# Fictional Characters Only Visible to a Chosen Few **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 2, 2008, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-only-visible-to-a-chosen-few/447715 "2008-05-02T04:05:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-only-visible-to-a-chosen-few/447715/1 "2008-05-02T04:05:20Z")
Elwood P. Dowd is one of the few people who can see Harvey, the giant rabbit. Fred Flintstone & Barney Rubble are among th only people who can see the Great Gazoo. For a long time, Big Bird was the only one who could see Mr. Snuffleupagus. What other characters are there that hardly anybody else can see? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-only-visible-to-a-chosen-few/447715/2 "2008-05-02T04:14:20Z")
[Cosmo Topper](http://www.fiftiesweb.com/tv/topper.htm) is the only one who can see George and Marion Kerby (or Neil). Only Lydia can see Adam and Barbara most of the time in _Beetle Juice._ ---
**Author:** ![Intravenus\_De\_Milo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Intravenus\_De\_Milo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intravenus_De_Milo)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-only-visible-to-a-chosen-few/447715/3 "2008-05-02T04:17:01Z")
Well, pretty much all of the mythical creatures in **The Spiderwick Chronicles** only let themselves be seen by people with “the sight” (or, at least, this was the case in the movie…I haven’t read the books). ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-only-visible-to-a-chosen-few/447715/4 "2008-05-02T04:37:10Z")
[QUOTE=Intravenus De Milo] Well, pretty much all of the mythical creatures in **The Spiderwick Chronicles** only let themselves be seen by people with “the sight” (or, at least, this was the case in the movie…I haven’t read the books). [/QUOTE] Along the same lines, **thestrals.** ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-only-visible-to-a-chosen-few/447715/5 "2008-05-02T04:42:07Z")
The alien entity that pretended to be Captain Janeway’s father in an epsode of Voyager could only be seen by her. Also from Voyager, the Evil Clown that could only be seen by the people in the mental link that generated it. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-only-visible-to-a-chosen-few/447715/6 "2008-05-02T05:14:03Z")
One of the Sixes on _BSG_ appears to be in Baltar’s head. ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-only-visible-to-a-chosen-few/447715/7 "2008-05-02T05:16:51Z")
Would the aliens in _They Live_ count? They can be seen by anyone, but can only be seen in their true form (at least for the majority of the movie) by the few people who have special glasses. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-only-visible-to-a-chosen-few/447715/8 "2008-05-02T05:20:39Z")
Only Roy Greenhilt sees his father Eugene’s ghost in _The Order of the Stick_. Only Chris Griffin sees the Evil Monkey on a regular basis on _Family Guy_. Only Sparky Valentine can see Elwood in _The Golden Globe_. ---
**Author:** ![audit1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@audit1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audit1)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-only-visible-to-a-chosen-few/447715/9 "2008-05-02T05:32:27Z")
only Calvin can see Hobbes as he really is. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-only-visible-to-a-chosen-few/447715/10 "2008-05-02T06:05:23Z")
The Ringwraiths, in **The Lord of the Rings** , in a sense. Although anyone can see their earthly garments, their faces are invisible to anyone who cannot see into the wraith world. ---
**Author:** ![Monkey\_Chews](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/65b543/32.png) [@Monkey\_Chews](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monkey_Chews)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-only-visible-to-a-chosen-few/447715/11 "2008-05-02T06:11:53Z")
Al from **Quantum Leap** can usually only be seen by Sam. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-only-visible-to-a-chosen-few/447715/12 "2008-05-02T06:16:49Z")
Constable Benton Fraser on _Due South_ is normally the only character who can see the ghost of his murdered father, Sergeant Bob Fraser, who tries to give him advice in different situations, of varying degrees of usefulness. Also, Detective Vecchio somewhat more rarely sees his own dad, who almost always is trying to get his son to ditch Fraser and “look out for Number One”, usually when Fraser is in some great deal of trouble. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-only-visible-to-a-chosen-few/447715/13 "2008-05-02T08:49:51Z")
Not sure if they count, but the ghosts that visit Scrooge are only seen by him. Whether they _can_ or _could_ only be seen by him is a point to ponder. The whole premise of the TV series ‘Randall & Hopkirk: Deceased’ was that only Randall could see the ghost of his former partner, Hopkirk. ---
**Author:** ![One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/838e76/32.png) [@One\_And\_Only\_Wanderers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/One_And_Only_Wanderers)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-only-visible-to-a-chosen-few/447715/14 "2008-05-02T09:00:55Z")
Ghosts in _Sixth Sense_ and any number of other ghost films come to that ---
**Author:** ![freekalette](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@freekalette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freekalette)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-only-visible-to-a-chosen-few/447715/15 "2008-05-02T12:04:34Z")
Nobody can see Frank except for Donnie Darko. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-only-visible-to-a-chosen-few/447715/16 "2008-05-02T12:46:45Z")
The “Only you can see and hear me” cliche was a common one. The most execrable example was Eric Idle in the absolutely dismal comedy “[Nearly Departed.](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096659/)” I think both versions of **The Ghost and Mrs. Muir** used the cliche. **[Hearts and Souls](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107091/)** also uses it, where Robert Downey, Jr. is the only one who sees the ghosts. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-only-visible-to-a-chosen-few/447715/17 "2008-05-02T12:49:07Z")
[QUOTE=ianzin] The whole premise of the TV series ‘Randall & Hopkirk: Deceased’ was that only Randall could see the ghost of his former partner, Hopkirk. [/QUOTE] This series was shown in the US as _My Partner, The Ghost_ In the book & movie of Thomas Tryon’s _The Other_ only Niles could see his dead twin brother Holland. In Stephen King’s _The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon_, Trish McFarlane sees a lot of things that may or may not be there. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-only-visible-to-a-chosen-few/447715/18 "2008-05-02T12:51:03Z")
In the LotR film, **Smeagol** could see **Gollum** (and vice versa). ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-only-visible-to-a-chosen-few/447715/19 "2008-05-02T12:53:25Z")
[QUOTE=Troy McClure SF] One of the Sixes on _BSG_ appears to be in Baltar’s head. [/QUOTE] By the same token, Capra #6 sees Baltar in her head. ---
**Author:** ![MarcusF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/67e7ee/32.png) [@MarcusF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarcusF)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2008, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-only-visible-to-a-chosen-few/447715/20 "2008-05-02T12:59:43Z")
In \*\*Just Like Heaven \*\* (I know, I know - my daughter was watching it. Honest!) only Mark Ruffalo’s character can see Resse Witherspoon who is sort of a ghost (her character is in a coma). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fictional-characters-only-visible-to-a-chosen-few/447715.md?page=2)