Wee Willy Winky

A night time encounter for city children.

Inspired by a poem written by William Miller, which became "Wee Willie Winkie" a Scottish nursery rhyme, and by the character of the Kiddy Catcher portrayed by the actor Robert Helpmann in the film 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.'

Who or what is Wee Willy Winky

Wee Willy Winky is an evil spirit that haunts the darkened streets of many of the Empires cities.
He has been summoned into existence as a result of the common ploy used by many parents of scaring their children into going to bed at a decent time by describing some horrible fate that will befall them if they don't.
There is even a children’s nursery rhyme to remind them of him.

Wee Willie Winkie runs through the town, Upstairs and downstairs in his night-gown, Tapping at the window, Scrying at the lock, Are the children in their bed, for it's past ten o'clock?

Children are told that Wee Willy Winky prowls the streets of the city and drags off any children who are not in their beds and asleep after dark. The general fear of this happening has brought the spirit of Wee Willy Winky to life in accordance with The Santa Claus Principle so that he can occasionally be encountered, usually by children and young people, prowling the streets at night.
The spirit is about the size of a halfling but is very thin and old with unkempt grey hair and a scraggly beard. He is dressed in a light coloured a nightgown with a long floppy nightcap and carries a large fishing net on the end of a long pole.
For an old man, he is said to be very fast on his feet and can easily catch a small child, though some of the older children claim to have seen him and escaped.
However, an encounter with the spirit is still a major dread of all the cities street brats and orphan’s all of whom try to avoid being on the streets after dark. Many will have stories of encounters with Wee Willy Winky, and some will have stories of friends who have been caught and disappeared never to be seen again.
PC’s who befriend street brats during their adventures will certainly be told about Wee Willy Winky, and may even remember him from when they were children if they come from a city.

Historical Basis

The truth behind the tale

Wee Winky Winky is based upon a real character Wilhelm Vinkler.

Vinkler is one of many individuals employed by city authorities to patrol the streets after dark. However, Vinkler along with several others supplements his meagre income by combining his patrols with services as a ‘KiddyCatcher’.
A ‘Kiddy Catcher’ as the name implies is someone who catches small children, usually orphans or runaways that are living on the streets of the city and hands them over to the authorities or more usually one of the city orphanages for a small bounty.
Whilst not ‘the Wee Willy Winky’ of children's nightmares, he is still a threat to children living on the street and is in himself quite a scary individual for young children.
However, unlike his spirit namesake Vinkler finds it hard to catch children. They are far too fast and nimble for him and so he uses all manner of tricks and lures to tempt them into his caged cart e.g. sweets and puppies. He has also teamed up with another individual called ‘Udo the Snake’ who assists him in luring and capturing wayward children in the city.
But Udo the Snake is yet another story.

Spread

The existence of Wee Willy Winky is an accepted truth amongst the children of Nuln, and similar characters exist in almost every city of the Old World albeit sometimes under different names and with different descriptions. However, the nursery rhyme is quite well known and is passed from parents to children, and thence onto their children. And the rhyme itself describes and names the character so it is quite common knowledge and the belief is quite widespread.