OCCULTMAS PART TWO: "GREMLINS"

Most of us remember these troublesome creatures from their pastimes terrorizing Mrs. Deagle and traumatizing Captain Kirk. I, for one, like both versions as well as the ones that Roald Dahl created for Disney. But before we start hashing out the finer points of gremlin genealogy, from whence did these little hellions hail? Well, like all true patriots, they first appeared during wartime. Despite having no previous experience (and probably no opposable thumbs either), the beasts decided to apply for the airplane mechanics department. But even when the nice recruiting man explained they weren’t qualified, the gaggle of gremlins decided to try its claw at redesigning engines anyhow. These tactics met with varying success.

Such hijinks date back to World War I when England’s Royal Air Force used to complain regularly to their superiors about the mischievous imps. Said superiors then issued a strong warning for the gremlins either to shape up or ship out… preferably to the enemy’s aircrafts where they could destroy German engineering instead. But golly gee, the gremlins proved such old-fashioned nationalists that the English just couldn’t get rid of them. Straight through to World War II, the critters kept toiling away at their thankless work, all the while being slandered by propaganda.