Soul of the Katana - A Sword Fighting Game

s
Soul of the Katana 

Direct Link
http://www.freegamesforyourwebsite.com/game/soul-of-the-katana

Description
The objective of Soul of Katana is to survive and take out all enemy units and bosses. Collect gold coins, for each 100 coins collected you gain an additional life. Unleash the soul of the katana and destroy all your opponents. Use deadly martial art and sword moves but during all that try not to get killed. If you like sword fight games then you will enjoy this game.

Instructions ·
Movements = Arrow Keys · Jump = Space Bar · Vertical Sword Slice = Z Key · Horizontal Sword Slice = X Key · Kick =C Key

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies - Official Main Trailer [HD]

s

source: http://youtu.be/iVAgTiBrrDA

https://www.facebook.com/TheHobbitMovie
http://www.thehobbit.com

From
Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson comes “The Hobbit: The
Battle of the Five Armies,” the third in a trilogy of films adapting the
enduringly popular masterpiece The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien.

“The
Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” brings to an epic conclusion the
adventures of Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield and the Company of
Dwarves. Having reclaimed their homeland from the Dragon Smaug, the
Company has unwittingly unleashed a deadly force into the world.
Enraged, Smaug rains his fiery wrath down upon the defenseless men,
women and children of Lake-town.

Obsessed above all else with
his reclaimed treasure, Thorin sacrifices friendship and honor to hoard
it as Bilbo’s frantic attempts to make him see reason drive the Hobbit
towards a desperate and dangerous choice. But there are even greater
dangers ahead. Unseen by any but the Wizard Gandalf, the great enemy
Sauron has sent forth legions of Orcs in a stealth attack upon the
Lonely Mountain.

As darkness converges on their escalating
conflict, the races of Dwarves, Elves and Men must decide – unite or be
destroyed. Bilbo finds himself fighting for his life and the lives of
his friends in the epic Battle of the Five Armies, as the future of
Middle-earth hangs in the balance.

Follow us on:
https://www.facebook.com/TheHobbitMovie
https://twitter.com/thehobbitmovie
http://instagram.com/thehobbitmovie

Pre-order the soundtrack:
iTunes: http://smarturl.it/Hobbit3_i
Amazon: http://smarturl.it/hobbit3sp_az

VadisReview - Assasin's Creed: Black Flag

Assassin's Creed: Black Flag by Oliver Bowden
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

[SPOILERS!] Apart from an Assassin-turned-Templar he battled, Edward Kenway made all his victims his punching bag.
If only Black Bart had a better swordsmanship... (sigh).
That's the problem with Assassins, almost always do their killings stealthily.

As for the so-called "creed", I'd rather call it "curse", or the curse that can be avoided if the Assassins follow the creed all the way. Even Edward couldn't escape the Assassin's Curse, as it happened again in Assassin's Creed: Forsaken.

View all my reviews

The Golden Age of Piracy – a time when greed, ambition and corruption overcomes all loyalties – and a brash young captain, Edward Kenway, is making his name known for being one of the greatest pirates of his time. In the brilliant new novel, Assassin's Creed: Black Flag, discover the story of how Edward, a young privateer, became one of the world's most deadly pirates and was drawn into the centuries-old battle between the Templars and the Assassins.

Paperback, 464 pages

Published December 3rd 2013 by Ace (first published 2013)

ISBN 0425262960 (ISBN13: 9780425262962)

Series Assassin's Creed #6

other editions (16)

 

Goodreads Link:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15985375-assassin-s-creed

Cinta Beda Alam

Cinta Beda Alam, Cinta Sejatikah?  

Andry Chang

VadisReview – Artikel Umum dan Resensi Novel “A Girl Who Loves A Ghost” – Alexia Chen

Cinta dan hubungan asmara sungguh banyak ragamnya dan penuh warna. Salah satu bentuknya yang sedang trend adalah LDR (Long Distance Relationship), Hubungan Asmara Jarak Jauh. Dalam hubungan jenis ini, sepasang kekasih yang tinggal amat berjauhan, bahkan beda negara bisa membina hubungan asmara. Walau jarang bertemu langsung, pasangan LDR dapat memanfaatkan perangkat-perangkat telekomunikasi canggih agar bisa terus berinteraksi, seperti internet, webcam dan semacamnya. 

Nah, bagaimana bila jarak yang memisahkan pasangan kekasih itu terlalu jauh, bahkan beda alam? Jangankan sarana transportasi, internetpun mustahil dapat digunakan. Satu-satunya cara berinteraksi adalah lewat sarana supranatural, misalnya kemampuan melihat makhluk gaib, misalnya hantu. 

Pertanyaannya, bisakah Hubungan Asmara Beda Alam atau RDR (Realm Differential Relationship) ini berlanjut ke jenjang yang lebih tinggi? Bersatu dalam ikatan pernikahan, misalnya? Jawabannya bisa saja, namun pernikahan seperti ini sama sekali tak wajar, tak diakui oleh masyarakat, dosa besar menurut ajaran agama manapun, dan menyalahi hukum alam. Dan yang terparah, menentang kodrat yang digariskan oleh Yang Maha Kuasa. 

Tentunya, baik dalam ranah fiksi maupun kejadian aneh-tapi-nyata, fenomena atau sindrom Cinta Beda Alam (RDR) ini cukup banyak diekspos. Sebut saja novel “The Ghost Bride (Mempelai Hantu)” dan film legendaris Hollywood “Ghost”. Juga novel anyar karya Alexia Chen berjudul “A Girl Who Loves A Ghost”. Saya sendiri pernah membahas sindrom yang sejenis dalam cerpen “Legenda Li Junyang”. Dalam kisah ini, seorang wanita tinggal dan tidur bersama jenazah suaminya. Di dunia nyata, beberapa kejadian aneh-tapi-nyata orang yang tinggal dan menikahi mayat pernah terjadi di Inggris, Malaysia dan sebagainya, yang tentunya pernah saya baca dan saya ingat. Taruhlah saya percaya hubungan mereka nyata, tak sekedar obsesi belaka. Tapi benarkah mereka sungguh bahagia hingga akhir hayat?

Jadi, mungkinkah ada cinta sejati dalam Hubungan Asmara Beda Alam? Jawabannya, mungkin saja. Tergantung seberapa kuat rasa cinta, kepercayaan dan ketulusan hati si orang yang masih hidup dengan pasangannya, secara timbal-balik. Entah apakah tindakan mereka itu gila, sangat aneh atau tak dapat diterima akal sehat, biasanya perasaan yang bisa timbul dari hubungan ini cenderung sangat kuat, ekstrim dan cenderung obsesif. Tentu saja sebab-musabab terjadinya RDR juga menjadi faktor penentu kadar cinta yang dihasilkannya. Entah karena pasangan yang semula wajar, lalu salah satunya meninggal dunia, atau seperti di novel AGWLAG (A Girl Who Loves A Ghost), di mana si gadis, Aleeta Jones justru tertarik setelah melihat sosok Nakano Yuto, seorang pemuda korban pembunuhan dan perampokan yang telah menjadi arwah penasaran.

Namun, walau sekuat apapun perasaan pasangan RDR, walau mereka menemukan cinta sejati, hubungan mereka takkan bisa berlanjut secara wajar. Baru-baru ini ada berita heboh di Indonesia tentang upacara pernikahan seorang pria dengan makhluk halus dari alam gaib. Tentu saja ini memancing kontroversi karena dan tak wajar dan menyalahi segala norma yang berlaku. Walau pria itu tampaknya bahagia, apa dia benar-benar terus demikian hingga hari tuanya? 

Jadi, bilamana salah satu kekasih masih ingin hidup dengan wajar dan bermakna, dia harus belajar melepas pasangannya yang beda alam itu. Caranya, bisa saja selama “kebersamaan” mereka, pasangan ini bahu-membahu menyelesaikan “urusan yang tertunda” atau “hal yang membuat penasaran” si arwah penasaran, membuka jalan agar si arwah itu bisa berpindah ke alam baka, tak terperangkap terus sebagai hantu di dunia fana. 

Contohnya, dalam novel karya Alexia ini, pasangan kekasih beda dunia, Yuto dan Aleeta bisa bahu-membahu menyelesaikan segala masalah yang membuat Yuto jadi arwah penasaran. Termasuk mungkin, seluk-beluk tentang pembunuhan Yuto yang bisa saja bukan murni perampokan. Masyarakat dan lingkungan pasti menganggap Aleeta gila dan cenderung mengucilkannya, alih-alih membantu. Namun, bukankah cinta itu “buta” dan “gila”?

Walaupun Aleeta dan Yuto galau karena tahu mereka tak bisa bersama, namun perasaan di antara mereka malah makin kuat dengan adanya “misi” ini. Walaupun cinta mereka bagai api lilin yang sewaktu-waktu bisa padam dihembus angin, justru kesementaraan inilah yang melahirkan cinta sejati, seperti bunga sakura yang mekar paling indah dan amat sebentar, sebelum akhirnya layu selama-lamanya. 

Namun, akibat buruk bisa saja terjadi pada Aleeta-Yuto dan pasangan-pasangan RDR pada umumnya. Salah satunya, bila pihak yang masih hidup, Aleeta misalnya tak mampu mengendalikan obsesinya, “kegilaan semu” itu bakal meledak jadi kegilaan nyata dan permanen. Yang terburuk, Aleeta bisa jadi bakal nekad mengambil jalan pintas agar bersatu dengan kekasihnya di alam baka. 

Satu lagi cara penanganan sindrom RDR ini, pasangan beda alam butuh figur pendukung yang mampu berpikir melebihi logika, percaya pada keduanya dan bersedia membantu mereka dengan sepenuh hati, membimbing mereka ke jalan yang benar. Tak harus figur cenayang seperti di film “Ghost”, dan orang itu bisa punya kemampuan melihat hantu atau tidak. 

Mengapa butuh pendukung? Supaya pada akhirnya, saat api lilin cinta harus padam, kembali pada keseimbangan alami, masing-masing kekasih tak perlu bersama-sama mengambil jalan pintas ke alam baka seperti Romeo dan Juliet. Dengan demikian, pembaca akan mendapatkan hikmah positif dari fenomena kisah cinta yang dicontohkan oleh Aleeta dan Yuto ini.

Akhir kata, sekali lagi saya sampaikan. Biarlah cahaya lilin terpancar secerah matahari sebelum padam selamanya, meninggalkan kehangatan pada siapapun yang terjamah cahayanya.

Dan bagi semua insan yang sedang mencinta, ingatlah. Nikmatilah cinta sebaik-baiknya selama waktu kebersamaan yang ada, namun jangan lupa dunia bukanlah hanya milik berdua.

"A GIRL WHO LOVES A GHOST"
A novel by Alexia Chen

“Kenyataan bahwa aku bukan lagi menjadi bagian dari dunia ini nyaris menghancurkanku. Jiwaku perlahan rusak oleh dendam dan amarah, hingga gadis itu muncul dan menemukanku.”

“Apa yang akan kau lakukan jika kau ternyata melihat sesuatu yang sebenarnya tidak nyata? Seperti misalnya, sesosok hantu berparas tampan? Bagaimana reaksimu seandainya kau terlambat menyadari bahwa kau telah jatuh terlalu dalam untuk bisa menemukan jalan kembali? Manakah yang lebih bijaksana, mengarungi neraka demi sebuah akhir bahagia ataukah menyerah dengan melepaskan? Apa yang akan kau lakukan jika kau jadi aku?”

-----------------------------------------------
 
ISBN: 978-602-70105-4-3
Harga Rp 80.000,- (552 hlm.)
Penerbit: Javanica
Email: ptkaurama@gmail.com

Pemesanan bisa melalui e-mail di atas atau HP: 081993817721.

Untuk preview novel ini, kliklah link berikut ini:

http://fireheart-vadis.blogspot.com/2014/11/a-girl-who-loves-ghost-alexia-chen.html

Sumber gambar:

Atas: Phantom Embrace -  http://farm9.static.flickr.com/8440/7938619472_308fb45791_m.jpg

Bawah: Cover "A Girl Who Loves A Ghost" dari Javanica.

A Girl Who Loves A Ghost by Alexia Chen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



View all my reviews

Leprechaun

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leprechaun

This article is about the creature in Irish mythology. For other uses, see Leprechaun (disambiguation).

Leprechaun

A modern stereotypical depiction of a leprechaun of the type popularised in the 20th century
Grouping	Legendary creature Pixie Sprite Fairy
First reported	In folklore
Country	Ireland
Habitat	Moor, Forest, Cave, Garden

A leprechaun (Irish: leipreachán) is a type of fairy in Irish folklore, usually taking the form of an old man, clad in a red or green coat, who enjoys partaking in mischief. Like other fairy creatures, leprechauns have been linked to the Tuatha Dé Danann of Irish mythology.^[1] The Leprechauns spend all their time busily making shoes, and store away all their coins in a hidden pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. If ever captured by a human, the Leprechaun has the magical power to grant three wishes in exchange for their release. Popular depiction shows the Leprechaun as being no taller than a small child,^[2] with a beard and hat.

Contents

• 1 Etymology
• 2 Folklore
• 3 Appearance
• 4 Origins
• 5 Related creatures
• 6 In politics
• 7 Popular culture
• 8 See also
• 9 Notes
• 10 Bibliography

Etymology

The name leprechaun is derived from the Irish word leipreachán, defined by Patrick Dinneen as "a pigmy, a sprite, or leprechaun". The further derivation is less certain; according to most sources, the word is thought to be a corruption of Middle Irish luchrupán,^[3] from the Old Irish luchorpán, a compound of the roots lú (small) and corp (body).^[4][5] The root corp, which was borrowed from the Latin corpus, attests to the early influence of Ecclesiastical Latin on the Irish language.^[6] The alternative spelling leithbrágan stems from a folk etymology deriving the word from leith (half) and bróg (brogue), because of the frequent portrayal of the leprechaun as working on a single shoe.^[7]
Alternative spellings in English have included lubrican, leprehaun, and lepreehawn. Some modern Irish books use the spelling lioprachán.^[4] The first recorded instance of the word in the English language was in Dekker's comedy The Honest Whore, Part 2 (1604): "As for your Irish lubrican, that spirit / Whom by preposterous charms thy lust hath rais'd / In a wrong circle."^[4]

Folklore

A leprechaun counts his gold in this engraving c. 1900

The earliest known reference to the leprechaun appears in the medieval tale known as the Echtra Fergus mac Léti (Adventure of Fergus son of Léti).^[8] The text contains an episode in which Fergus mac Léti, King of Ulster, falls asleep on the beach and wakes to find himself being dragged into the sea by three lúchorpáin. He captures his abductors, who grant him three wishes in exchange for release.^[9][10]
The leprechaun is said to be a solitary creature, whose principal occupation is making and mending shoes, and who enjoys practical jokes. According to William Butler Yeats, the great wealth of these fairies comes from the "treasure-crocks, buried of old in war-time", which they have uncovered and appropriated.^[11] According to David Russell McAnally the leprechaun is the son of an "evil spirit" and a "degenerate fairy" and is "not wholly good nor wholly evil".^[12]

Appearance

The leprechaun originally had a different appearance depending on where in Ireland he was found.^[13] Prior to the 20th century, it was generally held that the leprechaun wore red, not green. Samuel Lover, writing in 1831, describes the leprechaun as,

... quite a beau in his dress, notwithstanding, for he wears a red square-cut coat, richly laced with gold, and inexpressible of the same, cocked hat, shoes and buckles.^[14]

According to Yeats, the solitary fairies, like the leprechaun, wear red jackets, whereas the "trooping fairies" wear green. The leprechaun's jacket has seven rows of buttons with seven buttons to each row. On the western coast, he writes, the red jacket is covered by a frieze one, and in Ulster the creature wears a cocked hat, and when he is up to anything unusually mischievous, he leaps on to a wall and spins, balancing himself on the point of the hat with his heels in the air."^[15]

Tourists with a novelty oversized Leprechaun in Dublin

According to McAnally,

"He is about three feet high, and is dressed in a little red jacket or roundabout, with red breeches buckled at the knee, gray or black stockings, and a hat, cocked in the style of a century ago, over a little, old, withered face. Round his neck is an Elizabethan ruff, and frills of lace are at his wrists. On the wild west coast, where the Atlantic winds bring almost constant rains, he dispenses with ruff and frills and wears a frieze overcoat over his pretty red suit, so that, unless on the lookout for the cocked hat, ye might pass a Leprechawn on the road and never know it's himself that's in it at all."

This dress could vary by region, however. In McAnally's account there were differences between leprechauns or Logherymans from different regions:^[16]

• The Northern Leprechaun or Logheryman wore a "military red coat and white breeches, with a broad-brimmed, high, pointed hat, on which he would sometimes stand upside down".
• The Lurigadawne of Tipperary wore an "antique slashed jacket of red, with peaks all round and a jockey cap, also sporting a sword, which he uses as a magic wand".
• The Luricawne of Kerry was a "fat, pursy little fellow whose jolly round face rivals in redness the cut-a-way jacket he wears, that always has seven rows of seven buttons in each row".
• The Cluricawne of Monaghan wore "a swallow-tailed evening coat of red with green vest, white breeches, black stockings," shiny shoes, and a "long cone hat without a brim," sometimes used as a weapon.

In a poem entitled The Lepracaun; or, Fairy Shoemaker, 18th century Irish poet William Allingham describes the appearance of the leprechaun as:

...A wrinkled, wizen'd, and bearded Elf,
Spectacles stuck on his pointed nose, Silver buckles to his hose,
Leather apron — shoe in his lap...^[17]

The modern image of the leprechaun sitting on a toadstool, red beard, green hat, etc., are clearly inventions or borrowed from European folklore.^[18]

Origins

Some folk traditions hold that the leprechauns are descended from the Tuatha de Danann. When the Milesians came to Ireland (according to the Book of Invasions) they conquered the Tuatha de Danann and forced them to live under ground (this connects them to the aes-sidhe).

Related creatures

The leprechaun is related to the clurichaun and the far darrig in that he is a solitary creature. Some writers even go as far as to substitute these second two less well-known spirits for the leprechaun in stories or tales to reach a wider audience. The clurichaun is considered by some to be merely a leprechaun on a drinking spree.^[19]

In politics

In the politics of the Republic of Ireland, leprechauns have been used to refer to the twee aspects of the tourist industry in Ireland.^[20][21] This can be seen from this example of John A. Costello addressing the Oireachtas in 1963: "For many years, we were afflicted with the miserable trivialities of our tourist advertising. Sometimes it descended to the lowest depths, to the caubeen and the shillelagh, not to speak of the leprechaun.^[21]

Popular culture

Films, television cartoons and advertising have popularised a specific image of leprechauns which bears scant resemblance to anything found in the cycles of Irish folklore. Irish people can find the popularised image of a leprechaun to be little more than a series of stereotypes of the Irish.^[22]

See also

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Leprechaun

• Cauldron
• Crichton Leprechaun
• Irish mythology in popular culture
• Lucky Charms

Notes

1. Squire, Charles (1912). Mythology of the Celtic People. London. p. 403. ISBN 0091850436.
2. The Leprechaun Legend: Fantasy Ireland
3. Gloss by Windisch's (W. O. E.) Compendium of Irish grammar tr. by J. P. M'Swiney 1883 in "leprechaun" The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989, OED Online, Oxford University Press, (subscription needed) 16 July 2009.
4. "leprechaun" The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989, OED Online, Oxford University Press, (subscription needed) 16 July 2009
5. Patrick S. Dinneen, Foclóir Gaedhilge agus Béarla (Dublin: Irish Texts Society, 1927); see also Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language, s.v. "luchorp", "luchorpán" (accessed 12 May 2009).
6. "leprechaun" The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th ed., 2004, Dictionary.com, Houghton Mifflin Company, 16 July 2009.
7. (O'Donovan in O'Reilly Irish Dict. Suppl. 1817) in "leprechaun" The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed, 1989, OED Online, Oxford University Press, (subscription needed) 16 July 2009.
8. Koch, p. 1059; 1200.
9. Koch, p. 1200.
10. D. A. Binchy (ed. & trans.), "The Saga of Fergus mac Léti", Ériu 16, 1952, pp. 33–48
11. Yeats, Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry, 80.
12. McAnally, Irish Wonders, 140.
13. Little Guy Style at the Wayback Machine (archived 29 July 2007)
14. From Legends and Stories of Ireland
15. From Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry.
16. McAnally, Irish Wonders, 140–142.
17. William Allingham – The Leprechaun
18. A dictionary of Celtic mythology
19. Yeats, Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry, 321.
20. Dáil Éireann – Volume 495 – 20 October, 1998 – Tourist Traffic Bill, 1998: Second Stage.
21. Dáil Éireann – Volume 206 – 11 December, 1963 Committee on Finance. – Vote 13—An Chomhairle Ealaoín.
22. Diane Negra, ed. (22 February 2006). The Irish in Us: Irishness, Performativity, and Popular Culture. Duke University Press. p. ^{[page needed]}. ISBN 0-8223-3740-1.

Bibliography

• Briggs, Katharine. An Encyclopedia of Fairies: Hobgoblins, Brownies, Bogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures. New York: Pantheon, 1978.
• Croker, T. C. Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland. London: William Tegg, 1862.
• Hyde, Douglas. Beside The Fire. London: David Nutt, 1910.
• Keightley, T. The Fairy Mythology: Illustrative of the Romance and Superstition of Various Countries. London: H. G. Bohn, 1870.
• Koch, John T. (2006). Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO.
• Lover, S. Legends and Stories of Ireland. London: Baldwin and Cradock, 1831.
• McAnally, David Russell. Irish Wonders. New York: Weathervane Books, 1888.
• Negra, D. [ed.]. The Irish in Us: Irishness, Performativity and Popular Culture. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. 2006. ISBN 978-0-8223-8784-8.
• Koch, John T. (2006). Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 1851094407.
• Wilde, Jane. [Speranza, pseud.]. Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland. London : Ward and Downey, 1887.
• Yeats, William Butler. Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry. London: Walter Scott, 1888.
• Kane, W. F. de Vismes (31 March 1917). "Notes on Irish Folklore (Continued)". Folklore 28 (1): 87–94. doi:10.1080/0015587x.1917.9718960. ISSN 0015-587X.
• Winberry, John J. (1976). "The Elusive Elf: Some Thoughts on the Nature and Origin of the Irish Leprechaun". Folklore 87 (1): 63–75. ISSN 0015-587X.

[show] v t e Irish mythology: the Mythological Cycle

[show] v t e Fairies

Categories:

• Leprechaun
• Irish legendary creatures
• Fairies
• Mythological tricksters
• Dwarf-like creatures
• Irish folklore
• Stock characters

Goblin

Monstropedia Everna 

Research archive from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goblin

 

For other uses, see Goblin (disambiguation).

Grouping	dwarf
Country	France, Scandinavia, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, United States
Habitat	Caves, woodland

A goblin is a legendary evil or mischievous grotesque dwarf-like creature.
They are attributed with various (sometimes conflicting) abilities, temperaments and appearances depending on the story and country of origin. In some cases, goblins have been classified as constantly annoying little creatures somewhat related to the brownie and gnome. They are usually depicted as small, sometimes only a few inches tall, sometimes the size of a dwarf. They also often are said to possess various magical abilities. They are also very greedy and love gold or any type of jewellery

Contents

• 1 Name
• 2 European folklore and collected folk stories
• 3 Goblin-like creatures in other cultures
• 4 Goblin-related place names
• 5 Goblins in fiction and popular culture
• 6 See also
• 7 References
• 8 Further reading

Name

Alternative spellings include gobblin, gobeline, gobling, goblyn, and gobbelin.
English goblin is first recorded in the 14th century and is probably from unattested Anglo-Norman *gobelin,^[1] similar to Old French gobelin, already attested around 1195 in Ambroise of Normandy's Guerre sainte, and to Medieval Latin gobelinus in Orderic Vitalis before 1141,^[2][3] which was the name of a devil or a daemon haunting the country around Évreux, Normandy.
It may be related both to German kobold and to Medieval Latin cabalus, or *gobalus, itself from Greek κόβαλος (kobalos), "rogue", "knave", "imp", "goblin".^[2][4] Alternatively, it may be a diminutive or other derivative of the French proper name Gobel, more often Gobeau,^[5][6] diminutive forms Gobelet, Goblin, Goblot, but their signification is probably "somebody who sells timblers or beakers or cups".^[7] Moreover, these proper names are not from Normandy, where the word gobelin, gobelinus first appears in the old documents. German Kobold contains the Germanic root kov- (Middle German Kobe "refuge, cavity", "hollow in a rock", Dial. English cove "hollow in a rock", English "sheltered recess on a coast", Old Norse kofi "hut, shed" ) which means originally a "hollow in the earth".^[8][9] The word is probably related to Dial. Norman gobe "hollow in a cliff", with simple suffix -lin or double suffixation -el-in (cf. Norman surnames Beuzelin,^[10] Gosselin,^[11] Étancelin,^[12] etc.)
The Welsh coblyn, a type of knocker, derives from the Old French gobelin via the English goblin.^[13][14]

European folklore and collected folk stories

Illustration of a goblin

This section is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can help by converting this section to prose, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (February 2013)

• The Benevolent Goblin, from Gesta Romanorum (England)^[15]
• Erlking is a malevolent goblin from German legend.
• The Goblin Pony, from The Grey Fairy Book (French fairy tale)
• The Goblins at the Bath House (Estonia), from A Book of Ghosts and Goblins (1969)
• The Goblins Turned to Stone (Dutch fairy tale).^[16]
• Gwyn ap Nudd was ruler over the goblin tribe. (Welsh folklore) ^[17]
• King Gobb (Moldovan Gypsy folktale)

Goblin-like creatures in other cultures

Many Asian mythical creatures have been likened to, or translated as, goblins. Some examples for these:

• Chinese Ghouls and Goblins (England 1928)
• The Goblin of Adachigahara (Japanese fairy tale)^[18]
• The Goblin Rat, from The Boy Who Drew Cats (Japanese fairy tale)

• Twenty-Two Goblins (Indian fairy tale)^[19]
• In South Korea, goblins are known as Dokkaebi (도깨비). They are especially important mythical creatures in Korean folklore. They usually appear in children's books.^{[citation needed]}

Goblin-related place names

• 'The Gap of Goeblin', a hole and underground tunnel in Croxteth under the Green residence where Daniel Green resides feeding on children's bones and ectoplasm to survive.^[20]
• Goblin Combe, in north Somerset, UK
• Goblin Valley State Park, Utah, U.S.
• Goblin Crescent, Bryndwr, Christchurch, NZ
• Yester Castle (aka 'Goblin Hall') East Lothian, Scotland
• Goblin Bay, Beausoleil Island, Ontario, Canada
• Cowcaddens and Cowlairs, Glasgow, Scotland. 'Cow' is an old Scots word for Goblin, while 'cad' means 'nasty'. 'Dens' and 'lairs' refers to goblin homes.^[21]

Goblins in fiction and popular culture

• The Goblins, a comedy play by Sir John Suckling (1638 England; the title alludes to thieves rather than actual goblins)

• The Pilgrim's Progress, a Christian allegory by John Bunyan (1678 England), includes the words "Men: ...we also saw there the hobgoblins, satyrs, and dragons of the pit;"

• The early 17th century English ballad "Tom O'Bedlam" begins "From the hag and hungry goblin/that into rags would rend ye"

• "The Elf Mound", fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen (1845 Denmark)

• Goblin Market, a poem by Christina Rossetti (1859 England)

• The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald (1872)

• Davy and the Goblin by Charles E. Carryl ^[22] (1884)

• The 19th century Irish song "Rocky Road to Dublin" includes the words "I cut a stout blackthorn, to banish ghosts and goblins".

• Little Orphant Annie, a poem by James Whitcomb Riley, includes the words "An' the Gobble-uns 'at gits you ef you don't watch out!" (1885)

• J. R. R. Tolkien generally used the terms goblin and orc synonymously in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. These works, featuring goblins of almost-human stature, generally informed the depiction of goblins in later fiction and games.

• Goblins are portrayed as roughly half the size of adult humans as non-player characters in the tabletop role-playing game, Dungeons & Dragons, which influenced most later depictions including the games Akalabeth, Ultima, Tibia, RuneScape and World of Warcraft (they become a playable race in the WoW expansion World of Warcraft: Cataclysm). In the 1980s Goblins were depicted as a separate race subservient to the Orcs in the Games Workshop tabletop game Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. Games Workshop also popularized the depiction of goblins with bright green skin. Warcraft adopted both of these concepts from Warhammer. The Warcraft goblins are very technologically advanced. Goblins are also present as the first tier creature in the Orc faction in Heroes of Might and Magic V: Tribes of the East.^[23]

• Goblins are represented in Magic: The Gathering as a species of predominantly red-aligned creatures generally organized into various tribes, and are usually depicted as fierce and war-mongering, but of comically low intelligence. Most are similar to other depictions of goblins save those of the Akki race, which bear chitinous shells on their backs.

• The 1973 film Don't Be Afraid of the Dark portrays a house infested with goblins; it was remade in 2011. In both versions the Goblins are small, intelligent, nimble and evil creatures with a penchant for preying on children. They feed on human teeth and are afraid of light.

• In the Jim Henson Productions film Labyrinth, the Goblins are led by Jareth the Goblin King (played by David Bowie). The Goblins in this film range from a few inches to several feet in height. Each of the Goblins comes with a variety of descriptions. Some Goblins have small eyes, some Goblins have large eyes, some Goblins have protruding eyes, some Goblins have horns, some Goblins have hair, and some Goblins don't have hair. It has been implied by Jareth that the Goblins were once human children.

• Goblins are shown in diminutive form in the film Legend. The Goblins serve the Lord of Darkness.

• Goblins play an important role in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. They guard the wizard bank Gringotts and are portrayed as clever, arrogant, greedy, and churlish.

• The Hollow Kingdom Trilogy by Clare B. Dunkle features a creative re-imagining of goblins, elves, and dwarves.

• Despite its title, goblins are featured as the main villains in the cult film Troll 2.

• The Complete Encyclopedia of Elves, Goblins, and Other Little Creatures depicts them as originating in the British Isles, from whence they spread by ship to all of Continental Europe. They have no homes, being wanderers, dwelling temporarily in mossy cracks in rocks and tree roots.^[24][25]

• Jack Prelutsky's children's poetry book It's Halloween includes a poem called "The Goblin", in which a little boy describes "A goblin as green as a goblin can be, Who is sitting outside and is waiting for me".

• In Enid Blyton's Noddy children's books and their adaptations appear small humanoids called goblins, who are often very mischievous.

• There are many (human) villains in Marvel Comics whose names include the word "goblin", and who use a goblin motif, such as several incarnations of the Green Goblin as well as Hobgoblin, Demogoblin and Grey Goblin. Most of them are enemies of Spider-Man with some of them being created through the result of the Goblin Serum. The villain Menace is also a goblin-type villain.

• In The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, the goblins appear as green-skinned creatures, a little shorter than humans, carrying iron weapons and sometimes lockpicks. They are seen as "dirty little beasts", and can be found in sewers or abandoned houses and forts.

• Goblins are usually the main opponents in Dwarf Fortress. They are described as evil creatures having green skin and glowing red eyes. They often kidnap children of the other races and raise them as goblins.

• Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl depicts goblins as reptilian entities having lidless eyes, forked tongues, and scaly skin. The goblins in the series are dull-witted and have an ability to conjure fireballs.

• In The Spiderwick Chronicles, goblins are portrayed as small, grotesque toad-like creatures born without teeth who therefore use broken glass and rocks as dentition. They have a chaotic behavior and will only behave orderly if ordered so by a more powerful villain, such as the ogre Mulgarath.

• In Scooby-Doo! and the Goblin King, there are goblins in that movie who are led by the Goblin King (voiced by Tim Curry). Other known goblins in that film are Glob (voiced by James Belushi) and Glum (voiced by Larry Joe Campbell)

• Jeff Cooper, creator of the "Modern Technique" of firearm handling and self-defense, commonly referred to adversaries as "goblins" in his commentaries.^[26][27]

• In Clash of Clans, the Goblins are categorized into Tier #1 of the players' troops alongside the Archers and the Barbarians.

• In Laini Taylor's "Lips Touch" Goblins are portrayed as sly magical creatures that lure young girls into eating their magical fruit so that they can collect their souls.

• In The 7D episode "The Enchanted Shoes," Goblins are depicted as small gray characters that only speak in goblin language (which is mostly "gob") and like fish sticks.

See also

• Dokkaebi
• Duende
• Elf
• Fairy
• Ghoul
• Gnome
• Goblin (disambiguation)
• Goblins in modern fiction
• Gremlin
• Halloween
• Hobgoblin
• Imp
• Iratxo
• Jinn
• Lutin
• Kyöpelinvuori
• Nilbog
• Ogre
• Oni
• Orc
• Púca
• Pukwudgie
• Redcap
• Sprite
• Tengu
• Terry Pratchett (novelist)
• The Goblin Mirror (novel)
• Trasgo
• Troll
• Toyol
• Uruk-hai
• Vinayakas
• Yōkai
• Wight
• Wirry-cow

References

1. T. F. Hoad, English Etymology, Oxford University Press, p. 196b.
2. CNRTL etymology of gobelin (online French)
3. Du Cange et al, Glossarium mediae et infimae latinitatis ...(online French and Latin) [1]
4. κόβαλος, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
5. Harper, Douglas. "Goblin". The Online Etymological Dictionary. Retrieved 2011-12-20.
6. HOAD, p. 196b.
7. Albert Dauzat, Noms et prénoms de France, Librairie Larousse 1980, édition revue et commentée par Marie-Thérèse Morlet. p. 295b Gobel.
8. Duden, Herkunftswörterbuch : Etymologie der deutschen Sprache, Band 7, Dudenverlag, p. 359 : Kobel, koben, Kobold.
9. HOAD, p. 101b.
10. Géopatronyme : surname Beuzelin in France (online French)
11. Géopatronyme : surname Gosselin in France (online French) Gosselin
12. Géopatronyme : surname Étancelin in France (online French)
13. Franklin, Anna (2002). "Goblin", The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Fairies. London: Paper Tiger. ISBN 1-84340-240-8. p. 108
14. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English
15. Apples4theTeacher - short stories
16. Dutch Fairy Tales for Young Folks, 1918, compiled by William Elliot Griffis
17. Sacred texts
18. Rick Walton - folktale
19. Sacred texts
20. Ghosts, Goblins, and Haunted Castles, Aventinum Publishers, 1990 in English, page 51
21. Glasgow Street Names, Carol Foreman, Birlinn, 2007, page 58.
22. SF Site
23. F, S (2008). "Stronghold Creatures". Age Of Heroes. Retrieved 2011-02-24.
24. The Complete Encyclopedia of Elves, Goblins, and Other Little Creatures by Pierre Dubois, in English 2005
25. Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were by Michael Page & Robert Ingpen, 1987
26. "Glossary". Survivalblog.com. Retrieved 2010-08-13.
27. "Jeff Cooper’s Commentaries #7". Scribd.com. 2008-04-14. Retrieved 2010-08-13.

Further reading

• British Goblins: Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions by Wirt Sikes
• Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were by Michael Page & Robert Ingpen
• The Complete Encyclopedia of Elves, Goblins, and Other Little Creatures by Pierre Dubois
• Goblins! and The Goblin Companion by Brian Froud
• Spirits, Fairies, Gnomes and Goblins: an Encyclopedia of the Little People by Carol Rose
• Davy And The Goblin by Charles E. Carryl (1884)