To the original poster:
As a veteran 'victim' of 1 (less than successful) and 2 attempted home invasion robberies, i have a bit of informed opinion (i said OPINION,of course, and we all have one ( * ), right?).
a) especially for the recoil-senitive, weight is your friend. a heavy stay-in-place revolver is one you need only point- not carry around for any period o time.
b) get something subsonic, like a .38 or .44 spec (if a revolver) or a .45 acp (if an auto pistol). i'm not one of those 'big bore bigots' (no offense meant), my point is only that while all guns are loud as $#!& indoors, breaking the sound barrier inside is ruinously loud. I've never been able to hear (not AWARE of hearing) in a real-world shooting/ SD/ HD scenario- i do have some moderate hearing loss and tinitus (thanks Uncle Sam!). True, your lives are more important than your hearing- i'd rather be alive and deaf than dead- but if a heavy, sub-sonic bullet works, i'll use that.
c) subsonic may not be an option in a long gun, but if you feel NEED a long gun, get one. (previous comments apply).
d) previous points made about hardening the house are SPOT ON! If the goblin are in the house, there's been a series of failures already, of either planning or hardware. If you're shooting a man in your bedroom doorway, he should have already have had to climb a hedge, fence, of bed of catcus; force a multi-pane window or heavy door with serious locks in a solid frame; set off the alarm system; been bitten by the dog, who is rousing the neighborhood with his barking; and by this point, the cops should already be called (from the cell phone in your bedroom) and en route. Never hesitate to USE that gun as your last line of defense, but it should be the LAST in a LONG LINE of defenses.
e) Any intruder that hasn't already been deterred by now is presumably dangerous- either because he WANTS to hurt you, or because he was too drunk/ stoned stupid to notice or care about any of the preceeding. WHY WOULD YOU GO OUT TO MEET A GOBLIN LIKE THAT? apparently, he's going to come to you anyway; stay in the bedroom and wait for him. don't endanger yourself. it should be apparent to any unbiased observer after the fact that you did everything a normal person would do, and more, to keep yourself safe without having to shoot anyone, and cornered in your bedroom, had no choice but to shoot to protect yourself from an uncommonly aggressive felon.