"The thing is, Captain, this is our home. You know, we were thrown in here together, and I suppose we belong together at the end of the day."
— Plague ghosts to The Captain, Getting Out
The Plague Ghosts are a group of ghosts who had died to the bubonic plague during the Black Death in the 14th century. Roughly twenty ghosts are seen but a total of seventeen skeletons where found by archaeologists. these ghosts live in the cellar at Button House, they all fell victim to the plague and were then buried in a plague pit which has since become the house's basement. They are portrayed by Ben Willbond, Laurence Rickard, Simon Farnaby, Jim Howick, Martha Howe-Douglas, Lolly Adefope, Mathew Baynton, Katy Wix, and Anya McKenna-Bruce.
Biography[]
History[]
The ghosts were part of a rural village in the 1348 and lived normal, medieval lives. Mick - Mathew Baynton - always had a dream to travel to London which he eventually managed to accomplish. Upon his return he was greeted happily and welcomed home with open arms as he was clearly a much loved member of their community. Mick told them of his journey and what he'd done - he claims it to have been the adventure of his life. He tells them about having eaten an orange, watching a bear kill a man and then alleges that he met the King, who would have been Edward III. Mick was sure to return with presents for his fellow villagers and brought them salt and pelts - one for each of them - which they are all very pleased and grateful for. These pelts were infected by the Plague, however, and soon caused everybody's death.
Death[]
Right after they died each of their corpses were tossed into a plague pit on the land and the village they'd lived in was either demolished purposefully or left to rot away. They haunted the land and subsequent settlements alongside Robin, since he was the only older ghost, until Button House was eventually constructed directly over their plague pit. The ghosts then remained in the cellar despite not being trapped down there as they were more comfortable together; they have no objection to the other dead which haunt the house but do not often interact with them.
Over the years they learnt everything there was to know about the equipment in the basement and have become particularly knowledgeable about the old boiler for the house, which they affectionately refer to as 'Betsy'. When Mike Cooper begins his DIY on the house he attempts to fix the boiler though ends up just bashing it with a hammer, this has one of the ghosts refer to him as a 'technophobe'. While they do attempt to instruct Mike clearly about how to repair the boiler it is ultimately pointless since he can't hear them.
Even though they took absolutely no part in the Captain's plan to out Alison from the house and are unaware of Julian pushing her out the window, they don't seem overly surprised or shocked when she freaks out upon seeing them for the first time; they're more curious and puzzled about the word 'zombie'. Her ability does come in highly useful though when Mike forgets to turn the lever off meaning the cellar was slowly being filled with gas as they repeat 'red lever' over and over again desperately to try and warn them, Alison then screams this at her husband and the lever is shut off letting all the Plague Ghosts breath a sigh of relief.
Outraged by the loud builders and lack of interest from his fellow ghosts in Happy Death Day, Thomas heads down to the cellar in an attempt to write a poem for Alison which would display his love for her. While perched on the stairs he tries to find words which rhyme with Alison's name but struggles, this prompts the plague ghosts to try and come up with some for him. They stream out words hoping to help but Thomas does not take kindly to it and soon storms out only for one of them, Jeff, to come up with the word 'talisman' which the others all praise him for save for one - John - who insists he'd already said it which sparks a grumbling between them though it ends shortly after.
In Getting Out, after the Captain has been cast out of his role as de facto leader of the upper floor ghosts, he heads downstairs to the basement where he attempts to get the plague ghosts to join with him. He promises them better quarters with light and space though is almost instantly rebuffed by all of them, Cap mistakes this for them being trapped down there but is quickly set straight. They tell him that even though they're not trapped they would rather be down there as it is their home and they're happy together. Mildly discouraged, Cap leaves them to it and returns upstairs. Later, as part of the Captain's plan to stop Fiona Legge getting the house, the plague dead are surprised to find surveyors enter the cellar and start to pull up slabs. They are then faced with the skeletal remains of their own bodies upon which Fiona instantly trips on and she ends up laying amongst them.
After their plague pit is revealed it becomes a sight of historical interest and an anthropologist is sent to exhume them for analysis. During The Grey Lady it is shown that the plague dead have turned it into a game of sorts, they sit down if something the anthropologist says doesn't apply to them and whoever is left standing is the winner. The only dispute in this came comes when it is revealed that two of them had syphilis suggesting an affair.
In an attempt to keep Fanny away from the cameras of ghost hunters, Cap throws Fanny into the basement leaving her with the Plague Ghosts. They are instantly amazed by her appearance asking questions about the material of her dress and how her hair is held in place. It is like they'd not seen Lady Button before even though they were aware of who she was suggesting that Fanny did everything possible to avoid them. At one point Fanny calls up the stairs to a long gone Captain saying 'can I come out now' which the plague dead find insulting. After a while she leaves promising to return soon yet when Fanny backs through the cellar door she says 'hideous creatures! Couldn't take another minute'.
When it is revealed by the anthropologist that none of the other villages in the area were infected by Plague and that it only came in because of infected pelts during About Last Night the Plague Ghosts quickly realize it had to have been the ones Mick brought back from his trip to London. This sparks the largest argument they'd had before or after their deaths. Not wanting to remain in the cellar with the man who killed them they head upstairs where they're faced with The Captain, Julian, Pat and Alison, after explaining that Mick had gotten them killed Julian takes it upon himself to conduct an inquiry into the situation. It starts off well with them all trying to figure out if Mick is fully responsible since it was an accident and not wilful, though slowly they come to decide that Julian is a malapert who had no real intention of helping them. In the end they are more insulted by the disgraced MP than Mick and return to the cellar just to avoid him.
The ghosts make no attempt to head upstairs and join in the Christmas frivolity in The Ghosts of Christmas, they do, however, join in singing when they hear Alison playing the piano and singing a 'In The Bleak Midwinter' with the other ghosts. Precisely how they know all the lyrics to a carol written in 1872 is unknown though it is possible they've just heard it a lot over the Christmases.
Appearance[]
All of the Plague Ghosts are dressed in simple, peasant clothing befitting the fourteenth century which are covered in muck and grime. Plague sores cover their entire bodies, most notably their faces, necks and hands. The wounds are severe and putrid; even more so than Jemima's.
Personality[]
The Plague Ghosts get on rather well with one another, having been fairly close-knit even in life. They do occasionally fight, although this doesn't go on longer than 'twenty to twenty-five years' at most. Each of them are jovial and have a positive outlook despite how they died. They freely offer help and advice when it comes to the old boiler, even though they know Mike can't hear them. In fact, the only person at Button House they don't like is Julian due to his rude and obnoxious nature. They don't ask for much, if anything, and were quite pleased in Who Do You Think You Are? just to have the lights on for a short while.
Quotes[]
- What, and get rid of old Betsy? (Jeff, Gorilla War)
- Easy now, easy now, it's over. Do you want some milk? Do you want a glass of milk? (Nigel, The Grey Lady)
- Ooh, jel. (Nigel, About Last Night)
- You killed my kids, mate. (John, About Last Night)
- So I can't make decisions in my own marriage. (About Last Night)
- Only 'cos he widdled on my art. (Walter, About Last Night)
- Yeah, you have to come, it's all about you, innit? (Walter, About Last Night)
Trivia[]
- The plague ghosts are all played by the same main cast who play the upstairs ghosts.
- Though the plague ghosts have talked about their children, none are ever seen in the cellar. This suggests that any children either never became ghosts or have already moved on.
- Although Jemima died of a plague, it's not clear if she is a child of someone in the group.
- When asked to select their brightest minds by Julian, Walter insists that Nigel stays behind, clearly indicating Walter thinks him to be the dumb one.
- They are the oldest ghosts at Button House save for Robin.
- Through season Walter has messy, long brown hair, however by season two it has changed to a wavy, blonde-gray.
- The Plague ghosts did not appear in series 3 as COVID-19 filming restrictions made it impossible for the actors to huddle together. They did make a small cameo in "He Came!" in Series 3 though, but only a few of them were seen and only one talked, who was Agnes, but she had only one line. They did return for the next series though, with the ghosts being included in three episodes of series 4 as a full group.
- Agnes may be attracted to Thomas, judging by her reaction to his portrait in "He Came!".
- Their foreign counterparts are the cholera ghosts (US) and the Gallic ghosts (FR).
Gallery[]
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