Laundry Gnomes - [Fearsome Critter/Fae]

• About this Critter: Tiny men who hide in hampers and like to steal socks, The loss of which only becomes apparent in the moment that you really need a pair. (They typically only eat the left sock!) if you've ever suddenly lost a sock and where forced to sloppily wear a mix-matched pair, then the Laundry Gnomes where to blame! – They're also known for stealing underpants, making mittens go missing, making holy shirts holier and dust bunnies bigger! They live in lint traps, they seem to be a relatively new genus of gnome, as they have only made themselves apparent with the invention of domestic washers & dryers...

• History: Without getting too deep into the subject of canon Gnomeology & various relative European fae lore - (of course gnome lore in general goes waaay back to the 1400's but its so extensive i can't possibly cover it all in one sitting.) - To say the least; The sock gnome is most certainly a new world relative to the Nordic and Scandinavian Christmas Gnome.' - (see also Tomte and Nissier.) - In general, gnomes are said to be jolly, good natured, and always ready for a lark, they're known to help out and do chores around farm yards and misbehave if you don't treat them well. – However, gnomes are also said to "become wicked as they crossbreed with other types from far-away places" - [Gnomes, 1977.] so, that said, if the Laundry Gnomes who eat socks are the result of crossbreeding, then I'd suppose it makes sense to say that they're the resulting off spring of the classic good-natured House Gnome migrating to North America. - (The stories of the aforementioned 'little people' migrating with immigrants from Europe, Germany and Scandinavia.) - (see also: Leprocaun, Fearsome Critters 1910.)) - If nothing else, we can say that at least this bit of folklore was a simple (and funny) explanation for where those darned socks went or why the mittens you left outside vanished. 

Incidentally, the earliest written mention of "laundry gnomes" (in english) which i can find is from a 1937 newspaper ad for domestic laundry machines. - (below) - Domestic automatic washers seem to have become a popular household item that same year.(So, technically speaking, the legend of laundry gnomes is likely as old as the machines themselves!)

 

[earliest laundry gnome mention from 1937.]

 [tomtenissie, 2004 via wikipedia.]