Urklings

The Urklings are a race of mythical creatures and the main antagonists of Midnight Evil.

Appearance
Urklings are small goblin-esque creatures around two feet tall and in various colours. All Urklings have oversized hands, feet, and heads with long claws on all fingers and toes. They have bulbous noses and those in possession of eyes glow in the dark. They also have wiry hair growing out the tops of their hands and on the backs of their hands. Urklings love the taste of human flesh, specifically that of children, and are extremely aggressive and violent towards their prey. Urklings are able to shapeshift to a degree, and can commonly be found changing their size to better hide from spectators. They will only feed between sundown and sunrise.

Urklings come in three colours, each of which is an indicator of the tribe they belong to. The Green Urklings are described as being fat and lazy, and are able to sustain themselves on a vegetarian diet when meat is not available. Red Urklings are much faster than their green counterparts and hunt by shrinking themselves to the size of a pea to enter a child's nose, then eat their way from the inside out. Pale Urklings are blind but move almost silently and use the thick hair on their heads to track children. there is blue ones also.

All Urklings are effectively immortal and cannot be killed, however they are not impervious to harm. It is insinuated in Chapter 3 that Urklings can be born from the bodies of their victims after being buried. This comes from the fact that Maggie O'Brian's grave, who was killed by Green Urklings, is found later to have been dug up from the inside. This is attributed to the killing method of Red Urklings, despite the fact that Red Urklings were not seen to have been involved in her death.

Story
Urklings were first encountered by Druids who described them as a form of Fae, also known as fairies. They are most commonly found in swamps, especially after sundown as this is the time when they emerge to hunt. They are considered to be a beast of legends and many do not believe them to be real. The begin to hunt the children of the Unnamed Village after the village is accidentally settled in the Urkling's territory, and are discovered eating the corpse of a child named Maggie O'Brian. The attack is initially attributed to a wolf pack, however the true nature of the attack was revealed when The Author succeeding a capturing an Urkling in a jar after Maggie's borther, Collin, acted as bait.

The village attempts to find a way to destroy the Urkling to no avail, learning that they cannot be killed and will even multiple if dismembered. This prompts the Author to reach out to his deceased grandmother for assistance as they share ancestry with ancient Druids. His grandmother visits in a dream and tells the Author that the only way to stop the killing spree of the Urklings is to trap them forever, as they cannot be killed. This requires a sacrifice which the Author begrudgingly agrees to. The ritual is a success and the Urklings are trapped within the Urkling's Book, only able to escape if the book is ever opened by a child.

William Grinkle finds the book in his attic after he is awoken by a loud noise, the book appearing in a chest that he had never seen before. The only way to return the Urklings to the book is by reading the whole thing cover to cover, which William does while defending himself from the now released and very hungry Urklings. Upon trying to return the book to the chest he found it in, he discovers the attic to be empty, and instead buries the book in his backyard in the hopes that it would never be recovered.

Gameplay
Each type of Urkling follows the same behavior - they will attempt to attack the player as long as they remain unobserved. While the player is reading the book they will spontaneously pop up from behind whatever cover they are hiding behind, including under the bed, from either door way, or through the window. If they remain unobserved for too long they will attack the playing, resulting in a jumpscare and a game over. The player needs to move their crosshair over the offending Urkling which will drive it back behind the cover it came from.

Green Urklings produce a notable sound cue when appearing, Red Urklings have the shortest window in which they can be repelled, and Pale Urklings make no sound at all.

Trivia

 * The Urklings are encountered in this order: Green Urklings, Red Urklings, and Pale Urklings. both in terms of gameplay and also in terms of story.
 * The only chapter in which the player does not encounter any Urklings at all is the Preface.