10 Famous Characters You Can Use in Your Story

So much of modern storytelling is built around reusing and subverting known stories and tropes to create something unique or surprising. Isolating cliches allows us to avoid them or even turn them into something new to trick our audience, but can something similar be done with entire characters? 

Sometimes it’s hard to buy-in completely on a brand new character as a writer or as a reader. It can be helpful, or just more fun, to instead use someone well-known to instantly convey the power, importance, danger, etc. that an original character faces. 

Luckily, the public domain is not solely for people that want to make Winnie the Pooh or Mickey Mouse horror movies. It is a treasure trove of literary characters that are all available to be used in ANY story. 

Dorian Gray 

Public Domain: The Picture of Dorian Gray originally published 1890 

Right out the gate is a character that any horror writer should consider featuring or exploring in one of their stories. Dorian Gray, from The Picture of Dorian Gray, is a wealthy Victorian era Londoner who has cracked immortality. The only catch, a magic portrait of himself grows old in his attic in his place. 

Not only does the portrait age, but it also becomes more decrepit as Gray sins, becoming a twisted horrifying visage as he falls further into crime and depravity. If you want to attempt to modernize an old horror tale, you won’t find anything more apt than this, or if you need a solid villain for an original character to face, why not take down a supernatural narcissist. 

Cthulhu 

Public Domain: The Call of Cthulhu originally published in 1928 

This one might be pushing the definition of “character,” but isn’t that what makes the madness-inducing monster so interesting to begin with? 

One of the “old gods” in the universe crafted by H.P. Lovecraft, this underseen being lives in the depths of the sea and drives sailors and explorers mad if they travel close to his domain. It’s said in his story that even seeing him with your eyes will make you insane.

That said, we’ve clearly all been looking, because Cthulhu is one of the most recognizable faces in horror media today. He is often used in any story that needs a massive abstract creature that can also morph the way reality is perceived. A great final boss for any story that wants to use dread-inducing lovecraftian horror, wants a beast underwater, or just wants to use a lot of tentacles. Great news, you can also use cherry-pick his lore and powers for things that bolster your story, or just use his name and come up with something wholly unique. 

Robin Hood 

Folklore & Myth, Select stories in the public domain 

The suave archer that steals from the rich and gives to the poor. Robin Hood’s tales go back hundreds of years, being first shared vocally as myths, ballads, poems, etc. Then, they were performed on the stage, before, finally, being written and recorded as published works. Luckily, the idea and folklore isn’t the only thing anyone can use, as the original written works are now in the public domain. 

Robin Hood and his merry band are all in the public domain, meaning the characters and even the original story are yours to twist or remix. Little John, The Sheriff of Nottingham, Maid Marion, and so many more are all part of the original work and therefore up for grabs. The character can be included as a cameo or side character in a story about an original character, or you can take a full swing at writing a new Robin Hood story of your own. You just have to make sure he’s as cool as the fox Robin Hood Disney came up with. 

Davy Jones 

Folklore & Myth 

Because of my age, film fandom, and overall interest in looking at Orlando Bloom, when I hear Davy Jones I picture the tentacle-faced pirate monster from the Pirates of the Caribbean films. I’m sure many other people immediately picture the version from Spongebob. Both of these properties are able to do their own spin on the same character because he’s a legend from Scottish folklore, and not someone’s copyrighted idea. 

There are a number of mythologies attached to Davy Jones in a ton of different stories, but at his simplest, he’s a pirate said to be immortal, that sails the seas collecting souls. He’s a perfect fit for an original story because his name carries so much weight, without there being too much lore to keep up with or try to match.

Dracula 

Public Domain: Dracula originally published in 1897 

The lord of darkness, the king of vampires, and the main character of four Hotel Transylvania movies, Vlad Dracula is one of the most well-known and used characters in history. A vampire count that lives in a gothic castle, preys on townsfolk, and has a series of ultra-specific powers and weaknesses. 

Dracula is a fantastic add to practically any fantasy story or story that needs a powerful character to show up and instantly convey a tone or mood. He can make the stakes higher (no pun intended) or add a burst of levity with a clever subversion of his traditional traits. He’s the opposite of Davy Jones, in that he has so much convoluted lore that you can often get away with picking and choosing what works for your story and disregarding the rest, without any Dracula megafans being turned off by his portrayal. 

Frankenstein (And His Monster) 

Public Domain: Frankenstein originally published in 1818 

The idea of sewing a body together and bringing it to life can arguably be done without this specific character, but it’s nice that it doesn’t have to be. The mad scientist doctor Victor Frankenstein can show up in your story, or you can solely utilize the famous monster, made of body parts and brought to life via electricity. 

It’s worth noting, however, that while the original story of Frankenstein is public domain, the feature films aren’t, so certain aspects, such as Igor or the Bride, are not available to be used. It is the doctor and the monster up for grabs here. 

This is also the place where I want to note that the rest of the “classic Universal monsters” are based on public domain ideas as well. The Invisible Man is from a public domain novel, and The Mummy and The Wolfman are retellings of folklore, and there isn’t a copyright on mummies or werewolves. 

Hercules 

Folklore & Myth, Select literary stories in the public domain 

Another hero that goes back far enough to legend and folklore long before he was featured in books or films, Hercules is a demigod with one parent who is a god and one who is human. As long as you steer clear of stealing anything specifically from a novel or film, such as using “Phil”

from the Disney movie, you can use all of Hercules’ wide-ranging stories to craft the lore that best fits your narrative. 

Plus, the entire pantheon of Greek gods and goddesses are copyright free, meaning they can be used in your Hercules fiction, or can show up as characters themselves. Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, etc. can all impact your fantasy story. 

King Arthur 

Folklore & Myth, Select literary stories in the public domain 

Keeping with the pattern of myths and legends, tales of King Arthur have been told for centuries. Even the literary stories go back as far as the 1400s, meaning they are free to use and recycle, and that there are more stories than you could ever need for reference. Arthur is brave and cunning, classically taking to the throne after pulling the magic sword excalibur from a stone or from a lake. 

King Arthur also has a round table that seats a fleet of 12 knights including Lancelot, Gaewain, Percival, and well, nine more. Each has their own personality and all can be used in your stories. He also often confides in the wizard Merlin, who has been depicted as evil, benevolent, and everything in between. Merlin is also free to use, meaning you could reimagine any of these characters in any way you need, creating compelling drama within this medieval England, or within your own fantasy world where they are just extra flavor. 

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 

Public Domain: Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde originally published in 1886 

This iconic duo has been in the public domain so long that horror comics publishers were using him for free in the 40’s and 50’s in comic books that are now, funnily enough, in the public domain themselves. 

Jekyll is a morally corrupt scientist that pushes one of his own experiments too far, giving himself the alter ego of Mr. Hyde. This change most often comes with a physical transformation as well, with Hyde being bigger, meaner, and more ogre-looking than Jekyll. 

This is a classic villain and can make for a great two-in-one character for an original story. You can play with the two sides, or maybe even hide on and use it later as a reveal.

Sherlock Holmes 

Public Domain: The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes originally published 1927 

The world’s most famous, and maybe most successful, detective. Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic works of mystery fiction have all fallen into the public domain, meaning that the genius eccentric private eye is now available to solve any original mystery you see fit. Along with his partner Watson, of course. 

It’s best here to either come up with purely original takes on the famed detective, or to strictly adhere to what Doyle laid out, as Sherlock Holmes has been rewritten or adapted more than anyone else on this list except likely Dracula. All of these new works are copyrighted, meaning you will want to avoid anything you’ve seen in the movies, and read up on what existed in the original stories. Or better yet, come up with something brand new and exciting and feature the detective in name only.

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