by Robin Furth
ANDY LOOK-ALIKE ROBOT: See NORTH CENTRAL POSITRONICS
BABY MICHAEL: See MIA
FATHER: See MIA
MOTHER: See MIA
DEAD ROBOT: See NORTH CENTRAL POSITRONICS
HUCKSTER ROBOT: See NORTH CENTRAL POSITRONICS
RESIDENTS OF FEDIC: VI:243, VI:244
FEEMALO
See WARRIORS OF THE SCARLET EYE: CASSE ROI RUSSE: HUMANS: FEEMALO/FIMALO/FUMALO
FEENY, ANDREW
See DEAN, SUSANNAH: ODETTA HOLMES’S ASSOCIATES
FELDON, AMY
See TULL
FELICIA
See DELGADO, SUSAN
FENNS
See MAINE CHARACTERS
FERMAN, ED
See KING, STEPHEN
FILARO, RUDIN
See WALTER: WALTER’S ALIASES: R.F.
FIMALO
See WARRIORS OF THE SCARLET EYE: CASSE ROI RUSSE: HUMANS: FEEMALO/FIMALO/FUMALO
FINLI
See TAHEEN: WEASEL-HEADED TAHEEN
FISH GUARDIAN
See GUARDIANS OF THE BEAM
FLAGG, RANDALL
See WALTER: WALTER’S ALIASES: R.F.
FLAHERTY, CONOR
See WARRIORS OF THE SCARLET EYE: DIXIE PIG CHARACTERS/ FEDIC CHARACTERS: HUMANS
FLIP, MR.
See CALLAHAN, FATHER DONALD FRANK: ’SALEM’S LOT CHARACTERS
FOOT SOLDIERS OF THE CRIMSON KING
See WARRIORS OF THE SCARLET EYE
FORCE, THE
See MANNI: OVER, THE
FORT LEE REGISTER AMERICAN
See CALLAHAN, FATHER DONALD FRANK: CALLAHAN’S HIDDEN HIGHWAYS ASSOCIATES
FORTUNA
See SERENITY, SISTERS OF
FORTY
Like NINETEEN and NINETY-NINE, forty is a magic number. In hobospeak, it refers to the bus that will take you as far away as possible. If you live in NEW YORK CITY and buy a ticket to FAIRBANKS, ALASKA, you are taking the forty bus.
V:428
FOUNDING FATHERS
See TET CORPORATION
FOYLE, FRANKIE
See CALLAHAN, FATHER DONALD FRANK: ’SALEM’S LOT CHARACTERS
FRANCESCA (AND ROBERT)
See HAMBRY CHARACTERS: HAMBRY LOVERS
FRANK
See PUBES; see also CALLAHAN, FATHER DONALD FRANK
FRANKS, JOANNE
See PIPER SCHOOL CHARACTERS
FREDERICKS, TOMMY
See DEAN, HENRY: HENRY DEAN’S KA-TET
FREDDY TWO-STEP
See SKIN-MAN: SKIN-MAN’S VICTIMS: JEFFERSON RANCH
FREEDOM RIDERS
See DEAN, SUSANNAH: ODETTA HOLMES AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT
FREEMAN, NATHAN
See DEAN, SUSANNAH: ODETTA HOLMES’S ASSOCIATES
FRIENDLY FOLK
The Friends were a sect of the OLD PEOPLE. Like the MANNI, they spoke using the terms “thee” and “thou.” SUSAN DELGADO may have been descended from them, since her family used these words in their daily speech. The Friendly Folk remained in IN-WORLD throughout Roland’s youth.
IV:250
FRIGHTENED WOMAN
See WIND THROUGH THE KEYHOLE: CHARACTERS MET BETWEEN GREEN PALACE AND RIVER WHYE
FRYE, KELLIN
See DEBARIA CHARACTERS: SHERIFF’S OFFICE
FRYE, VIKKA
See DEBARIA CHARACTERS: SHERIFF’S OFFICE: FRYE, KELLIN
FULCHER, ANDY
See KING, STEPHEN
FUMALO
See WARRIORS OF THE SCARLET EYE: CASSE ROI RUSSE: HUMANS: FEEMALO/FIMALO/FUMALO
FURTH
See GUTTENBERG, FURTH, AND PATEL
G
GABBY
Gabby was the sarcastic nickname which the gunslinger apprentices’ tutor, VANNAY, gave to Roland. The name came from Roland’s childhood habit of being silent for prolonged periods.
VII:20–21
GAI COCKNIF EN YOM, MR.
See TET CORPORATION: FOUNDING FATHERS: DEEPNEAU, AARON
GALE, DOROTHY
See WIZARD OF OZ
GAMBLER AND WOMAN
See SKIN-MAN: SKIN-MAN’S VICTIMS
GAN (VOICE OF THE BEAM, SPIRIT OF THE DARK TOWER)
According to MID-WORLD’s oldest legends, Gan arose from the magical soup of creation known as the GREATER DISCORDIA, or the PRIM.20 From his navel, he spun the universe, and once it had spun into the shape he desired, he set it rolling with his finger. This forward movement was time. After creating the world, Gan moved on. The universe would have plunged into the void had not the great TURTLE caught it and balanced it upon his back. And it is here the universe still sits, poised upon the Turtle’s shell.21
The great god Gan is actually the animating spirit of the DARK TOWER. Although this smoky-black edifice and its spiral of electric-blue windows may appear to be made of stone and glass, it is, in actuality, a huge living body. Just as the ancient myths of Mid-World maintain that the world spun from Gan’s navel, so both the BEAMS and the red ROSES of CAN’-KA NO REY spun out from the Tower. Together, Tower, Beams, and Roses form a living, singing force field which sits at the heart of END-WORLD, and it is toward this energy field that Roland, the last of the line of ELD, is inevitably drawn.
Gan is the Mid-World god most closely linked to the voice of the WHITE. As JAKE CHAMBERS says while in a trance state, “So speaks Gan, and in the voice of angels. Gan denies the CAN-TOI; with the merry heart of the guiltless he denies the CRIMSON KING and Discordia itself.” In the prayer which Roland utters over Jake Chambers’s grave, Gan is called upon to raise the dead from the darkness of the earth and to surround them with light.
Although Gan is a god, and though (as the spirit of the Tower) he rules the destiny of the multiverse, he seems to have a particular interest in Roland and the line of Eld. When Roland mounts Gan’s steps in the final book of the Dark Tower series, what he sees in Gan’s hundreds of rooms forces him to reflect upon his life, and how (if he gets the chance) he must choose to live differently.
In our world, the voice of Gan is often transmitted through artists and writers, who are called kas-ka Gan, which means one of the prophets, or singers, of Gan. For our tet, the most important of the KEYSTONE EARTH kas-ka Gan is the writer STEPHEN KING.
VI:294, VI:295 (“Gan bore the world and the world moved on”), VI:298, VI:318 (“So speaks Gan along the Beam”), VI:320, VI:321, VI:353 (Gan the maker), VI:380, VI:394, VII:4, VII:33 (birthed universe from his navel), VII:34 (voice of Gan, voice of the Beam), VII:129, VII:168, VII:291, VII:295 (Wolf-Elephant is Gan’s Beam), VII:296 (Beam), VII:300 (Beam), VII:301 (Beam), VII:303 (Beam), VII:305, VII:306, VII:345, VII:348, VII:368, VII:371, VII:380, VII:388, VII:406, VII:447, VII:456, VII:457–58, VII:459, VII:474, VII:504, VII:505, VII:512, VII:513, VII:542, VII:543, VII:585, VII:607, VII:609, VII:638, VII:757 (Gan’s Gateway), VII:798, VII:820, VII:821, VII:822, VII:823, VII:827, W:189, W:247 (Gan’s blood), W:274
BLACK MAN IN JAIL CELL: While in 1999 NEW YORK, JAKE CHAMBERS has a vision of a black man in an OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI, jail cell. The man, who resembles a wizard in a fairy tale, has a toothbrush mustache, wears gold-rimmed glasses, and is listening to a radio, which is issuing a list of our world’s dead. Jake thinks that this image was sent to him by the DARK TOWER, and that the man may be a human incarnation of Gan. However, the black man in question also resembles a younger version of MOSES CARVER, SUSANNAH DEAN’s godfather, who is also a founding member of the TET CORPORATION. VI:320–21
GAN’S BEAM: Gan’s Beam is the ELEPHANT-WOLF Beam. For page references, see GUARDIANS OF THE BEAM
GAN’S GATEWAY: The yellow hearts of the CAN’-KA NO REY ROSES (roses which are identical to a certain flower in NEW YORK CITY’s Vacant LOT) are called Gan’s Gateways. For page references, see ROSE
GANGLI, DR.
See CAN-TOI
GAN’S BLACKBIRDS
See APPENDIX I
GARBER
See HAMBRY CHARACTERS: HORSEMEN’S ASSOCIATION
GARFI
ELD, BOBBY
See BREAKERS: BRAUTIGAN, TED
GARFIELD, LIZ
See BREAKERS: BRAUTIGAN, TED: GARFIELD, BOBBY
GARMA
See MUTANTS: CHILDREN OF RODERICK
GARTON, WILLIAM
See CALLAHAN, FATHER DONALD FRANK: CALLAHAN AND THE HITLER BROTHERS
GARUDA
See GUARDIANS OF THE BEAM: EAGLE GUARDIAN
GASHER
See GRAYS: GRAY HIGH COMMAND
GASKIE
See TAHEEN: OTHER TAHEEN
GEE (JEY)
See TAHEEN: BIRDMEN
GERBER, CAROL
See BREAKERS: BRAUTIGAN, TED
GHOSTS IN THE MACHINES
See NORTH CENTRAL POSITRONICS: BLAINE
GILEAD CORPSES (FARMERS AND THEIR FAMILIES)
When Roland was a boy, STARKBLASTS used to sweep down upon the GREAT WOODS north of NEW CANAAN once or twice a year. Once he even saw cartloads of frozen bodies being drawn down GILEAD ROAD. (They had been frozen by the storm.) Roland assumed that these farming families didn’t have BILLY-BUMBLERS to warn them of the impending disaster.
W:17
GILEAD’S COUNCIL OF ELD
In The Wind Through the Keyhole, WIDOW SMACK tells TIM ROSS that when the COVENANT MAN is not at his hobby of collecting taxes (a job which she states is no better than licking the tears from the faces of poor working folk) he’s an advisor to the palace lords who call themselves the Council of Eld. The Widow does not believe that these men have any blood connection to ARTHUR ELD at all, although some of them are probably GUNSLINGERS. The Covenant Man’s cruelty gives the Council of Eld a bad name, which is exactly what the Covenant Man wants. (He is, after all, another incarnation of WALTER O’DIM.)
W:169
GILEAD BIG BUGS (OWNERS OF DEBARIA SALT COMBYNE)
According to WILL WEGG, Debaria’s salt mines were actually owned by big bugs in Gilead.
W:275
GILEAD LADY FRIENDLY WITH WIDOW SMACK
See TAHEEN, listed separately
GILEAD, LORDS OF
According to the WIDOW SMACK, the evil tax-collecting COVENANT MAN serves both the lords and gunslingers of Gilead. We can assume that at least some of these lords are the cavaliers and perfumed diplomats that Roland speaks of so derisively in The Gunslinger. Unfortunately, some of them are also probably gunslingers.
I:159 (2003 edition), I:116–17 (2003 edition); W:170
GILEAD STABLEHAND
When Roland was a young boy, this man was badly burned in a kerosene fire. Like the patient-prisoners of the LITTLE SISTERS OF ELURIA, he was suspended above his bed rather than being placed directly upon the sheets. He eventually died, but only after two days of shrieking.
E:160
GILEAD’S WHITE AMMIES
The white ammies were the nurses who served Gilead palace. After Roland’s old teacher CORT became confused and incontinent, they were responsible for his care. However, until he was sent to DEBARIA by his father, Roland insisted on nursing Cort himself.
W:36, W:38
GILEAD WHORE
After his coming-of-age battle with CORT, Roland went to one of GILEAD’s brothels and lost his virginity to this prostitute.
I:174, IV:107–12, VII:824
GINELLI
See BALAZAR, ENRICO: BALAZAR’S MEN
GIRL SCOUTS
See DEAN, SUSANNAH: SUSANNAH’S PRESENT ASSOCIATES
GIRL WITH BODACIOUS TA-TAS
See CHAMBERS, ELMER
GLICK, DANNY
See CALLAHAN, FATHER DONALD FRANK: ’SALEM’S LOT CHARACTERS
GLUE BOY
See ALLGOOD, CUTHBERT
GODOSH
See PRIM
GODS OF CREATION
See GODS OF MID-WORLD
GODS OF MID-WORLD
Mid-World is home to many gods and goddesses, and it is from these older faiths that the MAN JESUS must win his followers. Although some, like LADY ORIZA, are described to us, most of these supernatural beings remain fascinating glimmers, half-seen, half-imagined. What follows is a list of the gods that are mentioned in the Dark Tower series. For additional information about Mid-World’s folklore, see the following subentries: For Mid-World heroes and antiheroes, see ELD, ARTHUR, and CRIMSON KING. For demons and devils, see DEMON ELEMENTALS and DEMONS/SPIRITS/DEVILS. For figures from Mid-World’s folklore, see MID-WORLD FOLKLORE.
V:10, V:313 (Callahan calls Calla gods “second-rate”), V:467 (some listed), W:196
AMOCO, THE THUNDER GOD
ASMODEUS: E:147
APON: See OLD STAR, listed below
BAAL: E:147
BESSA: When things go according to plan, the people of Mid-World thank Bessa and GAN. We don’t find out anything else about this god. VII:371
BIG SKY DADDY: Some tribes of SLOW MUTANTS call the father of the MAN JESUS “Big Sky Daddy.” V:475
BUFFALO STAR: Buffalo Star is one of the many gods of Mid-World. Roland once killed a preacher of Buffalo Star. V:467
PREACHER OF BUFFALO STAR: V:467
CAN-TAH: See CAN-TAH and GUARDIANS OF THE BEAM: TURTLE GUARDIAN
CASSIOPEIA: In one of Mid-World’s folktales, Cassiopeia causes the breakup between OLD MOTHER (South Star) and OLD STAR (North Star). Old Mother (LYDIA) caught Old Star (APON) flirting with this sweet young thing. Cassiopeia found the whole affair quite humorous. III:36–37
CHLOE: According to a Mid-World prayer said over the bodies of the dead (a prayer translated either from High Speech or from the MANNI tongue), the goddess Chloe gives strength to those who have passed over. VII:474
FORCE, THE: See MANNI: OVER, THE
GAN: See GAN, listed separately
GODS OF CREATION: VI:12
GRAY DICK: See ORIZA, LADY, listed separately
GRENFALL, LORD: See ORIZA, LADY, listed separately
GUARDIANS OF THE BEAM: See GUARDIANS OF THE BEAM, listed separately
LYDIA: See OLD MOTHER, listed below
LYDIA’S DIPPER: See OLD MOTHER, listed below
MAN JESUS: This is a Mid-World term for Jesus. Although Christianity exists in Roland’s universe, it is not the dominant religion. CALLA BRYN STURGIS is predominantly Christian thanks to the efforts of FATHER CALLAHAN, but in other towns Christianity has been blended with pagan faiths. Father Callahan likes to call Mid-World’s other deities “second-rate gods.” The women of SERENITY follow the Man Jesus. V:2, V:6, V:7, V:14, V:27, V:39, V:143, V:146, V:224, V:311, V:318, V:325, V:376, V:398, V:475, V:477, V:484, V:601, V:647, VII:388, VII:617, W:49, W:164, W:231, W:274
MORPHIA: Morphia calls herself the Daughter of Sleep. Like SELENA, Daughter of the Moon, she is one of the female incarnations of Death. VII:460
NIS: Nis is both the dream-god of Mid-World and the name for the land of sleep and dreams. Nis is also the name of the CRIMSON KING’s horse. V:500, V:549
**OLD MOTHER (LYDIA, SOUTH STAR): Old Mother is Mid-World’s South Star and is an important fixture of the night sky. According to an old legend, Old Mother was married to APON, also known as OLD STAR. The universe was created when Old Mother and Old Star had a crockery-throwing fight over Old Star’s flirtation with CASSIOPEIA. The other gods stepped in to break up the row but the two of them haven’t spoken since. As a flirtatious gesture of respect, Roland calls AUNT TALITHA of RIVER CROSSING by this name. In the 2003 version of The Gunslinger, Roland looks up and sees Old Mother in the desert sky. III:12, III:36–37, III:86, III:181, III:231 (Aunt Talitha), III:232 (Aunt Talitha), III:239 (Aunt Talitha), III:250 (Aunt Talitha), IV:33, IV:98, IV:105, IV:154, V:234, VI:250, VII:723, VII:764, VII:765 (brightest), VII:766, VII:767, VII:770, VII:802, VII:826, W:91, W:215
LYDIA’S DIPPER: Mid-World’s term for the Big Dipper. VII:724
**OLD STAR (NORTH STAR, APON): Old Star (also called North Star) is another name for the wickedly flirtatious husband of OLD MOTHER (South Star). The two of them had a knock-down-drag-out fight over his têteàtête with CASSIOPEIA. The universe was created fro
m the crockery they threw at each other, but the two of them haven’t spoken since. In the 2003 Gunslinger, Roland sees Old Star in the sky. III:12, III:36–37, III:86, III:179, III:181, IV:33, IV:98, IV:105, IV:166, IV:531, V:234, VI:250, VII:723, VII:802, VII:826, W:91, W:215
ORIZA, LADY: See ORIZA, LADY, listed separately
OVER, THE: See MANNI, listed separately
PRIM: See PRIM, listed separately
RAF: Raf is a magical being who has wings on his legs and/or feet. He seems to be similar to Mercury, the winged messenger of the Roman gods. V:173
SELENA: Selena calls herself the Daughter of the Moon. Like MORPHIA, the Daughter of Sleep, she is one of the female incarnations of Death. VII:460
SEMINON, LORD: See ORIZA, LADY, listed separately
S’MANA: According to a Mid-World death prayer (either translated from High Speech or from the MANNI tongue), the forgiving glance of S’mana heals the hearts of the dead. VII:474
SOUTH STAR: See OLD MOTHER, listed above
GOLDMAN, RICHARD
See GUTTENBERG, FURTH, AND PATEL: DAMASCUS, TRUDY: KIDZPLAY
GOLDOVER, SYLVIA
See DEAN, HENRY
GOOD MAN, THE
See FARSON, JOHN
GOODMAN, ANDREW
See DEAN, SUSANNAH: ODETTA HOLMES AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT: VOTER REGISTRATION BOYS
GOOD-MIND FOLK, THE
See TET CORPORATION
GOODMOUTH KING
See WARRIORS OF THE SCARLET EYE: CASSE ROI RUSSE: HUMANS: FEEMALO/FIMALO/FUMALO
GRAHAM, TOMMY
See TOWER, CALVIN
GRANDFATHER FLEAS
See VAMPIRES: TYPE ONE (THE GRANDFATHERS)
GRANDFATHERS
See VAMPIRES: TYPE ONE (THE GRANDFATHERS)
GRAND FEATHEREX
See FEATHEREX
GRAN-PERE JAFFORDS
See JAFFORDS FAMILY
GRANT, DONALD
See KING, STEPHEN
GRAPEFRUIT, THE
See MAERLYN’S RAINBOW
GRAY DICK
See ORIZA, LADY
GRAYS
The Grays, whom we meet in The Waste Lands, are one of the two bands of harriers warring over the city of LUD. They are the sworn enemies of the PUBES. Although the Grays live in the mazes and old silos below the eastern part of the city and the Pubes live aboveground in CITY NORTH, the Grays are the more powerful. With the help of BLAINE, the city’s mad computer brain, they have convinced the Pubes that they have to appease the vindictive and flesh-hungry GHOSTS IN THE MACHINES with a daily ritual of human sacrifice. The Grays signal this horrid event by playing the god-drums (actually no more than the backbeat of the ZZ Top song “Velcro Fly”) over the city’s loudspeakers.