hobgoblin

[ hob-gob-lin ]

/ ˈhɒbˌgɒb lɪn /

something causing superstitious fear; a bogy.

a mischievous goblin.

(initial capital letter) Puck(def 1).

Origin of hobgoblin

First recorded in 1520–30; hob² + goblin

To the speechwriters, he was the hobgoblin of editors, demanding we cram in more statistics, more attacks, more examples.

The Rove You Don't Know |Matt Latimer |March 9, 2010 |DAILY BEAST
May we not have the precise height of this hobgoblin, in inches and fractions?

Wilderness of Spring |Edgar Pangborn
The second hobgoblin will be there, a mighty Ghost of valor.

Civil War and Reconstruction in Alabama |Walter L. Fleming
He made a convulsive frontal attack upon the hobgoblin—and the massacre began.

Lords of the Housetops |Various

The membracids must of all deserve the name of "bugges" for no elf or hobgoblin was ever more bizarre.

Edge of the Jungle |William Beebe
I've been through the ravine lots of times at night, right by the cross, and I never met anybody, not the first hobgoblin!

Paul and His Dog, v.1 (Novels of Paul de Kock Volume XIII) |Charles Paul de Kock

hobgoblin

/ (ˌhɒbˈɡɒblɪn) /

an evil or mischievous goblin

a bogey; bugbear

C16: from hob ² + goblin