#45: Goblins

Puppies, Spiderman villains, chicken wings, broken hearts, and goblin blood: this week's episode has it all! The Cru launch Spooky Season- their month of monster stories- with some extra panache for y'all to enjoy as the leaves change, the air crisps, and the cider floweth freely. From The Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology, and Legend: Goblin A household spirit who plays the same role in French folklore as the Scotch and English brownies, bogles, and boggarts, the German kobolds, etc. He is very helpful around the house but also of capricious and erratic temper, mischievous and prankish, given to rapping on walls and doors, moving furniture in the night, breaking dishes, banging pots and pans around, snatching bedclothes off sleepers, etc. Food is left out for the goblin, and often doors are left open for him, just as for all household spirits of this kind in other parts of Europe. Goblins frequent homes where the wine is plentiful and the children pretty. They bring the children dainty tidbits but also punish them when they disobey their mothers. They are fond of horses and often ride them in the night, but also often tangle their manes. The recommended way to get rid goblin (if he becomes more of a nuisance than a help) is to sprinkle flaxseed on the floor. He is such a good housekeeper that he will be obliged to pick it up after a while he will get tired and go away.Stories begin around the 11:30 mark.Like this weeks episode and wish you could read as well as listen? Subscribe to our Substack for a summary of our opening discussion, a story from the episode, and a writing prompt!  Be sure to follow us on Instagram (if that's your sort of thing). Please do send us an email with your story if you write along, which we hope you will do. Episodes of Radio FreeWrite are protected by a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) license. All Stories remain the property of their respective authors.