Fictional characters attract us, frighten us, make us angry or happy and disappoint us. We love them, hate them, care for them or wish for their downfall. We identify with them and understand how they feel. It seems that at times we may feel more deeply towards made-up characters than we do for real human beings. What lies at the heart of our engagement with fictional characters? How do we understand how they feel? Why do we prefer some characters to others? Intensive cognitive research is directed recently at answering these questions, and others: Is literature nothing other than gossip? If so, should we not regard it as fulfilling natural human needs? Is our moral attitude towards fictional characters emotionally based? So why do we react favorably to leading characters when they are morally wrong? Does first-person narration influence our attitude to characters? And what if a character is unreliable? Do we react differently to romantic comedy characters than to action-film characters? Is romantic tension related to suspense? How do jealousy and revenge fit in? And how does desire? We will discuss these and similar questions based on recent cognitive research and a selection of literary and film narratives.