~KRANDLEKEEP~
The Wisconsin Gnomelore Database
The Devil's Punchbowl Gnomes
"This offering can be as simple as leaving a shiny rock or small treat like skittles or M&Ms to guarantee your safe travel."
From There Be Hodags, by C.A. McAllister:
The gnomes of the Devil’s Punchbowl State Natural Area near Menominee are less known than the Fifield variety, and yet are quite similar in appearance, also described with pointed ears, long white beards, and pointy red hats, and once more described as three to four feet tall.
These gnomes seem somewhat more isolationist than their Fifield cousins, typically avoiding contact with humans rather than chucking stones at them. They may have the ability to turn invisible, or otherwise are simply good at hiding, as many of the stories surrounding the Punchbowl gnomes include them suddenly disappearing shortly after being spotted. Like the Fifield gnomes, they can be appeased with offerings of shiny rocks or candies, which can guarantee safe passage through the Punchbowl.
Ghost lights have also been reported within the Devil’s Punchbowl, which gives these gnomes a parallel with the Will-o’-the-wisp, a type of gnome from lumberjack folklore that was said to be the cause of ghost lights.
From The Wisconsin Road Guide to Mysterious Creatures, by Chad Lewis:
My favorite stories originating from the Devil's Punchbowl are the tales of the area being inhabited by gnomes. Just how long these encounters have been occurring has been lost to history, but it appears as though they are gaining in frequency. Nearly ten years ago, while I was a student of the University of Wisconsin-Stout (located about four miles from the punchbowl), I was contacted by a woman who had spent a wonderful day hiking the area with her son. Growing a bit tired from their excursion, the two were just about to head up the stairs to their car when the mother stopped for one last gaze of the beautiful waterfall. She told me that what she saw next, she would never be able to forget. Standing on top of the waterfall was a 3 to 4-foot-tall gnome-like creature staring back at her. She immediately grabbed her son and asked if he could see the creature, but by the time the son had spun around to look, the creature had either disappeared into the woods or vanished into thin air. The woman was a bit shy and embarrassed about her report because she knew how it sounded, yet she was convinced that what she had witnessed was a gnome straight out of folklore. The creature was around three to four feet tall with pointed ears and traditional gnome-like features. The woman also noticed that the creature was wearing some type of odd clothing, complete with a large pointed cap. And while the experience only lasted a few seconds, the woman said it would stick with her forever.
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