Count Olaf

**Count Olaf** is a fictional character, the main antagonist and the primary character in Lemony Snicket's *A Series of Unfortunate Events* series. In the series, Olaf is an eccentric criminal[1]
 and is known to have committed many crimes as a member of the
fire-starting side of V.F.D., a Volunteer Fire Department that
eventually branched into a massive secret organization, prior to the
events of the first book in the series.[2][3] Olaf is repeatedly described as extremely tall and thin and having a unibrow, a wheezy voice, gleaming eyes, and extremely poor hygiene.[4][5][6] He is often distinguished by the tattoo of an eye on his left ankle.

Following the death of Bertrand and Beatrice,
 the Baudelaire orphans are placed under his care, and he proves to be a
 horrible guardian who is only interested in the fortune left behind by
their parents. After Olaf loses his guardianship over the children, he
begins a series of attempts to steal the fortune by wearing various
disguises and murdering Gustav Sebald, Montgomery Montgomery,
 Josephine Anwhistle, and Jacques Snicket, among scores of other related
 and unrelated victims, as well as attempting to murder Charles
 and countless others. While the Baudelaire children are always able to
see through his disguises and intentions, the adults around them remain
completely oblivious to the villain and fail to aid the children,
forcing the Baudelaires to unmask Count Olaf and his various schemes
numerous times throughout the series.

With the death of Jacques, who is mistakenly identified as the count by *The Daily Punctilio*, the target of the police manhunt for Olaf shifts to the Baudelaires, who are framed for the murder of Jacques. Olaf uses his newfound immunity to burn down Heimlich Hospital and Caligari Carnival without repercussions. When he and the Baudelaires burn the Hotel Denouement down, however, they are forced to flee the authorities[7]
 by escaping to sea, where they shipwreck on the island on the coastal
shelf. In an attempt to take control of the island, Olaf threatens to
release the airborne pathogens of Medusoid Mycelium on the colonists,
but is harpooned by Ishmael. Olaf lives long enough to help Kit Snicket safely deliver her child, an event the Baudelaires refer to as the "one good thing" in his life.[1]

### Disguises

In each of the seven books occurring after the initial volume, Olaf
wears a disguise from his kit that was given to him during his time in
the V.F.D. organization. His disguises often mimic the occupation of
someone who previously worked under the guardians or near the
surrounding area, usually murdering the person who had the occupation
previously. Despite his disguises being considerably transparent, they
usually end up fooling everyone, as long as his one eyebrow and eye
tattoo are covered up, except for the Baudelaire children themselves.
One or two of his henchmen, also disguised, usually accompany him and
aid him in executing his schemes. Ironically, the disguises Olaf's
associates wear seem to be much more effective as the Baudelaire
children themselves never realize who they are until very late in the
respective book or until they reveal themselves.[*original research?*] The following is a list his primary disguises with IPA and AHD pronunciations given.

* **Al Funcoot** - Al Funcoot is an anagram of "Count Olaf". He uses it as his *nom de plume* when writing *The Marvelous Marriage*, in addition to *The Most Handsome Man in the World*, its sequel, *Why, I Believe I've Become Even More Handsome!*, and *One Last Warning to Those Who Try to Stand in My Way*, as referenced in *The Unauthorized Autobiography*.
* **Stephano** /ˈstɛfənoʊ/[14] - An assistant herpetologist with a long beard, shaved head, and no eyebrows.
* **Captain Julio Sham** - A sailor with an eye-patch and a wooden leg (the real Julio Sham is captain of the *Prospero*).
* **Shirley T. Sinoit-Pécer** - An optometrist's feminine receptionist - T.Sinoit-Pécer is "receptionist" spelled backwards.[*citation needed*]
* **Coach Genghis** - A sweatsuit-wearing gym teacher with a turban, covering his one eyebrow, and expensive looking running shoes, covering his ankle's eye tattoo.
* **Gunther** (/ˈɡuːntər/, gōōn′·tər)[15] - A pinstripe suit-wearing auctioneer.

 He pretends to come from a foreign country so that people will believe
that he doesn't speak fluent English. Olaf constantly says "please"
after and in the middle of every sentence in this disguise. This is also
 done by Madame Lulu in "The Carnivorous Carnival". He wears horse
riding boots to cover up his tattoo, and a monocle to distort his
eyebrow.

* **Detective Dupin** - A "famous" detective

 obsessed with what's cool, including ridiculous sunglasses which cover
up his eyebrow and green plastic shoes with yellow lightning bolts on
them to cover his tattoo. The alias name is a reference to C. Auguste Dupin.

* **Mattathias** /ˌmætəˈθaɪ.əs/[16] - Heimlich Hospital's new Human Resources director. The only sign of his presence is his voice over the hospital intercom.

* **Kit Snicket** Olaf used this disguise to fool everyone in The Island in The End (novel) but failed, he used this disguise to pretend to be Kit Snicket. The disguise consists of seaweed hair, Esme Squalor's dress which she wore in The Slippery Slope, A diving helmet with the Medusoid Mycelium to make it look like Olaf is pregnant

#### Physical Appearance

Olaf is described as a tall, thin, unkempt and often dirty man. Lemony makes frequent reference to Olaf's poor hygiene. In *The Slippery Slope*,
 Olaf mentions that he often goes ten days without a shower. His lack of
 personal hygiene worsens as the books progress, although in *The Slippery Slope* Sunny Baudelaire is shocked to see that Olaf has bathed and changed into a new suit for False Spring.

When not in disguise, Olaf's distinguishing features include shiny
eyes and a wheezy voice that frighten the Baudelaires, pale skin, a unibrow,
 and a tattoo of an eye on the inside of his left ankle. In his numerous
 disguises, Olaf attempts to hide his most distinctive features, but the
 Baudelaire children are never fooled; however, most of the other
characters remain utterly oblivious.