Chapter 1

Chapter 1 is the second chapter of Midnight Evil, after the Preface.

Gameplay
Chapter 1 is the first chapter in which the player is under attack by any of the Urklings. Like the Preface, the player needs to read the entire chapter without being attacked to progress the game, which is done either by reading each line out loud through the microphone or by listening to the narration if this option was selected in the options menu.

The Urklings active during this chapter are the Green Urklings, which can appear either at the window, at either of the two doors, at either side of the bed, behind the washing basket, or behind the cardboard box on the right. Green Urklings in particular make very noticeable sound cues when appearing, so prioritising the book and only looking for Urklings when they makes noise is a valid strategy for this chapter. Checking too frequently will cause the player to Panic, so looking around the room sound be done conservatively.

Transcript
"Little Maggie O' Brian was the first. The children had been playing in Hogan's Forest when they all heard a noise. Sensing no danger because there were so many of them, twelve children in all decided to investigate the source of the strange sound." "As they all searched high and low, they soon realized that Maggie was missing. Frantically they began searching for their friend. She was a small girl who loved to play hide and seek." "Her big brother Collin insisted that she was probably hiding somewhere safe and giggling to herself as she watched everyone search for her." "The sun sank low in the sky and the forest grew dark. The children, frustrated and panicked, ran back to the village to alert their parents that little Maggie was nowhere to be found. That's when everyone lit torches and spread out through the wood calling her name." "The little girl's mother sobbed desperately as we all inspected every corner of those woods in hopes of finding her. Her brother kept searching, tears streaming down his cheeks." "'I'm her big brother,' he said, rubbing his eyes. I'm supposed to make sure nothing happens to her.'" "'It's not your fault Collin,' I assured him. 'We'll find her soon and she'll be no worse for ware.'" "He nodded, forced a smile, and we all continued looking. The moment I heard him scream I knew he had found her." "Or rather, what was left of her, which wasn't much. We were sure it was Maggie because she had worn her favorite hair bow that day. Her father plucked the pink ribbon from the body and fell to his knees, wailing into the darkness." "Poor Collin tried to tell us then. He said that she had been covered in what he described as little green men." "'They were fat and green-' he stammered, '-with bright glowing eyes. They were biting off bits of skin and flesh.'" "No one believed the lad. We all attributed the horrible ordeal to a hungry wild animal. Of course, what else could it possibly be? Scooping up what remained of little Maggie, the townsfolk set to work preparing for her funeral. We had no idea the horrors that lay ahead." "I thought to myself how strange her wounds looked. I couldn't help but think back to what Collin had said about the little green men. It made me think of the stories my grandmother used to tell me. She said that our Druid ancestors spoke of tiny creatures that lived long ago in the swamps and marshes surrounding our lands. The Urklings, she called them." "There were three tribes, each being their own breed of evil. One tribe, I recall, she said were green and fat. They would lure children away from safety and feast on their flesh." "We didn't live near any swamps, surely the boy's mind was playing tricks on him. Besides, the Urklings weren't real. They couldn't be."

Trivia

 * Chapter 1 is the first chapter to feature Urklings of any colour.
 * Chapter 1 has the longest sentence in the game, which constitutes the entire second paragraph.