Mythology

Dwarf Woman

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Tradition: Swiss Mythology
Alternative Names: Gotwärgi
Category: Dwarf

The Myth

The Dwarf Woman was a small supernatural being associated with the Gotwärgi, the dwarf folk of the Valais mountains. Her child was stunted and dwarfish in appearance, unable to speak like an ordinary child, and the creature could easily be mistaken for a strange human infant.

In Zeneggen, a mother had a child who never seemed to grow properly. Despite all her loving care, it remained tiny and dwarfish, and although it appeared intelligent and understood everything she said, it never spoke a single word. Worried and unable to understand what was wrong, the mother went to her neighbor for advice. The neighbor became suspicious and told her to give the child several empty eggshell halves to play with while secretly watching what it did. The mother followed the advice, and when the child saw the eggshells, it suddenly exclaimed in amazement that it had never seen so many little pancakes before. The mother was delighted to finally hear her child speak, but her neighbor was convinced that this proved something stranger was happening. She suspected that the mother’s real child had been stolen from its cradle and replaced with a Gotwärgi, a dwarf child.

The frightened mother was told to take the strange child up the hill and beat it until its cries could be heard across the valleys, believing that this might force the dwarf people to return her real child. Although she found it almost unbearable to strike the little creature, she eventually carried it up the hill and began to beat it. The child cried out so loudly that the surrounding hills echoed with its screams. Suddenly, a little dwarf woman came rushing toward them. In her arms was a beautiful, healthy child. The mother stared in astonishment, realizing that her own child had indeed been taken. The dwarf woman immediately snatched the stunted child from the mother’s arms, placed the beautiful child in her lap, and cried, “Then you take yours and I’ll take mine, you merciless little mother!” Clutching her own dwarfish child tightly, the dwarf woman disappeared down the mountain like a chamois, while the human mother remained behind, overwhelmed with wonder and joy as she finally held her true child again.

Sources

“Die Zwergenfrau.” SAGEN.at – Traditionelle Sagen aus der Schweiz. Reproduced by SAGEN.at.
https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/schweiz/allgemein/zwergenfrau.html

Dwarf of the Koralpe

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Tradition: Austrian Mythology
Alternative Names: Mountain Dwarf of the Koralpe
Category: Dwarf

The Myth

Deep within the Koralpe mountains of Carinthia lived a hidden people of dwarfs. Farmers living around the Lavant Valley could sometimes see the little people moving about in the mountains, apparently busy with some kind of work, although nobody knew what they were doing.

The dwarfs were believed to possess great quantities of gold and other treasures taken from inside the mountains. This rumor eventually made the local farmers greedy. They devised a plan to capture one of the dwarfs and use it to force the others to reveal where their treasure was hidden.

They succeeded in capturing one and kept the little creature prisoner for thirty years. Again and again it insisted that it possessed no treasure, but the farmers refused to believe it. They promised that it would only be allowed to return to its mountain home if it gave them the riches they desired.

After so many years of captivity, the dwarf became overwhelmed by longing for the mountains. At last it told its captors that although it could not give them gold, it could repay them with something that would prove far more valuable to everyone living around the lake.

The people accepted the offer and released the dwarf. A few days later, a tremendous rumbling came from the lake, sounding like distant thunder. The inhabitants rushed toward the water, expecting another disastrous flood.

Instead, they discovered that the lake had vanished.

Where the dark waters had once covered the Lavant Valley lay a broad stretch of rich, muddy earth. The newly exposed land was excellent for fields and meadows, and people soon began settling across it. Villages and settlements gradually appeared throughout the valley, growing prosperous from the fertile ground.

Wolfsberg was eventually built at the place where the lake had once been deepest. The dwarf had given the people something far more valuable than the gold they had sought: an entire valley in which they could live and prosper.

Sources

Franz Pehr. “Der Dank des Bergmännleins.” SAGEN.at – Traditionelle Sagen aus Österreich (Kärnten). Reproduced by SAGEN.at.
https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/oesterreich/kaernten/franz_pehr/derdankdesbergmaennleins.html

Little Man of Venice

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Tradition: Swiss Mythology
Alternative Names: The Venetian
Category: Dwarf

The Myth

The Little Man of Venice was a small, dark-haired man who regularly traveled from Venice to the high Alpine pastures of Glarus. He was an excellent gold seeker, spending his summers among the shepherds while searching the mountain rocks and streams for glittering stones. The shepherds found him strange but entertaining, and he would share their milk, cheese, whey, and hayloft while they tended their cattle. The little Venetian was remarkably successful at his work. He would climb among the rocks and search through the mountain streams, gathering stones that caught his eye, and within only eight days he could fill seven sacks with them. Once the sacks were full, he would mysteriously disappear, only to return again and begin collecting more stones. The shepherds eventually decided to play a trick on him. They secretly hid one of his sacks and waited to see what he would do. When the little man returned, he immediately knew that one of his sacks was missing and calmly asked whether the shepherds would retrieve it or whether he should do so himself. The shepherds laughed and challenged him to find it. Without hesitation, the little Venetian climbed a steep slope straight to the hiding place and returned with the missing sack, astonishing the shepherds with his uncanny knowledge.

When the summer ended and the first cold winds began sweeping over the mountains, the little man prepared to return to Venice. Before leaving, he told the shepherds that if any of them ever came to Venice, he would reward him with a sack filled with pure silver. Most of the shepherds soon forgot the promise, but one poor shepherd remembered it. He had a sickly wife and many children and knew exactly what he could do with a sack of silver. After the herds came down from the Alps, he set off on the long journey toward Venice. When he finally reached the city, he had no idea where the little Venetian lived and did not even know his name. As he wandered sadly through the narrow streets, however, someone suddenly tapped him on the shoulder. A small, elegantly dressed gentleman greeted him warmly and immediately began asking about Glarus and the shepherds he had known there. The shepherd recognized him as the little man from the Alpine pasture. The Venetian welcomed him into his magnificent home, a marble palace whose walls were so polished that they gleamed like mirrors. A dark stream flowed outside, white doves flew above it, and the shepherd was given everything he could desire, including a rich red wine that seemed to fill him with strength. Yet despite all this luxury, the shepherd could not stop thinking about his wife and children. He became increasingly homesick and longed to see his distant home again.

The Venetian understood his sadness and led him into a room the shepherd had never seen before. On its wall hung a magnificent mirror, and when the little man told him to look into it, the shepherd saw Glarus as clearly as though it were standing on the other side of the wall. He could even see his own house, where his wife was washing their child with tears in her eyes because she missed him. The Venetian then offered to send him home with either gold or silver. The shepherd remembered the promise made on the Alpine pasture and asked only for the sack of silver he had been promised. The Venetian allowed him to enter his treasury, where the shepherd filled a sack with silver. Before he left, the little man warned him to guard the sack carefully and, if he had to sleep at an inn, to place it beneath his head. The shepherd began his journey home, but one evening, still far from Switzerland, he stopped at a small Italian inn. Exhausted from the journey, he placed the heavy sack beneath his head and fell asleep.

When he awoke, he was no longer in Italy. He was lying in his own bed in Glarus, hearing the familiar clock in his house and his goats outside. For a moment he thought the entire journey to Venice had been a dream, but then he felt something hard beneath his head and discovered that the sack of silver was still there. His wife and children rushed to him, and the poor shepherd’s fortune was transformed. He became a wealthy man, and his descendants remained respected in Glarus. They became known as the Venetian people, in memory of the mysterious little man who had brought their ancestor his fortune.

Sources

“Das Venedigermännlein.” SAGEN.at – Traditionelle Sagen aus der Schweiz. Reproduced by SAGEN.at.
https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/schweiz/allgemein/venediger_maennlein.html

Eloko

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Tradition: Nkundo Mythology, Congo Mythology
Alternative Names: Biloko
Category: Dwarf

The Myth

The Eloko is a small but terrifying forest creature said to dwell inside hollow trees in the forests of the Congo. It is described as a cannibalistic dwarf or troll, with grass growing as a beard and leaves serving as its clothing. An Eloko often carries a small bell, whose sound is used to lure unsuspecting people deeper into the forest and place them under its enchantment.

Despite its small stature, the Eloko possesses tremendous strength and is far more powerful than an ordinary human. According to the tradition, only exceptional heroes or sorcerers are capable of defeating one. The creatures embody the dangers of entering the forest alone and of deliberately tempting fate.

One story tells of a man who built a fenced hut deep in the forest so that he could hunt game. Whenever he left to return to his village, he warned his wife never to answer if she heard the sound of a little bell. The bell, he told her, belonged to an Eloko, and answering its call would bring death.

One day, while her husband was away, the woman heard the bell. Its monotonous ringing seemed to come from deep within the forest, gradually drawing closer to the hut. Eventually she could no longer resist and ran outside, calling for the creature to come to her.

The Eloko appeared and announced that it had come. The woman welcomed it and prepared food, but the creature refused the meal. It told her that it ate only human flesh and demanded a piece of her body. The woman willingly offered her arm, and the Eloko cut away a piece of flesh, roasted it, and ate it before disappearing into the forest.

When her husband returned, he found her lying in bed with a serious wound. She claimed that she was suffering from sores and refused to explain what had happened. The following day, however, the same thing happened again. The Eloko returned while the husband was away, and the woman once again allowed it to take flesh from her body.

This time the husband suspected that something was terribly wrong. Instead of returning to the village, he secretly remained nearby and waited for the creature. When the Eloko came again, he confronted it. The creature declared that this time it wanted the woman’s liver.

The husband immediately attacked. He shot the Eloko with an arrow, pierced it with his spear, and finally cut off its head. But the creature had already wounded the woman in the liver, and she died from the injury. The story ends as a warning that those who deliberately play with danger may eventually be destroyed by it.

The Biloko could also appear as an organized enemy rather than solitary forest monsters. In another tale, Likinda, Itonde, and Lianja went to war against the Biloko. They scattered mbole fruits along a path and used them to lure the creatures into an ambush, killing almost all of them.

Only the sorcerer Inkankanga and his wife survived. Likinda pursued them and transformed himself into a baby, causing Inkankanga’s wife to pick him up and care for him. Later, Likinda climbed a tree and appeared to throw fruit down to the couple. Instead, he transformed himself into one of the fruits and allowed Inkankanga to swallow him.

The sorcerer realized that Likinda was now inside him and became terrified. He killed his own wife, blaming her for the disaster, and spent the rest of the day begging Likinda not to destroy him. Eventually he gave up hope, and Likinda killed him from within before returning to his village, where his strange victory became a source of laughter and celebration.

Sources

“Eloko.” A Book of Creatures. November 21, 2016. https://abookofcreatures.com/2016/11/21/eloko/

Heimchen

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Tradition: German Mythology
Alternative Names: Heimele, Butzelmännchen, Erdmännele, Heimchenkönigin
Category: Dwarf

The Myth

The Heimchen are tiny supernatural beings, sometimes no taller than a finger, who appear in several forms throughout German folklore. In the Vogtland they are little mountain people living inside a great cave, while in Thuringia they are tiny earth spirits living in the mouse holes of human houses. They are often cheerful and friendly, helping people without being seen.

The mountain Heimchen live inside a hidden cavern illuminated as brightly as daylight by a gigantic carbuncle. Gemstone flowers grow throughout the underground meadow, while a soft humming fills the cavern like the sound of harps. The entrance does not always appear, and the little mountain people cannot always be seen by human eyes.

These Heimchen keep tiny golden sheep, no larger than lambs. Their shepherdess is Ilsa, an enchanted girl dressed in white who carries a golden staff. She remains among the mountain people while waiting to be freed from her enchantment.

In Thuringia, the Heimchen are also called Heimele, Butzelmännchen, or Erdmännele. These tiny beings live in mouse holes and emerge in the evening dressed in white. Hundreds of them may gather in a meadow, where they dance together in great circular dances. Their appearances are believed to reveal whether good or bad fortune is coming to the people living nearby.

The little spirits can also reward people who care for them. Small golden boxes containing delicate and delicious gifts may be found outside their mouse holes in the morning. The Heimchen are especially fond of helping humans secretly. They tend fields, look after cattle, and watch over children when their parents are away.

The Heimchen were once said to have been particularly helpful around the villages of Cosdorf and Rödern. Their constant assistance made the farmers prosperous, as the tiny spirits quietly helped with their work and cared for the animals.

Eventually, however, a stern stranger arrived and warned the villagers that Perchta should not be trusted. He told them that the Heimchen were actually the souls of children who had died without being baptized. After hearing this, the villagers became suspicious of the little spirits and stopped accepting their help.

Perchta then decided that the time had come to leave. She gathered the Heimchen and crossed the stream with them, taking the mysterious little people away from the villages. They never returned, and the prosperity they had brought with them disappeared as well.

The Heimchen are also connected with Perchta herself. In some Thuringian traditions they form part of her supernatural retinue, appearing as the wandering souls of unbaptized children. Their nature therefore ranges from benevolent household helpers and cheerful dwarfs to mysterious spirits belonging to the world of the dead.

Sources

“Heimchen.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 4, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heimchen

Simonside Dwarf

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Tradition: English Mythology
Alternative Names: Brownmen, Bogles, Duergar
Category: Dwarf

The Myth

The Simonside Dwarfs are a race of dwarfs said to inhabit the Simonside Hills of Northumberland in northern England. They are also known as the Brownmen, Bogles, and Duergar, and are associated particularly with the remote hills and wild country of the region.

The dwarfs are said to have a leader known as Heslop, who stands as the chief of the mysterious little people of Simonside.

Sources

“Simonside Dwarfs.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 4, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simonside_Dwarfs

Barstuk

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Tradition: Polish Mythology
Alternative Names: Barstuk
Category: Dwarf

The Myth

The Barstuk is a small dwarf-like creature from the folk traditions of Warmia and Masuria. It is said to inhabit the forests, living away from human settlements and remaining mostly hidden from view.

Despite its secluded nature, the Barstuk is considered a helpful being. It secretly visits people’s houses and assists the inhabitants without revealing itself. Its quiet presence makes it a benevolent little spirit of the forest, helping those whose homes it chooses to visit.

Sources

“Barstuk.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed October 4, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barstuk

Korrigan

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Tradition: French Mythology
Alternative Names: Korrigan, Korrig, Korrik, Korr, Poulpikan, Ozigan, Nozigan, Torrigan, Viltans
Category: Dwarf

The Myth

The Korrigans are small supernatural beings of Brittany, usually described as dwarfs or fairies. They are said to be beautiful yet dangerous creatures, with golden or shining hair and an enchanting appearance. Their homes are found around streams, springs, fountains, caves, and other wild places. Some are also said to live beneath the earth, guarding hidden treasures.

Korrigans are particularly active at night. Their golden hair is said to shine in the darkness, and when the moon is full they gather together to sing, dance, and play music. Their voices and songs are beautiful enough to enchant anyone who hears them. They dance in circles around their fountains and springs, sometimes inviting humans to join them. A person who approaches them, however, may find it difficult to escape their enchantment.

The Korrigans are not always hostile. They can be helpful toward people who treat them with respect, and they are known for possessing great knowledge of treasures, magic, and the hidden workings of the world. They may help humans who show them kindness, repair damaged tools, or reward someone who performs a service for them. But they are easily offended, and their anger can be dangerous.

They are especially protective of their homes and possessions. Korrigans are said to hide and guard treasures beneath the earth, and anyone who attempts to steal from them may suffer terrible consequences. Their mischievous nature also leads them to interfere with human households, causing disorder, playing tricks, and sometimes tangling people’s hair while they sleep.

Their beauty can conceal an even darker side. Korrigan women are said to lure men toward their fountains and springs, where the enchanted gatherings take place. Some men who encounter them fall desperately in love with them. The Korrigans may also appear in the form of beautiful women with long golden hair, making them particularly dangerous to travelers who encounter them at night.

The creatures are closely associated with music and dancing. At night, their singing and instruments can be heard in lonely places, while their dances continue beneath the moon. They may invite humans into their circles, but accepting the invitation can mean entering a supernatural world from which there is no easy return.

Korrigans are also said to possess the power to foresee the future. Their knowledge of hidden treasures and magical things makes them mysterious even among other supernatural beings. They belong to the wild places of Brittany, appearing around springs, streams, caves, and ancient underground places where the boundary between the human world and the world of the fairies seems thin.

Sources

“Korrigan.” New Bestiary (Bestiary.us). Accessed October 4, 2026. https://www.bestiary.us/korrigan

Abatwa

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Tradition: Zulu Mythology, South-African Mythology
Alternative Names: Abatwa; Umtuwa
Category: Dwarf

The Myth

The Abatwa are a mysterious people of dwarfs who wander through the tall grass and sleep inside anthills. They live in the wilderness, far from villages, and are said to move together as a tiny wandering community. Because they are so small, they can hide among the grass and travel without being noticed.

The Abatwa are hunters and gatherers who live from whatever they can find. They hunt game, eat plants, and are known to consume almost anything available to them. When food becomes scarce, they continue wandering until they find another place where they can survive.

A person who unexpectedly encounters an Abatwa must be careful. The little people are said to be extremely sensitive about their size. If someone meets an Abatwa and asks, “Where did you see me?”, the creature may become suspicious and demand to know whether the person is making fun of him. Even a seemingly harmless question can therefore turn dangerous.

One story tells of a man who encountered an Abatwa while traveling. The tiny being asked whether the man had seen him. The man replied that he had, explaining that he had seen him while standing on a mountain. The Abatwa was delighted that the man had not mocked his small stature and became his friend. When the man encountered him again, he greeted him warmly and said that he had seen him on a mountain while he himself was far away. The Abatwa rejoiced, declaring that he had finally met someone who could see him from such a distance.

The Abatwa can also become dangerous when they are hunting. According to another tradition, when game becomes scarce, the little people may attack a horse, mounting it one behind another and riding away on its back. If they cannot find any animals to hunt, they may eat the horse instead.

Their greatest strength is not physical size but their ability to remain hidden. The Abatwa are said to be almost invisible while moving through the tall grass. A person may walk toward one without realizing that a tiny hunter is standing nearby. Suddenly, the Abatwa can appear and shoot a poisoned arrow. Their arrows are so deadly that even a small wound can prove fatal.

Because of this, encountering an Abatwa is considered extremely dangerous despite their tiny stature. Their small size allows them to disappear into the grass, approach unnoticed, and strike before their victim realizes that anyone is there.

The Abatwa are also associated with other traditions of small forest-dwelling peoples in southern Africa. They are described as living in groups, wandering through the wilderness, and sometimes settling among ordinary people. Those who leave the forest and become farmers are still regarded with suspicion, since their supernatural reputation remains attached to them.

Sources

“Abatva.” New Bestiary (Bestiary.us). Accessed October 4, 2026. https://www.bestiary.us/abatva

Wild Man of the Forest

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Tradition: Swedish Mythology
Alternative Names: Wild Man
Category: Dwarf

The Myth

The Wild Man is a small, ugly creature with the appearance of a troll. His body is dwarfish, while his hair is stiff and coarse like straw. He lives in a cave deep beneath the earth and possesses remarkable treasures, including magical suits of armor and magnificent horses.

A Swedish king once encountered the Wild Man while hunting. After an unsuccessful day in the forest, the king saw the strange little creature running through the trees. He chased him down and captured him. The Wild Man would not speak a single word, no matter what the king demanded of him, so the king had a strong wooden cage built beside his castle and kept him imprisoned there. People came from far and wide to stare at the mysterious creature, but he remained completely silent.

When the king went away to war, he entrusted the Wild Man’s cage to the queen. Their young son often wandered around the castle grounds and eventually began playing with the captive. One day the prince’s golden apple fell through the bars of the cage. The Wild Man threw it back, and the two played this game for some time until the Wild Man finally kept the apple for himself.

The prince begged for it back. The Wild Man agreed, but only if the boy would set him free. He instructed the prince to ask his mother to comb his hair and secretly take the key from her girdle. The boy followed his instructions, unlocked the cage, and freed the Wild Man. In return, the creature gave him his golden apple and promised that if the prince ever needed his help, he would repay the favor.

The king eventually returned and discovered that his prisoner had escaped. Furious, he demanded to know who had released him. When the young prince confessed, the king remembered his oath that whoever allowed the Wild Man to escape would die, even if that person were his own son. He ordered the prince to be taken into the forest and killed.

The servants could not bring themselves to murder the boy. Instead, they bought a pig from a swineherd, took its heart, and returned to the king pretending that it was the prince’s heart. The young prince was left alive and wandered through the forest until he eventually reached another kingdom, where he disguised himself as a farmhand and became a herdsman.

Years passed, and the prince grew into a strong and handsome young man. The king of this new land had a daughter who declared that she would marry only the man capable of riding to the summit of the Glass Mountain in full armor. The mountain was so steep and slippery that every suitor who attempted the climb fell back down.

Hearing the commotion from the forest, the young herdsman wished that he could take part. The Wild Man then appeared before him once again. Remembering the prince’s kindness, he led him beneath the earth into his hidden cave. There he revealed a magnificent suit of steel armor and a splendid horse. The prince mounted the horse and rode toward the Glass Mountain, but vanished into the forest after making a remarkable attempt.

At the next trial, the Wild Man provided him with silver armor and a white horse. Again the disguised prince rode up the mountain farther than any of the other challengers before disappearing into the woods. At the third trial, the Wild Man brought out armor forged entirely from gold and an extraordinary golden horse.

This time the prince reached the very summit. He greeted the princess, received the golden apple from her hand, and rode back down the mountain before disappearing into the forest.

The princess refused to forget the mysterious golden knight. Eventually the king ordered everyone in the kingdom to gather so that she could identify him. Among the crowd she noticed a humble herdsman wearing a gray mantle and hood. She pulled back his hood and immediately recognized him as the golden knight.

The supposed herdsman then cast aside his rough cloak and revealed himself as the prince he truly was, still carrying the golden apple. He married the princess and received half of her father’s kingdom.

After helping the prince fulfill his destiny, the Wild Man disappeared from the story, and nothing more was ever heard of him.

Sources

Stroebe, Clara, ed. The Swedish Fairy Book. Translated by Frederick H. Martens, with illustrations by George W. Hood. New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1921.