Jacob
The main protagonist and hero of the novel Jacob is a teenager that just recently found out that he had peculiar powers. He also discovered that besides seeing hollows he can control them. In being able to control them he learns more about them and develops a sort of compassion for the hollows. He is also helplessly in love with Emma and can't imagine being without her. But he is also torn between two lives: New Jacob that is brave and has amazing powers and is in love with Emma, and Old Jacob that loves his old normal life and his parents. In a happy ending Jacob manages to combine the two.
Emma
A girl that makes fire with her hands Emma is also the protagonist alongside Jacob. She is able to keep a cool head in the most critical situations, to turn her emotions, her anger into action. When Jacob doesn't know what to do he turns to her for a solution. She is also in love with Jacob but knows the consequences, knows that he can't leave his old life behind, so, as always, she puts up a protective wall.
Addison
Addison is a talking dog. He is pompous and likes to brag but his heart is in the right place. His nature doesn't let him to keep his mouth shut and often exposes the heroes in the most unwelcome situations but his heroism makes up for it all.
Sharon
Sharon is a boatman that brought the heroes into Devil's Acre. He is also a peculiar but has a history of addiction to Ambrose. One of the side effects of Ambrose is the decay of face so Sharon always has a hood over his. In the scene where he shows his face to the kids who were bullying a dog and they run off terrified proves that his addiction was really bad. He is a shady character, being familiar with Devil's Acre and knowing the locals but his heart seems to be in the right place. He guides Emma, Jacob and Addison through the Devil's Acre almost as a father figure. He comes to the rescue and protects the trio.
Bentham
He is Caul's and Miss Peregrine's brother. It appears that everything got into motion because of his mistakes. He made the wights and hollows by accident; he influenced Jacob's grandfather's death. Bentham is an unstable character, changing sides when it is convenient to him, adapting how it fits his needs. He did the right thing in the end though. He gave Alma Peregrine the instructions to destroy the Abaton loop and sacrificed himself to stop his brother coming into and wreaking chaos on the world.
Caul
Caul is the main antagonist of the novel. He is the leader of wights and Miss Peregrine's and Bentham's brother. His main motivator to become the way he did is the jealousy he harbored for his sister-she is a woman, an ymbryne, one of the most important figures in the peculiar world. He doesn't believe a woman is adept to lead the peculiardom. He is completely merciless and manipulative and hungry for power. That hunger in the end led to his fall.
Alma LeFay Peregrine
Miss Peregrine is another peculiar (referred to as a syndrigast). She can control time, in a peculiarity that is called Ymbryne. Since only birds can manipulate time, Peregrine also has the ability to turn into a falcon. She takes care of peculiar children and hides them from the wights, the main antagonists of the Peculiar Children series, by constructing time loops that create safe havens for the peculiar children. Peregrine is the headmistress of the school for Peculiar Children, but she was kidnapped. This begins the third book in this series, as her students try to rescue her. However, it was unsuccessful as her brothers, Caul and Myron, transport her into the Abaton loop.
