erlking

1. (European folklore) In German literature and modern folklore, a malicious elf or spirit who preys on children.Examples: "This line, and indeed the whole passage (lines 653-664), allude to the well-known poem by Goethe about the erlking, hoary enchanter of the elf-haunted alderwood, who falls in love with the delicate little boy of a belated traveler."; "So easy for one young son to be swallowed up in a world teeming with Erlkings, real and imagined."; "He was in the forest looking to see the trees / But none were there / He found a girl / She found the erlking"European