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Folklore wiki - Grindylow kind
Jan. 2nd, 2019 09:14 pmFor Christmas, I received a copy of Katharine Briggs's An Encyclopedia of Fairies : Hobgoblins, Brownies, Bogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures. I've been wanting a copy for more than 3 decades, so I am very thrilled to have it now.
Today I opened the book at random and found an entry for grindylows.
Not very much there.
In the Harry Potter textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, it says
That's seems a bit more informative. But no stories.
The entry in Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: an encyclopedia of folklore, legend, and myth by Carole Rose states
The "see also" line mentions some named Grindylows - again Jenny Greenteeth but also Nellie Long-arms and Peg Powler; and it also suggests that the Oriental Kappa may be a relative of the Grindylow.
While searching the internets for individual stories about grindylows, I came across a most interesting page, http://www.hogwartsishere.com/courses/COMC-201/lesson/70/ - a lesson in the curriculum of a student of Hogwarts.
My first introduction to grindylows ever was an episode of Ghostbusters. IIRC, the grindylow lived in the sewers and was preying on ... inspiring ... a child to act out and "be bad"; and I don't recall as well as I thought, because they called the creature a "Grundel". According to the Ghostbusters, the child slowly becomes a new grundel unless the bond between the child and the elder grundel can be broken. This is a very different fate from the grindylow's recorded habit of eating the flesh of its young victims.
Today I opened the book at random and found an entry for grindylows.
Grindylow. Like Jenny Greenteeth, this is a Yorkshire water-demon who lurks in deep stagnant pools to drag down children who come too near to the water. It is mentioned by Mrs. Wright in a list of cautionary Nursery Bogies.
Not very much there.
In the Harry Potter textbook Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, it says
A horned, pale-green water demon, the Grindylow is found in lakes throughout Britain and Ireland. It feeds on small fish and is aggressive towards wizards and Muggles alike, though the merpeople have been known to domesticate it. The Grindylow has very long fingers, which, though they exert a powerful grip, are easy to break.
That's seems a bit more informative. But no stories.
The entry in Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: an encyclopedia of folklore, legend, and myth by Carole Rose states
This is the name of a monster in the folklore of Yorkshire, England. It is described as a humanoid monster, with excessively long arms and fingers, inhabiting the marsthe hes and deep, stagnant pools. There it awaits any unwary children, unattended by parents to venture to the edge. The Grindylow will swoop on the unsuspecting child and drag it to be devoured in the depths of the murky waters. Grindylow is, of course, a nursery bogie whose activities were used by anxious parents to keep their children safe from stagnant waters.
The "see also" line mentions some named Grindylows - again Jenny Greenteeth but also Nellie Long-arms and Peg Powler; and it also suggests that the Oriental Kappa may be a relative of the Grindylow.
While searching the internets for individual stories about grindylows, I came across a most interesting page, http://www.hogwartsishere.com/courses/COMC-201/lesson/70/ - a lesson in the curriculum of a student of Hogwarts.
My first introduction to grindylows ever was an episode of Ghostbusters. IIRC, the grindylow lived in the sewers and was preying on ... inspiring ... a child to act out and "be bad"; and I don't recall as well as I thought, because they called the creature a "Grundel". According to the Ghostbusters, the child slowly becomes a new grundel unless the bond between the child and the elder grundel can be broken. This is a very different fate from the grindylow's recorded habit of eating the flesh of its young victims.
