Goblin

For other uses, see Goblin (disambiguation).

A goblin is an evil or merely mischievous creature of folklore, often described as a grotesquely disfigured or elf-like phantom.

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Description

Goblins are grotesque faeries of about dwarf height. Various (sometimes conflicting) abilities and attributes have been given to them.

Goblins can grow to anywhere from 30 cm to 2 m tall.
They have a somewhat bestial appearance: their brow is fully covered with thick hair and their mouth is filled with yellowed, crooked teeth.
They have some traits of old men, which can include shortsightedness, but they are described as wiser than humans.
Goblins are usually portrayed as green in color.
They can appear as animals.
They are sometimes said to be mostly invisible to human eye.
They can weave nightmares out of gossamer and insert them into the ear of a sleeping human.
They steal human women and children and hide them away underground.
Goblin women steal human babies, replacing them with ugly goblin babies (changelings).
Goblin changelings are sometimes known as "oafs" or "crimbils".
They are sometimes described as being an entirely male race.
Female goblins are referred to as "hags" or "crones"
Goblins are of the Unseelie Court, and war with fairies.
A goblin smile curdles blood.
A goblin laugh sours milk and causes fruit to fall from trees.
It is said that they mimic human actions in their sardonic way, twisting human rituals and culture to show the worst aspects.
Goblin pranks include hiding small objects, tipping over pails of milk, and altering signposts.
In some circles, Goblins are considered to be the cousins of gnomes.
Goblins are often associated with fire, or have the ability to create said element
Goblins like to borrow horses and ride them all night. If a horse is tired in the morning, it is said a goblin rode it. If a horse is panicking, the goblin is trying to mount it.
They are said to count the dead among their companions ('ghosts & goblins'). Goblins like to roam and cause mayhem during Halloween, along with a crowd of ghosts, witches, etc. It is the last day they can walk the surface before their caves are snowed in for the winter.
Witches will not tolerate living with goblins.
'Goblin’s Thimbles' is another name for the foxglove plant.
Like other fairies, goblins were more harmless early in history, before the Puritans demonized them.
They sometimes eat humans.
A favorite sport among Goblins is playing deadly pranks on humans, gnomes, elfs, and dwarfs (in RPG games).
An infant goblin is sometimes confused with a Snotling (in Warhammer).
A group of goblins is referred to as a horde.
Much like their "good" counterparts, the Hobbits, Goblins love mushrooms, and utilize them for housing, recreation, and as food.
Goblins despise Hobbits, and consider them a delicacy.
Goblins suffer from discrimination in almost all fantasy settings (in RPGs).
Goblins are often depicted posessing a coarse raspy sounding and slightly high-pitched voice.
When speaking a human tongue, goblins will stereotypically refer to themselves in third person
Goblins are often mistaken for imps among other sprites
Goblins are sometimes believed to be associated with trolls

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Etymology

According to some traditions, goblin comes from Gob or Ghob, the king of the gnomes, whose inferiors were called Ghob-lings. However, according to "The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English" the name is probably derived from the Anglo-French gobelin (medieval Latin gobelinus), which is probably a diminutive of Gobel, a name related to the word kobold. Goblin is also related to the French lutin.

Places

One fabled origin for Goblins is in France, in a cleft of the Pyrenees, from which they spread rapidly throughout Europe. They hitched a ride with Viking ships to get to Britain. They have no homes, being nomadic, dwelling temporarily in mossy cracks in rocks and tree roots. Bryn y Ellyllon 'The Hill of the Goblins' is a place in Somerset. The Gap of Goeblin is a hole and underground tunnel in France.

Sir Walter Scott in his Letters on Demonology and witchcraft ascribed gnomes, kobolds and goblins, along with Scottish bogles to all correspond with a caricature of the Lappish people.

Goblins in art and literature

The Webcomic "Goblins" is famous for portraying goblins as oppressed by presumptuous "heroes" who assume the goblins are vile creatures and kill them for loot and experience.
"The Goblin and the Huckster" by Hans Christian Andersen (1853), "The Benevolent Goblin" by Gesta Romanorum, and The Goblin of Adachigahara (Japanese) are just a few fairy tales depicting goblins. Also see Brothers Grimm.

Christina Rossetti in her poem Goblin Market, used goblins as symbols of earthly desires who tantalize and nearly destroy a girl who falls under their spell.

Poet Craig MacKenzie, known for his works in portraying mythical creatures, described these creatures as being a paean to early explorers tales, documenting what they seen, It is now known that these creatures were probably small apes. In one of his greater works, MacKenzie uses the comparison of a goblin to the liking of one of his townspeople, Michael Nimbley, using 'goblin' as an insulting phrase.

Author George MacDonald, in The Princess and the Goblin, portrayed goblins as malevolent, subterranean creatures.

The book is said to have been a childhood favorite of J. R. R. Tolkien, who populated his Middle-earth with goblins, but later preferred to call them Orcs in order to distance them from fairy tale characters, explaining such a change in name was due to "goblin" being another name for Orcs usually used by Hobbits, and occasionally by other peoples (even his Uruk-hai are called goblins at some points).

Other books that feature goblins are: The Book of Wonder (1912) (The Hoard of the Gibbelins) by Edward Plunkett (18th Baron Dunsany), The Brownies and the Goblins (1915), Outside Over There by Maurice Sendak, Rainbow Goblins, The White Goblin, The Revenge of the Shadow King by Derek Benz and J.S. Lewis

In the Jim Henson film Labyrinth, Goblins figure prominently. Jareth the Goblin King, a powerful sorcerer (portrayed by David Bowie), commands a legion of foul, diminutive, largely incompetent creatures. The goblins initially do the bidding of a young girl (played by Jennifer Connelly), who must ultimately overcome her fear of them and resist seduction by their king.

Goblins also feature in the novel The Black Cauldron, adapted into a film in 1985 by Walt Disney Pictures, and in the 1986 film Legend, starring Tom Cruise. In 2005, a new perspective of goblins was depicted in the novel Dance of the Goblins by Jaq D. Hawkins. A film based on the novel and directed by Si Fantauzzo http://fantauzzo.bravehost.com/ is currently in pre-production at Goblin Films Ltd.

See also Goblins (Harry Potter).

The U.S. fighter plane XF-85, is nicknamed "the Goblin". The Goblin is one of America's earliest jets, first flying in 1948. Only 14 feet (4.3 meters) long, it was intended to have a top speed of 650 mph and flying time of 80 minutes. The concept didn't get too far, though, with only two aircraft built and very few flights made. After only a year and with just a few drops and recoveries from B-29 Superfortresses, the program was cancelled.

The Green Goblin is a villainous character in the Marvel Comics Spider-Man comic book series .

"Orc Magazine" ([Goblins] of...)

In the online fantasy spoof [Orc Magazine] the term "Goblin" refers to one of the six different green-skinned creatures that are collectively called "Orcs". The Goblins who live in the world of "Orc Magazine" all share the following physical characteristics: They have green skin, sharp teeth, narrow shoulders, large pointed noses and long pointy ears. They average about 4ft high. Like Orks, Goblins love violence and war. Unlike Orks, Goblins like guerilla warfare and tend to fight smarter. While Orks will dive directly into close-quarters combat, Goblins will tend to use arrows, catapults and traps. Goblins prefer large scale battles in open area, but fair well in woods and swamp too. Unlike Orks, Goblins have no problem fighting enemies who are much weaker then them. Nor do they mind fighting enemies who they hopelessly out number. Although not as big and strong as Orks, Goblins are smarter and skilled in many other disciplines besides war. Although Orks rule the Orc Empire, it's the Goblins who run it.

The March of the Goblins is a polka song composed by J.J. Tarrant.

In the Spiderwick Chronicles, goblins are toothless, toadlike beings who use random artifacts in the place of fangs.

Goblins in modern games

Two major branches of goblins exist in popular game properties. Alongside with J. R. R. Tolkien's descriptions of Orcs, the older branch is inherently evil and malicious, with varying coloring and generally matted and filthy hair. This type of goblin appears in Dungeons & Dragons. The distinctive green-skinned, hairless, capricious, and generally amoral (rather than absolutely evil) goblins created for Warhammer are direct progenitors of goblins in more modern games, such as those in the Warcraft Universe or .

Goblins in '' In the MMORPG RuneScape, goblins are creatures that are mainly for beginners to the computer game to loot for gold and experience. They are generic goblins and are very primitive. They are very abundant in beginners' areas and even have two cities of their own. There are also much stronger and advanced cave goblins (called "Dorgeshuun") that wear more advanced clothing, have a society similar to the human one and have more varied weaponry than regular goblins.

Goblins in '' See main article Goblin (Dungeons & Dragons).

Goblins in '' Like Dungeons & Dragons, Warhammer's goblins tend to associate with Orcs. Also known by the name Gobbos, Goblins are among the smallest( they are just, bigger than Gnoblars)greenskins and survive through cunning and intelligence rather than brute force. Many different subcultures of goblins exist, with varying degrees of autonomy from their Orcish cousins, including the bizarre night goblins and primitive forest goblins. All varieties of goblins are violent and malicious, but consider warfare to be a pastime or hobby, genuinely not understanding that killing a foe and eating it might not be appreciated by the victim.

Goblins in '' In the Palladium Fantasy Role-Playing Game, goblins are a race of faeries who have lost much of their native magic. Only a few, known as Cobblers, retain any magic. The vast majority of goblins are stupid, cruel, and lazy thieves.

Goblins in '' In the Warcraft Universe, goblins are a green-skinned, diminutive, crafty race, known for their occasionally explosive, but usually effective engineering.

Goblins in '' In the Final Fantasy series of RPGs, goblins are synonymous with imps. In the earlier episodes of the series they traditionally appeared as the weakest enemy in the game. They are depicted as being small and skinny with browinish skin and pointy ears and nearly always wearing a stocking cap, owing more in appearance to the scottish redcap than the traditional Tolkien goblin. They also occasionally appear as a low level summoned creature. In Final Fantasy XI, they appear as one of the more intelligent species of Beastmen, occaisionally living as merchants in cities and interacting with the people there. The more hostile Goblins are also known as some of the most annoying enemies in the game, frequently appearing at high levels in popular leveling zones, much to the chagrin of campers who must constantly avoid them.

Goblins in '' In the MMORPG Everquest 2, goblins are portrayed as largely mischievous, primitive, fairly foolish creatures. Small and green, with large pointy ears and yellow eyes, they tend to look and sound as silly as they act. Gigglegibber Goblins run a series of gambling games throughout Norrath. Upon visiting their hideout during the 'Frostfell' season (Christmas 2005 special quest) it is revealed that in addition to this gambling game they are also attempting to - unsuccessfully - forge gold coins, and yet they have no intention spending any of this money, they simply wish to 'have' it. Most of their schemes are harmless, though often illegal. Not all goblins of Norrath are so benign, however, with some being evil, and even falling under the control of external dark magics.

Goblins in other computer games

Other computer games featuring goblins include Goblin Commandos, Dungeon Keeper 2, Ghost´n Goblins (Arcade) and the Gobliiins! series, in addition to games based on other works featuring goblins.

Goblins in

In the collectible trading card game, , goblins are a very popular creature type. They tend to be red aligned creatures that come in large numbers, love rocks and have little to no sense of self preservation. They are often a source of humour within the game (for example, the flavour text of the spell Shock reads "I love lightning! It’s my best invention since the rock", attributed to the goblin weaponsmith Toggo). Their popularity is such that they have received more attention at the cost of other red flavoured creatures, such as dwarves and orcs.

Goblins in '' In the Yu-Gi-Oh trading card game there are a small number of Monsters identified as goblins which are depicted as green or light grey anthropoids and are classed either as warriors or fiends. Also there are several Spell and Trap cards with goblin in their names which normally have effects linked to card drawing or life point alteration. However it should be noted that as of 2005 there are few of these and they don't fit a particular deck type or theme. The most famous of these monsters, with the word goblin in its name, is Goblin Attack Force and its Toon counterpart.

Goblins in ''
Throughout the franchise, including the 2006 "Oblivion", goblins have been used as an NPC class of monsters. The goblins featured in Oblivion are semisentient, diminutive greenskined barbarians. They range in power from the weak and cowardly "peon" goblins to the mighty goblin warlords.

Goblins in The Grey Griffin Books

In The Revenge of the Shadow King the first book in The Grey Griffin books goblins dark faeries who make up the Shadow Kings Armies. They are split up in to subspecies, the most dangerous being the Slayer Goblin.

Sources:

British Goblins: Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions by Wirt Sikes
Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were by Michael Page & Robert Ingpen
The Complete Encyclopedia of Elves, Goblins, and Other Little Creatures by Pierre Dubois
Goblins! and The Goblin Companion by Brain Froud