These are they that dance on Heathes and Greens, as Lavater thinks with Tritemius, and as Olaus Magnus addes, leave that green circle, which we commonly finde in plain fields, which others hold to proceed from a Meteor falling, or some accidental rankness of the ground, so Nature sports her self, they are sometimes seen by old women and children.

Hierom. Pauli. in his description to the City of Bercino in Spain, relates how they have been familiarly seen near that town, about fountains and hils; Nonnumquam (saith Tritemius) in sua latibula montium simpliciores homines ducant, stupenda mirantibus ostentes miracula, nolarum sonitus, spectacula, &c. Giraldus Cambrensis gives instance in a Monk of Wales that was so deluded.

Paracelsus reckons up many places in Germany, where they do usually walk in little coates some two foot long. A bigger kinde there is of them, called with us Hobgoblins, & Robin Goodfellowes, that would in those superstitious times, grinde corne for a mess of milk, cut wood, or do any maner of drudgery work. They would mend old Irons in those Æolian Iles of Lypara, in former ages, and have been often seen and heard.

Tholosanus cals them Trullos and Getulos, and saith, that in his dayes they were common in many places of France. Dithmarus Bleskenius in his description of Island, reports for a certainty, that almost in every family they have yet some such familiar spirits; & Fælix Malleolus in his book de crudel. dæmon. affirmes as much, that these Trolli, or Telchines, are very common in Norwey, and seen to do drudgery work; to draw water, saith Wierus lib. 1. cap. 32. dress meat, or any such thing.

Another sort of these there are, which frequent forlorn houses, which the Italians call Foliots, most part innoxious, Cardan holds; They will make strange noyses in the night, howle sometimes pittifully, and then laugh again, cause great flame and sudden lights, fling stones, rattle chaines, shave men, open doores, and shut them, fling down platters, stooles, chests, sometime appear in the likeness of Hares, Crowes, black Dogs, &c.

of which reade Pet. Thyræus the Jesuite in his Tract, de locis infestis, part 1. & cap. 4. who will have them to be Devils, or the souls of damned men that seek revenge, or else souls out of Purgatory that seek ease; for such examples peruse Sigismundus Scheretzius lib. de spectris, part. 1. c. 1. which he saith he took out of Luther most part; there be many instances.

Plinius secundus remembers such a house at Athens, which Athenodorus the Philosopher hired, which no man durst inhabit for fear of Devils. Austin de Civ. Dei. lib. 22. cap. 8. relates as much of Hesperius the Tribunes house at Zubeda near their City of Hippos, vexed with evil spirits, to his great hinderance, Cum afflictione animalium & servorum suorum.

Many such instances are to be read in Niderius Formicar. lib. 5. cap. 12. 3. &c. Whether I may call these Zim and Ophim, which Isay cap. 13. 21. speakes of, I make a doubt. See more of these in the said Scheretz. lib. 1. de spect. cap. 4. he is full of examples.

These kinde of Devils many times appear to men, and affright them out of their wits, sometimes walking at noone day, sometimes at nights, counterfeiting dead mens Ghosts, as that of Caligula, which (saith Suetonius) was seen to walk in Lavinia’s garden, where his body was buried, spirits haunted, and the house where he dyed, Nulla nox sine terrore transacta, donec incendio consumpta; every night this happened, there was no quietness, til the house was burned.

About Hecla in Island Ghosts commonly walk, animas mortuorum simulantes, saith Joh. Anan. lib. 3. de nat. dæm. Olaus lib. 2. cap. 2. Natal. Tallopid. lib. de apparit. spir. Kornmannus de mirac. mort. part. 1. cap. 44. such sights are frequently seen circa Sepulchra & Monasteria, saith Lavat. lib. 1. cap. 19. in Monasteries, and about Church-yards, loca paludinosa, ampla ædificia, solitaria, & cæde hominum notata, &c.

Thyræus adds, ubi gravius peccatum est commissum, impii, pauperum oppressores & nequiter insignes habitant. These spirits often foretell mens deaths, by several signes, as knocking, groanings, &c. though Rich. Argentine c. 18. de præstigiis dæmonum, will ascribe these predictions to good Angels, out of the authority of Ficinus and others;

prodigia in obitu principum sæpius contingunt, &c. as in the Laterane Church in Rome, the Popes deaths are foretold by Sylvesters tombe. Near Rupes nova in Finland, in the Kingdome of Sweden, there is a Lake, in which, before the Governor of the Castle dies, a spectrum, in the habit of Arion with his Harp appears, and makes excellent musick,

like those blocks in Cheshire, which (they say) presage death to the Master of the family; or that Oake in Lanthadran Park in Cornwall, which foreshewes as much. Many families in Europe are so put in minde of their last, by such predictions, and many men are forewarned (if we may believe Paracelsus) by familiar spirits, in divers shapes, as Cocks, Crowes, Owles, which often hover about sick mens chambers,

vel quia morientium fœditatem sentiunt, as Baracellus conjectures, & ideo super tectum infirmorum crocitant, because they smell a Coarse; or for that (as Bernardinus de Bustis thinketh) God permits the Devil to appear in the forme of Crows, and such like creatures, to scare such as live wickedly here on earth.

A little before Tullies death (saith Plutarch) the Crowes made a mighty noyse about him, tumultuose perstrepentes, they pulled the pillow from under his head. Rob. Gaguinus hist. Franc. lib. 8. telleth such another wonderfull story at the death of Johannes de Monteforti a French Lord, Anno 1345. tanta Corvorum multitudo ædibus morientis insedit, quantam esse in Gallia nemo judicasset.

Such prodigies are very frequent in Authors. See more of these in the said Lavater, Thyræus de locis infestis, part. 3. cap. 58. Pictorius, Delrio, Cicogna, lib. 3. cap. 9. Negromancers take upon them, to raise and lay them at their pleasures:

And so likewise those which Mizaldus cals Ambulones, that walk about midnight on great Heaths and desart places, which (saith Lavater) draw men out of the way, and lead them all night a by-way, or quite bar them of their way; these have several names in several places; we commonly call them Pucks.