You sink into the slime, who dare To knock upon their door, While down the grinning gargoyles stare And noisome waters pour.

Beside the rotting river-strand The drooping willows weep, And gloomily the gorcrows stand Croaking in their sleep.

Over the Merlock Mountains a long and weary way, In a mouldy valley where the trees are grey, By a dark pool's borders without wind or tide, Moonless and sunless, the Mewlips hide.

The cellars where the Mewlips sit Are deep and dank and cold With single sickly candle lit; And there they count their gold.

Their walls are wet, their ceilings drip; Their feet upon the floor Go softly with a squish-flap-flip, As they sidle to the door.

They peep out slyly; through a crack Their feeling fingers creep, And when they've finished, in a sack Your bones they take to keep.

Beyond the Merlock Mountains, a long and lonely road, Through the spider-shadows and the marsh of Tode, And through the wood of hanging trees and gallows-weed, You go to find the Mewlips - and the Mewlips feed.

The Gorecrow is an individual who is drawn to murder and violence, for the most part recent but occasionally older unsolved or even unknown crimes. Where the Gorecrow goes, there attends a far higher murder rate than statistically plausible. Yet the Gorecrow is not evil; the reverse. Some Gorecrows have a gentle affect, other Gorecrows may be cranky, grumpy, cynical, verbally cutting, or even downright anti-social, yet what unites Gorecrows is their strong sense of justice and keen mind. The Gorecrow's purpose is to avenge the victim, find the murderer through various ingenious means, and let them meet justice. That justice will normally be accomplished under the law of the land. Sometimes, in circumstances where the murderer's situation is more sympathetic, the Gorecrow might allow them to commit suicide in preference to judicial punishment. A Gorecrow won't let a murderer get away with their actions, but a true Gorecrow has a strong purpose of mercy as well as justice, making them a powerful advocate for victims. Many Gorecrows will also support or even matchmake a blossoming romance that occurs after a crime scene.

A typical Gorecrow will encounter murders while completing all sorts of mundane activities, such as holidaying, visiting friends, attending parties, or simply the weekly library visit. Does the Gorecrow, therefore, consciously or inadvertently cause these multiple murders? Because of the Gorecrow's sterling moral character, it is now thought that this is not the case. It is hypothesised to be the reverse. A likely murderer is unconsciously drawn toward the Gorecrow. By the laws of free will, the murderer's abhorrent action cannot be stopped, but destiny contrives to place them where it is probable their crime will be found and punished.

Some Gorecrows, particularly in the modern era, seek jobs in law enforcement. This is thought to be a positive development since it is more statistically probable for the same Gorecrow detective to be assigned to multiple murder cases, compared to a Gorecrow in an ordinary profession who inexplicably has multiple murders happen around their local community. The increased percentage of Gorecrows in the law enforcement field has provided necessary evidence for research to determine that where the murder rate rises in the jurisdiction of a Gorecrow, this has no noticeable impact on the general statistics for the country or region. This supports the hypothesis that destiny draws murderers toward the Gorecrow, above the hypothesis that somehow the Gorecrow manipulates murderers into taking that last desperate step.

Gorecrows are stereotyped to have a solitary disposition, though like other stereotypes this should not be uncritically accepted. The seed of truth in the stereotype is that Gorecrows are extremely territorial with other Gorecrows. Any encounter between two Gorecrows is likely to be short lasting in nature. While Gorecrows share a moral alignment toward justice and will ultimately collaborate with each other in pursuit of this goal, they are likely to engage in egotistical competition to verify which of them has the keener mind. It is hypothesised that destiny abhors multiple Gorecrows in the same area, and thus their innate revulsion to each other helps them spread out to ensure their special abilities serve as wide a range of people as possible. When one Gorecrow enters the territory of another Gorecrow, then one of the two is bound to exit fairly quickly, mostly peacefully but sometimes with a violent end. In the latter case the surviving Gorecrow will see that the murderer meets justice. There are rare exceptions where a pair of Gorecrows pursue a long term collaboration, such as in the capacity of a romantically bonded couple.

When interacting with non-Gorecrows, then Gorecrows can become true and highly valued friends. The introverted tendencies of most Gorecrows match well with a more extroverted companion. Typically, a Gorecrow will have a small number of close friends rather than a large number of casual friends. A Gorecrow's close friend who provides assistance to their missions of justice may be called an apprentice-Gorecrow, though this term is a misnomer since it is unlikely for the 'apprentice' to actually become a Gorecrow themselves. Such a matter is destined, not learnt.

Many normal humans will be reluctant to interact with a Gorecrow, given their reputation for being surrounded by murder. It is, however, rewarding to do so. A Gorecrow is generally a fascinating person with a strong moral compass whose achievements benefit the community. Social ostracism is overly cruel to them.