The Childcatcher is the most loyal servant to the Baron and Baroness Bomburst of Vulgaria. Since the Baroness cannot abide the existence of children, she employs him to kidnap and imprison the country's children. He wears a black suit with a top hat, and has moderately long greasy black hair. In general appearance, he is quite pale, thin, and has a spider-like quality and grace in the way he moves. His most recognizable feature is his elongated nose, with which he is able to smell children and find where they are hiding. When searching for the children, he carries a large net and a hook to catch them. The witches in screenwriter Roald Dahl's novel, The Witches, are also able to smell out children to murder them.
He drives a horse-drawn dark buggy equipped with a cage, but he sometimes disguises the buggy as a candy-and-ice cream wagon in order to lure, and so ensnare, children. He also disguises himself as an innocent candy-salesman with colorful clothing and carries lollies and other sweets with which to tempt the children out of their hiding places. When Jeremy and Jemima Potts are hiding in the Toymaker's cellar, the Childcatcher dances through the streets harking about "free" chocolate, cherry pies, treacle tarts, ice cream and other goodies. Jeremy is entranced and runs out into the street, despite Truly warning the twins not to leave until she had returned (she was out shopping for food). Jemima followed against her better judgement, and both of the children followed the Childcatcher. The villagers shouted and called for them to come back, but the Childcatcher lured the children into his cage and took them to the castle of the Baron and Baroness. The twins were locked in the tower and awaited their deaths.
At the end of the film where the natives of Vulgaria and the Vulgarian children ambushed the Baron's birthday party, the Childcatcher was called to detain them. However, his plan failed when he realised that the children were no longer afraid of him and they trapped him in a net which they then suspended from the ceiling-like a spider.
And Godspell looks interesting.
Note his what looks like skull and bones covered tie (and some red flower-looking motif).
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