Encounter Atlas

Creature index / Fairies and little people

Hob

Also called Hob-thrush, Hob-thrust, Hobman, Dobby, Lob

A small, hairy northern English farm spirit that helps out, but leaves if given new clothes.

A hob is a small household or farm spirit of northern England, especially Yorkshire. 'Hob' is a short form of Robin, and calling the spirit by a homely nickname was a way of making it less frightening. Hobs are described as small, hairy, wizened men who work at night in the farmyard or the house.

Like brownies, hobs are touchy. Speak badly of one and it may break dishes or let the cattle out. Give it a new shirt or hood and it vanishes, often with a rhyme such as 'Ha! a cap and a hood, Hob'll never do mair good.' A Farndale story tells of a farmer so plagued by his hob that he packed up to move, only to hear the hob say it was coming too.

Some hobs had their own homes in the landscape. The Hob Holes, sea caves at Runswick Bay on the North Yorkshire coast, were said to house a hob who could cure children of whooping cough. Mothers brought their children at low tide and called, 'Hob Hole hob, my child has the kin cough, take it off, take it off!'

What witnesses report

  • Farm work done overnight
  • Broken crockery after an insult
  • Livestock let loose
  • A spirit that follows a family when they move

Famous cases

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    Related

    Browniesaka Broonie, BrùnaidhA shaggy household spirit that does farm work at night in return for a bowl of cream.Hobgoblinaka Robin Goodfellow, PuckA homely English household goblin, helpful but fond of practical jokes, like Shakespeare's Puck.Tomteaka Nisse, TomtenisseThe small grey-clad farm guardian of Scandinavia, who expects porridge with butter at Christmas.Koboldaka Hausgeist, HütchenGermany's household sprite, helpful when fed and vicious when mocked, and the root of the word cobalt.Goblinsaka Gobelin, GobelinusThe grotesque, mischievous little creatures of European folklore, and a catch-all name for small fae.