Ep 134: Gremlins
Above original artwork by David Spencer. Follow him on Twitter @mischieffactory and check out his illustrations and designs for hire on his website: mischief-factory.com and also at: https://www.foliojr.com/david-spencer/
“I was a 22-year-old B-17 pilot and flight commander. I’m very aware of my surroundings, and as I go higher, I notice an unusual sound coming from the engine. The instruments went nuts. I look at my right and I see an entity staring at me. Then I look at the aircraft’s nose, and there’s another one, hanging in there. Dancing lizards.”
– Paraphrased account from WWII USAAF pilot known as “L.W.” From Cryptozoology News
Location:
Royal Air Force base Benson, one of three RAF aerodromes during WWII along with RAF Wick and RAF St. Eval, where the high-altitude Photographic Reconnaissance Units were stationed. The PRUs were among the first to popularize the Gremlins story amongst the British military.
Background:
Our legends and folklore must begin somewhere, and if not from the creative imagination of a single individual then perhaps they are born from the collective experiences of a particular group. While it is difficult to trace the exact nascency of certain legends, we may be able to get a clearer idea of where a specific mystical being came to be known, the gremlin. The British pilots and aircrew of the Royal Air Force during the WWI and WWII eras began to experience baffling and inexplicable problems with their aircraft and missions. Wires that appeared to have been chewed through, sand particles found in machinery where none should be, punctures and damage that was incomprehensible were just some of the numerous mysterious problems they encountered. But with no known cause, blame fell to the gremlin a mischievous goblin-like entity said to inhabit the skies and aerodromes of the RAF and who delighted in causing trouble for airmen. Although rationality would suggest the gremlin was an invention of highly-stressed personnel looking for a comical and morale-boosting scapegoat for their problems, there are reports from veterans who claim to have seen these destructive imps in action. If true, then we must wonder if the creature creates the legend or if the legend creates the creature. Join us as we examine the discovery of a 20th-century folktale which just may be related to the ancient Wee Folk of nature.
Reference Links:
“WWII Pilot Speaks Out: Gremlins are Real!” from Cryptozoology News
“AVIATORS SAY GREMLINS KEPT THEM COMPANY” from The Augusta Chronicle, Sep 28, 1997
“The Gremlin Question” by Hubert Griffith, from the ROYAL AIR FORCE JOURNAL, April 18, 1942, #13
“Wee Folk and Their Friends, Gremlins” on unexplainedstuff.com
An article on gremlins from LIFE Magazine, Nov 16, 1942, page 93
“Gremlins, Aircrews, for the Use of” article from Punch Magazine, Nov 11, 1942
“The Language of WWII” compiled by A. Marjorie Taylor, clippings
“Gremlins: Highly Mechanical Creatures In Mythology” from AncientPages.com
Geoffrey Leonard Cheshire, Baron Cheshire, VC, OM, DSO & Two Bars, DFC
DO YOU BELIEVE IN GREMLINS? – Stories of 10 Squadron RAAF in Townsville by John Laming
“R.A.F.’s Own Story Of Gremlins, Told By Pilot” – newspaper clipping
Aviation Week and Space Technology, February 1, 1960, article on hallucinations pg. 29 in PDF
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CREDITS:
Episode 134 Gremlins. Produced by Scott Philbrook & Forrest Burgess; Audio Editing by Sarah Vorhees Wendel; Sound Design by Ryan McCullough; Tess Pfeifle, Producer and Lead Researcher; Research Support from the astonishing League of Astonishing Researchers, a.k.a. The Astonishing Research Corps, or "A.R.C." for short. Copyright 2019 Astonishing Legends Productions, LLC. All Rights Reserved.