Drude
In German folklore, a drude (, pl. "Druden") is a kind of malevolent nocturnal spirit (an elf (Alp) or kobold or a hag) associated with nightmares, prevalent especially in Southern Germany. Druden were said to participate in the Wild Hunt and were considered a particular class of demon in Alfonso de Spina's hierarchy. The word also came to be used as a generic term for "witch" in the 16th century (Hans Sachs). The word is attested as Middle High German "trute", In early modern lexicography and down to the 19th century, it was popularly associated with the word "druid , without any etymological justification. Its actual origin is unknown. Jacob Grimm suggests derivation from a euphemistic trût" (modern "traut") "dear, beloved; intimate", but cites as an alternative suggestion a relation to the valkyrie's name Þrúðr. If so it is natural to connect the "druden" with the daughter of the chieftain of the gods in the Norse religion, Thor, and his wife Sif. The "Drudenfuss" (or "Drudenfuß"), literally "drude's foot" (also "Alpfuss"), is the pentagram symbol (in early usage also either a pentagram or a hexagram), believed to ward off demons, explicitly so named in Goethe's Faust (1808 ). The word has been in use since at least the 17th century, recorded by Justus Georg Schottelius (as "drutenfusz", glossed "omnis incolumitatis signum "). Its apotropaic use is well recorded for 18th- to 19th-century folk belief in Bavaria and Tyrol. "Drudenfuss" is also the German name of the pentagram used as a heraldic device (alternatively "Drudenkreuz" "drude's cross" and "Alpfuß, Alfenfuß" "elf-foot" or "Alpkreuz" "elf-cross") besides the more descriptive "Pentalpha" or "Fünfstern". A "Drudenstein" is a pebble with a naturally formed hole in the center. In Bavaria, such pebbles were hung in rooms, on cradles or in  stables to ward off nightmares, or to protect horses against matted manes or tails. "Drudenfuss" is another name for mistletoe.