I love public domain and open source characters.
More specifically, I love characters that creators can pick up, reinterpret, remix, and send off in completely new directions.
I have a particular fondness for the kind of character a creator can take in hand, put my own spin on, and send off down an entirely different path. I put that to use with Jenny Everywhere, or "The Shifter" as she is sometimes called. An open-source creation from 2002, Jenny was made to be shared and remade on the premise that she is present in all realities and at liberty to move among them. The concept is ideal for one who wants to cross genres and continuities. And I love her.
When I was working my way through the Doctor Who role-playing games, I made good use of her. In a universe predicated on time travel and the odd encounter, she is hard to beat. She allowed me to step from one iteration of the Doctor’s world to the next without having to fret over whether continuity would hold up. There is a certain freedom in it; one is not so much replacing what was there as having a dialogue with it.
And that is what leads me to another public domain character.
In Search Of...Winnie the Witch
Winnie the Witch was one of Charlton Comics’ horror hosts.
Her claim to fame was Ghost Manor and Ghostly Haunts; under that banner, she hosted from its debut in issue #20 in 1971 all the way to 1978. In much the same vein as the Crypt Keeper or The Old Witch, or the sort of thing you would see on television later on, Winnie was the framing device for the anthology. She put a face and a personality to the proceedings by introducing the stories and putting in her two cents.
But there was an early-1970s edge to Winnie that set her apart. Forget the old crone at the cauldron; she was young, hip and blue-skinned, with a fashionable "mod" look about her. One could imagine this cool witch straying into the wrong comic from some psychedelic club in Soho or New York. She was the unmistakable presence of Ghostly Haunts and made appearances in other Charlton horror fare as well.
It put me to thinking: what ever became of her? Being who I am, I had to ask what Winnie the Witch was up to in 1986.
The answer is obvious. You will find her on television.
Winnie’s House of Horrors
In my Jackson, Illinois continuity, Winnie is now the host of a late-night horror movie show broadcast from UHF Channel 47 in Alton, Illinois. You can't always get it in very clear, the station is at the far range of what UHF can do, but it is there and some nights it comes in clear as...well UHF in the mid 80s.
Every Saturday night:
WINNIE’S HOUSE OF HORRORS
Then there are the films the network affiliates consider beneath them, or that are simply too old for anyone else to have an interest in. Some were picked up in a peculiar package deal; one has to wonder if Channel 47 was forced to put on The Giant Claw just to be allowed three titles with any name recognition. You will find Mexican vampire fare and Italian horror that has been edited until the story is even more of a mystery. Old AIP stock, creature features, public domain prints that appear to have been put through a Buick’s undercarriage. And now and again, something of genuine quality that the station folk doesn’t seem to appreciate having on their hands.
Winnie is the one who puts them on.
"UHF Channel 47 from Alton, Illinois! Home of the Piasa Bird!" she will say.
And as sure as can be, someone in the control room will cue up that old Filmation pterodactyl screech. Every time. Without fail. It is a sound Winnie loathes, so naturally the crew makes it a habit.
WINNIE: "We are broadcasting live from beautiful Alton, IL, home of the Piasa Bird..."
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
She gives the sound booth a slow look. "Charlie, I swear to God."
There is no Charlie in the sound booth. There has never been a Charlie. But when things go awry, her thoughts head there first. Because Charlie is her husband. And according to Winnie, Charlie is responsible for most of the suffering in the known universe. Well. In her universe at least.
Samantha Stephens Meets Elvira
The original Winnie was young and mod in her day. But as of 1986, my Winnie is well into her 40s. She remains attractive and has no qualms about letting you know it. Yet the old gimmick is gone; she is not "the sexy young witch" any longer. She is a mom witch now. A hot mom witch, but you get the idea.
Put it this way: imagine Samantha Stephens after two decades of matrimony, three children, PTA obligations and grocery bills have left her with zero tolerance for mortal foolishness. Then mix in some Elvira. You get Winnie. The big hair, the mod dresses that only look a little dated, cat-eye glasses and a pentagram on her throat, all with her makeup in order. There is an air to her of a woman who could call on Satan if she had the time, but there is a parent-teacher conference to attend at 8:15 am tomorrow and she knows Charlie will be late.
Her whole schtick on television is that suburban family life is more terrifying than any supernatural horror. A film will show a demon emerging from a pentagram, and Winnie will address the camera. "Demons? I have three kids. Demons would be a vacation." And we are off to commercial.
Or take a picture of some parasitic monstrosity tearing its way out of a host.
"I have felt something like that," she will say. "This thing inside me, clawing and kicking to make its exit."
She lets the silence hang for a moment.
"Was pregnant again, as it turned out."
Turns to Camera 2. "Gee, thanks, Charlie."
The viewers are fond of Charlie. They have never laid eyes on him, and everyone wonders if he is real. From what Winnie tells us, Charlie is the one who can’t fix the garage door, who considers Hamburger Helper to be cooking, or who invited his mother over "for a few days" and once put the station van through a cemetery gate. He is responsible for buying the wrong dishwasher and for forgetting their anniversary every year.
"Our next offering has an ancient curse set loose by a fool who pays no heed to warnings," she might say.
She will look right at you.
"In other words, Charlie."
Other Horror Hostesses
Winnie also has an ongoing rivalry with Countess von Bludd, the glamorous vampire hostess from a competing station in St. Louis. Introduced in Scary Tales #12, the Countess dresses entirely in red and presents herself as a far more elegant and sophisticated creature of the night. Winnie remains unimpressed.
"Over in St. Louis, Countess von Bludd is showing yet another vampire picture tonight. All red dress, red curtains, red lipstick. Apparently, subtlety died before she did."
The rivalry is mostly theatrical, the sort of manufactured feud local stations would encourage for publicity. Winnie calls her "that overdressed mosquito from St. Louis," while the Countess refers to Winnie as "the housewife of horrors." Privately, they may even like each other, but neither woman would ever spoil the act by admitting it.
She also talks about the time she won the "Miss Fortune" beauty contest against another Horror Hostess, Arachne Coffin. But she fails to mention that she lost the title to Arachne the next year. Her rivalry with Arachne seems to be one more of mutual respect.
The Joke Is Winnie Is Really a Witch
Here is the important bit: Winnie is, in fact, a witch. The viewers take it as part of the performance, and why wouldn’t they? It is a horror-host show after all. She has her cauldron, her candles, the skulls on display. Now and then she puts on a "spell" for laughs. What none of them are aware of is that some of these have a way of working.
Take the protection charm she put on before Black Sunday; that was no act. Or when she made the point about not heeding a dead relative’s voice from outside the house; one can be sure of that. As for the salt she put down at the studio door in the course of a commercial break, there was method to it.
The station crew are not entirely certain what to make of it, but they have been witness to odd occurrences in Winnie’s vicinity. They do not inquire. This is local TV, and people have their own troubles to contend with.
It's also not entirely clear when Winnie became a witch. Was it when she was in her 20s or before? Did she become a witch later after pretending to be one? But she isn’t telling anyone anything, and she uses her magic on a UHF Public Access show.
It is probably Charlie’s fault.
The Soccer Mom of Darkness
I have a soft spot for another aspect of Winnie’s act. She acts like a mother, and in truth she is one, with three children to her name.
There is another part of Winnie’s gimmick that I really like. She looks like somebody’s mom. You can tell by the way she drives; it is an aggressively normal vehicle, most likely a Chevy station wagon. One might even find a "MY OTHER CAR IS A BROOM" sticker on the back of it, though Winnie would be loath to admit Charlie put it there.
She is the type to go to the grocery store or a school function and have something to say about the school board. She has no doubt made brownies for the bake sale. And yet she does all of this while giving the impression she could be putting on a Black Sabbath show when the day is done.
Put it to the people who were watching Channel 47 as kids, and they will be talking about her in some documentary down the line. The conversation goes like this:
"Winnie the Witch? Yeah. She was the original MILF."
"Oh, you can say that again."
Only it doesn’t do her justice. They will recall the hair and the cleavage, the barbs at Charlie’s expense and that ridiculous Piasa Bird noise.
What gets left out is that Winnie knew things. She is clearly well-versed in the occult.
The Jackson Connection
Naturally, Stephanie, Faye, and Larina watch her.
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| Stephanie, Faye, and Larina watching Winnie the Witch |
It is late Saturday night, and they are together at a sleepover with some popcorn and Diet Pepsi while a fourteen-inch set in Larina’s bedroom puts on a particularly bad horror film.
Stephanie is taken with Winnie from the start. She has an appreciation for performance and can tell when Winnie is in command of a room by dictating how one is to view her before you have made up your own mind. And she is loath to admit it, but she loves the movies too.
Faye is there for the movies; the more awful the better. And she finds Winnie to be hilarious, and kinda hot.
Larina is not so sure. She has been listening to the occult talk, and most of it is just television drivel. Until Winnie says something. Very specific. Obscure. The sort of thing Larina has come across in only one book.
She sits up a little.
LARINA: "Wait."
FAYE: (without looking up from her popcorn) "What?"
LARINA: "What she said."
STEPHANIE: "And?"
LARINA: "It was right."
FAYE: "Good for her," turning back to the screen.
LARINA: "No, you don’t understand. She pronounced it right."
STEPHANIE: "Maybe she got it out of Buckland’s book."
LARINA: (quieter) "That’s not in Buckland’s book."
Larina is studying Winnie now, and things keep catching her attention. Perhaps it is a sighting, or something Winnie put on air that had a ring to it in Jackson. Or other cases, say from Carbon Vale, Larina’s home before 1985.
In that moment, Larina stops to consider if Winnie the Witch is any kind of charade. She begins to wonder what it is Winnie knows. She has been to Jackson once and, unlike most who go there, she knew when to make her exit.
That is the way I see it. Not some superhero or sage of the occult, nor a comic relief. Winnie is a witch of twenty years' standing who has seen enough supernatural oddities to know the first rule of the trade: get in the station wagon and head home. Before Charlie sees you have taken the good car.
Over in Alton...
"This is Winnie the Witch on Channel 47 in Alton, Illinois..."
She lets out a sigh. "Home of the Piasa Bird."
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!
Winnie shuts her eyes.
"I hate this job."
She absolutely does not.
Using Winnie in Your Game
Winnie can be used as background or as comic relief, and that is perfectly fine. She can be on in the background just doing her show, complaining about Charlie.
"Charlie said he fixed the antenna. Charlie also said he could install a ceiling fan. We spent Thanksgiving in the emergency room."
But I intend to use her for more than that. She can be the source of some very subtle clues. Being a witch, she has her way of knowing things. For one, she is aware there are other witches with eyes on her.
I am not talking about her halting the film to look down the lens and lay out the adventure for the player characters. The clues need to come across as part of the act. A warning couched in a joke, perhaps, or a piece of folklore in the intro, or an odd shift in tone when she brings up a certain town or local legend. There might be a warding gesture while the camera is still rolling.
It is the difference between what the casual viewer and a witch will take from it.
"Tonight’s creature has a talent for mimicking the ones you hold dear. So boys and girls, if your late grandmother should ring you from the cornfield, do let her leave a message."
The room will laugh. Larina will make a note of it.
Then there is the matter of Jackson. In my games, Winnie knows it. Not in the sense of "oh, that town 70 miles up 67?" but rather, "You are living on Mauvaisterre land? Why in the hell would you put yourself in that town?"
One thing I would like to avoid, though, is having her show up in Jackson. Not because I don’t want her there; I think she would be a lot of fun, but I want to avoid a couple of things. First, I want to avoid the whole "Special Guest Star" syndrome. Sure, it can be fun under the right circumstances, but not too much. Secondly, and this is more specific to this situation is I want to avoid making her into a "Peter Vincent" from Fright Night.
I mean. Obviously, Elvira is a huge influence on…well…a lot of things, but it is Peter Vincent who is on my mind a lot for this one. Sorry, Winnie, don’t mean to compare you to Roddy McDowall.
Winnie will provide the clues, sometimes looking straight at the camera and saying things like "No. The other road." No one knows what she is talking about, but the PCs might.
Used this way, Winnie becomes a kind of supernatural numbers station. The messages are there. The players simply have to realize these are messages AND, more importantly, the messages are meant for them.
Winnie also has a feature on her show, "Winnie's Witch Mail," where a letter is "delivered" to her by a rubber bat on strings she calls "Vlad." She reads viewer mail. No one is sure if the letters are real or not, but if the Characters write her a letter, she will answer it on air in a couple of weeks.
Stephanie, Larina, and Faye watch it in complete shock.
FAYE: What the fuck?
LARINA (sipping her Diet Pepsi): See. Told ya.
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