Goblin

{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}} {{Short description|Mythical creature}} {{Other uses}} {{Distinguish|Gobelin}} {{Infobox mythical creature |name = Goblin |image = Goblin_illustration_from_19th_century.png |caption = Goblin illustration by John D. Batten from "English Fairy Tales" (19th century) |Grouping = Diminutive spirit |Similar_entities=Fairies, demons, brownies, dwarfs, elves, gnomes, imps, and kobolds. }} A '''goblin''' is a diminutive, grotesque, and often malevolent humanoid creature prominent in European folklore, typically characterized by its mischievous or demonic nature, small stature (around 30 cm in some traditions), furry or leathery appearance, and ability to shapeshift. Goblins are believed to dwell in subterranean areas or households, where they engage in acts ranging from pranks to murder.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Edwards |first=Gillian |title=Hobgoblin and Sweet Puck: Fairy names and natures |publisher=Geoffrey Bles |year=1974 |isbn=9780713807103 |location=London |language=English}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Shaijan |first=Annliya |date=March 27, 2019 |title=Goblin Mythology: A Brief Study of the Archetype, Tracing the Explications in English Literature |url=https://globaljournals.org/GJHSS_Volume19/2-Goblin-Mythology-A-Brief-Study.pdf |journal=Global Journal of Human-Social Science Research |language=en |volume=19 |issue=4 |issn=2249-460X |access-date=May 19, 2022 |archive-date=October 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211006095052/https://globaljournals.org/GJHSS_Volume19/2-Goblin-Mythology-A-Brief-Study.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> Their etymology derives from Old French ''gobelin'' (late 12th century), possibly linked to Medieval Latin ''gobelinus'' or Greek ''kobalos'' (meaning rogue or sprite), though some scholars trace it to earlier domestic protector spirits like the Germanic ''kobold'', which were later demonized under Christian influence.<ref name="Sayers">{{cite web |url=http://centre-for-english-traditional-heritage.org/TraditionToday10/3_Sayers_Goblin.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220117201206/http://centre-for-english-traditional-heritage.org/TraditionToday10/3_Sayers_Goblin.pdf |title=The Dispossessed House-Spirit: The Etymology of ''goblin'' and Some Thoughts on its Early History |last=Sayers |first=William |publisher=Centre for English Traditional Heritage |year=2022 |archive-date=January 17, 2022 |access-date=December 10, 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/goblin |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150711210617/https://www.britannica.com/art/goblin |title=Goblin |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |archive-date=July 11, 2015 |access-date=December 10, 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Similar creatures include brownies, dwarves, duendes, gnomes, imps, leprechauns, and kobolds, but it is also commonly used as a blanket term for all small, fay creatures.<ref name=":1" /> The term is sometimes expanded to include goblin-like creatures of other cultures, such as the pukwudgie, dokkaebi, or ifrit.<ref name=":1" />

==Etymology== The term "goblin" entered English in the early 14th century, derived from the Anglo-Norman French ''gobelin'' or Old French ''gobelin'',{{sfn|Hoad|1993|p=196}} which was first attested in 1195 in the chronicle ''L'Estoire de la guerre sainte'' by the Norman monk Ambroise, where it described a treacherous figure. This French form traces back to Medieval Latin ''gobelinus'', appearing around 1140 in Orderic Vitalis's ''Historia ecclesiastica'', referring to a demon expelled from a church in Évreux.<ref name="Sayers"/><ref name="Etymonline">{{cite web |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/goblin |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181018122320/https://www.etymonline.com/word/goblin |title=Goblin |last=Harper |first=Douglas |author-link=Douglas Harper |website=Etymonline |archive-date=October 18, 2018 |access-date=December 20, 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="cnrtl.fr">[http://www.cnrtl.fr/etymologie/gobelin CNRTL etymology of ''gobelin'' (online French)]</ref><ref>Du Cange et al, ''Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis'' ...(online French and Latin) [http://ducange.enc.sorbonne.fr/Gobelinus]</ref> Scholars propose possible etymological connections to earlier languages, including Ancient Greek ''kóbalos'', meaning "rogue" or "mischievous sprite", which may have influenced post-classical Latin forms like ''cobalus'' denoting a demon.<ref name="Sayers"/><ref name="cnrtl.fr" /> Additionally, links have been suggested to Germanic ''kobold'', a household spirit, potentially from Old High German elements meaning "room protector", though the precise relationship remains uncertain.<ref name="Sayers"/><ref>Duden, ''Herkunftswörterbuch : Etymologie der deutschen Sprache'', Band 7, Dudenverlag, p. 359 : '''Kobel, koben, Kobold'''.</ref>{{sfn|Hoad|1993|p=101}} Alternatively, it may be a diminutive or other derivative of the French proper name ''Gobel'', more often ''Gobeau''.{{sfn|Hoad|1993|p=196}}<ref name="Etymonline"/>

Historical spellings of the term include ''gobelin'' (Old and Middle French), ''gobelinus'' (Medieval Latin), ''gobellin'' (Middle French, by 1506), and Middle English variants such as ''gobelyn'' around 1330.<ref name="Sayers"/> The adoption of "goblin" in early English literature was shaped by Norman folklore, where the term evoked domestic sprites or imps, as seen in Picard French ''goguelin'' for spirits haunting remote rooms, influencing its integration into medieval English texts like Wycliffe's Bible (late 14th century).<ref name="Sayers"/><ref name="Etymonline"/>

The Welsh ''coblyn'', a type of knocker, derives from the Old French ''gobelin'' via the English ''goblin''.<ref>Franklin, Anna (2002). "Goblin", ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Fairies''. London: Paper Tiger. {{ISBN|1-84340-240-8}}. p. 108</ref>

== In folklore == [[File:The princess and the goblin (1920) (14566641580).jpg|thumb|''The Princess and the Goblin'' by George MacDonald, illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith, 1920|alt=An illustration of a group of goblins surrounding a small child.]] ===European folklore=== In English and Scottish folklore, goblins often appear as brownies, benevolent household spirits that perform domestic chores such as threshing grain, churning butter, or tending livestock during the night, provided they receive a small offering like porridge or milk left by the hearth. These creatures, typically depicted as small, shaggy-haired males dressed in ragged clothing, embody a symbiotic relationship with human households but are quick to abandon or turn mischievous if offered gifts of clothing or if their labor is criticized. In contrast, boggarts from Yorkshire traditions represent a more malevolent variant, functioning as vengeful familial spirits that attach to specific houses or farms, shapeshifting into animals or objects to perpetrate pranks, illness, or calamity upon those who slight them, often requiring rituals like relocation to appease their wrath.

Welsh folklore features the púca as a solitary trickster goblin, akin to a puckish sprite that misleads nighttime wanderers along paths or into bogs, sometimes assuming animal forms like a goat or horse to amplify the deception, though it may also assist those who show respect by leaving offerings. In Irish mythology, the clurichaun appears as a goblin-like fairy with an affinity for alcohol, haunting cellars and breweries where it pilfers liquor, rides barrels like horses, and unleashes drunken fury on distillers who disturb its revels.

French and Norman traditions portray lutins as impish goblins that frolic in stables, knotting horses' manes into fairy-locks for sport or covertly aiding with nighttime labors, their dual temperament shifting from playful to petty depending on human hospitality. The region of Évreux in northern France holds particular significance as a historical hub of goblin lore, where the 12th-century Orderic Vitalis describes the demon Gobelinus, a prototype for later goblin figures, haunting pagan sites and temples, expelled only through saintly intervention.

Prominent narratives in European goblin traditions include tales of fairy markets from folklore, where spectral merchants peddle illusory fruits and wares to ensnare the unwary, symbolizing temptation and otherworldly commerce in rural traditions, later popularized in literature such as Christina Rossetti's ''Goblin Market'' (1862). Redcap legends from Anglo-Scottish border lore depict these ferocious goblins as squat, iron-shod murderers dwelling in forsaken border towers, who slay wayfarers with their pikestaffs and soak their knitted caps in the spilled blood to maintain their vivid hue, fleeing only from consecrated objects or swift escapees.

===Non-European equivalents=== Korean folklore features the dokkaebi, horned tricksters animated from discarded household tools like brooms or rice bowls through spiritual possession, wielding magical clubs (''bangmangi'') to enforce games or punishments on humans. Unlike purely malevolent entities, dokkaebi often reward clever individuals with treasures after riddles or wrestling matches.<ref name=":1" />

Among African cultures, the Zulu tokoloshe embodies an evil sprite summoned by sangomas to inflict misfortune, illness, or nocturnal terror, particularly on children whom it scratches or devours. This hairy, diminutive water spirit, capable of invisibility and shape-shifting, is warded off by elevating beds on bricks to exploit its short stature.

In Egyptian and broader Middle Eastern lore, certain jinn exhibit goblin-like prankster qualities, such as misplacing items, mimicking voices to deceive travelers, or creating illusory disturbances in homes. These shape-shifting spirits are invisible to humans unless they choose otherwise.<ref>Promey, Sally M. (2014) ''Sensational Religion: Sensory Cultures in Material Practice''. Yale University Press. {{ISBN|9780300187359}} pp. 99–100</ref>

Indigenous American traditions include the Wampanoag pukwudgie, porcupine-quilled tricksters who wield poison arrows to mislead or injure humans in forested areas, originally benevolent guides turned vengeful after perceived slights by the Creator. These knee-high, gray-skinned beings use illusions to lure victims off paths.

== In fiction == === Fairy tales and folk stories === * Christina Rossetti's narrative poem ''Goblin Market'' * ''The Princess and the Goblin'' by George MacDonald * "The Goblin Pony", from ''The Grey Fairy Book'' (French fairy tale) * "The Benevolent Goblin", from ''Gesta Romanorum'' (England)<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/halloween/kids-short-stories/the-benevolent-goblin.html |title=Apples4theTeacher - short stories |access-date=2007-06-15 |archive-date=2017-08-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827034647/http://www.apples4theteacher.com/holidays/halloween/kids-short-stories/the-benevolent-goblin.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> * "The Goblins at the Bath House" (Estonia), from ''A Book of Ghosts and Goblins'' (1969) * "The Goblins Turned to Stone" (Dutch fairy tale)<ref>[https://www.gutenberg.org/files/7871/7871-h/7871-h.htm ''Dutch Fairy Tales for Young Folks''], 1918, compiled by William Elliot Griffis</ref> * King Gobb (Moldovan Romani folktale){{Citation needed|date=January 2022|reason=Cannot find strong source for this information. Most internet uses of the phrase appear to derive directly from this page.}} * Goblins are featured in the Danish fairy tales ''The Elf Mound'', ''The Goblin and the Grocer'', and ''The Goblin and the Woman''. * Goblins are featured in the Norwegian folktale ''The Christmas Visitors at Kvame''. * Goblins are featured in the Swedish fairy tales ''The Four Big Trolls and Little Peter Pastureman'' and ''Dag and Daga and the Flying Troll of Sky Mountain'' where they live among trolls alongside sprites and gnomes. * Goblins are featured in the French fairy tale called ''The Golden Branch''. * ''Chinese Ghouls and Goblins'' (England, 1928) * "The Goblin of Adachigahara" (Japanese fairy tale)<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.rickwalton.com/folktale/japan11.htm |title=Rick Walton - folktale |access-date=2007-06-15 |archive-date=2007-08-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070825094218/http://www.rickwalton.com/folktale/japan11.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> * ''The Boy Who Drew Cats'' (Japanese fairy tale) * ''Twenty-Two Goblins'' (Indian fairy tale)<ref>Ryder, Arthur W. (1917) [http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/ttg/index.htm Twenty-two Goblins]. Sacred texts</ref> * The Korean nursery song "Mountain Goblin (산도깨비)" tells of meeting a dokkaebi and running away to live.

=== Modern fiction === In J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Hobbit'' the evil creatures living in the Misty Mountains are referred to as goblins. In ''The Lord of the Rings'', the same creatures are primarily referred to as orcs where the goblin name was used for the lesser orcs.

[[File:DnD Goblin.png|thumb|Representation of a goblin as it appears in the fantasy role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons''|alt=An illustration of a goblin wearing armour made of leather and skulls, wielding a cutlass.]] Goblinoids are a category of humanoid legendary creatures related to the goblin. The term was popularized in the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' fantasy role-playing game,<ref name="AshgateMonsters">{{cite book|title=The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters|last=Weinstock|first=Jeffrey|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|year=2014|isbn=9781409425625}}</ref> in which goblins and related creatures are a staple of random encounters. Goblinoids are typically barbaric foes of the various human and "demi-human" races. Even though goblinoids in modern fantasy fiction are derived from J. R. R. Tolkien's orcs, the main types of goblinoids in ''Dungeons & Dragons'' are goblins, bugbears and hobgoblins; these creatures are also figures of mythology, next to ordinary goblins.

In the ''Harry Potter'' book series and the shared universe in which its film adaptations are set, goblins are depicted as strange, but civilised, humanoids who often serve as bankers or craftsmen.

In Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series, goblins are initially a despised and shunned subterranean race; however, in later books, goblins are eventually integrated with the other races, and their mechanical and engineering talents come to be valued.

The Green Goblin is a well-known supervillain, one of the archenemies of Spider-Man, who has various abilities including enhanced stamina, durability, agility, reflexes and superhuman strength due to ingesting a substance known as the "Goblin Formula". He has appeared in various Spider-Man related media, such as comics, television series, video games, and films, including ''Spider-Man'' (2002) and ''Spider-Man: No Way Home'' (2021) as Norman Osborn, and ''Spider-Man 3'' (2007) and ''The Amazing Spider-Man 2'' (2014) as Harry Osborn. There have been other goblin-related characters like Hobgoblin, Grey Goblin, and Menace.

In the video game series ''Elder Scrolls'', goblins are a hostile beast race said to originate from Summerset Isle, can range in size from being smaller than a Wood Elf to being larger than a Nord and love living in dank places such as caves and sewers.

In early English translations, ''The Smurfs'' were called goblins.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.biblio.com/9780854081530|title=9780854081530 - Dilly Duckling and the Goblins by Peyo; Matagne|website=www.biblio.com|access-date=2019-12-22}}</ref>

==Goblin-related place names== * 'The Gap of Goeblin', a hole and tunnel in Mortain, France.<ref>Tichy, Jaroslav (1990) ''Ghosts, Goblins, and Haunted Castles'', Aventinum Publishers. p. 51</ref> * [https://www.streetcheck.co.uk/postcode/sk136jw Hobroyd] (which means 'goblin clearing'), High Peak, Derbyshire, UK.<ref>[http://epns.nottingham.ac.uk/browse/id/53284ccbb47fc4095c000a05-Hobroyd Hobroyd, Survey of English Place-Names] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221204212852/http://epns.nottingham.ac.uk/browse/id/53284ccbb47fc4095c000a05-Hobroyd |date=2022-12-04 }}. University of Nottingham</ref> * Goblin Combe, in north Somerset, UK * Goblin Valley State Park, Utah, US * Yester Castle (also known as "Goblin Hall") East Lothian, Scotland * Goblin Bay, Beausoleil Island, Ontario, Canada * Cowcaddens and Cowlairs, Glasgow, Scotland. 'Cow' is an old Scots word for Goblin, while 'cad' means 'nasty'. 'Dens' and 'lairs' refers to goblin homes.<ref>Foreman, Carol (2007) ''Glasgow Street Names''. Birlinn. p. 58. {{ISBN|1841585882}}</ref> * 541132 Leleākūhonua (then known as {{mp|2015 TG|387}}) is an object in the outer solar system nicknamed "The Goblin"

==See also== * Bugbear * Dwarf (folklore) * Fairy * Gnome * Goblin (Dungeons and Dragons) * Goblin mode * Kobold * Kumbhanda * Lutin * Orc * Púca * Troll

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography== {{Wikiquote}} {{Wikisource}} {{Commons category|Goblins}} * {{Cite book |last=Briggs |first=K. M. |title=The Anatomy of Puck |location=London |publisher=Routledge |year=2003}} * {{Cite book |last=Briggs |first=K. M. |title=The Fairies in English Literature and Tradition |location=Chicago |publisher=Chicago University Press |year=1967}} * {{Cite book |last=Briggs |first=K. M. |title=The Vanishing People |url=https://archive.org/details/vanishingpeople00brig |url-access=registration |location=London |publisher=B.T. Batsford |year=1978 |isbn=9780394502489}} * {{Cite book |last=Carryl |first=Charles E. |author-link=Charles E. Carryl |year=1884 |title=Davy And The Goblin |location=Boston |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |url=http://www.childrensbooksonline.org/Davy_and_the_Goblin/}} * {{Cite book |last=Dubois |first=Pierre |author-link=Pierre Dubois (author) |year=2005 |title=The Complete Encyclopedia of Elves, Goblins, and Other Little Creatures |location=New York |publisher=Abbeville Press |isbn=0-789-20878-4}} * {{Cite book |last=Froud |first=Brian |author-link=Brian Froud |title=The Goblin Companion |url=https://archive.org/details/goblincompanion00frou |url-access=registration |location=Atlanta |publisher=Turner |year=1996 |isbn= 9781570362842}} * {{Cite book |last=Froud |first=Brian |author-link=Brian Froud |title=Goblins! |location=New York |publisher=Macmillan |year=1983}} * {{Cite book |last=Hoad |first=T. F. |title=English Etymology |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1993 |isbn=0192830988}} * {{Cite book |author=Page, Michael and Robert Ingpen |title= British Goblins: Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were |location=New York |publisher=Viking |year=1987}} * {{Cite book |author=Purkiss, Diane |title=At the Bottom of the Garden |location=New York |publisher=New York University Press |year=2001}} * {{Cite book |author=Rose, Carol |title=Spirits, Fairies, Gnomes and Goblins: an Encyclopedia of the Little People |url=https://archive.org/details/spiritsfairiesgn00rose |url-access=registration |location=Santa Barbara, Calif. |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=1996 |isbn=9780874368116}} * {{Cite book |last=Sikes |first=Wirt |author-link=Wirt Sikes |title=British Goblins: Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions |location=Wakefield |publisher=EP Pub. |year=1973}} * {{Cite book |last=Silver |first=Carole G. |title=Strange and Secret Peoples |url=https://archive.org/details/strangesecretpeo00silv |url-access=registration |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1999 |isbn= 978-0-19-512199-5}} * {{Cite journal |last=Zanger |first=Jules |title=Goblins, Morlocks, and Weasels |journal=Children's Literature in Education |location=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |volume=8 |date=1997 |pages=154–162 |doi=10.1007/BF01146190 |s2cid=161822697}}

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Category:Goblins Category:European legendary creatures Category:Fairy tale stock characters