Melmoth the Wanderer

Real Name: John Melmoth

Identity/Class: Human transformed by magic

Occupation: Unknown

Affiliations: The Devil/Satan

Enemies: Self-described as the "enemy of mankind"

Known Relatives: John Melmoth (descendant)

Aliases: The Englishman

Base of Operations: Active across the world

First Appearance: Melmoth the Wanderer (1820s)

Powers/Abilities: Melmoth is immortal thanks to his satanic pact, which also gives him almost omniscient knowledge of the present and past (however never the future), and powers of manipulation. He has no mortal limitations; i.e. he can escaped locked rooms, passing in and out of prison cells and asylums, can walk through the sea to get to islands, and can travel across whole continents in a day.

History: Melmoth has made a satanic bargain for immortality. Now he wanders the Earth, an outsider with an eerie, tortured existence, searching for someone who will take on his contract and release him to die a natural death.

Comments: Created by Charles Robert Maturin (1782-1824), an ordained clergyman in the Church of Ireland, wrote several Irish romances, in addition to his Gothic novels. Melmoth also appears in Honoré Balzac's homage and satire Melmoth réconcilié (Melmoth Reconciled) (1835).

Thanks to Terry Hooper for informing me of this character and providing the top image of him. Thanks to Elizabeth Dawson for various and numerous expansions and additions to the page above.

CLARIFICATIONS: None

Any Additions/Corrections? Please let me know.

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