Characters Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng Kylie Lee Baker

Delilah Zeng: The Hungry Ghost Sister

Overview

Delilah Zeng is Cora Zeng’s older half-sister, who is murdered in the opening chapter of the novel Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker. She is pushed onto the subway tracks at East Broadway station by a white man who shouts the racist slur “bat eater.” Delilah’s death is the catalyst for the entire story, but she does not remain a passive memory. She returns as a hungry ghost—a spirit trapped between worlds by the violent and unfinished nature of her death. Throughout the novel, Delilah haunts Cora, guiding her toward a reckoning with the systemic racism and police corruption that allowed her murder to go unpunished.

Plot Role

Delilah’s role in the plot is twofold. First, her death is the inciting incident that shatters Cora’s life and sets her on a path of grief, trauma, and ultimately, resistance. Second, as a powerful hungry ghost, Delilah drives the supernatural plot forward. She appears to Cora repeatedly, pointing her toward crucial evidence—such as the shredded police files in Officer Wang’s office—and connecting her to the broader network of murdered Asian women whose ghosts also haunt the city. Delilah’s hunger and her violent acts, such as devouring Paisley and Ryan during the ghost feast, raise the stakes and force Cora to confront both the danger of her sister’s spirit and her own complicity in not performing proper burial rites.

Motivations and Traits Shown Through Actions

In life, Delilah is portrayed as ambitious and emotionally guarded. She announces her plan to move to China to become a model, and Cora recalls how Delilah’s stoicism—never hugging, but silently taking care of Cora—functioned as a form of love. In death, Delilah’s motivations are shaped by her condition as a hungry ghost. She is driven by an insatiable hunger and by the need to have her story acknowledged. Her actions are often purposeful: she points, she leads, she waits. Yet they are also feral. The evidence shows that when she eats, she does so with brutal efficiency—cramming victims into her mouth whole. The text suggests that death has changed her; as Auntie Zeng warns Cora, the ghost may not be Delilah anymore, but a corrupted reflection consumed by hunger.

Traits visible through her ghostly actions include persistence (she keeps appearing despite Cora’s resistance), protectiveness (she pulls Cora to safety after the car crash), and vengeance (she directs Cora toward the police evidence). The jade bracelet engraved with “hope” that auntie Zeng gave Delilah remains on her ghostly wrist, a visual marker of her identity and a symbol of the bond that still ties her to Cora.

Chronological Arc

Delilah’s arc spans from the moment of her death to the final release rituals at the end of the novel.

  • Chapter 1 (April 2020): Delilah is alive, arguing with Cora on the platform, then shoved onto the tracks and killed.
  • Chapter 12: Cora, drunk, sees Delilah’s ghost for the first time. Delilah stands outside Yifei’s apartment window, backlit by city lights.
  • Chapter 14: Delilah leads Cora to the police station, pointing at the shredder filled with Officer Wang’s shredded files. Cora steals the bag.
  • Chapter 21: After the car crash that kills Yifei, Delilah appears and leads Cora to safety, then retrieves Cora’s phone from the wreckage.
  • Chapter 18 (when read in order): During the ghost feast at Yifei’s apartment, Delilah manifests violently, consuming Ryan and Paisley. The friends then cover up the murders, deepening their entanglement.
  • Chapter 25 (final chapter): Cora, now living with Auntie Zeng, performs a ritual for Delilah, offering an orange to a ghostly hand. The novel closes with Cora taking back her own fear, suggesting Delilah has been laid to rest or transformed.

Throughout, Delilah’s presence shifts from a mysterious, guiding force to a dangerous, unpredictable entity, and finally to a source of grief that Cora can process.

Relationships

Cora Zeng (Half-Sister)

The central relationship of the novel. Cora and Delilah had a complicated bond. Cora recalls overhearing Delilah say that she only let Cora live with her because their father expected it. Yet Cora admits she would have followed Delilah anywhere. After Delilah’s death, Cora’s grief is tangled with resentment and guilt. When Delilah returns as a ghost, Cora both clings to her and fears her. The moment in the mud after Yifei’s death, when Cora hugs Delilah’s skeletal legs, captures the painful blend of love and desperation. Delilah, in turn, seems to guide Cora but also uses her to uncover the truth.

Auntie Zeng

Auntie Zeng is the one who gave both sisters jade bracelets—for Delilah, the character for hope; for Cora, the character for love. When Cora reports that the ghost wears the hope bracelet, Auntie Zeng initially insists it cannot be Delilah, hinting that the ghost has become something else. Their relationship is filtered through Cora’s interpretation, but Auntie Zeng represents the traditional spiritual framework that Delilah’s ghost calls into question.

Yifei and Harvey

Yifei and Harvey become Cora’s found family. They help Cora try to appease Delilah’s ghost, from searching the subway for her skull to preparing a feast. Delilah’s violence ultimately destroys both of them: Harvey is killed by the serial killer, and Yifei dies in the car crash after Delilah appears. Delilah’s presence both unites them and leads to their demise.

Key Decisions and Consequences

  • Cora’s decision not to burn joss paper for Delilah: After the Hungry Ghost Festival, Cora throws away the joss paper Auntie Zeng slips into her bag. This act of denial prevents Delilah’s spirit from being fed, directly causing her to become a hungry ghost that haunts Cora.
  • Cora’s decision to follow Delilah’s ghost: Despite her fear, Cora follows Delilah to the police station and steals the shredded files. This leads to the discovery of a serial killer cover-up and propels the climax.
  • Delilah’s decision to eat Paisley and Ryan: Whether driven by hunger or by a need to clear the room, Delilah’s violent feast forces Cora, Harvey, and Yifei to cover up the murders, eroding their innocence and implicating them in a crime.
  • Cora’s final ritual: In the novel’s conclusion, Cora offers an orange to the ghost in the dark and eats the other half. This acceptance of fear and grief symbolizes her decision to stop running from Delilah and to reclaim her own life.

Theme and Symbol Connections

Delilah is a living symbol of several major themes:

  • Anti-Asian Racism During the Pandemic: Her death is a direct result of racist violence. The slur “bat eater” is repeated throughout the novel, and Delilah’s murder goes uninvestigated, echoing real-world anti-Asian hate crimes.
  • Grief and Unresolved Trauma: Cora’s inability to process Delilah’s death manifests as the haunting. Delilah is the embodiment of grief that refuses to be ignored.
  • Hungry Ghosts and Chinese Spiritual Traditions: Delilah’s condition as a hungry ghost—trapped because her head was severed and because no one performed the proper rites—anchors the novel in Chinese folklore. The rituals of burning joss paper, offering food, and releasing lanterns are directly tied to appeasing Delilah.
  • Systemic Injustice and Police Cover-Up: Delilah’s ghost leads Cora to evidence that the police are covering up a serial killer’s crimes against Asian women. The shredded files Delilah points to expose systemic neglect.
  • Survival and Found Family: While Delilah is a biological sister, her ghostly actions ultimately push Cora toward the chosen family of Yifei and Harvey—even though that family is also torn apart. Delilah’s arc highlights the tension between blood ties and the bonds we create.

5 Book-Specific Questions and Answers

1. Why does Delilah become a hungry ghost?

Delilah becomes a hungry ghost because her death was violent and unresolved—she was decapitated by the subway train, and her skull was never recovered. Additionally, Cora refused to burn joss paper or perform proper funeral rites during the Hungry Ghost Festival. In Chinese spiritual belief, ancestors must be fed and honored; without that, a spirit becomes hungry, trapped, and dangerous.

2. What does the jade bracelet with “hope” mean for Delilah?

The jade bracelet engraved with the Chinese character for “hope” was a gift from Auntie Zeng. It serves as a tangible link between Delilah and her family. In death, it is the primary identifier that convinces Cora the ghost is truly Delilah. However, Auntie Zeng’s reaction—saying “that’s not Delilah” upon hearing the bracelet is still there—suggests that the ghost has been corrupted by hunger and is no longer the same person. The bracelet becomes a symbol of both enduring connection and lost identity.

3. Is Delilah’s ghost truly her, or a corrupted version?

The novel leaves this ambiguous. Cora believes the ghost is Delilah because of the bracelet and because of their shared history. Yet Auntie Zeng explicitly warns that the ghost is not Delilah, implying that hungry ghosts are twisted by their suffering. Further, Delilah’s violent behavior—eating Paisley and Ryan without hesitation—contrasts with the Delilah Cora knew in life, who had a cold but protective love. The text supports both interpretations, making it a central tension for Cora.

4. How does Delilah’s ghost change Cora’s understanding of grief?

At the start, Cora tries to ignore Delilah’s death, refusing to talk about it and avoiding rituals. Delilah’s ghost forces Cora to confront the reality of loss and her own guilt. The ghost is a physical, terrifying manifestation of unresolved grief. By the end, Cora learns to sit with that grief—she offers an orange to the ghost, acknowledging its presence without being destroyed by it. Delilah helps Cora move from denial to acceptance.

5. What is Delilah’s final role in the novel’s conclusion?

In the final chapter, Cora and Auntie Zeng perform a ritual on the last night of Ghost Month, releasing paper lanterns on the East River. Cora lights a lantern for Delilah and prays for her. Later, when a ghostly hand reaches from the dark, Cora offers half an orange and eats the other half herself. This act suggests that Delilah’s spirit has been pacified or has merged with the larger community of dead Asian women. Delilah’s final role is to teach Cora how to reclaim agency and live with fear. The ghost does not need to be vanquished—she needs to be acknowledged and fed, and in feeding her, Cora feeds herself.

For a deeper dive into the novel’s broader themes, see our analysis of anti-Asian racism during the pandemic, grief and unresolved trauma, and hungry ghosts and Chinese spiritual traditions. For Cora’s full journey, read the book overview or the ending explained.