British Goblins: Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and TraditionsSikes, Wirt
History
British Goblins: Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions
Sikes, Wirt
Folklore -- Wales; Goblins -- Wales; Mythology, Celtic -- Wales; Mythology, Welsh; Wales -- Social life and customs
The Rev. R. Tibbet, a dissenting minister from Montgomeryshire, was
one night sleeping in the house, with another person in the bed with
him; and they had a tussle with the Tridoll spirit for possession of
the bed-clothes. By praying and pulling with equal energy, the parson
beat the spirit, and kept the bed-clothes. But the spirit, apparently
angered by this failure, struck the bed with the cawnen (a vessel to
hold grain) such a blow that the bed was knocked out of its place.
Then they lit a light and the spirit left them alone. It was a
favourite diversion with this goblin to hover about William Thomas
when he was shaving, and occasionally cuff him on the side of his
head--the consequence being that the persecuted farmer shaved himself
by fits and starts, in a very unsatisfactory manner, and in a most
uncomfortable state of mind. For about two years it troubled the whole
of that family, during which period it had intervals of quiet lasting
for a fortnight or three weeks. Once it endeavoured to hinder them
from going to church, by hiding the bunch of keys, on the Lord's day,
so that for all their searching they could not find them. The good man
of the house bade them not to yield to the devil, and as they were
loth to appear in their old clothes at meeting, they were about to
break the locks; but first concluded to kneel in prayer, and so did.
After their prayers they found the keys where they used to be, but
where they could not find them before. One night the spirit divided
the books among the members of the family, after they had gone to bed.
To the man of the house it gave the Bible, to the woman of the house
'Allen's Sure Guide,' and upon the bed of the maid-servant (whom it
was specially fond of plaguing) it piled a lot of English books, which
language she did not understand. The maid was heartily afraid of the
spirit, and used to fall on her knees and go to praying with
chattering teeth, at all hours of the day or night; and prayer this
spirit could not abide. When the maid would go about in the night with
a candle, the light thereof would diminish, grow feeble as if in
dampness, and finally go out. The result was the maid was generally
excused from making journeys into cellar or garret after dark, very
much to her satisfaction.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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