Close-up image of the Lincoln Imp at the Medieval Cathedral of Lincoln, England.
Old woodcut depicts a woman feeding Imps.
An imp is a jinn, frequently described in folklore and superstition. The word may perhaps derive from the term ympe, used to denote a young grafted tree.
History[]
Originating from Germanic folklore, the imp was a small lesser demon. It should also be noted that demons in Germanic legends were not necessarily always evil. Imps were often mischievous rather than evil or harmful, and in some regions they were portrayed as attendants of the gods.
Imps are often shown as small and not very attractive creatures. Their behavior is described as being wild and uncontrollable. Imps were fond of pranks and misleading people. Most of the time, the pranks were harmless fun, but some could be upsetting and harmful, such as switching babies or leading travellers astray in places with which they were not familiar. Though imps are often thought of as being immortal, many cultures believed that they could be damaged or harmed by certain weapons and enchantments, or be kept out of people's homes by the use of wards.
Imps were often portrayed as lonely little creatures always in search of human attention. They often used jokes and pranks as a means of attracting human friendship, which often backfired when people became tired or annoyed of the imp's endeavors, usually driving it away.
Even if the imp was successful in getting the friendship it sought, it often still played pranks and jokes on its friend, either out of boredom or simply because this was the nature of the imp. This trait gave way to using the term "impish" for someone who loves pranks and practical jokes. Being associated with Jinnestan and fire, imps take a particular pleasure from playing with temperatures.
To this end it came to be believed that imps were the familiar spirit servants of witches and warlocks, where the little demons served as spies and informants. During the time of the witch hunts, supernatural creatures such as imps were sought out as proof of witchcraft, though often the so called "imp" was typically a black cat, lizard, toad or some other form of uncommon pet.
Imps have also been described as being "bound" or contained in some sort of object, such as a sword or crystal ball. In other cases imps were simply kept in a certain object and summoned only when their masters had need of them. Some even had the ability to grant their owners wishes. This was the object of the 1891 story The Bottle Imp by Robert Louis Stevenson, which told of an imp contained in a bottle that would grant the owner their every wish, the catch being that the owner's soul would be sent to hell if they didn't sell the bottle to a new owner before their death.
Imps can be found in art and architecture throughout the world, usually carefully and painstakingly hidden under the eaves of a church or the foot of a ceramic cup, so they can only be found by the most interested and observant of people.
Imps frequently appear in children's stories such as 'Silvia' in which she is followed by a black Imp. Since their time they have become more overlooked as not many people actually know what they are.
Imps are also portrayed as a servant to those of fey and magical being, such as wizards.
Nature[]
Characteristics[]
Physical Description[]
The Imp’s appearance certainly doesn’t help him ingratiate himself with others. By all accounts, Imps are small, bony, unattractive creatures. Their faces are like masks of thin stone, which are frequently twisted into a smirk or a grimace. Oversized ears and horns sprout from their heads, just as leathery, bat-like wings sprout from their shoulders. Their skin, ranging in color from purple to red-brown to gray, may be scaly or stone-like, and they walk with an unpleasant hunch.
Some of these unpleasant creatures more closely resemble monkeys or cats than humans. Their noses are elongated into snouts, and they prefer to move on four paw-like hands rather than walking on their hind legs.
Occasionally, an Imp might be magically bound to an object, like a bottle, a crystal ball, or a staff. They may take a corporeal form when summoned from this object, or they may lose their corporeal form altogether and exist only as a spirit in the object.
Special Abilities[]
Imps are talented pranksters. Switching babies in a cradle or leading someone astray in the wilderness is child’s play for them. Still, they don’t design elaborate, malicious schemes by themselves. Their pranks are nothing more than the impulse of a moment, and if an Imp is found engaged in a more nefarious plan, someone else is probably the mastermind.
Some folktales credit Imps with magical power, but all of them acknowledge that these little creatures are minor in comparison to other magical beings. The Imp does have a knack for shapeshifting, and many are good at conjuring up fire as well. They make excellent spies, as they can sneak along quietly and disguise themselves or disappear when necessary.
Family[]
The attendants of the devil and familiars of witches called Familiars are sometimes described as imps. This is the result of the demonization of creatures of folklore by the Church. Imps are sometimes described as a subunit of a pack of Brownies, but also to describe certain children's behaviour. The Japanese Kappa is often considered to be a type of water dwelling imp.
Behavior[]
Usually described as mischievous more than seriously threatening, they slink or skitter about, running from one pool of shadow to another. The trickery ascribed to them is, generally, confined to missing, misplaced, or moved articles (socks, keys, etc.) and stubbed toes.
Some accounts of imps claim that they are desperately lonely, and always travel in pairs or in mobs. Some accounts of imps treat them as capable of being turned to good, because they are so desperately lonely they would do almost anything — even commit good deeds — to have a committed friend; however, it is regarded as almost impossible for any imp to fully forsake its "impish" ways.
Imps are sometimes described as fond of music, and capable of being charmed into making a promise to aid, and "do good" in that manner through music — though there is always likely to be some mischievous trick to be attached to the barter.