This 'monster', also called Boko Bill, is actually said to be a human, with an unusual lust for halfling women. As such, he haunts the taverns frequented by halflings, pretending an interest in pies, real ale and pipe-weed, but in fact hoping to seduce unwary halfling-maids and -wives. In some stories he is a perpetually-frustrated figure of fun; one who is always, as the Telelelenes say, "only two ladies short of a threesome." In others he is a demonic menace, who kills and eats his belles.
He is said to be as different to a halfling as can be. He is straight of hair, heavily bearded and with a luxuriant mustache, with tiny, hairless feet covered in heavy shoes, and tall and thin even for a human.
It is unknown whether Spindly Pete is a myth based on halfling men's fear that the 'Big Folk' outstrip them in masculinity, some kind of demon created by those same fears, or an actual person - and if real, whether he is really murderous, or simply unwanted competition. Indeed halfling women often speak of Spindly Pete with a mixture of fear and fascination; rather like the vampire in our own world.
The Phantom of the Mead-Hall is a similar figure (if not the same person), known among the dwarves - although he is described as beardless.
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