Of Goblins and Fairies for Halloween

Halloween brings all sorts of wee folk to your door and you may find some Goblins amongst them. They have been a part of European folklore for over 800 years and one myth places their origins in Britain, where they sneaked aboard Viking ships and sailed to France. One fabled Goblin haunt is in France, in a cleft of the Pyrenees: The Gap of Goeblin.

The name Goblin is derived from the Anglo-French gobelin (which was rendered, in Medieval Latin, as gobelinus). Goblins have no actual homes, for although they may infest mossy clefts in rocks or roots in old trees, they are too capricious to settle down for long, and travellers can often hear their squeals and titters as they plot some fresh mischief. They are also partialled to wine! (So keep an eye on your claret this Halloween!)

Goblins are mischievous tricksters and lore has it that a Goblin smile will curdle the blood, his laugh sours milk and causes fruit to fall from trees. Their works of mischief are luck spoiling and weaving nightmares to be inserted in people's ears. They also enjoy tipping over pails of milk, hiding hens' eggs, pestering horses making them blow and stamp, blowing soot down chimneys, extinguishing candles in haunted houses, and altering signposts. They are able to communicate with wasps, mosquitos, hornets and flies, and enjoy directing them to humans or horses and watching the results with delight.

Goblins have appeared in literature since the 1600s but probably the most famous works on them are Goblin Market, a poem by Christina Rossetti (1862) and The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald (1872). Christina Rossetti's poem Goblin Market has the little men trying to trick two sisters into eating forbidden fruit:

“Come buy, come buy;
Our grapes fresh from the vine,
Pomegranates full and fine,
Dates and sharp bullaces,
Rare pears and greengages,
Damsons and bilberries,
Taste them and try:
Currants and gooseberries,
Bright-fire-like barberries,
Figs to fill your mouth,
Citrons from the South,
Sweet to tongue and sound to eye,
Come buy, come buy."

A Lutin is the French name for a Hobgoblin and in French folklore these are small household spirits, similar to the Celtic Brownie. They perform odd jobs around the house while the family is lost in sleep, like dusting and ironing. Oftentimes, the only compensation necessary in return for these was food. While Brownies are more peaceful creatures, Hobgoblins are more fond of practical jokes and a famous Hobgoblin in literature is Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream.

The Lutin of Normandy is also called the Bon Garçon (meaning the Good Boy) and has a fondness for children, horses and young maidens. Lutins take care of horses, gallop them, and plait or twist their manes in an inexplicable manner. One French tale goes that a Lutin, upon encountering two maidens asleep in a stable, entwined their hair so that it had to be completely cut off to release the two. If the Lutin's habits become too annoying, he can be banished by scattering flax seed in the area in question. The Lutin's love of neatness and regularity will not allow him to let it lie there, and he soon gets tired of picking it up, and so departs in despair.

Fairies are called Fées in France and both words are derived from the Old French term fae which comes from the Latin fata, meaning Fate. In France they are small and handsome folk ruled by their Queen, and enjoy dancing at night in circles (or fairy rings). Anyone who sees them is irresistibly impelled to join them. He is let in, but the whirling movement increases so that he feels giddy, and finally falls to the ground exhausted. The fées may then amuse themselves by taking him and flinging him up to a great height in the air, severely bruising and sometimes even killing him.

Fées live in the hollows of rocks or barrows, and and may haunt springs, where they wash their linen, hanging it out to dry on the Druidic stones. They may make use of a farm's horses or utensils at night, but leave no trace of their work in the morning, unless they break a utensil, in which case it will have been mended good as new.

Originally nature spirits, they have the power to turn into small trees, moss or stones. They may also hold fairs on cliffs, selling marvels and magical enchantments, but if a mortal tries to buy something, they will seize him and throw him into the sea.

Charles Perrault, the French author, (1628 – 1703) is world famous for his fairy tales and you will have heard of many of them:

Cinderella
Bluebeard
Sleeping Beauty
Little Red Riding Hood
Mother Goose Tales
Puss in Boots.

Apparently there are two chateau - that you're still able to see and tour today - that fuelled Charles Perrault's inspiration for Sleeping Beauty and Puss In Boots. The Chateau d'Usse is reputedly the castle that inspired "La Belle au Bois Dormant" or "The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods" and even stages scenes throughout the castle from aspects of the story. This castle is also one of the ones that inspired Walt Disney when he was designing the castle for Disneyland. "Le Maistre Chat, ou le Chat Botté" ("The Master Cat, or Puss in Boots") was apparently inspired by the sprawling mansion-like castle estate Chateau d'Oiron.

You might be interested to know that Fairy Wine still thrives in France - Chateau Cazal Viel makes Cuvée des Fées (Blend of the Fairies) and Larmes des Fées (Tears of the Fairies)!

Cheers!