As the first use of gremlins was during WW1 and WW2 from RAF pilots, there isn't any origins of Gremlins in folklore though the name gremlin is believed to come from the merging of the Anglo Saxon word Gremian meaning to provoke/vex and with the word Goblin which is a classic creature in folk lore and pop culture. To go further into researching the origins of this creature I think its good to delve into the folklore surrounded around Goblins.
There is no consistent representation of goblins in Folklore though there origins are believed to be linked to fairies. One common theory is that they come from the interest in Paganism which is a diverse concentration of faiths and traditions such as ecology, witchcraft, Celtic traditions or certain gods. Goblins could have come from the belief that there could possibly be an evil version of Pagans ( Pagans being the word to describe country dweller or villager.) that have turned into evil spirits. Another theory is that they originated from France in a cleft of the Pyrenees mountain range, but at some point spread throughout Europe.
Goblins In British Folklore
Another common British folklore myth is that mischievous goblins would set up grottos near a persons house and attach themselves to that household. It was believed that the goblin would go on to cause havoc in the household by smashing pots and pans, snatching nightclothes, Moving furniture and rapping the walls. It was also believed that these goblins would gift the children of the household with gifts if they behaved.
Redcap Goblin
A common Scottish myth is of a creature called a Red cap, also known as Powrie or Dunter. A Redcap is more of a malevolent murderous type of goblin unlike other depictions seen in folklore. They where known to inhabit old decrepit castles in Scotland and to prey on travellers who wandered in their home. Redcap goblins are mostly distinguished by the blood soaked red cap they wear, it was believed if the cap would dry out from blood the goblin would die. Redcap goblins are much faster than the average man so the way to deal with them was one of two methods. These methods where believed to be either recite a passage from the Bible or to show them a cross, this in turn would cause the goblin to combust into flames leaving no evidence of the creature.
A famous folklore story that features a Red Cap Goblin is the tale of Lord William De Soulis who resided in Hermitage Castle. Lord William wanted to gain mystical demonic powers so he allied himself with a goblin called Robin Redcap. As assistant to the lord, Robin wreaked havoc on the local people surrounding Hermitage castle and bestowing powers on the Lord. One of these was the power to not be harmed by any sword, spear or arrow along with this no rope could bind him. With this power Lord William De Soulis planned to become the new king of Scotland. Though by this point Robin Redcap had terrorised and annoyed the local villagers so much that they had sent word to the current King of Scotland of Lord William's traitorous plans, In return the King of Scotland rode down with an army and captured Lord William binding him with lead and boiling him alive at Nine Stane Rig in a circle of stones.
Brownie Scottish Goblin
Brownie is another type of goblin believed to reside in Scotland though this one is closer in characteristics to the English counterpart, with it attatching itself to one household. It would be commonly heard at night cleaning the household and moving furniture about. Its believed he could make bees settle and relax.
Typically he would be gifted bread though any other kind of gifts would upset him and cause him to get up to mischief. If the owners of the house made him a full suit he would leave and never be seen again.
Kallikantzaros (Greek Goblin Folklore)
A Kallikantzaros is a malevolent goblin that is found in Greek and Cypriot folklore. It is believed that the creature spends all year round dwelling in caves in Greece slowly sawing at the World Tree (a mythical tree that is believed to hold the world up as we know it.) until December 25th till January 6th. While they leave for the winter solstice the world tree heals all damage received by the little creatures. While out in the winter solstice period, the Kallikantzaros will sneak into houses either through chimneys, keyholes or open windows. Once in the house the creature will begin to steal and eat food, damage furniture and urinate on food stores and cupboards. Though they're are ways to stop the creature entering you're home, these ways include leaving a colander on you're doorstep this will interest the creature and it will have the need to sit and count all the holes on the colander. It will do this till morning and once the sun has risen the light will kill the small furry creature. Another method of stopping the creature from entering you're home is to leave a yule log over the holiday period burning so it cant come down through the chimney.
Kobold (German Goblin Folk Lore)
Kobolds are similar to British Red cap goblins. They haunt mines all around Germany and attack trespassers into their cave. It is believed that they are invisible to the human eye and can even attach themselves to household to haunt and perform similar activities to the other type of British goblin I went through earlier.
Danish Nisse
Now categorising Nisse as Goblins is quite a controversial thing and many texts make sure to note not to confuse them with the common folk lore myth of goblins though most texts and videos breaking down several folk lore stories of goblin the Danish Nisse is always referenced so I think it is interesting to give the stories of them some thought. The Nisse also known as Nissen or Tomten was a short creature and is primarily associated with Christmas even though this is rather misleading.
Nissen unlike other stories of goblins and Dwarves that where known to inhabit caves and forest, he was more known to live in barns and houses and would help the household. In most depictions and stories he is seen as good natured creature that liked to do practical joke on members of the house. Though the Christmas link came from the belief that on Christmas eve he should be presented with the best local cuisine, typically this would be a large portion of Christmas porridge. If he didn't receive this offering he would take it as an insult and make life quite unpleasant for the household. Another defining feature of the Nisse is their love to care for creatures.
Goblins In Modern Popculture and Literarture
As in folklore routes Goblins have had many different origins and attributes, when it comes to literature they have had a diverse amount of appearances. Some of the earliest fairy tales to incorporate them being The Goblin and the Huckster by Hans Christian Andersen (1853), The Benevolent Goblin by Gesta Romanorum, and The Goblin of Adachigahara (Japanese). Though their was one writer I believe gave birth to the modern look of this fantastical creature in either literature, Table top/video games, TV and Films, This writer of course being J.R.R Tolkien. When writing his hit ground breaking series of books set in his fantastical world of middle earth, Tolkien littered his world with goblins/orcs (In the original books it seems that these are just two different names for the same creature, when the films later on would seem to draw a line between them.). These creatures would be small stunted with pointed ears and in his world where the dark corrupted version of elves. Though Tolkien cant be credited alone for the modern look of goblins, growing up it was said that he was a big fan of the book The Princess and the Goblin written by George MacDonald in 1872. In this book the goblins are portrayed as small malevolent, subterranean creatures that reside in caves.
One representation that I feel goes more back to the goblin routes of being small mischievous gnome like creatures, is the use of the creature in the film Labyrinth. The film sees the small goblin like creatures being lead by the character of Jareth the Goblin King as they stop the main character of Sarah try and recover her baby brother. The goblins in this are beastly little creature but at the same time like to cause mischief and even break in to song and dance with their leader who's played by the late David Bowie.
Going fourth from Tolkiens representation of goblins, most media to include them has followed similar paths of them being small stunted cave dwelling creatures with bright green skin, pointy elf like ears and red/yellow eyes. Some of the most well known franchises to show goblins in this light being the Warhammer table top game, Dungeons and Dragons, Magic the Gathering and the World of Warcraft series.
another use of goblins in media I wanted to touch upon and research was the use of them in video game series Styx. The game sets itself apart with it being the only piece of media I could find where the main character is a Goblin. The main character of Styx follows similar design approaches I've detail out as before with him having green skin, pointy elf like ears and bright yellow eyes. The games doesn't do anything revolutionary with the design or the characters personality but it does make good use of the movement that a small stunted creature could do in man made environments.
How this Could Influence Going Forward
A part of me is certain that the ideas I come up with will feature a small group of creatures or a single character and I think there's a lot of design element prevalent in what I've shown here that have taught me routes I just wouldn't want to go down. This being the modern day take on goblins and goblin like creatures, I would want to capture other aspects found in the original folklore such as with the brownie and its need to clean the house at night or the vulgar need the Kallikantzaros has to urinate on food stores but will easily be distracted by counting holes on a colander. I think if I wanted to make a race of small creatures I would want them to have these fun and whacky character traits.
Going forward with stories, worlds and scenarios I like from this research and would want to explore further, there are several areas I would like to consider and delve deeper. These being first of all the story of Robin Redcap and him working under Lord William De Soulis, I feel like this story could be crafted into an interesting world and span some interesting mechanics. Though the main thing I would like to look into taking forward is the idea of this creature attaching its self to household and causing havoc to residents from its small grotto, almost gives me visions of a Home Alone (A Christmas film in which the main character a child battles off robbers with makeshift traps) like scenario in which a small creature is just setting up house hold traps to cause mischief.