Jacobs

**Agent Jacobs** was a retired Fittes Agent, who was once the supervisor of Lucy Carlyle and the head of the Jacobs & Co. Psychical Investigators agency of Cheviot Hills. He eventually became paranoid due to all of the ghostly phenomena he was unable to see, and his incompetency led to the Wythburn Mill Incident.

On the Netflix *Lockwood & Co.* TV series, Jacobs is portrayed by Andrew Woodall.

## History

Agent Jacobs was the head and supervisor of the Jacob & Co. Psychical Investigators agency of Cheviot Hills. He had run the agency for over 20 years and was treated with a respect bordering on deference by the local townsfolk due to his status as the head of the only local ghost-hunting agency. Despite this, he had an air of mystery and the occult about him, an inevitability due to his isolation from normal society. He smoked cigarettes almost constantly. According to Lucy Carlyle, he performed for a time as a decent supervisor was expected to, by using his experience and quick wits to guide those serving under him who possessed the Talent to sense ghosts. Over time, with years of watching and waiting in the darkness, things changed for Jacobs and he began to lose his nerve, hanging back at the edge of haunted areas, shouting orders from afar, jumping at shadows and even mistaking his agents for ghosts.

Things came to a head with the Wythburn Mill Incident. As had become his custom, Jacobs waited outside the mill while his agents went inside. Most of them believed, based on their initial assessment, that they were dealing with a weak Type One ghost, easily dispatched. Lucy Carlyle, however, got a bad feeling, leading her to believe that the ghost could be very dangerous indeed. She reported this to Jacobs, suggesting that the pull back, but Jacobs was unwilling to allow them to pull back based only a vague feeling. He told Lucy to go in and get on with the job. She did, and the agents pursued the ghost, Lucy at the rear of the pack. As the screams began, she turned and tried to summon Jacobs, only for him to ignore her pleas for help. She turned and ran towards the screams, but ultimately was the only survivor among the young agents who entered the mill come morning.

In the aftermath of the incident, Jacobs was heavily criticised by the families of the dead agents, but nothing came of it. He claimed that he had not noticed any screaming and that he had acted entirely in accordance with the information that Lucy had brought him. The deaths of the agents were ruled Death by Misadventure, their families compensated by the Fittes Fund, and the milled destroyed, with the site salted. Jacobs soon returned to work and it was expected that Lucy would rejoin him. However, after three days, she packed a bag and ran away to London, joining the Lockwood & Co. agency.

## Appearance

Jacobs is tall, with a cadaverous appearance. He is described as being gray-skinned, hook-nosed and black-bearded.

## Behind the scenes

In the Netflix TV series, when Lucy Carlyle speaks with Penelope Fittes at the Fittes Ball, Fittes tells her that they have seen to it that Jacobs will never be in charge of agents again, that there should be no place for men like him in their industry. This is a change from the novels, in which Jacobs is not mentioned again and presumably continues to lead his agency.