Are Goblins Real? The Truth Behind It
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There is a lot of media involving goblins that is both interesting, and intriguing.
But are goblins real?
Here is a little bit of history surrounding goblins, including the stories surrounding them, the speculation surrounding them, and of course, what you need to know about goblins as well.
What Are Goblins?
Goblins are creatures that were found in folklore in different cultures in Europe, specifically in the middle ages and other times.
They have different abilities, temperaments, and different appearances depending on where you're looking at them.
They however are almost always ugly, small, impish, or malicious compared to other mythical creatures.
They are similar to both fairies and demons in terms of course, of the power that they have, so usually, they're mischievous at best, or outright evil at worst.
According to folklore, they are similar to brownies, gnomes, imps, and even kobolds, but typically are a lot meaner than those guys.
The Tricky Tricksters
Their main goal was to trick people, especially in folk mythology.
But does it span to real life?
While many of us believe that goblins aren't real in the least, in truth, there is some speculation behind these guys.
Old workers in the mines, deep forests, or anywhere that's underground or at night, they claim these goblins are out there, and they cause trouble.
They are tricksters, and essentially they use that trickery to entertain themselves for the most part. however, it was also done for revenge, or because they were bored.
The people who claim this say it was done out of malicious intent, but in some cases, it was because they misplaced something at night.
Sometimes, child labor, outlaws, or even exploiting people was what attributed to these "goblins."
Many believe that someone is out for revenge or out to get them that they were being influenced by goblins, or that a goblin is doing it, when in reality it may just be their mental state and how they approach situations.
The Goblin Reports
There are some reports of areas of Europe and the Holy Roman Empire using "goblins" to do work.
One such report was the presence of a small group of "gnomes" that were used in Brabant, Luneburg, or even in Limberg. These such goblins were used to work at night to assart the land, which made them change and cultivate the land to be used in such ways.
There is also the case that they were used in Saxony and Ore mountains, along with the Haz mountains to mine the ore there.
The timer in this would later be used in the iron ore mines to keep the tunnels and shafts up to prevent cave-in, and supposedly these "goblins" were used to help do the work.
The wood in these mountains was used to make brine, which was traded and seen as a commodity during this time period. It also was what led to the fish trade within the Scania market.
However, the problem with that area is that it became a deforested location, and later on, became a heath or a desert area with shifting sands.
If the area became heather, this was used to help create beer until hops became more popular.
Of course, once hops did take over, the practice of using that would decline, so the use of that area would soon vanish, and of course, if that were the case, those goblins wouldn't have a job.
If it did become a desert area, the sands of course wouldn't be fertile or used for anything, and essentially be left in the state that it was.
While there is no hard evidence that they did exist, there is still some speculation and stories that they do.
Goblins in Folklore
The most popular means to discuss goblins are in the use of folklore.
There is a wealth of different goblins. From a recap who dyes the hat red from the blood of the humans, it would kill, to even hobgoblins that were tricksters, these goblins were always up to something.
There was a possibility of benevolent goblins, although it was rare. most of them were malevolent in stories, such as the Eriking in German legends.
There are also stories that involve goblins, and fairy tales that have been passed down throughout the years.
Goblins are still featured in many stories and folklore, and almost always are featured as malevolent tricksters.
However, in some folklore, such as Irish, English, and Scottish folklore, they're seen marauding bands that will pillage different farms, commune with dead people, and they may even sell what's called goblin fruits.
These stories also weren't just eurocentric either. There were also some Japanese goblin fairy tales and even ones that spanned other folklore, including the Muki who is a goblin that lives in the Andes mountains.
In modern fiction, they are still popularized, these days in fantasy stories and games such as Dungeons and Dragons, and they were a part of the universe of Harry Potter.
However, unlike in other fairy tales and folklore where they have seen malevolent spirits, they're much more civilized in the latter, seen as craftsmen and bankers, unlike their malicious counterparts.
For the most part, in folklore, they're seen as "bad" but these are used as stories, to tell various lessons and to inform others. There is no hard evidence of these goblins existing.
Other-Dimensional Beings?
Some people believe that they were considered mysterious beings that came to our world from our dimension.
The goblins that are seen in different fictional media are thought to be "remote ancestors" to the goblins that supposedly exist.
They are regarded as beings of mystery, on the same level as gnomes, fairies, pygmies, and even elves and trolls.
In this, there were two types of creatures. There were two types of goblins, the good and bad.
The good ones were referred to as pygmies and gnomes. Those that were called "goblins" were called dark and evil.
Some black magic skills did invoke the use of goblins to continue to forward evil practices, and in white magic, you were supposed to contact both pygmies and gnomes to improve your magic and skills.
The place where people believe the presence of goblins was the most apparent was the Amazon. Some tribes did believe in these creatures and even tried to keep a relationship with them in a physical or spiritual sense.
Supposedly, the people there regarded these beings as those with higher powers, and while the Amazon does have a lot of life, the presence of goblins is still much up for debate.
Tolkein's Goblins
Probably one of the most well-known authors that mention goblins is Tolkein.
But did he think that they existed?
Well, he was interested in goblins because he came from a family which was German, and Eastern Prussia had many stories and tales about goblins. This, of course, was an influence on his fiction.
However, this is used to teach two themes in Lord of the Ring. the first is WW2 and ethics since there are direct references to the second world war in the book.
The second one is about preserving nature and industrialization. Of course, goblins fit more into the later theme, as you see in the book.
He popularized the existence of goblins. however, the big thing to understand is he portrays them not necessarily as they might've been in the past, but more on what they were considered in folklore.
The goblins were considered bad guys and were on par with the orcs in terms of nefariousness. If one is to believe that they were "helpful" to people and in the mines, then they'd be the opposite of this.
But, there is no hard evidence on the presence of this, and again, is used in many cases to tell a story rather than of course, to prove or disprove the existence of such beings.
So...Are they Real?
That's up for debate. the consensus of this is no, that they aren't real, and sit there in the same realm of course, like those other creatures such as fairies, brownies, and even elves.
But there is some speculation. They could be real if you go back far enough, especially if you're out in the mountains, where there aren't cameras to take pictures.
But for the most part, a lot of people keep it to folklore and fantasy. After all, since there isn't much hard evidence for this, wouldn't it of course mean that people are basing real-life on fictional beings?
There is no solid evidence that these creatures are real, and for the most part, this is pure speculation on if they existed. it could explain how different activities happened back then though.
But the explanation may not be true, and it's not considered hard evidence.
While they are interesting creatures, the reality of it is simple: they aren't real, and while they're interesting creatures, there is no evidence pointing to the reality of such creatures either.