A Coblyn approaches, but is he friend or foe?

A voice calls out: “Know your goblins.” Words of wisdom that ought to be engraved in every public space in the country. There are many different kinds of goblin, not just in Britain but throughout the world - but which are friendly, and which are devious little miscreants? Being able to identify them correctly might save you a great deal of trouble in the long run. Indeed, goblin education should be compulsory in every school throughout the land.

Today, I will speak of a type of goblin from Wales: the mine-dwelling coblyn.

The name coblyn (plural coblynau) has two possible meanings: one is “knocker” or “thumper”, whilst the other is “sprite”. They stand at around a foot and a half tall and are generally considered rather ugly; however, they are also thought to be friendly and good-natured. Like their Cornish cousins, the Knockers, they inhabit mines and caverns. In dress, they mimic a miner’s garb, wearing functional work clothes and a small hard hat. They carry miniature hammers and picks, and can be found pushing tiny wheel barrows busily about or else industriously working away at a seam of precious metal. - bless them.

They are more often heard than seen, and workers in the dark depths report the sound of them pounding away in distant, abandoned tunnels. Generally, they are considered to bring good luck, but be wary: if you speak ill of them, they may grow moody and begin throwing stones.

Coblynau were regarded as protectors of the mine, and any peculiar occurrences - such as strange noises or missing equipment - were often attributed to them. They were also believed to lead workers to rich veins of ore, and in some cases hidden treasure, by knocking or rapping in a particular area.

Occasionally, people have reported encountering these miniature miners outside of caverns, often in mountainous regions, much to the surprise of unsuspecting ramblers. The Rev. Edmund Jones, in his book A Relation of Apparitions of Spirits in the County of Monmouth and the Principality of Wales (printed 1813), recounts the following encounter:

Egbert Williams, “a pious young gentleman of Denbighshire, then at school,” was one day playing in a field with three girls, one of whom was his sister. Near the stile beyond Lanelwyd House, they saw a company of fifteen coblynau dancing in the middle of the field. They danced in a manner somewhat akin to Morris dancers, but with a wildness and swiftness in their movements. They were clothed in red like British soldiers and wore red handkerchiefs spotted with yellow, wound around their heads. A strange circumstance was that although they were almost as tall as ordinary men, they retained the unmistakable appearance of dwarfs.

Presently, one of them left the group and ran towards the children near the stile, who were terribly frightened and scrambled to escape. Barbara Jones got over first, then her sister, and as Egbert Williams helped his sister across, they saw the coblyn close upon them. They barely made it over before its hairy hand grasped the stile. It stood there, leaning upon it, gazing after them as they fled, with a grim, copper-coloured countenance and a fierce expression. The young people ran to Lanelwyd House and called the elders out, but though they hurried quickly to the field, the dwarfs had already vanished.

Rev. Edmund Jones also recounts a less alarming encounter, experienced by one William Evans of Hafodafel:

While crossing the Beacon Mountain very early in the morning, he passed what appeared to be a fairy coal mine, where fairies were busily at work. Some were cutting coal, others carrying it to fill sacks, and some lifting the loads onto horses’ backs - all in complete silence. He considered it “a most extraordinary, supernatural sight” and was greatly impressed, for he knew there was no coal mine in that place. He was described as a man of unquestionable honesty, “a great man in the world - above telling an untruth.”

Remember my friends being able to correctly identify a goblin is an essential life skill so stay informed, stay vigilant and most importantly Stay Spooky.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog, my friend. I hope you found it enjoyable - perhaps even useful. Please consider picking up a copy of my new book, Threads of Shadow - chock-full of phantoms and monsters, the stories entwining into a novel guaranteed to send a shiver down your spine - available worldwide on Amazon. Simply search P. A. Sheldon, or click the link below.

Alternatively, you will find plenty of free stories, written by yours truly, in the download section of this website.

Until next week.