I is for Invisibility

        (My A to Z Challenge theme this year is How to Make a Fantastical Creature, in which I explore 26 traits that are widely shared among the monsters and marvels of fantasy and folklore.)

        Today might be a difficult topic to illustrate because after all, there’s nothing to see.  There are a number of magical creatures known to be invisible.  For example, the wokulu are invisible dwarfs of Mali, who can see through walls and trees and like to steal food.

        Luckily for me, however, there are also lots of creatures that are only invisible some of the time.  Jinn, for example, are often invisible, but can also make themselves visible if they wish.

        Kobolds, goblins of Germanic folklore, are usually invisible, but may sometimes appear as little people, animals, or flames (flashback to G).  Many of their characteristics are shared by the Pukwudgies of Wampanoag folklore, who can also appear as little people or as animals, when they’re not invisible.

        The parandrus of medieval bestiaries is a sort of deer or antelope that can become functionally invisible by perfectly matching the colors and patterns of its environment, just like high-tech scientists are trying to do today with camouflage.

        Korean dokkaebi are sort of like goblins and sort of like tsukumogami, and they have magical hats that make themselves invisible.  (They also produce blue will-o-the-wisp-type balls of flame, making them suitable for the letter G.)

        Then there are the 6 foot 3.5 inch tall invisible rabbits, as portrayed in the 1950 American movie “Harvey.”  (Harvey is said to be a pooka, but certainly is not a traditional one.)

        Or consider this famous 1899 poem by William Hughes Mearns:

        Yesterday upon the stair

        I met a man who wasn’t there.

        He wasn’t there again today

        I wish, I wish he’d go away.

        When I came home last night at three

        The man was waiting there for me,

        But when I looked around the hall

        I couldn’t see him there at all!

It reflects the fact that (with the exception of Harvey and the occasional guardian angel) we tend to consider invisible things to be unsettling at best, and at worst quite terrifying.  Things we can’t see have such an unfair advantage, and the trait can so easily be used for nefarious purposes that it’s not surprising that it’s usually attributed to mischievous beings.

        Examples of invisible beings I’ve mentioned before include the Japanese enenra which is invisible except to the pure of heart, and the Zulu tokoloshe, which is invisible except to children.  Plus certain varieties of ghosts may be invisible some or all of the time.

        I’d also like to mention the boojum (described by Lewis Carroll) which uses invisibility in another way.  Rather than being invisible itself, it causes anyone who meets with it to softly and suddenly vanish away.  Which gives us the moral that when it comes to invisible beasts, it is better to see one than be one.  A Pro Tip for those who would track invisible creatures, is to carry at all times a sack of flour or other fine powder which can be strewn about.  If it falls on an invisible shape it may reveal its contours, and if an invisible being steps through the powder sprinkled on the ground, its footsteps may reveal it.  (You can read a prior post about Invisibility here.)

        If you could turn yourself invisible, what would you do with your mythical power?

[Pictures: Jinni, illumination from Kitab al-Buhan, 1330-1450 (Image from Bodleian Libraries);

Jinni (The Slave of the Ring), illustration by John Batten from Fairy Tales from the Arabian Nights, 1915 (Image from Wikimedia Commons);

Kobold, detail from wood block print from Book 3, Chapter 17 of Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus by Olaus Magnus, 1555 (Image from Lars Henriksson);

Dokkaebi, earthenware tile from Buyeo, South Korea, 538-660 CE (Image from National Museum of Korea);

Harvey, poster image from movie directed by Henry Koster, 1950 (Image from ReelGood);

Boojum, sketch by Henry Holiday (vetoed by Carroll), 1876 (Image from gwallter).]