G is for Goblin

Whether you think of any type of magical creature when you hear “goblin” or it makes you think of mischievous, grotesque creatures, goblins have been around for a very long time.

Folklore

British Goblins Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions by Wirt Sikes, [1880]

The same confusion in outlines which exists regarding our own Bogie and Hobgoblin gives the Bwbach a double character, as a household fairy and as a terrifying phantom. In both aspects it is ludicrous, but in the latter it has dangerous practices. To get into its clutches under certain circumstances is no trifling matter, for it has the power of whisking people off through the air. Its services are brought into requisition for this purpose by troubled ghosts who cannot sleep on account of hidden treasure they want removed; and if they can succeed in getting a mortal to help them in removing the treasure, they employ the Bwbach to transport the mortal through the air.

This ludicrous fairy is in France represented by the gobelin. Mothers threaten children with him. ‘Le gobelin vous mangera, le gobelin vous emportera.’ [Père l’Abbé, ‘Etymologie,’ 262] In the English ‘hobgoblin’ we have a word apparently derived from the Welsh hob, to hop, and coblyn, a goblin, which presents a hopping goblin to the mind, and suggests the Pwca (with which the Bwbach is also confused in the popular fancy at times), but should mean in English simply the goblin of the hob, or household fairy. In its bugbear aspect, the Bwbach, like the English bogie, is believed to be identical with the Slavonic ‘bog,’ and the ‘baga’ of the Cuneiform Inscriptions, both of which are names for the Supreme Being, according to Professor Fiske. ‘The ancestral form of these epithets’ is found in ‘the old Aryan “Bhaga,” which reappears unchanged in the Sanskrit of the Vedas, and has left a memento of itself in the surname of the Phrygian Zeus ” Bagaios.” It seems originally to have denoted either the unclouded sun, or the sky of noonday illuminated by the solar rays.

. . Thus the same name which to the Vedic poet, to the Persian of the time of Xerxes, and to the modern Russian, suggests the supreme majesty of deity, is in English associated with an ugly and ludicrous fiend, closely akin to that grotesque Northern Devil of whom Southey was unable to think without laughing.’ [Fiske, Myths and Myth-makers’ 105].

The Element Encyclopedia of Fairies by Lucy Cooper

The grim and devilish aspect of goblins is thoroughly explored with accounts of fearful appearances such as a death portent… in one account, whirling Welsh goblins who spin around on hands and feet caused one narrator terror as he witnessed the “the dreadful apparition… and felt his hair to move on his head…”. In general, goblins are synonymous with malevolent and dangerous spirits, although the addition of the prefix hob, as in hobgoblin, implies a hearth-and-home, helpful entity, not without mischief but lacking the spiteful malice of a goblin.

*More can be read in the book.

Encyclopedia of Fairies in World Folklore and Mythology by Theresa Bane

In British and German lore, as a species they are described as being malicious, small, swarthy thieves; they have the ability to shape-shift and when doing so will typically take the form of whatever an animal best reflects its beastlike nature. Standing about a foot in height (30 cm), with bodies covered in a thick coat of black or grey fur, the goblin’s actions can range from the mild prank to outright murderous. There were three nights a year when goblins were most active, and those evenings were called teir-nos yspry-dion.

*More can be read in the book.

The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore by Patricia Monaghan

Goblin (hobgoblin)

British folkloric figure. A general name for evil fairies, “goblin” indicates a being who is at best mischievous and irritating, at worst dangerous. Goblins came in various guises… English poet Christina Rossetti used aspects of traditional fairy lore in her long poem “Goblin Market”, linking the image of leering, evil goblins with the motif of fairy kidnapping to create a frightening vision of emotional distress.

*More can be read in the book.

The Forest in Folklore and Mythology by Alexander Porteous

Numerous Demons are believed to dwell in the German forests where they often have their abode in trees. A certain demon or goblin of the trees is called Baumesel, or Ass of the Trees.

The Dyaks of Borneo believe the forests to be full of Goblins who are ever at enmity with them, and who assume various weird shapes at will.

*More can be read in the book.

The Element Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells by Judika Illes

Kludde Safety Spell

Kludde is a Belgian woodland goblin notorious for his shape-shifting skills. Kludde transforms into any creature at will, from the fiercest to the cutest, in order to lure unsuspecting humans to certain doom. Is he an evil spirit or a forest guardian who’s earned a bad reputation? Either way, the condition oil named in his honor is used homeopathically to protect against attack by any living creature—animal or human.

Add essential oils of citronella, fir, and pine to a base of jojoba oil. Soak cotton balls in the oil and tuck them in your pockets when journeying through literal or metaphoric woodlands.

*More can be read in the book.

The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures by John and Caitlín Matthews

Goblin

The name “goblin” may derive from the Greek kobaloi, meaning simply “evil spirit”, developing through the Latin form cobalus into the Frensh gobelin and, finally, the English goblin. It is now used as a general name for evil and malicious spirits, usually small and grotesque… Some sources suggest that goblins originally emerged from a rock in the Spanish Pyrenees, from where they spread across Europe… In European folklore, goblins are generally described as about knee-high, with grey hair and beards… JRR Tolkien made good use of goblins in The Hobbit as adversaries for his heroes; though in time they developed into the more fearsome and terrible Orcs.

*More can be read in the book.

The Encyclopedia of Witches, Witchcraft and Wicca by Rosemary Ellen Guiley

goblins In French folklore, wandering sprites who attach themselves to households and both help and plague the residents. Goblins live in grottoes but are attracted to homes that have beautiful children and lots of wine. When they move in, they help by doing household chores at night and by disciplining children—giving them presents when they are good and punishing them when they are naughty. Goblins have an unpredictable, mischievous nature, and instead of doing chores at night will sometimes keep everyone awake by banging pots and pans, moving furniture, knocking on walls and doors and snatching bedclothes off sleeping persons. Goblins who become tiresome can be persuaded to leave by scattering flaxseed on the floor. The sprites get tired of cleaning it up every night.

Goblins are the equivalent of brownies in England and Scotland, kobalds in Germany, domoviks in Russia and other sprites in other countries. They have become associated with Halloween and are said to roam the night when the veil is thinnest between the world of the living and the world of the dead.

*More can be read in the book.

Further Reading:

• Goblin
• Goblin
• Goblin
• Goblin
• Goblin
• Goblins (folklore)
• British Goblins
• Goblin
• Don’t Cross the Kobolds: Mischievous Spirits of European Folklore
• Dokkaebi: The Goblins of Korean Myth
• goblin
• Goblin

Folklore in a Nutshell by Ronel

There are different types of goblins in folklore and then there’s the way they’ve been twisted to suit the needs of authors until the first thing you think of when you hear “goblin” is what Tolkien created. They’ve been around for a very long time and have made their presence known.

Benign goblins exist: they are known as hobgoblins. Closely related to brownies, these goblins help out around the house and rarely pull pranks.

Another set of nearly-benign goblins are Knockers. They live in mines and will on occasion knock on walls to warn of cave-ins. But if the miners have disrespected them, they will knock hard on the walls to cause cave-ins.

The Hogboon of Orkney can bring luck to the farm closest to the mound it lives in, as long as the farmers share the bounty of the land, or it can bring ill luck – including making the farm barren – if the humans are disrespectful.

Trows, also from Orkney, are the closest to what we think of when we hear the term “goblin”: they are old, deformed, short with a stunted look, and overall ugly in appearance. They only leave their gold-covered mounds at night to play tricks on humans.

The Kobolds from Germanic mythology can live on ships, in mines and even human homes. They change their appearance to suit their environment. When living in homes and on ships, they help with chores and play mischievous tricks in equal measure. In mines, though, they are blamed for the troublesome and poisonous nature of the ore the metal cobalt resides in.

The Irish Pouka is considered a type of goblin for its mischievous nature. Phoukas like to take careless travellers on wild rides through the countryside ending in being thrown into mud pools and ditches.

Whether you believe them to be helpful and mischievous, or malicious and greedy, the magical goblin can come in any form from any place in the world.

Goblins in Modern Culture

TV/Movies

Just look at that cute cover — obviously goblins!

The title says it all!

Maleficent’s goons in “Sleeping Beauty” are obviously some type of goblin.

Merlin!

Of course there’s a goblin in BBC’s “Merlin”.

“Goblins are the most mischievous of creatures.Mischievous and dangerous. Goblins will stop at nothing to get their hands on the one thing they value above all others, gold.”— Gaius on Goblins^[src]

A Goblin is a mischievous, humanoid creature with green skin, black tattoos, and an insatiable lust for gold.

Learn more about Goblins in Merlin here.

Books

In this series the goblins are the bad guys — they want to destroy other faeries and even attempt to eat a griffin!

This one is on my TBR!

Always a good and creepy read.

And there are loads of books featuring goblins on Goodreads.

Goblins in My Writing

Origin of the Fae: Goblins

Shorter than Dwarfs but taller than Galno, Goblins resemble deformed humans with animal feet (some have the feet of goats, ducks, lizards, et cetera). They are different hues of brown and wear the clothes of their fallen enemies or prey.
they carry iron weapons (mace, axe, et cetera) and lock-picks (they like to steal).
They are said to have no homes, being wanderers, dwelling temporarily in mossy cracks in rocks and tree roots. Usually in the human realm, goblins can be found in sewers or abandoned houses and forts. 
They have chaotic behaviour and will only behave orderly if ordered so by a more powerful creature. usually a witch, for they adore the company of the human magic-users who want to rule the world.

Goblins translated to Afrikaans: Kaboutermannetjies

See them in action:

Stories on Scrolls

Ly Ergs and Goblins giggled and danced on the beach as they watched their handiwork. With a sniff in their direction the ocean swallowed them up and kept them suspended above the flames. Their screams joined that of the animals and Fae that were still trapped.

The inferno moved steadily up the mountain, leaving nothing in its wake.

Forest Inferno, Stories on Scrolls, Ronel Janse van Vuuren

Where did you hear about goblins for the first time? What do you think of them? Any folklore about goblins you’d like to share? Check out my Pinterest board dedicated to the subject.

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