A goblin who lives in the Hillsborough woods and devours any children unwise enough to trek within. That is, any child except for Courtney Crumrin, the only human for whom Butterworm bears any semblance of begrudging respect for managing to outsmart him (not a daunting task) and trapping him in her service. Half-Unreliable Narrator, half-comic relief, Butterworm also acts as an occasional aid to Courtney in goblin matters.
Butterworm provides examples of the following Tropes:
- Butt-Monkey: Such a failure by goblin standards that he's even been banished from Goblin Town.
- Comedic Sociopathy: You quickly like him despite the fact that he's a serial child eater.
- I'm a Humanitarian: Eats the first kid Courtney sort of befriends in Hillsborough, and wears his hoodie for the rest of the series.
A dark, beautiful, and fiery-tempered noblewoman in the realm of Night Things, the Dutchess longs for children of her own, frequently resorting to stealing them or buying the luckless mortal children who wander into the Goblin Market. For all her icy demeanor, she is not entirely beyond reason and has assisted Courtney on occasion — possibly because of her long and complicated history with Courtney's uncle Aloysius.
The Dreadful Dutchess provides examples of the following Tropes:
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: Desperately wants children and seems to feel great love toward the ones she acquires... But also has no qualms about forcing one of Courtney's schoolmates into shackles when she trespasses uninvited.
- Changeling Tale: Her interference seems to have caused many of these.
- Defrosting the Ice Queen: The Dutchess relents to helping Courtney when she evokes their shared love for one of the Dutchess's lost children.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: The Dutchess's response to mortal sympathy.
- Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette: Well, pale blue skin.
- God Save Us from the Queen!: While not a queen per se, she is one of the highest ranking nobles of the Night Things and a force to be reckoned with.
- Mega Neko: The Dutchess's bodyguards are a pair of enormous white cats.
- Parental Abandonment: The Dutchess reveals that her own mother chose to abandon her rather than retreat underground with her daughter and the rest of the Night Things. The Dutchess's desire for children stems from a need to love something that will never leave her.
- Supernatural Gold Eyes: In the color comics. In the originals, they are Black Eyes of Evil.
The most powerful hobgoblin in the world, even mortals tell their children tales of this "Boogeyman." Originally sealed within the Marl-Pit for a hundred years after a campaign of slaughtering man and warlock alike, the monster was eventually freed by Hector Hughes, and used as a weapon against the Council until Tommy was decapitated by Aloysius.
Rawhead was resurrected once more, this time by Courtney, and used to murder Hector; after which he returned to his lair in the Underworld, beneath the realm of the Twilight King.
Tommy Rawhead provides examples of the following Tropes:
- Back from the Dead: Courtesy of Courtney. Judging by his comments, it's not the first time, either.
- The Determinator: "No one's ever escaped ol' Rawhead n' Bloody Bones. No one. Not once e'd made 'is mind up 't 'ave 'em."
- The Dreaded: Not a single warlock or wizard in Hillsborough dares confront him, save for Aloysius Crumrin.
- Enemy to All Living Things: Even Night Things like Butterworm fear Rawhead.
- Loophole Abuse: He's magically prevented from disclosing the identity of the mage who summoned him - but he is able to give a couple of very helpful hints.
- The Juggernaut: Has been cursed so many times that he's immune to wizard's hexes and spells.
- No-Sell: He actually seems to find it amusing when magic users blast him right in the face with powerful curses, since he's able to completely shrug them off.
- Offscreen Teleportation: It's unclear exactly how he does it, but he's able to reach out of spaces that he shouldn't be able to fit into in the first place. He can also be present in one room of a house and then suddenly appear inside a closet in an occupied room elsewhere. If Butterworm is to be believed, he does this just to screw with people before he kills them.
- Psycho for Hire: Is bound to obey the will of the wizard who summons him. This includes an oath of silence on the identity of his master.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: Resided deep in the Marl-Pit of the Hillsborough woods.
- Starter Villain: Despite easily being one of the strongest beings in the series, Tommy is the first serious threat Courtney encounters. However, she isn't the one who defeats him — her uncle is.
- Villain Decay: Despite being hyped up as the ultimate warlock-killer, upon finally confronting Courtney, Rawhead is beheaded in a single swing by her Uncle Aloysius.
- Counts as Mundane Solution: What could be of any use against a monster immune to spells and curses? A blade.
- He only makes a cursory effort to catch Courtney when she literally falls into his lair in Twilight Kingdom, and he likewise allows Templeton to escape, even after Templeton makes an effort to kill him. In neither case does he make any attempt at pursuit, despite his reputation of never letting his quarry escape. (It's possible that he hadn't "made 'is mind up" in these cases, but it's also his last appearance.)
A mysterious but largely benevolent figure amongst the Night Things, the Twilight King lives on the fringes of the underground Twilight Kingdom with his three lovely, eternally youthful daughters. He is welcoming and helpful to strangers... But woe betide those who bring death into his peaceful realm.
The Twilight King provides examples of the following Tropes:
- Crown of Horns: Or in this case, branches.
- Cruel Mercy: The King is enraged when Templeton murders one of his daughters, but still refuses to allow death into his realm. Instead, he punishes Templeton by making him fall in love with the murdered girl so that he will mourn her death for eternity.
- Helicopter Parents: Having lost his queen and all but three of his daughters, he now keeps the remaining daughters in an isolated castle where sorrow can never come. Until it does.
- The Kindnapper: The King buys Connie at auction to prevent her from being purchased by a less-benevolent owner. He then begs her to stay and become a sister to his lonely daughters.
