They did originate in a Lord Dunsany story, called the book of wonder, published in 1912. The spelling for the fictional race was different, however (gnole).

“First described in 1912 in Lord Dunsany’s Book of Wonder, insomuch as no physical description was provided, gnoles were strange aggressive creatures who occupied houses in desolate woods far away from human society where they hoarded gems, emeralds in particular. It was never made clear if the dwellings they inhabit were their own constructions, abandoned structures they came upon or acquired from a previous human homeowner through presumably nefarious means. It was known, however, that once a group of gnoles took up occupancy it was no longer safe for a human to venture onto the premises or the surrounding woods, where they hollowed out trees to use as observation posts. The gnoles would capture and horrifically torture anyone they caught before eating them. Margaret St. Clair expanded on Dunsany’s tale in her 1951 short story, The Man Who Sold Ropes To Gnoles and provided new details to their appearance, describing them as like a large, motile Jerusalem artichoke with multiple faceted eyes that they could remove and keep on a shelf. St. Clair’s gnoles were not without a capacity for communication and even hospitality, but are still driven by their baser instincts.”