Hogsqueal
| |
Species
|
Common Hob (Diabolus praestigiator)
|
Gender
|
Male
|
Home
|
The forest
|
Family
|
Unknown Members (deceased)
|
Status
|
Alive
|
Hogsqueal was a male Hobgoblin that apparently lived in the forest north of the Spiderwick Mansion.
Biography[]
On May the 14th 1908, Arthur Spiderwick spotted Hogsqueal while he searched through some garbage for something. The Hob disappeared before Arthur had a chance to talk to him. The Human wrote a note of this in his Field Guide.
For a time, Hogsqueal lived together with a pack of Goblins, who believed him to be one of their kind. One day, the pack ventured to the Junkyard searching for food. Hogsqueal followed, and in the Junkyard, he found a small kitten. Normally, Hogsqueal often ate cats, but he thought this little one to be so small and cute, with green eyes resembling his own, that he tried to hide it under his hat instead of devouring it. But the Goblins noticed and asked what's under the hat. The kitten mewed, revealing the Hob. The Goblins started chasing him, and Hogsqueal threw in the kitten in an old car with broken windows, hoping that the Goblins wouldn't notice. But the Goblins captured both the kitten and the Hobgoblin, and as punishment, Hogsqueal was locked in a cage in the Goblin Camp. He managed to release the kitten from its cage, allowing it to flee out to the woods.
The very same Goblin pack later captured Simon Grace. When Simon's siblings went rescuing him, Jared met Hogsqueal, who told him to let him out of his cage. Jared was not sure if he wanted to, because he thought that Hob was a Goblin. The Hob threatened to scream and further attract the attention of the Goblin pack, but Jared said that he probably screamed all the time and that the Goblins probably wouldn't notice him. But the Hobgoblin screamed anyway, and Jared said that he would let him out if he told him where Simon was. The Hob did not trust him and said that he would scream again if he did not get released. But then Jared found Simon and started to release his brother. When Hogsqueal continued to threaten about screaming, Jared said that if the Goblins killed him, no-one would come and rescue the Hob. Hogsqueal became silent. When Simon was released from his cage, Hogsqueal said that Jared would come and release him. Simon, who could not see invisible Faeries, wondered who was in the cage. When Jared answered that it was a Goblin, Hogsqueal offered to spit them in their eyes, because Hobgoblin spit can give you the Sight. Unfortunately, right after the spitting, a Gryphon that also had been captured by the Goblins started to scream, because the Goblins tried to kill it. Simon, lover of all animals, became
terrified and screamed that the Goblins would leave it alone. The evil creatures noticed him and surrounded the Humans. Hogsqueal ran away, but was in fact going to rescue them. He stole some of the Goblins' food and shouted insults at them, and even urinated at their campfire. The Goblins started chasing him, allowing the siblings to flee. But when Jared saw the Hob surrounded, he felt that they couldn't just abandon him. So he attracted the attention of the pack and led them down to an old river, straight into the jaws of a waiting Troll that he and Mallory had encountered earlier. When they went back to release some captured animals (Simon's idea), Hogsqueal feasted on the leftovers of the Goblins' dinner. While the siblings tried to help the dying Gryphon, Hogsqueal left. A few weeks later, Hogsqueal involuntary participated in Mulgarath's army. When the Goblins and the Ogre destroyed the Spiderwick Mansion during the hunt for Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide, Hogsqueal managed to save one of Simon's pets, Kitty, while all other animals were killed. Somehow the Hob ended up being chased by the now half-tame Gryphon named Byron on the roof while the rest of the army left to gather weapons from the Dwarves. When the Grace children returned home after the adventures in the Dwarf kingdom, they encountered Hogsqueal. At first they thought it was a Goblin, and when they found that their home was in a chaotic state, they assumed that the Goblin on the roof could know where Mulgarath's palace was located. When they realized that it was Hogsqueal, they tried to stop
Byron from eating him. But it led to Hogsqueal trying to flee, however he was caught by Thimbletack. The Brownie forced him to tell everything he knew about Mulgarath's palace. When the Hob had done so, the three children wondered what they should do. Jared decided to go and talk to the Elves, and Thimbletack went with him. Meanwhile, Mallory, Simon and Hogsqueal flew with Byron to outside the Grove where the Elves lived, and waited for Jared when he and the Brownie got back outside. They discussed and decided for a plan, and then left for Mulgarath's palace.
While on the Junkyard that hosted the Goblins and the palace, Hogsqueal pretended to have caught Jared and Mallory. The Humans were loosely tied in ropes while the Hob held a Dwarf sword that the children had got during the adventures in the Dwarf kingdom. Wormrat and his pack of Goblins met them, and Hogsqueal told that he had caught the Humans by the stealing their sword while they were asleep. Wormrat told his Goblins to bind the children by an old car, while he went to report to Mulgarath. When some of the Goblins started to think that they may eat the siblings and Hogsqueal, Mallory and Jared got free and started to fight the evil Fey while Hogsqueal escaped. He managed to get inside the palace, and for some reason he got to the hall where Helen Grace where held captive and Mulgarath waited in the shape of Richard Grace. The Grace children came to the hall, and were overjoyed when they saw, what they thought was, their father. When it proved to be Mulgarath, the Ogre caught Mallory and Simon and threatened to kill them,
while Helen woke up, terrified. Jared managed to stab the Ogre in the foot with the Dwarf sword and shove him out from the balcony he stood on. Mulgarath tried to save himself by first transforming into a Dragon, and then a swallow. When the tiny bird flew up, Hogsqueal caught it in his hand, and then he bit off the head, thus killing Mulgarath.
When the children, their mother, Lucinda, Hogsqueal and Thimbletack went to the Elves to give them the Field Guide, the Elves said that they knew they could trust the children and therefore allowed them to keep the book. Thereafter, they said that they wanted to offer them a boon. Hogsqueal became angered and demanded that he should also be rewarded, as it was he that ultimately defeated Mulgarath. The Hob said he wanted a golden medallion with an inscription, and a huge feast to his honor. The Elves said that they would consider dealing with the wishes.
It is assumed that Hogsqueal thereafter lived together with the Grace family at the Mansion.
Powers and abilities[]
Like all other Hobgoblins, Hogsqueal could give Humans the Sight by spitting them in the face brutally blinding them. This is also called the blind sight.
Personality and traits[]
Hogsqueal was an opportunist not to be trusted, because he could abandon friends in dangerous situations. He always did what suited the moment best for himself.
Like most other Hobs, he was born without teeth, and therefore often stealed newly loosed milk teeth from Human childs.
He often used awkward insults to adress Humans and other Faeries, never calling anyone by their real name. All known insults used by Hogsqueal: "dribble-puss", "cat-whipper, "beetlehead", "candy butt", "turtle-head", "jinglebrains", "chicken-beaked", "nib-head", "Dumbellina", "mucky-pups", "ninnyhammers", "pestleheads", "goobernuts", "jibbernolls", "fiddlewizzits", "prawnheaded", "chuckleheads", "chidderblains", "snail-heads", "gobstoppers",
"yaffner", "crazy kipper", "noddy", "surly-boots", "pumpkin-head", "chatter-basket", "lily-pants", "beetle-guts", "snotters", "nose pickers", "lump-meat", "trash hounds", "scallywags", "monkey-toasted", "cracker-jack-headed", "cruddy mouth-breather" and "dizzinits".
When people misstook Hogsqueal for a Goblin, which happened pretty often, the Hob became extremely irritated.
Behind the scenes[]
In early drafts for the Spiderwick Chronicles, Hogsqueal's first name was Horace[1].
Originally, Tony DiTerlizzi intended to draw Hogsqueal a bit more cartoonish with big cat eyes and an upturned, pointed nose.
Hogsqueal, or "Hoggy" as he is called by Tony, is Tony's favourite character.
Appearances[]
- The Seeing Stone (First appearance)
- The Wrath of Mulgarath
- Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide