Imagine youre unloading your groceries from your hatchback at night. You hear the scamper of little feet and then you spot something. Its less than a metre tall with glowing grey skin, the legs of a small human and the face of a troll. It seems to disappear suddenly. You stutter and shake. You rub your eyes. You feel a small jab in your neck. You reach up to find a small arrow embedded in your flesh. Woozy, you stumble and fall, hitting the ground in time to see the Puckwudgie laughing maniacally. The Puckwudgie comes from Wampanoag stories in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Puckwudgies are mischievous creatures, not unlike the South American and Filipino duende, that kidnap children, harass humans and lure people to their deaths. They are magical, carry poison arrows and can control Tei-Pai-Wankas, which are believed to be the souls of Native Americans they have killed. If you see a Puckwudgie you should leave it alone, as it will seek retribution if bothered. To this day, people report seeing small, troll-like beings in Massachusetts, particularly Freetown forest, as well as New Hampshire. The most frightening part of the Freetown forest is a cliff simply called The Ledge. A 30-metre drop into an old quarry, multiple suicides have taken place there. In the old legends, the Puckwudgie would lure people to a cliff then push them off. Maybe this explains the unexplainable. Whatever you think about these creatures, just remember that they could be real and even if theyre not, the minds that invented them are. And theyre definitely still out there.
