Fictitious people are nonexistent people, who, unlike fictional characters, have been claimed to actually exist. Usually this is done as a practical joke or hoax, but sometimes fictitious people are 'created' as part of a fraud. A pseudonym may also be considered by some to be a "fictitious person", although this is not the correct definition.
Hoaxes
- William Ashbless, a 19th-century fictitious poet and adventurer.
- Bilitis, nonexistent Ancient Greek poet. Supposed author of The Songs of Bilitis, a collection of erotic poetry "discovered" by Pierre Louÿs.
- Achmet Borumborad, a late 18th-century doctor and businessman in Dublin, purportedly from Constantinople.
- George P. Burdell, eternal Georgia Tech student.
- Eddie Burrup, fake Australian aboriginal painter.
- Johnny "The Celestial Comet" Chung, supposed Chinese-American football player for the nonexistent Plainfield Teacher's College.
- Allegra Coleman, nonexistent supermodel.
- Tom Collins, fictitious gossip and namesake of the gin-and-lemon-based cocktail.
- Helen Demidenko, nonexistent Ukrainian author, created by Australian writer Helen Darville.
- Aimi Eguchi, fictional Japanese idol. Member of idol group AKB48 created as a composite of the other members.
- Frederick R. Ewing, nonexistent author of I, Libertine.
- Hugo N. Frye, a fictional figure, purportedly the founder of the Republican Party in New York State, made up by Cornell University students in 1930 as a prank designed to embarrass several state politicians.
- Anthony Godby Johnson, (probably) fictitious author of Rock and a Hard Place: One Boy's Triumphant Story.
- Kaycee Nicole, fictional leukemia sufferer and Internet personality
- Kilroy, a nonexistent legendary World War II US Army major who inspired millions during the war and became part of American popular culture.
- Ern Malley, nonexistent Australian poet, created by Australian poets James McAuley and Harold Stewart.
- Lillian Virginia Mountweazel, a photographer who existed as a fictitious entry in the 4th edition of the New Columbia Encyclopedia. The publishers assumed that if they caught another encyclopedia containing their copyright trap, the presence of the non-existent Mountweazel would prove that their competitors hadnâÂÂt done any original research and copied them.
- Father Pat Noise, alleged Irish priest and IRA member.
- Lucian Yahoo Dragoman, a nonexistent baby supposedly named after Yahoo!.
- Karyl Robin-Evans, nonexistent scientist whose expedition is chronicled in the book Sungods in Exile.
- H. Rochester Sneath, nonexistent English public school headmaster and prolific letter writer, created by Humphry Berkeley.
- Georg Paul Thomann, nonexistent Austrian conceptual artist, created by art group monochrom to represent Austria at the 2002 Sao Paulo Art Biennial. Georg Paul Thomann is featured in RE/Search's "Pranks 2" book.
- Piotr Zak, nonexistent Polish composer, created for a BBC programme by Susan Bradshaw and Hans Keller.
Pseudonyms
This list includes pseudonyms supplied with a biography suggesting the existence of a person distinct from the actual person with the pseudonym in question, often with the purpose of a hoax.
See also (many of them were not claimed as "real" people).
- Penelope Ashe, supposed "demure Long Island housewife" who authored Naked Came The Stranger. Actually a pseudonym of a collective of writers, and portrayed by one of their relatives during interviews.
- Richard Bachman, a pseudonym of Stephen King, given a fake biography and author photo.
- Silence Dogood, a false persona used by Benjamin Franklin to get his work published.
- Roderick Jaynes, editor of all the films of Joel and Ethan Coen. Actually a pseudonym for the Coens themselves. "Jaynes", supposedly a cantankerous Englishman in his 80s, has also penned a dismissive introduction to a book of the Coens' scripts, and an article in The Guardian discussing his work on The Man Who Wasn't There.
- Kozma Prutkov, arrogant Russian writer and government official, who published bombastic pieces that ended up being satirical commentary on Russian bureaucracy. A creation of 4 Russian writers, including Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy (1817-1875) and Alexei Zhemchuzhnikov.
- Lemony Snicket, a pseudonym used by Daniel Handler for his A Series of Unfortunate Events. Snicket, who is also a character in the books, is the meta-fictional narrator of the series.
- Wrench Tuttle, an Atlanta-based "poet, traveler, activist and philosopher". Canadian musician/composer Bob Wiseman "collaborated" with lyricist Tuttle by mail, for the 1989 album In Her Dream: Bob Wiseman Sings Wrench Tuttle. Tuttle was, in reality, Wiseman.
- Kilgore Trout originally was a character created by Kurt Vonnegut, who later became a pseudonym used by Philip José Farmer to publish, as a homage to Vonnegut, an actual version of one of the fictional Trout's books, Venus on the Half-Shell (1975). Farmer's work is based on a moment in Vonnegut's God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater that describes a character reading a copy of Trout's novel, "Venus on the Half-Shell". Vonnegut was not happy about the publication of Farmer's book, but he declined to sue over the use of his intellectual property.
- Gerald Wiley, authorial pseudonym used by sketch comedy performer Ronnie Barker on shows in which he was a performer. Initially, even other writers on the show were unaware that sketches submitted by "Wiley" were in fact written by Barker; Barker wanted his sketches to be judged on merit, not on the fact he was a cast member or star.
- Andrew MacDonald, a pseudonym for William Luther Pierce, white supremacist and author of The Turner Diaries.
Academia
- Arthur Besse, pseudonym used since 1978 by French differential geometers
- Blanche Descartes, fictitious mathematician with over 30 published papers
- Claude ÃÂmile Jean-Baptiste Litre, volumetric namesake.
- Dr. Irving Joshua Matrix, numerologist, invented by Martin Gardner
- G. W. Peck, pseudonym used by several mathematicians since 1979
- H. Rochester Sneath, nonexistent headmaster of the nonexistent Selhurst School
- Honorable J. Fortescue, fake US physician
- Jára Cimrman, fictional Czech genius and polymath
- John Rainwater, enrolled by mathematics graduate students at the University of Washington in 1952 as a prank; has since been used as a pseudonym by several other mathematicians for published work
- Josiah Carberry, professor of psychoceramics at Brown University
- Nicolas Bourbaki, a 20th-century French mathematician with credited publications
- Peter Orno, associated with Ohio State University and credited with several papers in mathematics during the 20th century
Arts and entertainment
- Alan Smithee, name used by film directors who wish to disown a project.
- Andreas Karavis, nonexistent Greek poet.
- Araki Yasusada, fake Hiroshima survivor and author
- B. Traven, adventure novelist.
- Borat Sagdiyev, a fictitious Kazakhstani journalist created by Sacha Baron Cohen, see also Ali G and Brüno Gehard.
- Buck Hammer, a fictitious blues pianist created by comedian and musician Steve Allen.
- Carl Brandon, a fictional science fiction fan of color, for whom the Carl Brandon Society was named
- Conchita (previously Conchita Wurst), stage persona of Austrian recording artist Thomas Neuwirth.
- C.W. Blubberhouse, whose letters in UK national newspapers were exposed as a hoax by the Sunday Times.
- Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson, characters played by Australian comedian Barry Humphries.
- Darko Maver, a lauded fictional Yugoslav artist whose gruesome sculptures turned out to be photos of real murders found on rotten.com by Eva and Franco Mattes.
- David J. Broadfoot, the Member of Parliament from Kicking Horse Pass, representing the New Apathetic Party, a character played by Canadian comedian Dave Broadfoot.
- David Manning, a nonexistent film critic created by Sony Corporation.
- Donald Kaufman, fictional brother of Adaptation writer Charlie Kaufman, gained "writing credits" and was nominated for an Oscar.
- Edna Welthorpe, fictitious small-minded critic of modern theatre and moral decline, created by Joe Orton.
- George Spelvin, traditional pseudonyms used in programs in American theater.
- Gerald Bostock, writer of the lyrics for the Jethro Tull album Thick as a Brick.
- Hajime Yadate, credited as the creator of most of the anime works of Japanese animation studio Sunrise.
- Henry Root, fictitious correspondent, and Henry Raddick (possibly the same person)
- JT LeRoy, fictional American author and literary celebrity.
- Kodee Kennings, nonexistent 8-year-old girl whose letters were published in the Daily Egyptian, a student newspaper for Southern Illinois University Carbondale
- , a character played by British comedian Paul O'Grady.
- Margaret B. Jones, fictitious half-white, half-Native American foster child and Bloods gang member in South Central Los Angeles
- Mary Anne Jackson, a fictitious jazz pianist created by comedian and musician Steve Allen.
- Mrs. Trellis of North Wales, a regular correspondent to BBC radio comedy I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue
- Nat Tate, fake 1950s American artist
- Ossian, Irish bard created by James Macpherson in the 18th century
- P. D. Q. Bach, a fictional composer invented by musical satirist "Professor" Peter Schickele.
- Ponsonby Britt, executive producer of The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. In the credits of George of the Jungle, a later offering from the same production company, Britt had been promoted to "Ponsonby Britt OBE" (recipient of the Order of the British Empire).
- Rrose Sélavy, a fictional artist created by Marcel Duchamp
- S. Morgenstern, fictional author from the equally fictional country of Florin
- Super Dave Osborne, a character played by American comedian and actor Bob Einstein.
- Sven, an occasional stand-in for Samantha on BBC radio comedy I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue.
- Tony Clifton, imaginary lounge singer created (and usually played) by comedian Andy Kaufman
- Van den Budenmayer, nonexistent Dutch composer believed to be real by some filmgoers even after they were told the truth.
- Walter Plinge, name used by British stage actors who wish to stay anonymous
- Wanda Koolmatrie, nonexistent Australian aboriginal author
Commercial mascots
- Aunt Jemima, fictional advertising character for the Aunt Jemima brand of pancake mix and syrup; the role was portrayed by multiple actresses in promotional appearances.
- Betty Crocker, fake spokesperson for The Washburn Crosby Company of Minneapolis and its successor company, General Mills
- Mavis Beacon, fictitious typing tutor created for the Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing application software.
- Rastus, fictional African-American chef character used as the mascot for Cream of Wheat.
- Uncle Ben, advertising persona for Uncle Ben's rice, now Ben's Original; Mars said in 2020 that it did not know whether a real "Ben" had ever existed.
Crime
Military
Politics
Sports
References