Klabautermann: Sea Sprites of Maritime Folklore

Superstition at Sea

There is no shortage of superstition and lore associated with seafaring. The significance of ocean travel, ship building, and fishing in the evolution of humanity, culture, and society overall cannot be overstated. Humanity has thrived along waterways since prehistory, and our connection to the water has evolved along with us. This makes it no surprise that there are countless gods, demons, and other supernatural entities associated with the ocean and with seafaring. Among these entities is one particularly well recognized creature referred to as the Klabautermann.

The Klabautermann is recognized as one of the three types of kobold. Kobolds are a type of sprite originating from Germanic mythology. Kobolds are usually beings that live in peoples’ homes and act as house spirits who help to maintain the home and protect it from misfortune. When they are not provided gifts for their hard work however, they can grow angry and will often play malicious pranks on the family within the home. There are also kobolds who dwell in mines and other underground places, who serve the same function in a different environment. This is the same for Klabautermann, but he dwells upon ships and looks after them and the crew aboard instead of a mine or home on land. Klabautermann is often referred to as a brownie or a nix as well. A brownie is essentially the same thing as a kobold, but with a different name because the region of origin is Britain or Scotland rather than Germany. Nix is a term…