Subject: Gremlins

Cryptid Class: Small Cryptids

Threat Level: Variable (depends on the circumstances)

Description: Gremlins are a yet unknown breed of creature that has features of both mammals, reptiles, and amphibians. They are highly curious and mischievous, often venturing into towns and cities to seek out anything that can pique their curiosity. Their name actually derives from the Old English gremain, which means “to vex.” This is accurate, as the majority of gremlin sightings have resulted in general annoyance to catastrophic disaster. Gremlins have been prominently spotted during World War II, having been initially sighted by the British Royal Air Force. However, some accounts have reported the existence of gremlins dating back to the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, in which machinery was becoming more prominent society. Gremlins are drawn to electrical devices in particular, as they experience an artificial high when they come in contact with electricity. They also tend to be incredibly destructive when they try to find electrical hotspots.

Diet: Gremlins are omnivorous, able to eat a wide variety of foods. They tend to be scavengers, eating human refuse such as discarded food, cardboard, and any other form of biodegradable matter. They also tend to eat insects such as cockroaches, flies, and beetles.

Distribution: It is unknown where gremlins originated from, but they are now a worldwide species, establishing themselves wherever humans live. When not found in human settlements, they tend to live in forests and swamp / marshes. They tend to make underground burrows for their nesting site. It appears that gremlins have an enormous dependency on humans for their survival.

Physiology: Gremlins are usually 45 to 50 centimeters tall (from ear to foot). Their notable features are their large ears, large glowing eyes, sharp teeth, and an opposable thumb on each hand. They also have growths on their backs that resemble pimples, boils, or warts, which can either be small in size, or large and reminiscent of spines. Another noteworthy feature is that gremlins have a cloaca. There are few notable differences between male and female gremlins, with one difference being that males tend to have enlarged forearms as opposed to females. Gremlins reproduce by egg laying, laying about two to three small, soft-shelled eggs (similar to frog eggs). In terms of their electricity consumption, gremlins are highly resistant to high amounts of voltage, withstanding at most 800 kilovolts (the same range used in high-voltage transmission substations). It is not yet known as to why they are highly resistant to electrical discharge.

Note: Keeping gremlins in captivity is incredibly difficult, since they tend to override the security locks keeping their containment unit in place. They are extremely annoying.