Whistling Willie of Little Ivywood

Tucked away in the forests of Arcvelt is the village of Little Ivywood, and within this little unsuspecting town lived someone named William. As a boy, William was often described as being quite the queer sort, often sparking questions and hearsay from the other school children. His parents often made remarks in hushed whispers that the boy was never quite right, perhaps because of his mother, none could truly say.

William was born to a family who worked at one of the smaller local vineyards, and so their living was modest to say the least. William had grown accustomed to what his father called the “small-town life”, something William simply had acquiesced to. He loved his mummy, and they would often play in the woods by a crick near their home, or so the story goes. 

William was often sent to school with hand-me-downs that did not fit quite right, sparking rumors of being misshapen, or even being a half-breed, such easily squashed rumors though as both his parents were both evidently human. Still the cruel teasing persisted, and William would go cry to his mother of how awful the other kids were being.

Unfortunately for the wee boy Willie, he would lose his mother and father to a terrible illness, and the good times would end. William did grow to become a man, a financier so-they-say, taken to whistling a queer tune while walking the streets of Little Ivywood, thus the name Whistling Willie came to be, along with continued jeers from his peers. A whole town, still trying to tear down the man, and most of which were his school peers grown up now. Others who moved here were invited to “join the fun”.

The story goes that Willie amassed some wealth, bought a home within the town, which children would throw eggs and trash at. William paid no mind, or so it seemed until children began to go missing. It was always muttered in hushed tones that William had something to do with it, and it wasn’t until his neighbor, one Mrs. Gilderoy, who would report him to the guard for suspicious behavior.

Unfortunately for the townsfolk, the guard found nothing suggesting William was involved in any disappearances, so the townsfolk elected to shame and ridicule the man. Over the years he became more gaunt, malnourished, tired in appearance, but still, he would whistle on his daily strolls, which now left most unsettled.

One day that nobody can recall, William disappeared into the woods never to be seen again, after Mrs. Gilderoy twentieth statement of her neighbor being a profaned monster. The town finally took her cries to heart, burning down Williams home after he fled to the wilderness.

The people of Little Ivywood claim to still hear whistling from the trees, and firmly ensure they’re children do not go out at night to the woods, or Whistling Willie will come to snatch them up.