Nicker

Nicker (A.S. nicor, pl. niceras, in Beowulf), a malignant kind of water-sprite in Teutonic mythology. He often presents himself on the shore in the shape of a horse, and has thus close affinities with the Scotch kelpie; while indeed the Old Norse nikr (Old High Ger. nichus) is thought by some to mean the hippopotamus only. In our own demonology we find both a male nix and a female nixie. The modern Dutch nikker is merely an ordinary evil spirit or devil, recalling our own familiar Old Nick.