A morose widower, Mr Glowry lives with his only son Scythrop in his
semi-dilapidated family mansion Nightmare Abbey, which is situated on a
strip of dry land between the sea and the fens in Lincolnshire. Mr
Glowry is a melancholy gentleman who likes to surround himself with
servants with long faces or dismal names such as Raven, Graves or
Deathshead. The few visitors he welcomes to his home are mostly of a
similar cast of mind: Mr Flosky, a transcendental philosopher; Mr
Toobad, a Manichaean Millenarian; Mr Listless, Scythrop's languid and
world-weary college friend; and Mr Cypress, a misanthropic poet.