Harry Potter and Hob
My husband and I are huge Harry Potter fans.
Recently we drove down to New York to visit my two nephews (reading The Goblet of Fire aloud in the car, I might add).
At their house, my husband showed me a library book that was laying around. It was called "The Book of Hob Stories" by a British author named William Mayne.
The thing that caught his eye (and mine) was the title of a chapter, “Hob and the Hinky Punk.”
At first I thought that maybe a hinky punk is a fictional character British children know about and J.K. Rowling used this in her books. But then I read this short children’s book from start to finish.
And I found some amazing similarities between this book and the Harry Potter characters.
- In another chapter, Hob encounters a creature called a boggart.
- Hob himself is a type of a spirit that lives in the cupboard under the stairs.
- Hob maintains the house by night (ridding it of such creatures as hinky punks, boggarts, and baby black holes). He is hardly ever seen. But if someone gives him the gift of clothes of any kind, he must leave.
There are too many similarities to be coincidence. So it’s obvious to me that J.K. Rowling is a fan of Mr. Mayne’s Hob and is giving him a little tribute in her books.
Kind of cool!
2 thoughts on “Harry Potter and Hob”
Actually, hinky punks are creatures from folklore. They’re faeries not unlike will-o-the-wisps. Unlike other faeries of this type, they have the unique ability to bring storms.
A hob is also a creature from folklore. “Hob” is a term often used as a variant of “hobgoblin.” Hobgoblins are household faeries like brownies who do chores at night while the humans are sleeping in exchange for only a little milk. (Or porridge, depending on the specific household faerie.) Just like Harry Potter’s house elves that they’re based on, they will leave forever if left with clothing. Various reasons have been attributed to this: they are too proud to work once they have the new clothes, they consider the clothes an insult, or they were destined to work until someone was grateful enough to make new clothes for them.
“Dobby” was also the name of a specific type of hobgoblin in folklore, which is where JKR got the famed house elve’s name. However, she didn’t truly use the creature’s personality. Dobbies are unique amongst other household faeries in that they especially favor children and the elderly.
I found this page while doing a web search for hinky punks. There’s a sad lack of information on the leser known faeries on the internet. You should get a book on faerielore by Katharine Briggs if you’re ever interested in learning more.
Ah, I didn’t know that.
What about a boggart? Is that a creature from folklore?
–Susie