Fantastic Creature Files
by Peter Shechem

The Leprechaun

Well, it's the merry month of March. The grass is starting to get green, leaves are starting to bud, and those leprechauns start coming out of their homes. Of course, leprechauns are more than just tiny people with pots of gold that are meant to be stolen; they have an interesting origin, and the way that this Irish elf has been contorted into countless stories can get quite amusing.

In real myth, the Leprechaun (or Leprechawn; or in Monaghan the Cluricane; or in Logheryman and Tipperary the Lurigadawne; or in Kerry the Luricawne) is descended from an evil spirit on the father's and a degenerate fairy on the mother's side. With this mix, you may guess that he is a small person (about three feet high), and mischievous by nature.

He is usually dressed in a little red jacket and matching breeches, gray or black stockings, and a hat cocked over his little withered face. He is supposed to have had a hoard of treasure, and his name derives from the Middle English word luchorpan, in which lu means "small," and corp meaning "body." Its name describes very well, when broken down, what this creature looks like.

In the land of Harry Potter, however, Leprechauns are a race of small, green-skinned fairies that grow to 6 inches in height, and eat leaves, as well as wearing them for clothes. They live only on the island of Ireland (the Emerald Isle, as it is called), and frolic freely in the forests.

Though they can speak the English language, they are classified as beasts, with a M.O.M. rating of XXX (Competent wizard should cope). They can produce a gold-like substance that disappears after a while, to the dismay of many and the enjoyment of the Leprechauns.

The leprechaun, in both the Harry Potter books and real myth, is a highly mischievous and trouble-making creature, delighting in the disappointment (to put it lightly) of others. They are but a peace-loving race (well... in Harry Potter) that live life simply, eating leaves and causing little lasting damage to anyone. They are the Puck of the Emerald Isle, the Enigmatic Prankster.