Beasties and Ghoulies

Small monsters and spectral entities.

The terms are from an old Scottish prayer, that contained; “things that go bump in the night”, along with; ‘ghoulies’, ‘ghosties’ and long legged ‘beasties’.

There were also; Imps, Nymphs and Gnomes, in folklore from the middle ages.

       Stories of little creatures and monsters come from the mythology of Europe, Asia and North America. Beasties and ghouls, could be small beings, perhaps with physical bodies.

Ghosties; would be considered to be spiritual entities, energy only. They were supernatural incorporeals.

       Small monsters, creatures and entities, could be malevolent, mischievous and tricksters. Certain ones were associated with demons. 

       

       Little monsters and entities would include:

 

       Boggart; is a British tale of something that comes to victims in their bed at night. Somewhat like a mare, or Incubus.

To bogart a joint, means to hog it and not pass it around to your friends, (in the song from the movie; “Easy Rider”).

       Bogie; is a hideous specter that scares boys and girls.

Sense World War II, enemy planes detected on radar, have been referred to as bogies.

       There was also the Boogieman, which comes from the term bogy. It is a monster that stories about are used to frighten children to behave and go to bed.

       Dwarf; from the Norse, were short, less than 2 feet tall, old men with beards and humped backs.

Brown dwarfs; are little aliens from Andromeda, from the book and move; “Communion”, by Whitley Strieber.

 

       Elf; was the size of a person, with pointed ears and light skin. They were supernatural, also from Norse folklore.

      

       Fairy; were supernatural, metaphysical, from European, Celtic, English, French, German, Pegan origins. They looked like small humans, with wings, ethereal entities. They could be evil.

       Goblin; was a small monster, from the British and Irish,

back in the 1300s. They were said to be supernatural, shape-shifters,. They would steel things. They were about 3 feet tall, ugly, with pointed ears, yellow eyes and teeth and dirty.

The Hopkinsville Goblins; were alien beings, reported in Kentucky in 1955.

They were small figures with large ears. 

       Hobgoblin is said to be a benevolent goblin, mischievous and trickster, from Scotland and other parts of Britain, just after the middle ages. Spirit of hearth (fireplace), like a puck.

British folklore; also called Robin Goodfellow, nature sprite.

            

       Gnome; was a small creature, little monster, Trickster, ugly, human like, live underground. From a Swiss philosopher in the 1500s. They had big heads, hats and beards, about 3 feet tall.

      

       Ghoul; were Arabic, a monster, bad, evil demon. Also Ghul,

A shapeshifter, like Djinn. They were described as humanoid, similar to dogs, grey skin, no hair, some with scales. Ghouls were about 4 feet tall. They became known in Europe in the late 18th century.

       

       Gremlin; a strange creature that sits on wings of airplanes and tries to tamper with the mechanics of the aircraft. They were small, like human, bat, monkey like, some with wings,

snake like skin, big ears, About 3 feet tall. Mischievous. Stories come from American and Allied pilots in World War II.

       

       Imp; is a small demon or fairy, supernatural entity, like a sprite, from the English and Germans. They were evil creatures.

 

       Leprechaun; were from Irish lore,  small human-like, supernatural being, with beards and hat, wearing green cloths.  They were under 1 foot in height.

 

       Nymph; a spirit in nature. In Greek mythology, a female, supernatural entity in the air or in water.

      

       Pixie; was a mythical, supernatural small human like being, with pointed ears and hat. They were childlike, from the folklore of Celtic Britain. Pixies were  like fairies, but different than imps.

      

       Puck; was a mischievous spirit, from English and Norse mythology, dating back to the 1500s.

       Puckwudgie; from Native American, Wampanoag folklore. Small wild man in the woods. They could disappear, be a shape-shifter, like a troll.

Some similarities to the Albatwitch, little Bigfoot, (or big little foot).

      

       Sprite; like a fairy, supernatural being, delicate, ghost like. 

Similar to a puck; demon, hobgoblin. They were mischievous entities.

  

       Troll; was a fiend, from Norse mythology, like a werewolf, or jotunn.

Supernatural creature. But they were large, human like, standing up to 9 feet tall. Trolls were bigger than elves, or dwarfs, from the people of the Viking age.

            

       Some small, living things could have been possessed by demon. They could change them into a monster, being controlled by an evil spirit inside, like a Wendigo. 

       A demonic entity could also appear as a different kind of short creature.

Spectrals could also trick people into seeing something that they were not. And some small beings could have an ability to shape-shift. These could be combinations of little beasties and malicious spiritual entities, with or without a physical presence.

      

       I speculate that many of these beings could have been the same things, or from a common source. That people of different cultures and subsequent eras, gave them their own individual names. Some of them could have been otherworldly extraterrestrials, or spectral spirits.

Little monsters and entities are described from alternate perspectives, whilst they may be almost identical in their actual origins. And certain small beasties and Incorporeals, could still be with us today, in other forms, by different names, in our modern society.

 

Sources:
Wikipedia.org;, Boggart, Bogie, Dwarf, Elf, Fairy, Ghoul, Goblin, Hobgoblin, Gnome, Gremlin, Imp, Nymph,

Leprechaun, Pixie,Puck, Puckwadgie, Sprite, Troll,

Kelly-Hopkinsville encounter, Bogeyman.

 

Reviews

[Annette Pisano-Higley]

Fascinating compilation Cliff. “Things that go bump in the night”- yes. Related or unrelated, they are certainly food for thought, nightmares and dreams. Carried down from so many divergent
cultures. You are an encyclopedia of the supernatural my friend. Enlightening and enjoyable write!

[Clif]

Thank you Annette!