nain rouge

"red dwarf." A lutin or household spirit of Normandy, France. He is benevolent toward fishermen. A similar spirit is le petit homme rouge or "the little red man."

Among the early settlers of Detroit, the nain rouge was feared because it appeared only when there was to be trouble, and in that it delighted. The nain rouge, also called the Demon of the Strait, was believed to be a shambling, red-faced creature, with a cold, glittering eye, and teeth protruding from its grinning mouth.

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