Catherine Allesbury

Catherine Allesbury, aka Kate Allesbury is a minor aristocrat and ex-lunatic, who was resident of the asylum for five years and let out of the asylum upon the king's remission, perhaps prematurely. She features in The Lunatic, The Doctors, and The Daemonologist. Her cousin is William Allesbury, a gentleman explorer.

During her stay at the asylum, Catherine was entirely mad, and raving about daemons and souls being torn to shreds, monstrous spider creatures and the strange, dark gods Ngloth, Engrathhar and Logol, sometimes in foreign languages; and scratching bizarre symbols formed from interlocking patterns of circles and eyes. She remembers virtually nothing of her actions from this time except for the vague recollection of being visited by a pale teenage boy, recording her ravings diligently for hours by her cell door. The boy was Benjamin Davies although Catherine is unable to recognise him now.

After an exorcism in 1814, Catherine made considerable progress towards recovery and since her release seems to have entirely recovered. For a few months at least this was true; the voices were silent. Over the years however, voices have returned, this time claiming to be angels. At first the advice was really quite pious but of late they have become rather more vicious, demanding again and again the deaths of Gabriel Carter and Matthew Murrey.

Catherine is not considered dangerous or incapable of looking after herself by those around her despite the odd eccentricity (the occasional conversation with an angel, for example), and the alienists generally leave her to her own devices.

Shortly before the Evensong on the day of the mystery, Catherine shot Gabriel Carter inside York Minster.