventions due to her lack of experience. She tries to be an honest person and avoids being rude, although she has done impersonations of her fellow ghosts at times and can get swept up with mild insults if the other ghosts instigate it. Though Kitty has no experience with it, she is awfully excited by the concept of love and enjoys reading books about it. Despite having seen many of the other ghosts die, she has not lost her positive outlook on life.

She is devoted to those she believes to be her closest friends and utterly adores Alison, to the point she insists on sleeping in her bed and following her about. Kitty believes them to be best friends and like the sister she wishes she had.

Quotes

• "Did you push her?" — Who Do You Think You Are?
• "I hope he has a hairy chest." — Free Pass
• "I like Alison, and I miss her when she's not here." — Getting Out
• "Alison! Alison! Oh, you're not Alison" — Getting Out
• "Does this mean I'm a bridesmaid? Can I be a bridesmaid? Please, please, please!" — Perfect Day
• "Why would you want to kill time? It is there to be enjoyed, not killed" — Speak as ye choose

Trivia

• The first time she ate an egg; she didn't actually like it.
• Her favorite food was cake.
• Her favorite drink was switchel.
• Kitty's top 10 favorite songs are Saturday Night by Whigfield, Don't stop movin' by S club 7, 2 become 1 by The Spice Girls, Shake it off by Taylor Swift, I want to hold your hand by The Beatles, Happy by Pharrell Williams, anything by Beyonce, Wuthering Heights by Kate Bush, and I want to dance with somebody by Whitney Houston.
• Kitty prefers games over sports such as Hide and Seek.
• Her biggest regret was breaking the bust of her late mother.
• Her fondest memory was playing Cinderella in the Button House Pantomime.
• Her worst trait is that she can be needy.
• Words of wisdom includes "When handling a pineapple, wear gloves."
• Kitty's bedroom did not have a roof following the great storm of 1987.
• In the shows intro, Kitty appears in the nursery next to a rocking horse. Also in her room is a portrait of Lady Button and Humphrey's head.
• Kitty believed Fanny's nightly jumping and screaming to be an owl until The Captain made a fuss of it.
• She refers to a car as a carriage.
• Kitty says that her favourite colour is 'all colours'.
• Kitty died before her father, having stated to Alison at one point 'he's dead I think'.
• Though uncommon in other countries, it was not unusual for black people and their families to hold titles and be part of the gentry in the 1700s Britain. Most of these were made up of immigrants and their subsequent descendants who arrived either during the old empire or new Commonwealth. Francis Williams, an Afro-Caribbean British scholar, is one of the more notable.
• Kitty is the only one who always calls Fanny 'Lady Button', she never uses her name or shortens it to 'Lady B' like the others.
• The Captain is the only one who refers to her by her full name.
• Alison and Kitty are the same height.
• When the Coopers fake the haunting at Button House in The Grey Lady she is the only one who thinks there is some new, unseen ghost haunting all of them. She doesn't seem to realize how her already being a ghost makes it very unlikely for her to be haunted by one.
• She once had to eat a piece of her purse because her sister abandoned her in the gardens while playing hide and seek.
• Kitty is 263 years old as of the Season 3 episode Something to Share?, meaning she was born circa 1757.
• Kitty was adopted, but not as a baby.
• She had a cousin who died by getting kicked by a horse.
• Kitty is often compared to Alberta from the American remake, being in both cases the only black main ghost and having a sister suspected of poisoning her. However, her naivety and young age makes her closer, if anything, to Flower.

Gallery

Promos

Series 1

Series 1

Series 4

Stills

Happy Death Day