changeling

thumb|upright=1.2|Der Wechselbalg by Henry Fuseli, 1781

A changeling, also historically referred to as an auf or oaf, is a human-like creature found throughout much of European folklore. According to folklore, a changeling was a substitute left by a supernatural being when kidnapping a human being. Although sometimes it was a "stock" (a piece of wood made magically to resemble the kidnapped human), more often the changeling was a supernatural being made magically to look like the kidnapped human. thumb|alt=Devil swapping a child in crib with changeling called Killecroff ―Illustrated by Gustav Doré, Saintine (1862) Mythologie du Rhin|Devil swapping a child in crib with changeling called Killecroff ―Illustrated by Gustav Doré, Saintine (1862) Mythologie du Rhin