Depending on the source, trolls are either adorable or positively beastly.
The ubiquitous troll dolls popular in the 1980s and ’90s were decidedly cutesy; the nude figures with tall shocks of neon hair were presented as friendly imps. A series of films loosely based on the toys, including 2020’s “Trolls: World Tour,” turns the mythical creatures into precious, Smurf-esque creations.
Traditionally, however, these were not friendly beasts. In Jorge Luis Borges’ “Book of Imaginary Beings,” the author writes, “The Trolls of popular superstition are evil, stupid elves that dwell in mountain crannies and ramshackle huts.” J.K. Rowling concurs; the first troll encountered by Harry Potter and company is described as having a “great lumpy body … with its small bald head perched on top like a coconut … The smell coming from it was incredible.”