The provided source offers a comprehensive cultural history of goblins, tracing their evolution from ancient oral traditions to their contemporary status in modern media. It explains that the concept of goblins likely emerged in early European folklore to rationalize unknown phenomena and attributes their origins to various traditions in the British Isles, Germany, and Scandinavia. The episode charts their shifting portrayal in literature, noting their appearance as chaotic figures in works by Shakespeare and Chaucer, and their transformation into more villainous antagonists in Grimm’s Fairy Tales and Romantic literature. Furthermore, the article highlights the pivotal role of authors like J.R.R. Tolkien in codifying the modern fantasy goblin, and discusses their current, diverse roles in video games and contemporary media as symbols of chaos, greed, and societal anxieties.