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Many years ago, a hobbit went on a long, brave adventure to reclaim a fallen kingdom from a dragon. But that hobbit brought more than gold, silver, gifts, memories and stories with him. It is said that he brought back three ghosts. No one had ever learned the ghosts names, not even the hobbit they came with. So the shire came up with some.
This is the story of the ghost known as “Kiki.”
A young hobbit, son of the Thain, always found himself bored. His favorite relative wouldn’t visit for a long while, not after the recent deaths. The young hobbit had no one to goof off with—Frodo was grieving, Sam was too much of a goody-two-shoes, and Merry lived too far. He began to wander around the fields alone. That’s when he tripped over a figure laying in the grass.
“Apologies!” The hobbit stood and brushed himself off.
“All is forgiven,” the figure sat up. The person was taller than any hobbit the faunt had ever seen. Black stubble sat on his face, and matching hair barely passed his shoulders. “Besides, I’m not the easiest to spot when relaxing.”
The faunt reached his hand out, “I’m Pippin! What’s your name?”
“Pleasure to meet you, Pippin.” The figure took the hobbit’s hand and shook it. “I’m Kili.”
“Well, mister Kiki,” Pippin put his mischievous smile on, “Would you like to hang out with me?”
Kiki recognized the hobbit’s intentions. He stood and said, “How about I teach you how to make people think they’ve been cursed?”
The figure didn’t mind the name this hobbit had given him. It just meant he couldn’t be tied to the mischief he helped the gaunt get into. He showed Pippin how to carve runes into a rock. And let the gaunt run off to create chaos. Until the Thain stepped in. But there was no Kiki anywhere near the Took family home. Ever.
Another young hobbit wandered away from the inn his family stayed in. It was dark, the only light was from the inn. The faunt walked up a hill to stargaze. But a face he’d only heard about from Pippin’s letters.
“Are you Kiki?” The faunt asked cautiously.
“Aye,” the figure laid down beside the hobbit, “and you are?”
“I’m Merry.” He looked back up to the stars. “Pip told me about the rune-stone prank.”
“Older kin always gotta ruin the fun,” Kiki chuckled. Merry agreed, and asked the figure if he could learn some tricks.
Carefully, Kiki taught the hobbit how to backflip. It wasn’t as easy as teaching his cousin how to, simply because of the darkness. Kiki quietly sang the song he and his brother started as they threw plates through the halls of a smial.
Kiki didn’t just teach Merry and Pippin more mischief. Any time anyone held a party, silverware would disappear, hairpins would vanish, and fancy dishes would be nowhere to be found. But after the party was over, they’d all show up where the party was held. A few faunts admitted they saw someone take the belongings as pranks, but no one had ever heard of a “Kiki” in the shire. Thus the legend of “Kiki” the ghost of chaos spread across the Shire, but was most prominent in Hobbition. He was one of three ghosts of the Shire.
The stories of the other two ghosts are meant for another time.