Lubber fiend
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The lubber fiend, Lob, lubberkin, lurdane or Lob Lie-By-The-Fire was a legendary creature of English folklore that was similar in attributes to the "brownie" or "Urisk" of Scotland and northern England, the "hob" of northern England, the Slavic "domovoi" and Scandinavian "tomte". It has been related also to Robin Goodfellow, and Hobgoblins. It is best known for being mentioned by John Milton. It is generally connected with the north of England.
He is typically described as a large, hairy man with a tail, who performs housework in exchange for a saucer of milk and a place in front of the fire. One story claims he is the giant son of a witch and the Devil.
He is a very similar figure to Robin Goodfellow, a.k.a. Puck. Indeed on Puck, a moon of Uranus, there is a crater named "Lob", in deference to the system of nomenclature on this satellite, whose features are all named after various mischievous spirits.
[edit] Lubber fiend in literature
The lubber fiend appears also in The Red Axe by S.R. Crockett (1900)
- "That fool, Jan Lubber Fiend, will ever be at his tricks. 'Tis my young mistress that encourages him, more is the pity! For poor serving-men are held responsible for his knavish on-goings. Why, I had just set him cross-legged in the yard with a basket of pease to shell, seeing how he grows as much as a foot in the night—or near by. But so soon as my back is turned he will be forever answering the door and peeping out into the street to gather the mongrel boys about him. 'Tis a most foul Lubber Fiend to keep about an honest house, plaguing decent folks withal!" (Chapter X The Lubber Fiend)
It also appears in Lob Lie-By-The-Fire, by Juliana H. Ewing, Abbeychurch by Charlotte M. Yonge.
