diff --git a/e2fsck/message.c b/e2fsck/message.c
index 87ce118..cf0bc7b 100644
--- a/e2fsck/message.c
+++ b/e2fsck/message.c
@@ -148,9 +148,9 @@
 			fputs("M-", stdout);
 			ch -= 128;
 		}
-		if (ch < 32) {
+		if ((ch < 32) || (ch == 0x7f)) {
 			fputc('^', stdout);
-			ch += 32;
+			ch ^= 0x40; /* ^@, ^A, ^B; ^? for DEL */
 		}
 		fputc(ch, stdout);
 	}