Whereas the majority of fantastical, mystical, or mythological creatures made their appearances many centuries ago, there are those that still appear in more recent times.
One such creature is the Gremlin, and not the ones from the 1984 movie Gremlins, rather these creatures originated during the first World War.
They are quite small creatures, with their height typically being less than a foot tall, so that they can cause the most amount of mischief while going unnoticed.
Gremlins are a race of troublemakers, often being described as little men with large ears, and usually covered in fur or wearing a tiny outfit.
Much like the similar fantasy creatures of Fey or Goblins, Gremlins loved to cause mischief and create problems for people. The big difference, however, is that Gremlins used technical devices and machines to do their annoying deeds, rather than strange magics.
They mostly served as the personification of inconvenience or trouble, with most of their pranks being things such as breaking tools, hitting your thumb with a hammer, throwing parts at someone, or burning food.
Despite this, it was understood that Gremlins did not take sides during the conflict, as they were blamed for incidents on both sides of the war, and they did nothing out of malice, rather it was for their own amusement.
Later on, during WWII, Gremlins were most often associated with the Airforce, and would be blamed for aircraft failure. These failures came in many forms, from cutting wires to playing with the flight controls.
And, of course, the Gremlins loved to play tricks on the younger or newer pilots.
The belief in Gremlins soon caused them to appear on many warning and safety precaution posters, reminding people to do things the correct way, or the Gremlins would cause you problems.
Apart from the safety posters, they also found themselves starring in political cartoons, propaganda, and even in Disney films and shorts.
Unfortunately, Gremlins are a somewhat newer species of fantasy creature, and thus there is not a lot of information about them.
Furthermore, Gremlins do not make as many appearances as they did during World War I and World War II, which is a good thing for the Airforce, and have mostly been pushed out of the public eye.
But I ask you dear reader, do you think these little creatures are still about causing problems for the mechanics of the world?
