Heimchen

The ''Heimchen'' (sg., pl.; ) 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).Riegler: ''Grille''. In: Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli, Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer: ''Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens: Band 3 Freen-Hexenschuss''. Berlin/New York 2000, p. 1162.

In North Palatinate and Western Palatinate, the house cricket, there known as ''Krikelmaus'' (''Maus'' = mouse), is a nursery bogey used to scare children. Riegler: ''Grille''. In: Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli, Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer: ''Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens: Band 3 Freen-Hexenschuss''. Berlin/New York 2000, p. 1166.

In Pomerania, the ''Heimchen'' feed lost children with bread rolls and milk instead. Eckstein: ''Semmel''. In: Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli, Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer: ''Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens: Band 7 Pflügen-Signatur''. Berlin/New York 2000, p. 1638.

In Silesia, the stridulating house cricket indicates the presence of a deceased soul.

The mountain folk

In the Vogtland, the ''Heimchen'' are little beings, nary two feet tall, who dwell on a great meadow inside a mountain cave lit as bright as day by a big carbuncle gem. Riegler: ''Grille''. In: Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli, Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer: ''Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens: Band 3 Freen-Hexenschuss''. Berlin/New York 2000, p. 1162 f. There, flowers made from gems are blooming and a melodic humming, not unlike harp music, can be heard. The entrance is not always open, and the ''Heimchen'' or ''Bergvolk'' (mountain folk), as they call themselves, are not always visible to human eyes. Those ''Heimchen'' keep golden sheep no bigger than lambs whose shepherdess, Ilsa, is an enchanted girl dressed in white with a golden shepherd's staff who is waiting for her redemption.

The retinue of ''Perchta''

The best-known ''Heimchen'' are the companions of ''Perchta'', though. ''Perchta'' is the leader of the host of ''Heimchen'', the wailing souls of unbaptized children. Riegler: ''Grille''. In: Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli, Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer: ''Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens: Band 3 Freen-Hexenschuss''. Berlin/New York 2000, p. 1163. She is sometimes called ''Heimchenkönigin'', i.e. ''Heimchen''-Queen. There is also a belief that a stridulating ''Heimchen'' or house cricket sits on the nose of ''Percht''.

In the Orlagau in Thuringia, the ''Heimchen'', who are also called ''Heimele'', ''Butzelmännchen'' (little bogeymen), and ''Erdmännele'' (earth manikins), are thought of as tiny earth spirits, as tall as a finger is long, who dwell in the mouse holes of houses. They regularly appear in the evening, dressed in white, of cheerful disposition, with hundreds of them dancing some round dance. They indicate beforehand whether the house dwellers will meet good or bad luck and, if well taken care of, at times might also place gifts in front of their mouse hole in the morning. Those gifts are said to be delectable and very dainty, being found in small golden boxes. The friendly, childishly gay, playful little dwarves love to help humans unseen, be it that they tend to fields and cattle or keep watch on children whose parents are absent.Ludwig Bechstein: ''Thüringer Sagenbuch: Band 2''. Bad Langensalza 2014, p. 107.

In the Orlagau, the ''Heimchen'' once diligently helped the farmers with their work in the abovementioned way which made the area exceptionally wealthy. One day, though, a serious man came from afar who told the people that ''Perchta'' isn't to be trusted as the ''Heimchen'' are the souls of unbaptized children. When the people then avoided the ''Heimchen'', ''Perchta'' decided that it was time to leave, and she and the ''Heimchen'' crossed the stream never to return again.

Literature

* Ludwig Bechstein: ''Deutsches Sagenbuch''. Meiningen 1852. (reprint: F. W. Hendel Verlag, Meersburg/Leipzig 1930.)
* Ludwig Bechstein: ''Thüringer Sagenbuch: Band 2''. Coburg 1858. (reprint: Verlag Rockstuhl, Bad Langensalza 2014.)
* Ludwig Bechstein: ''Die goldene Schäferei''. In: Ingeborg Haun, Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, Ludwig Bechstein, Wilhelm Hauff: ''Die schönsten Märchen''. (Book without year, place and publisher. Germany, likely 2nd half of the 20th century.)
* Eckstein: ''Semmel''. In: Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli, Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer: ''Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens: Band 7 Pflügen-Signatur''. Berlin 1936. (reprint: Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/New York 2000, )
* Riegler: ''Grille''. In: Hanns Bächtold-Stäubli, Eduard Hoffmann-Krayer: ''Handwörterbuch des Deutschen Aberglaubens: Band 3 Freen-Hexenschuss''. Berlin 1931. (reprint: Walter de Gruyter, Berlin/New York 2000, )

References

{{German folklore
German legendary creatures
Household deities
Earth spirits