A grindylow is a water spirit that originated from folktales in the English county of Yorkshire.
Behavior
Grindylows grab little children with their long arms and fingers and devour them if they came close to the edge of pools, marshes, or ponds. Peg Powler and Jenny Greenteeth are similar water spirits.
Beliefs
Grindylows were used as a ploy to keep children from getting in the cold water in the area.
Art / Fiction
- In the Harry Potter universe, Grindylows lived in the lake near Hogwarts and are attacked the Triwizard champions during the second task. However, some grindylows appear to have been domesticated by merpeople. Lupin taught his third-year students about them.
- A somewhat more unfriendly race called grindylows appears in The Scar by China Miéville.