gremlins

i was recentlywhatching a program on UTV it was a holiday program were two family goes on the two familys ideal holiday and one family was ordained reverands in paranormal and witchcraft and they had a son age 17 who was interested in gremlins and the start of the show they through each persons hobbies and the boy talked about gremlins and had a book with pictures of these "GREMLINS" and he sayed they were real

i was just wonderin if anybody has ver had any expirience with these "gremlins"

I heard on Star Trek: Enterprise that Gremlins were superstitions of British pilots in World War 2. Whenever their plane was acting weird and making odd noises they would say that a Gremlin was in the plane.

Of course this is from STAR TREK and I could be wrong.

You are correct Majestic. It was during WWII that the Brittish, and later US began blaming everything from sabatoging aircraft to jamming guns on those little critters. My favorite was the old Twilight Zone episode with William Shatner. He was flying commercial and saw one on the wing. That may have been how it found its way into a Star Trek episode.

I remember vaguely that episode of twilight zone, didn't he keep seeing it on the wing but nobody else could?


[edit on 8-7-2005 by mclarenmp4]

It happened on the TV show and they re did it on the movie.

The Twilight Zone:
Nightmare at 20,000 Feet
Thriller
1963
William Shatner, Chris White, Ed Kemmer ...more
Cited by many aficionados as the all-time best Twilight Zone episode, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" benefits immeasurably from a bravura performance by star William Shatner. While travelling through rough weather on a passenger plane, former mental patient Bob Wilson (Shatner) peers out of his window -- and sees a hideous gremlin balanced on the plane's wing. Doubting his own sanity, Bob tries to convince himself that he is merely hallucinating. . .and then the gremlin begins to tear the wing apart. Adapted by Richard Matheson from his own short story, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" was originally telecast October 11, 1963. ..

entertainment.msn.com...

The best segment of the film centers on John Lithgow as a deliriously overexcited airline passenger, whose very active fear of flying is embodied in the gremlin he (and only he) sees on the plane's wing, wreaking havoc with the film's engine

www.amazon.com...

I remember watching the movie as a kid and not wanting to go to sleep


But back to the subject. I found some history regarding gremlins.

Word History: Elves, goblins, and trolls seem to be timeless creations of the distant past, but gremlins were born in the 20th century. In fact, gremlin is first recorded only in the 1920s, as a Royal Air Force term for a low-ranking officer or enlisted man saddled with oppressive assignments. Said to have been invented by members of the Royal Naval Air Service in World War I, gremlin is used in works written in the 1940s for "an imaginary gnomelike creature who causes difficulties in aircraft." The word seems likely to have been influenced by goblin, but accounts of its origin are various and none are certain. One source calls in Fremlin beer bottles to explain the word; another, the Irish Gaelic word gruaimín, "ill-humored little fellow." Whatever the word's origin, it is certain that gremlins have taken on a life of their own.

www.thefreedictionary.com...

That was BY FAR my favorite Twilight Zone episode of all time! The first time I saw it I was under the influence of our little friend Canibus, which made it even more exciting! It really freaked me out and actually caused me to come online and research the gremlins. I basically found the same info that was posted above, about it originating with British pilots referring to their aircraft problems.

But once again... I very strongly recommend anyone who hasn't seen this episode, or even if you haven't seen any Twilight Zone episodes, to check it out. I'm not sure which season it was, but you can buy the DVD's at places like Best Buy, or anywhere online. I'm sure they are available for rent at video stores like Blockbuster and such, as well. Definitely the best Twilight Zone story ever witnessed by these two brown eyes!

reference.allrefer.com...
www.brainyencyclopedia.com...
Roald Dahl's 1943 book The Gremlins
delarue.net...

as for real gremlins, I think that term is used to describe some sort of goblin like creature, if such a creature does indeed ever existed.

The WWII version is still in use, a simple explaination for all sorts of events. A fair amount being humans forgetting 2 seconds after doing something but plenty in the paranormal range as well.

Nothing consistant about gremlins as actual creatures though, that is mostly fiction, and some really funny bugs bunnys.


A.T
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