The Heimchen (sg., pl.; German: [ˈhaɪ̯mçən]) is a being from German folklore with several related meanings.
In the first place, Heimchen (diminutive of Heim = home) is the German term for house cricket. The house cricket is one of the animal appearances taken by dwarves, as is also attested by the dialectal names such as Herdschmiedl (hearth smith) and Heunemänken (Mänken = manikin).[1]
In North Palatinate and Western Palatinate, the house cricket, there known as Krikelmaus (Maus = mouse), is a nursery bogey used to scare children.[2]
In Pomerania, the Heimchen feed lost children with bread rolls and milk instead.[3]
In Silesia, the stridulating house cricket indicates the presence of a deceased soul.[2]
- ^ Riegler: Grille. In: Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli, Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer: Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens: Band 3 Freen-Hexenschuss. Berlin/New York 2000, p. 1162.
- ^ a b Riegler: Grille. In: Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli, Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer: Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens: Band 3 Freen-Hexenschuss. Berlin/New York 2000, p. 1166.
- ^ Eckstein: Semmel. In: Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli, Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer: Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens: Band 7 Pflügen-Signatur. Berlin/New York 2000, p. 1638.