Wyborn “Wybie” Lovat, 11, Coraline’s neighbor and the grandson of the Pink Palace’s owner, Mrs. Lovat. He is a lanky, energetic, curious boy around Coraline’s age who often rides his bicycle around the grounds. Wybie can be awkward, talkative, mischievous, and irritating to Coraline at first, but he is friendly and genuinely cares about her. His grandmother forbids him from entering the old Pink Palace house because of its history. Wybie finds a strange doll resembling Coraline and gives it to her, unknowingly giving the Beldam a way to spy on Coraline. In the Other World, the Beldam creates an “Other Wybie” who cannot speak and is much more obedient. After Coraline discovers the truth, the Other Wybie helps her by refusing to hurt her and is turned into a pile of black rats by the Beldam. In the real world, Wybie helps rescue Coraline’s parents and later helps her destroy the Beldam’s key and shut the door to the Other World.

A mysterious black cat who can travel between Coraline’s world and the Other World. He has no known name and dislikes being named. He is intelligent, sarcastic, independent, and observant, often teasing Coraline while still helping her. Unlike the humans, he can speak in the Other World. The cat understands the Beldam’s nature and knows that she cannot truly create life. He becomes Coraline’s closest ally and helps her fight the Beldam.

Mel Jones, Coraline’s real mother. She is practical, busy, easily irritated, and often distracted by her work. She cares about Coraline but does not always show affection in the way Coraline wants. Mel spends much of her time working on a gardening catalogue and dislikes interruptions. She initially dismisses Coraline’s discoveries as imagination, but after being kidnapped by the Beldam, she is rescued and begins showing more warmth toward her daughter.

Charlie Jones, Coraline’s real father. He is kind, eccentric, and good-natured, though like Mel, he can be distracted and preoccupied with work. He works from home and writes gardening material and music. Charlie enjoys making jokes and cooking, even though Coraline does not always appreciate his unusual recipes. He is more openly affectionate than Mel and becomes genuinely frightened when Coraline disappears.

the elderly landlady who owns the Pink Palace Apartments where Coraline and her parents live. She is a quiet, practical woman who manages the property and rents the apartments to the various residents. She is mentioned primarily in the book and has little direct involvement in Coraline’s adventure. She is the mother of the two elderly sisters, Miss Spink and Miss Forcible, and owns the large, old house that was once divided into separate apartments.

One of Coraline’s elderly neighbors. She is a retired actress who lives in the Pink Palace Apartments with Miss Forcible. She is round, eccentric, theatrical, and fond of gossip, tea, and sweets. She owns many Scottish terriers and claims to have once been a famous actress. Miss Spink is superstitious and recognizes that Coraline may be in danger. She gives Coraline a protective stone with a hole in it, which helps her search for the lost souls.

Miss Spink’s longtime companion and fellow retired actress. She is dramatic, theatrical, confident, and energetic despite her age. She and Spink have a close, bickering friendship and spend much of their time reminiscing about their stage careers. In the Other World, the two women appear much younger and perform an extravagant stage show for Coraline before their appearance becomes grotesque.

The Other Mother / Beldam, an ancient, sinister creature who lives in the parallel world behind the secret door. She initially appears as a loving, attentive version of Coraline’s mother, but her true form is a tall, skeletal, spider-like monster with pale skin, black button eyes, long black hair, and needle-like fingers. She creates an idealized version of Coraline’s world to lure children into staying with her. She is manipulative, possessive, cruel, and extremely patient, but becomes increasingly violent when Coraline refuses to remain with her. She traps the souls of children who came before Coraline and wants to keep Coraline forever.

the Other Mother’s creation and an alternate version of Coraline’s father. He is cheerful, affectionate, silly, and much more attentive than the real Mr. Jones. He plays piano and sings songs written by the Other Mother, and he helps create Coraline’s perfect garden. Despite being controlled by the Beldam, he develops genuine sympathy for Coraline and secretly tries to warn her. The Other Mother punishes him for this by transforming him into a grotesque, pumpkin-headed creature with a huge, distorted body.

Usually called Mr. Bobo, is Coraline’s eccentric upstairs neighbor. He is a very tall, thin, blue-skinned Russian man who wears a red-and-blue circus-style outfit and exercises constantly. He claims to train a mouse circus, though Coraline initially doubts him. He is energetic, strange, friendly, and surprisingly observant. His Other World counterpart has a spectacular circus act involving trained mice, but the performance is ultimately revealed to be another part of the Beldam’s deception.