Prince Arthur and the Fairy Queen by Johann Heinrich Füssli, c. 1788
Prince Arthur and the Fairy Queen by Johann Heinrich Füssli, c. 1788
Mythologies around the world speak of beings which cannot be defined as good or evil. German folklore mentions a household elemental named kobold. Even though he can be helpful, as a trickster, he can make mischief and play pranks on the members of his household. He can hide tools and other objects and he may push over the people who live in the house causing them to fall. On the other hand, he can also help with household chores, provide help in finding lost objects and, sometimes, he even is said to sing to the children.

Apart from the household kobold, there is another type of kobold which legends say resides in caves and mines and haunts them. In 1657, metallurgist Georg Landmann published a study entitled "De Animantibus Subterraneis" in which he explained that the belief in these kobolds dates back to at least the 13th century, but older accounts of similar spirits also existed in Ancient Greece where the mischievous entity was referred to as a "kobalos".

All these examples discussed here are but a few out of the numerous types of tricksters appearing in mythologies, folklore and stories of the world. From fairy tale characters like Reynard the Fox or Rumpelstiltskin and up to jinn, elementals and trickster spirits, mischievous entities play an important part in the tales and mythologies to which they belong.

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