Samuel Lyle was the original owner of Lyle House as well as the first to experiment on supernaturals. A scientist and sorcerer, 60 years prior to the Darkest Powers trilogy, held experiments in his lab which is currently known as Lyle House.
Chloe Saunders accidentally raises his subjects, buried in the crawl space, but later speaks to the ghost of a witch once a part of the experiments. The witch informs Chloe that, Samuel Lyle promised them "an easier life. Power without price. Sam Lyle was a seller of dreams. A snake oil salesman. Or a madman." Also, that they "were willing subjects. At least, in the beginning. You see, little girl, all scientific advancement requires experimentation, and experimentation requires subjects...Lab rats sacrificed to the vision of a madman."
In The Awakening, Chloe encounters a demi-demon, Diriel, who was soul-bound to the Edison Group building by Samuel Lyle. Diriel says, "Dr. Lyle must be dancing in Hell today, his agonies borne away on the thrill of his triumph. Dearly departed, scarcely lamented, deeply demented Dr. Samuel Lyle. Creator of the prettiest, sweetest abomination I have ever seen." After soul-binding Diriel, Samuel desired more and died trying to summon and attempt to harness the power of a demon.
Samuel Lyle is mentioned in The Gathering when Maya Delaney is in Salmon Creek's town square. "I perched on the base of the monument, a bronze life-size figure of a guy in a lab coat. It isn't marked with a plaque, and we tell people it's to honor all scientists. I've heard, though, that it's supposed to be some guy named Samuel Lyle. I looked him up once on the Internet, but couldn't find any mention of him."