In English folklore, grindylow or grundylow is a creature in the counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire.[1] The name is thought to be connected to Grendel,[1][2] a name or term used in Beowulf and in many Old English charters where it is seen in connection with meres, bogs and lakes.[3]
Grindylows are supernatural creatures that appear in the folklore of England, most notably the Lancaster area. They are described as diminutive humanoids with scaly skin, a greenish complexion, sharp claws and teeth, and long, wiry arms with lengthy fingers at the end. They dwell in ponds and marshes waiting for unsuspecting children, which they grab with their shockingly strong grip, and then drag under the surface of the waters.[4][5]
Grindylows have been used as shadowy figures to frighten children away from pools, marshes, or ponds where they could drown.[6][7]
Peg Powler, Nelly Longarms, and Jenny Greenteeth are similar water spirits.[4][8][9]
In popular culture
edit- Grindylows appear in the Harry Potter books and films where they live in the lake near Hogwarts. They appear in the novels Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling. They are described as sickly green creatures with sharp little horns, green teeth, and long spindly fingers.[10] In the film adaptation of the Goblet of Fire, the Grindylows resemble a mixture of a human and an octopus with rows of piranha-like teeth and are beige-colored.
- A hostile race called the grindylow appear in The Scar, a novel by China Miéville. They are described as humanoid with grey-green mottled skin, large dark eyes, foot-long teeth and a single eel-like tail below the waist.
- Evil aquatic monsters called grindylows appear in the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.[11] They are depicted as small humanoids with shark-like heads, finned ears, clawed hands, and octopus tentacles in place of legs.
- A grindylow is in the Jane Yellowrock series by Faith Hunter as well as the companion series called Soulwood. While they are still ravaging creatures of death, a young grindylow is cute like a green kitten and can be quite loyal to those who know it.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b The Nineteenth Century and After, Volume 68 (1910). Leonard Scott Pub. Co. p. 556.
- ^ Schilling, Karl Georg (1906). A Grammar of the Dialect of Oldham. p. 17.
- ^ "Explanatory Notes on Beowulf".
- ^ a b Harland, John (1867). Lancashire Folk-Lore. Frederick Warne and Co. p. 53.
- ^ Briggs, Katharine (1976). An Encyclopedia of Fairies. Pantheon Books. p. 206. ISBN 0394409183.
- ^ Wright, Elizabeth Mary (1913). Rustic Speech and Folk-Lore. Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press. pp. 198-199.
- ^ Colbert, David (2008) [2001]. The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter. Berkley Publishing Group. pp. 123-124. ISBN 0-9708442-0-4
- ^ Briggs (1976). pp. 242, 323.
- ^ Wright (1913). pp. 198–199, 202.
- ^ Rowling, J. K. (1999). Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Scholastic Press. p. 154. ISBN 0-439-13635-0.
- ^ Pathfinder Roleplaying Game: Bestiary 2. Paizo Publishing. December 2010. ISBN 978-1-60125-268-5.