imp

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Close-up image of the Lincoln Imp at the Medieval Cathedral of Lincoln, England.

Old woodcut showing woman feeding imps

An imp is a mythological being similar to a fairy or demon, frequently described in folklore and superstition. The word may perhaps derive from the term ympe, used to denote a young grafted tree.

Imps are often described as mischievous more than seriously threatening, and as lesser beings rather than more important supernatural beings. The attendants of the devil are sometimes described as imps. They are usually described as lively and having small stature.

Folklore

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Originating from Germanic folklore the imp was a small lesser demon. It should also be noted that unlike the Christian faith and stories, demons in Germanic legends were not necessarily always evil. Imps were often mischievous rather than evil or harmful and in some regions they were attendants of the gods.

They are often shown as small in stature and not very attractive creatures. Their behavior is described as being wild and uncontrollable much the same as fairies and in some cultures they are often considered the same beings both sharing the same sense of being free spirited and enjoyment of all things fun loving. It was later in history that people began to associate fairies as being good and imps as being malicious and evil. However both creatures were fond of pranks and misleading people. Most of the time the pranks were harmless fun but some could be upsetting and harmful such as the switching babies or leading travelers astray in places they were not familiar with. Though imps are often thought of as being immortal, they can be damaged or harmed by certain weapons and enchants or be kept out of peoples homes by the use of Wards.

Imps were often portrayed as lonely little creatures always in search of human attention. They often used jokes and pranks as a means of attracting human friendship, which often backfired when people became tired or annoyed of the imp's endeavors, usually driving it away.

Even if the imp was successful in getting the friendship it sought it often still played pranks and jokes on its friend either out of boredom or simply because this was the nature of the imp. This trait gave way to using the term “impish” for someone who loves pranks and practical jokes. To this end it came to be believed that imps were the servants of witches and warlocks where the little demons served as spies and informants. During the time of the witch hunts supernatural creatures such as imps were sought out as proof of witchcraft though often the so called “imp” was merely a black cat, lizard, toad or some other form of uncommon pet.

Imps have also been described as being “bound” or contained in some sort of object such as a sword or crystal ball. In other cases imps were simply kept in a certain object and summoned only when their masters had need of them. Some even had the ability to grant their owners wishes much like a genie. This was the object of the 1891 story The Bottle Imp by Robert Louis Stevenson which told of an imp contained in a bottle that would grant the owner their every wish but their soul would be sent to hell if they didn't sell the bottle to a new owner before their death.

Imps can be found in art and architecture through out the world most of the time carefully and painstakingly hidden only being found by the most interested and observant of people.

See also

• Boggart
• Brownie
• Goblin
• Gremlin
• Kallikantzaros
• Kappa
• Leprechaun
• Lincoln Imp
• Mandragora
• Pooka
• Puck
• Rumpelstiltskin