pukwudgie

English

Noun

pukwudgie (plural pukwudgies)

1. A creature in Algonquian (Lenape and Wampanoag) folklore, typically said to be a short humanoid with magical abilities; the creatures were once friendly to humans but have become malicious tricksters.
   • 1910, Winthrop Packard, Woodland Paths, page 84:

     […] cliff-dwellers, the many-footed rock lovers finding foothold where you would hardly think the lichens even would survive. I never tramp these roads, which it sometimes seems as if the pukwudgies moved about in the night […]

   • 1982, Jean Fritz, The good giants and the bad pukwudgies, Putnam Pub Group:

     The Narrow Land was in chaos in those days, because the pukwudgies were always causing trouble and the good giant Maushop was often too lazy to help. Jean Fritz has drawn from old legends to write of the formation of Cape Cod and the ...

   • 1988, Sharron L. McElmeel, An Author a Month: For Pennies, Teacher Ideas Press:

     Draw and paint your own version of a pukwudgie.

   • 1997, Clayton Emery, The Tale of the Campfire Vampires, Aladdin Paperbacks, →ISBN:

     And so the pukwudgies had the final laugh. They'd beaten the cruel giant, who ended up floating out to sea. The pukwudgies stood on a cliff and waved goodbye, then flew back into the forest.

   • 2018, Wil Elrick, Alabama Lore: The Choccolocco Monster, Huggin' Molly, the Lost Town of Cottonport and Other Mysterious Tales, Arcadia Publishing, →ISBN, page 71:

     Yes, the internet is rife with tales of the little people, but that did me little good for finding out more about the Piedmont Pukwudgie or any pukwudgie specific to Alabama.