Dexter O'Connell was a convict employed at the Van Ness mansion, hired and kept on-staff by Whitman Van Ness, the master of the house, who, despite his appearance as a kind employer willing to grant anyone a second chance, was truly villainous. Dexter O'Connell met his death at the hands of Whitman Van Ness, who framed O'Connell for several murders and disguised his murder to look like a suicide. O'Connell's spirit remained trapped in the house, along with numerous other ghosts, by Whitman's powerful spirit.