The peculiar children here are children with extraordinary powers just like in the Harry Porter series. Each child is unique with his or her own special ability. It can be understood then how these children would need a special home to be among people who understand them and who can protect them from other dangerous creatures such as the Hollows and the Wights. It is also reasonable that they have a time loop to exist.
The movie starts with 16-year-old Jacob "Jake" Portman being bullied by his school mates as he works in the supermarket. Then tragedy strikes when his grandfather is killed by some entity.
Jake is forced to travel to an island in Wales filled with mystery in order to discover the truth of what really happened. Jake's ordinary life takes an extraordinary turn as the childhood fairy tales he heard from his grandfather start to become more plausible. After stumbling into what seems to be a different world, Jake is introduced to the extraordinary Miss Peregrine and her peculiar children at Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. But when what seems to be a fairy tale takes a horrific turn, Jake is forced to make a life-altering decision in order to protect the ones he loves from the monsters of his grandfather's past, the creepy Hollows and the dangerous Wights led by the terrifying Mr. Barron.
Characters
PECULIAR CHILDREN
Jacob Portman — 16 years old; main character. Jacob's peculiarity is to see hollowgasts. When his grandfather Abraham is killed by a hollowgast, Jacob goes into a deep depression, leading his parents to hire Dr. Golan as a psychiatrist and also leading to Jacob learning about his peculiar ancestry.
Abraham Portman — Abraham is Jacob's grandfather. Like Jacob, he had the peculiarity of seeing hollowgasts. When Abraham was living in the loop, his sweetheart was Emma Bloom. He left the loop to fight, and Abraham spent his adult life traveling the world defeating hollowgasts whenever he could, but kept it a secret from his family.
Bronwyn Bruntley — appears as a teenager. Bronwyn is imbued with incredible strength like her brother Victor. She is almost like the motherly figure for the wards. Sister to Victor Bruntley
Claire Densmore — appears as a little girl with long golden locks that covers her extra mouth at the back of her head. She uses this mouth to eat.
Emma Bloom — Appears as a teenager. She is capable of creating fire with her hands. Her abilities were swapped with Olive's in the film adaptation. In the book and the movie, she is Jacob's love interest. She was Abe Portman's sweetheart before he left the time loop.
Enoch O'Connor — 117 to 118 years old. Enoch can bring dead creatures, including humans, back to life for a short time. He can also bring homunculi to life as long as they contain an appropriately sized animal heart. He has a bit of a sadistic personality but he does care his foster siblings.
Horace Somnusson — appears as a teenager. Horace is capable of having prophetic dreams. He is a follower of fashion, and is commonly seen in suit and tie with a top hat and a monicle.
Fiona Frauenfeld — appears as a teenager. Fiona has an affinity for plants and can make them grow or die and has immunity to most poisons and toxins. She keeps herself in an unkempt state, in some respects like her beloved plants.
Hugh Apiston — appears as a teenager. Hugh has empathy with bees. He stores them in his stomach to protect them and can command them when they are released. Hugh is famously Fiona's love interest, as she is his. The other peculiars consider that since he controls bees and she controls plants, their mutual attraction is natural.
Millard Nullings — 87 years old. Millard appears as a young adolescent in the time loop and has the extraordinary peculiarity of invisibility. Unfortunately, he is always invisible, but he wears clothes most of the time. He is also extremely well-versed in all things peculiar, currently engaged in trying to document the events of every living thing on the island during the loop.
Olive Abroholos Elephanta — appears as a little girl. Olive is lighter than air and requires her metal shoes to weigh her down.
Victor Bruntley — appears as a teenager. Like his sister Bronwyn, Victor also has super strength. He was killed by a hollowgast before the start of the series and his body was kept in a bedroom upstairs until they buried him.
PECULIAR ANIMALS
Addison MacHenry — Addison is a human mind trapped in a boxer's body. He lives in Miss Wren's menagerie along with many other peculiar animals. He can speak and is very intelligent.
Deirdre — Deirdre is an emu-raffe. She has fewer legs than an average emu-raffe.
PECULIAR YMBRYNES
An Ymbryne is a particular kind of peculiar that can change into one kind of bird and can create and maintain a time loop; they are usually female, and protect peculiar children, adults, and animals, often rescuing them from dire situations.
Alma LeFay Peregrine (née Bentham) — Miss Peregrine is the headmistress of the school. She is a delicate woman who enjoys a pipe and adores her charges, although she can be strict at times. She lived in Miss Avocet's loop when she was young and she can turn into a peregrine falcon.
Balenciaga Wren — Miss Wren ran a loop for peculiar animals, but has since retired after being captured and escaping. She can turn into a wren.
Esmeralda Avocet — Miss Avocet is an elderly woman from the early to mid-Victorian period in England. Her time loop was invaded by wights and hollowgasts, forcing her to retreat to Miss Peregrine's loop. She can turn into an avocet.
Miss Finch — Very little is known about her. She can transform herself to a finch and has an aunt who stays in finch form.
Olivia Owl — While training to control loops and other Ymbryne matters, she had a accident and she got stuck in owl form. She was brought to Miss Wren but was beyond help. She has been an owl for ten years.
NON-PECULIARS
Franklin Portman — Franklin is Jacob's father, who is married to Maryann Portman. He always had a difficult relationship with his father and assumed he was having a long-term affair when he was gone from the house. He gets obsessed with one topic or another and starts writing books about them, but never finishes them. He is the only person to go with Jacob to Wales.
Maryann Portman — Maryann is Jacob's mother and Franklin Portman's wife. She grew up in a rich family and still holds onto her materialistic ways. She is not a very loving mother, putting her socialite life ahead of comforting her son. However, she is still very protective of Jacob.
Susan Portman — Susan is Jacob's beloved aunt. She gives him his grandfather's copy of Ralph Waldo Emerson's poems, which leads Jacob to his quest in Wales.
