Kobold

A kobold (German: [ˈkoːbɔlt]; kobolt, kobolde, cobold) is a general or generic name for the household spirit (hausgeist) in German folklore.

It may invisibly make noises (i.e., be a poltergeist), or helpfully perform kitchen chores or stable work. But it can be a prankster as well. It may accept a bribe or offering of milk, etc. for its efforts or good behaviour. When mistreated (cf. fig. right), its reprisal can be utterly cruel.

A hütchen (Low German: hodeken) meaning "little hat" is one subtype; this and other kobold sprites are known for its pointy red cap, such as the niss (cognate of nisse of Norway) or puk (cognate of puck fairy) which are attested in Northern Germany, alongside drak, a dragon-type name, as the sprite is sometimes said to appear as a shaft of fire, with what looks like a head. There is also the combined form Nis Puk.

A house sprite Hinzelmann is a shape-shifter assuming many forms, such as a feather or animals. The name supposedly refers to it appearing in cat-form, Hinz[e] being an archetypical cat name. The similarly named Heinzelmännchen of Cologne (recorded 1826) is distinguished from Hinzelmann.

The Schrat is cross-categorized as a wood sprite and a house sprite, and some regional examples correspond to kobold, e.g., Upper Franconia in northern Bavaria. The kobold is sometimes conflated with the mine demon kobel or Bergmännlein/Bergmännchen, which Paracelsus equated with the earth elemental gnome. It is generally noted that there can be made no clear demarcation between a kobold and nature spirits.

The Klabautermann aboard ships are sometimes classed as a kobold.

A kobold is known by various names (discussed under § Subtypes). As a household spirit, it may perform chores such as tidying the kitchen, but can be prankish, and when mistreated can resort to retribution, sometimes of the utmost cruelty. It is often said to require the household to put out sweet milk (and bread, bread soup) as offering to keep it in good behaviour.

The legend of the house sprite's retribution is quite old. The tale of the hütchen (or hodekin in Low German, meaning "little hat"; tale retold as Grimms Deutsche Sagen No. 74) is set in the historical background after c. 1130, and attested in a work c. 1500. This sprite that haunted the castle of the Bishop of Hildesheim, retaliated against a kitchen boy who splashed filthy water on it (Cf. fig. top right) by leaving the lad's dismembered body cooking in a pot. Likewise the resident Chimmeken of Mecklenburg Castle, in 1327, allegedly chopped up a kitchen boy into pieces after he took and drank the milk offered to the sprite, according to an anecdote recorded by historian Thomas Kantzow (d. 1542).