Jester is a pen name for Aron Fox. He finds material for Karma Hotel from his own life as well as his hypnotherapy practice. None of the characters in this novel are fictitious. Each one is alive in a diminished way. To quote William Baldwin: "A ghost is merely a fragment of a once living person." Edgar Allen Poe: “The boundaries which divide Life from Death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?” All Spirits Loiter for a Reason, which keeps nine of them stuck at Hoyt House. Their presence is becoming a problem for the Larsen family living there. Dead Margot's arrival changes things.