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Comes from the Old English verb for "shudder" (presumably the origin of the modern word "gruesome" as well; literally "shudder-some"). Grues are creepy, sinister creatures from the Zork series, the oldest and most influential of the old text-based adventure games. They're hardly ever seen because they despise light and only emerge in areas of complete darkness, where they prey upon [adventurers] and enchanters. Easily pissed off and vicious, they're repelled by even the faintest glow of light; meaning that a simple torch can be enough to keep the grues at bay. They're mysterious; short of their glaring eyes and sharp fangs-and-teeth, nobody knows what grues look like, exactly. They're known for their constant slaving and gurgling, and especially their nasty tempers.

In the game's feedback display itself, the grues were often a warning that a user should start looking for a light source... badly. "You have entered a dark area. You will likely be eaten by a grue" was a common [description] in the Zork adventure games; [adventurers] going underground would be wise to bring a good supply of oil for a lantern. Once the lights go out, the grues swarm all over you (ripping you apart before the game gives you a death message, like "Grues eat well tonight"). Infocom's official [description] of the "grue" (notice the lack of plural; it was unclear in the earlier Zork instalments whether there was only *one* grue, lurking as a sinister presence in the underground's darkness... or more then one) is:

"The grue, according to scholars of the Great Underground Empire, is a sinister, lurking presence [in the dark] places of the earth. Its favourite diet is either [adventurers] or enchanters, but its insatiable appetite is tempered by its extreme fear of light. No grues have ever been seen by the light of day, and only a few have been observed in their underground lairs. Of those who have seen grues, few have survived their fearsome jaws to tell the tale. Grues have sharp claws and fangs, and an [uncontrollable] tendency to slaver and gurgle. They are certainly the most evil-tempered of all creatures; to say they are touchy is a dangerous [understatement]. "Sour as a grue" is a common expression, even among themselves."

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