The Second Night of Halloween: Feeling Impish?

Welcome to the Ten Nights of Halloween! Each day I'll introduce you to one of the characters in my picture book, Halloween Good Night.

How many wood imps have you seen lately?

Today is day two of the Ten Nights of Halloween! We started with one little Globster lurking in the swamp, and now we have two naughty Imps giggling in the woods!  

The wood imp is thought to be a small (less than two feet) human-like creature, once a part of the fairy people. But unlike fairies or pixies, imps are usually not very attractive. Wood imps particularly prefer woodlands and often hide in dank, rotting vegetation which as you might expect isn't so good for the complexion. 

Imps seem to simultaneously crave and loathe human attention. They follow humans to play tricks on them, but are seldom actually seen at work. Historically the Imp legend may have first been recorded around the 1300s when, according to tales, the devil, being upset by the completion of a certain cathedral, sent two imps to wreak havoc. When an angel stepped in to stop them, one imp lobbed a rock, but was turned to stone. His fellow imp escaped, but the rock-tosser remains in the cathedral to this day, forever frozen as a sculpture in the cathedral's beautiful stonework. As with most legends, the oral history likely preceded this telling by generations.

Some sources consider imps humanoid and fairy-like, harmlessly pranking humans out of boredom or desire for friendship. Others claim imps are darker, spies and informants for dangerous supernatural entities, perhaps closer to the lizard-like demons pictured above than spritely fairies. In fact, imps in the form of unusual pets (black cats or dogs, lizards, spiders, etc.) were once sought during witch investigations as proof of witchcraft.

A video catches the tricksy Imp:

In case you think Imps are just a myth, check out this footage below.

Our favorite Impish crafts!

Like Globsters, Imp crafts are scarce. But I searched and searched, and finally found some impish fun just for you! 

Technically a fairy craft, omit the wings and you have an adorable Imp!

And from my own site, an adorable wood imp finger puppet tutorial!