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History of Goblins
We’ve all seen a goblin or two in our day. Whether they’re rooting through your trash for the shiny aluminum cans or stealing babies from the hospital nursery, goblins live among us. If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably even hit a couple of those little rascals while driving without your glasses on! But how did they come to be?
Historians everywhere debate the true origins of goblinkind. Some of the first stories of goblins come to us by way of European folklore, particularly in the British and Germanic regions. Tales of yore describe their personalities as bothersome, tricky, and even evil at times. They are impish and small, usually depicted as 3-4 feet in height. Goblin is just the popular term, however. In cultures beyond Europe, stories circulate of similar beings. Take for example the Zimbabwean myth that attempts to explain the cause of disabilities in newborn children. According to the New World Encyclopedia, “…one cause of a child being born with a disability is that a goblin called a ‘zvikwambo’ may have impregnated the mother while she was sleeping.” A story like that has got to be true. There are also goblin-like creatures in Japanese folklore, in which they are called “tengu”. In fact, tales of goblins can be found throughout the world, in cultures entirely independent from one another, in all eras of history.
The true origins of the goblin myth is up for debate. Perhaps tales of faeries bled into stories of gnomes. One such explanation is that the term “goblin” (in some traditions), came from the word Gob, which refers to the king of the gnomes. The Gob’s servants were called “gob-lings”. Gnomes and goblins are very distinct, however. It just takes a keen eye to spot the difference, which mostly lies in their temperament. Goblins more often act with malice than their gnomish counterparts.
In Latin, the term used to describe the imps was “gobble Ennis”. In Greek, it was “gobblers”. It is thought that the term “goblin” came into the vernacular around the 14th century. Goblin is a broad term that refers to the whole of the species, though “goblette” is said to have been used to refer to female goblins.
Goblins in Pop Culture
What do you picture when you hear “goblin”? The word likely conjures the image of a little green menace, with sharp teeth and pointed ears. This depiction of goblins is actually somewhat recent. The modern goblin is the result of years of reinterpretation.
When discussing goblins, one must mention Tolkien. Despite being responsible for many of the fantasy tropes we see in popular media today, Tolkien actually can’t take much credit for goblins. His writing isn’t as responsible for modern goblins as it is for his other races (elves, orcs, etc). In the Lord of the Rings saga, goblins exist in name only. While he will occasionally describe Saruman’s army as such, Tolkien’s goblins are really just the same as orcs. Actually, they are said to be slightly stronger, which differs from the modern popular depiction. Goblins play a slightly larger role in The Hobbit, where they are described as subterranean and large. It is in later writings where Tolkien begins to use “orc” in place of “goblin”.
While Dungeons and Dragons borrows much of Tolkien’s groundwork, the goblins of D & D are much closer to the “little green guy” visualization. Throughout each of D&D’s editions, goblins have remained true to their original depictions, despite some slight changes and expansions on their lore. In Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition base setting (the Forgotten Realms), goblins are short, mischievous and in many cases, evil. Players are free to create characters that break from that mold. And many do, playing their goblins as heroes. Many times, goblins are used as comic relief. Many a Dungeon Master has fallen to the trope of adopting a growly, high pitched voice and snarling for their players to garner an easy laugh.
Most modern goblins are seen in this light. They were once the stuff of nightmares. Folktales about goblins struck fear into the hearts of ancient peoples. Take for example the old Dutch fable, The Goblins Turned To Stone. The tale begins by explaining the importance of cheese in Dutch culture. Apparently, an overabundance of cheese in one’s diet can cause nightmares. Goblins would later take the blame for these lactose induced night terrors. It was said that sunlight would turn goblins to stone, hence their reasoning for only emerging in the night. In the tale, a villager tricks the goblins into coming out of hiding during the day in order to retrieve one of the goblin’s signature red hats of invisibility, which she had stolen. The goblins emerge en masse. The village people, who had been waiting for them, began to remove all of their hats and they turned to stone.
In Scooby Doo and the Goblin King, Shaggy and his canine companion face off against a dual threat. They enter the Goblin King’s realm on the run from The Amazing Krudsky and see a variety of spooky creatures of the night. Most of the goblins in this film (which has a cast to rival even the best ensembles) are depicted as little green men in the typical goblin style. Many are more rotund than your typical goblin, but they are primarily true to form. The Goblin King, however, is a tall, lithe, figure. He is more of a green elf than a true goblin. But I suppose that’s what makes him the king. In a similar manner, David Bowie plays the role of Goblin King in Labyrinth despite looking mostly like himself.
Goblins in the Harry Potter universe are not the fairytale nightmare creatures of Dutch legend, nor are they the comic relief of Scooby Doo. In the wizarding world, they take on a modern, villainous, and debatably problematic role. Comedian Jon Stewart recently drew attention to the anti-Semitic tropes employed by author J.K. Rowling. While the depictions of greed and malice were nothing new, Rowling positions them as the bankers of the wizarding world. Subconscious or not, the author’s idea of the modern goblin replaces their fun and impish nature with something a little too true to real life. It is rare that goblins bleed into media set in the modern day, so this interpretation is hard to ignore.
Though she took it to new heights, Rowling wasn’t the first to depict goblins as greedy. They have long been thought to be lovers of all things shiny. Tolkien’s famous character Golem is actually closer to the colloquial goblin than his named goblins. Pictured below is a political cartoon from 1913 in protest of the Tariff Bill. The greedy corporate overlord in the image is drawn as green, wearing clothes typical of the modern goblin. (Image sourced from Library of Congress)
All of this Goblin business can be quite confusing. I took the liberty of creating this visual guide to help keep track of it all. This contains just a fraction of goblin types, but covers many of the main, best known iterations.
Goblins In the Real World
I remember my first goblin sighting. It was late, maybe 4 a.m. I was returning home after one of the rambunctious nights of my youth. I traveled country backroads for some time, half asleep at the wheel with thoughts of collapsing onto my bed. I made a turn onto my road. Then I saw it. A creature no larger than a medium sized dog, startled at the sudden appearance of my headlights, was standing on two spindly legs. It stared me down and straddled the double yellow lines on the country road. The message was as clear as the rules of the road: no passing. We waited in a tense stand off to rival anything from Clint Eastwood’s Dollars trilogy. Its greenish/gray body sparkled with a combination of sweat and early morning dew. I was suddenly wide awake. I felt as though I’d just seen the face of God. All I knew was thrown into question at the sight of a creature I’d thought to be something of fiction. What was real? Is there life after death? Was that waitress into me or was she just being polite?
The night was still and silent. While the world slept, I was face to face with a goblin. And it wasn’t backing down. I broke the ice in our tense battle of wills, jamming my foot on the gas pedal with all the strength I could muster. My tires screeched momentarily before finding traction. The goblin was unflinching as my car sped towards it.
“I’ll SEE YOU IN HELL, GODLESS IMP,” I shouted into the night. This was the defining moment of my life. All I’d accomplished, all I ever loved, everything I knew, it hung in the balance. The goblin, with mere inches left between life and becoming common roadkill, suddenly leapt above my car. He flipped like Jar Jar Binks into the waters of Naboo. I closed my eyes and slammed on the breaks. My car spun twice around before coming to a screeching halt. I yanked quickly on the emergency brake and opened the door. I staggered out of the car in a haze, eyes wide and jaw agape. The goblin was nowhere to be seen. No smear in the road, no splatter across my windshield, no sign of a the creature scampering into the ditch. It was gone. I fell to my knees on the moonlit asphalt. I looked up at the sky. Not a cloud in sight, just me and the infinite cosmos.
With tears in my eyes, I cried out “Forgive me…”. When the skies didn’t call back, I shouted once more. Pounding the ground with my fists, I begged for mercy. “I CAN’T LIVE LIKE THIS ANYMORE!”
Anyway. Goblin sightings are not as common as say, Bigfoot sightings. They are far more elusive creatures, and as such, people are less likely to see them. The map below details goblin sightings in the United States as of 2023. However, the map’s origins are unknown. It was first posted to a subreddit (r/MapPorn) in spring of ’23 by Reddit user u/Wimzard (a truly fascinating character, but an investigation for another time.
If we assume the map is accurate, then it raises some interesting questions about goblin habits. Based on the data, we can infer that the goblins do not like the desert. This aligns with what we know from goblin folklore. They enjoy the dark, the damp, the shadowy. But there are other aspects of the map that are harder to explain. For example, why are there so few sightings in Indiana? Or in the Massachusetts/Connecticut/Rhode Island region? The map raises more questions than it answers. The abundance of sightings in the southern US could be explained by a general superstitious nature among southern Americans. The map isn’t terribly dissimilar to a US population distribution map. Perhaps this is a mystery for another time.
The Goblins of Hopkinsville (And Other Sightings)
One of the better known sightings are the “Goblins of Hopkinsville”. In 1955, a dozen people arrived at a police station in Hopkinsville, Kentucky with a shared story: they’d seen goblins. Not just one, but several, which they reported to have been attacking their farmhouse. The report would have likely gone unrecorded, except that the family claimed to have been holding them off with gunfire. Local police were concerned about a possible goblin firefight in their area and went to investigate. They found nothing but holes in the walls made by those inside the house.
The total number of goblins seen during the encounter is anywhere between 2 and 15, as the numbers fluctuated between different reports and local news outlets. Elmer Sutton and Billy Ray Taylor, two of the adults who claimed to have seen the creatures, said they were popping out in doorways and windows. This behavior aligns with the mischievous nature of goblins throughout history and folklore. The following sketch was made by the Evansville Press to help readers get a stronger visual idea of the Hopkinsville Goblins.
The incident is explained today by the combined effects of alcohol, a meteor shower, and some local Great Horned Owls, who do somewhat resemble the silhouette of a goblin in a low-light setting. Either way, the Hopkinsville Goblins seen closer to the “little green men” extraterrestrial stereotype than actual goblins. Some reports describe them as defying gravity, which is not in line with any traditional goblin lore.
The Goblin Scarecrow of the Pennsylvania Wilds
Pennsylvania is said to be home to many cryptids. So, in theory, it makes sense that goblins would also dwell there. The name “goblin scarecrow” at first intrigued me. But further reading has made me skeptical. Not just of the existence of such a thing, but of its goblin nature.
The Goblin Scarecrow was first reported in the 1950s by deer hunters in Potter County, PA. The beast allegedly ran towards them and howled. The hunters fired their rifles in defense, but the bullets were ineffective and revealed the goblin to have insects inside of its torso. But what’s actually goblin about the Goblin Scarecrow? Well, very little. It is said to have a Jack-O-Lantern for a head and stand at humanoid height.
Goblins in Conclusion
I don’t know, man. I’m starting to think they aren’t even real. It’s kind of like bears to me. I’ve never seen one in the wild. And I’m not some freak. I go outside. I do go outside. Overall, there just isn’t a lot of goblin information out there. But my journey is just beginning. I will not give up. This is the start of something for me. Consider this “part one” of Goblin Quest.
To be continued…
Further Reading:
https://vocal.media/horror/the-fascinating-world-of-european-goblins
https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Goblin
https://mythus.fandom.com/wiki/Goblin
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