The reference is that one of the earliest - or perhaps the earliest - translation of the communist manifesto into English opened with the delightful phrase, "A frightful hobgoblin stalks throughout Europe. We are haunted by a ghost, the ghost of Communism."

The image is from the excellent webcomic existential comics, specifically https://existentialcomics.com/comic/203

Honestly I think we should have the frightful hobgoblin as an emoji, it's imo a funnier if slightly less whimsical version of