Fairy, Faery, quite contrary – but is it really so?

By Sarah Elliott

 

The first rule of fairies is that fairy lore is local. 

 

There are many theories and beliefs around fairy lore. It all depends on where you are and who is telling the story. Fairies are very well-known and popular within Celtic folklore from the British Isles. In Scottish folklore, they are known as Sidhe, whilst in Irish folklore they are often depicted as the Tuatha Dé Danann. Knocking on our European neighbours’ door, we meet the álfar who are elves from Norse mythology associated with nature, fertility, and magic. Contrary to popular belief, fairies are referenced all over the world. No matter where they are from, the big question is:

Do you believe in fairies?

We could get all X-Files here and on one side search endlessly for scientific evidence, and on the other just simply believe because we want to. Maybe we need to. Maybe we just have to (or else?). Thanks to the Peter Pan story, some people are almost indoctrinated into the fact that if we don’t believe in fairies they will die. Who wants to be responsible for that? Such is the influence and reach of Walt Disney. 

The issue of fairies is polarising. The dichotomy continues to divide. Even as we are exposed to increasing stories, retellings and reports of fairies, many people teeter on the fence about whether these creatures are real or imagined. Are they good or bad? Do they bring good omens or are they the harbingers of disaster?

 

What is a fairy? 

A fairy can be defined as:

“a small imaginary being of human form that has magical powers”

• Oxford Languages, Google

 

The debate begins with the definition. Do they really exist? Many people want to believe and some search for evidence.  There was a case in 1917 where two girls, 16-year-old Elsie Wright and her 9-year-old cousin Frances Griffiths claimed to have photographed fairies in the village of Cottingley. This case went viral (imagine before social media!). They shared photographic evidence showing Frances playing with fairies. This caused much debate and had the most esteemed members of Victorian society convinced of the existence of fairies. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of Sherlock Holmes, was a prominent believer even going so far as to write a book called “The Coming of the Fairies” in 1922, which included the Cottingley photographs firmly confirming their existence. It’s amazing what good sponsorship can do for you. The girls produced further photos in 1920 with Elsie sitting with a fairy perched on her shoulder.

 

The controversy went on for decades with the girls growing into adulthood and still insisting the photographs were genuine. Finally, they fessed up in 1983 revealing that the fairies were in fact paper cutouts enhanced by clever photography skills. Imagine what they could have done with an iPhone? It was all great publicity for fairies though, impacting popular culture and reinforcing our fascination with fairies, other little people and the supernatural.

 

What’s at the bottom of the garden?

Fairies are categorised as being nature spirits alongside gnomes, pixies, elves, sprites, imps and brownies. These tiny beings look after elements of nature including trees, plants, rivers and land features. Fairies often live under or inside hills and mounds and places that aren’t obvious to the eye. In Celtic folklore, these are often referred to as fairy forts. You may be familiar with fairy rings. These often present as a ring of mushrooms growing on a garden lawn. There is much mythology around fairy rings, and it varies depending on the part of the world.

 

In Austria, dragons were responsible for the appearance of fairy rings. Sources report dragons had burned them into the ground with their fiery tails. 

 

In other places, there are consequences for entering a fairy ring. According to Celtic and English folklore humans who enter must remain there and dance until they drop dead. In Germany, they were believed to be witches’ rings (Hexenringe) where witches would meet to dance six months before Hallowe’en. Other places believe that the tiny toadstools serve as dinner tables for the fairies or that the existence of a fairy ring is a sign that fairies live there underground. 

 

Others purport fairy rings could signal the existence of a portal to other worlds.  With all these stories about fairies, it is a wonder that fairy rings are not clearly marked with a sign that says, ‘do not enter – for you may never leave!’ For more botanical explanations for fairy rings, check out the resource links below.

 

So, what is a fairy’s vocation?

Perhaps the first fairy you might come across in life is the well-known tooth fairy. This fairy takes your no-longer-needed tooth and replaces it with money (the amount dependent on inflation and the cost of living at the time). This ‘fond’ tradition has been turned on its head with many twists and horror themes. In Hellboy II – The Golden Army these cute little fairies become calcium-obsessed, piranha-like creatures.

 

Our fascination with fairies may stem from the popular assumption that fairies grant wishes. This could be thanks to the 1959 film Sleeping Beauty and the appearance of Flora, Fauna and Merryweather who grant the baby a wish each. What an entourage! You might also want to include the tried and trusted fairy godmother from Cinderella (it would save so much time in retail therapy). Again, the trope of granting wishes has been inverted providing much entertainment. But fairies seem to do more than grant wishes.

 

If the names of the fairies in Sleeping Beauty grant any clues, we can safely assume that fairies are firmly fixed in Camp Thunberg and their sole purpose is to care for nature and the environment. What with granting wishes, looking after nature and presenting as all sweet and kind, we could be fooled into assuming fairies were all goodness and light.

 

Do we need to call the Fairybusters?

If only fairies were all goodness and light. The Irish certainly didn’t believe so. Back in 1817, their beliefs were based on the work of Lady Jane Wilde who wrote,

“fairies are the fallen angels who were cast down by the Lord God out of heaven for their sinful pride…and the devil gives to these knowledge and power and sends them on earth where they work much evil”.

 

An example of this evil is the sad case of Bridget Cleary. Bridget Cleary was murdered by her husband in 1895. Bridget’s husband, Michael Cleary along with other family members were convinced that Bridget had been abducted and replaced by a changeling. The story goes that Bridget walked near a fairy fort and when returning home was never quite the same. She fell ill and was even given the last rites. Many remedies were tried and failed. 

 

Since her behaviour was so changed, her husband totally convinced he had to drive the changeling out, threw urine on her. This was believed at the time to expel changelings. Another method to expel changelings was by fire. Bridget was thought to have died by immolation.  There was widespread coverage of the case at the time and Michael Cleary was convicted of manslaughter spending 15 years in prison before eventually emigrating to Canada.

 

Fairy changelings were described as a deformed fairy that was exchanged for a healthy human. In the case of children, it was believed that the healthy stolen child would be used to strengthen fairy stock or be given to the Devil. Methods to expel a changeling included making the changeling laugh, torture (thought to be responsible for cases of child abuse), hot iron (poker) or boiling.

 

If a child became ill or took on a strange appearance, then fairies were suspected. In the case of partial paralysis of a child, it was said that they were fairy-struck. The presence of fairy changelings was even used to explain disabilities and neurodiverse presentations. Children might have been selected by fairies due to their good looks which the fairies admired, or as written in the Medieval Chronicles by Ralph of Coggeshall (English chronicler), the fairies were said to prey upon unbaptised children. Other legends claim that changelings were old fairies who wanted to live their lives out in peace being well looked after. Regardless of the existence of scientific evidence, for many the belief in fairies was real and had a serious impact on the everyday lives of people.

 

This is a far cry from the description from J.M Barrie:

“When the first baby laughed…its laugh broke into a thousand pieces…that was the beginning of fairies.”

 

Fun fact: Margaret Kerry, American actress, author and speaker was the live-action reference model of Tinker Bell in the 1953 film Peter Pan.

 

Been around the world and I can’t find my fairy

Fairies are found in Celtic folklore, but variations of fairies are found around the world. Here is a brief rundown:

 

• The Slavic Domovoi is a household spirit that protects the home and its inhabitants.
• The Yokai from Japan are a range of supernatural beings including the shape-shifting fox spirit kitsune (think 2011 Teen Wolf series) and the bird-like tengu.
• In Yoruba mythology (Nigeria, Africa) supernatural beings are known as orishas.
• The Engkanto of Philippine folklore are described as nature spirits whilst the Diwata are ethereal beings associated with forest, water and mountains.
• The Brazilian Curupira is considered the protector of forests and animals.
• The Fei are winged creatures in Chinese mythology depicted as benevolent beings.
• Mmoatia from Akan (Ghanaian) folklore are described as forest sprites.
• North Indian folklore references the Pari which are fairies capable of granting wishes.
• The Yakshas and Yakshinis are nature spirits found in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain mythology.

 

The ‘fae’mous ones

From frolicking fairies that grant wishes to the fearsome fae who suck your blood, fairies pop up all over literature. If you want to go on a fairy treasure hunt, these are the hiding places you may want to check out!

 

The Victorians: Fairies were so popular during this era. We’ve already mentioned J.M Barrie and Peter Pan but there’s also Oscar Wilde’s The Happy Prince and Other Tales, and George MacDonald’s The Princess and the Goblin.

 

The Bard himself: Shakespeare featured fairies in several of his plays, most famously the fairy realm in A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

 

The British Isles: Irish and Celtic mythology are rich with fairy lore. Books to note include The Fairy Mythology by Thomas Keightley and The Book of Fairy Princes by Edward Plunkett.

 

Folk tales and the aptly named fairy tales: This is likely where many of us first meet fairies amongst the pages of Cinderella, Rumpelstiltskin and Sleeping Beauty.

 

It’s all a fantasy: The perfect setting for fairies is magical forests and fantastical worlds. J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth is rife with elves which are akin to fairies in the eyes of many. Moving to urban fantasy, we can find our winged friends in the books of Holly Black and Melissa Marr.

 

For more books featuring fairies, look here: 

 

Just one more thing

One final note about fairies. You may have seen them referred to as faery, fae, fae-folk, faerie, or fey. This may help you:

 

“While all fairies are considered Fae, not all Fae are fairies. Fairies are a specific type of Fae that are often associated with nature and magic. Other types of Fae may have different abilities and characteristics.”

• Loida Fajardo on June 16, 2023

 

Remember, it all depends on where you are, and what you are willing to believe. Be careful what you wish for…

 

Resources

https://fairytaleapothecary.com/blogs/fairylore-and-mythical-beings/types-of-fae#:~:text=While%20all%20fairies%20are%20considered,have%20different%20abilities%20and%20characteristics.

https://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93&query=fairies

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/blog/2019/08/what-is-a-fairy-ring/

 

https://www.discoverwildlife.com/plant-facts/fungi/fairy-ring

https://www.foragingcoursecompany.co.uk/post/articles-fairy-rings

https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Tooth_Fairies#:~:text=Tooth%20Fairies%20are%20ravenous%2C%20multi,used%20in%20plans%20for%20conquest.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flora,_Fauna,_and_Merryweather

https://theconversation.com/fairies-werent-always-cute-they-used-to-drink-human-blood-and-kidnap-children-170305

https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/bridget-cleary-changeling-murder-ireland

http://www.irishidentity.com/extras/supernat/stories/cleary.htm

https://www.waterfordtreasures.com/the-burning-of-bridget-cleary-witches-fairies-and-the-danger-of-superstition/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Bridget_Cleary

https://www.britannica.com/art/changeling-folklore

https://www.irishpost.com/life-style/exploring-the-irish-mythology-changelings-170347

https://awnnetwork.org/changelings-and-the-folk-history-of-autism/