Alp

No single cohesive origin myth is provided in the cited material. Lexicographic evidence (Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch) characterises the alp in medieval gloss as a 'nature-god or nature-demon' and compares it to fauns of classical myth, indicating its place among pre-Christian elf- and nature-being concepts; later folk practice shows Christian protective responses layered onto these older beliefs (e.g., night prayers and amulets).

The supplied sources do not give a consistent, detailed physical portrait. Post-medieval folklore typically presents the alp as male and emphasizes its behavior more than form. Medieval glosses liken alps to faun-like, eerie nature-beings, while later accounts stress paraphernalia such as a magic cloak called a Tarnkappe from which the alp draws its powers and describe actions (sitting on chests, tangling hair) rather than a fixed bodily description.

Primary behaviours recorded are nocturnal interference with sleepers' dreams—creating nightmares (Alptraum) and exerting a crushing weight on the chest (Alpdruck/Alpdrücke) so that victims awaken terrified and breathless, sometimes unable to move. The alp is also credited with domestic mischief (souring milk, re-diapering babies unless a cross is marked, tangling hair into 'elfknots', chewing or twisting horses' tails) and is sometimes associated in later accounts with drinking blood from nipples, which links it in folklore to vampire-like tendencies. It is also said to wear a Tarnkappe, a magic cloak tied to its powers, and in some northern-German post-medieval material alps can act as agents of witches.