is a general term that can apply either to the ugliest members of the fae, or to certain sub-races. Those fae numbered among the goblin subraces, include the Scottish Trows, English Spriggans, Welsh Knockers, Cornish Knockers, German Kobolds and Wichtlein, the Irish Phooka and even Shakespeare's infamous Puck .

Aka : Hobgobs, Gobelins, Hob-thrush, Blobins, Bogles, Bogies, Brags, Boggarts,

Description/Morphology

They grow up to 30 cm and are covered with a thick coat of black/grey hair. The Goblin is usually found wearing very dark colored cloths and a tall cap similar to that of the Gnome. They can appear as animals. They have a somewhat bestial or grotesque appearance: their brow is fully covered with thick hair and their mouth is filled with yellowed, crooked teeth. Female goblins are referred to as "hags" or "crones". It is said that they mimic human actions in their sardonic way, twisting human rituals and culture to show the worst aspects. In recent depictions Goblins have been portrayed as green in color. There is no tradition of this practice.

Friends/Foes

Often portrayed as the vilains and troublemakers of faerie, Goblins are not truly completely evil. Though they seem to have no moral code of their own, they are happy to enforce the one of their human hosts. The miserly and lazy are apt to feel their pinch or find their rooms and possessions in disarray.

Places

The English Hobgoblin loves to live in homes where he makes much trouble for the people who live there. Some other reside in mines where they search for treasure/trouble. Still others of the family prefer grottos, often residing in the same one for their entire life.

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. 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.

Behavior

Tricks : Goblins are pranksters, and are known for rearranging items in the house, tangling horses, banging pots and pans, removing the clothes from sleeping humans, knocking on doors and walls and even digging up the graves to scatter the bones around. 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.

Goblin women steal human babies, replacing them with ugly goblin babies (changelings).Goblin changelings are sometimes known as "oafs" or "crimbils".

Mine goblins make knocking noises by stricking pickaxes and hammers against the stones. Some miners take the resulting sounds as a sign of good luck, believing they indicate the presence of rich deposits of ore. Other believe that they (Kobolds and Wichtlein) just imitate the miners to fool them. As a death companion he is sometimes accused to cause underground fires or warn for the coming deaths. To avoid the Knockers' wrath, a pastie (traditional miner meal) should be left for them.

Other traditions:

• A goblin smile curdles blood.
• A goblin laugh sours milk and causes fruit to fall from trees.

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 Orc (Middle-earth)|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.
• 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 than 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.