TV/Film Work, Fairy Folklore Dan Baines TV/Film Work, Fairy Folklore Dan Baines

'The Curiosity', a strange new fairy tale from the Creator of Pacific Rim

If The Curiosity is as good as it looks, it will be every geek's dream. It's beautifully shot, unabashedly genre, is inspired by movies like Pan's Labyrinth and District 9, and takes place in a world with two moons (call it an inverse Tatooine)

The Curiosity is described as a "strange fairy tale" made by Travis Beacham, who is best known for writing Pacific Rim. According to his announcement of the film on his Tumblr, it will be another low-budget indie, emulating the budget tricks of Pacific Rim, and will create an entirely new world.

"Without giving too much away, it's a small-scale fantasy, somewhere in the budgetary neighborhood of indie genre fare like Pan's Labyrinth or District 9. That is to say only that it's an intimately focused, character-driven tale, nevertheless set in a world of its own (nothing as grand as Pharaonic Egypt, mind you, but still a far cry from the house next door.)"

The film is reportedly about selkies, creatures in Scottish folklore that are seals in the water but morph into humans on dry land, or essentially Scottish mermaids. According to Screen Crush, it follows a woman named Spindle, a "pointy-eared girl who has traveled across a magical ocean and ended up a long way from home, who meets a magician named Datchery Bell." There's no release date for the film yet, but it might end up in theaters very soon if it's picked up by a distributor.

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Fairy Folklore, TV/Film Work Dan Baines Fairy Folklore, TV/Film Work Dan Baines

Exploring The Upside Down

Magical realms exist in every culture, places inhabited by otherworldly beings where space and time stands still. The prolific accounts of these worlds throughout history begs the question, do they exist and if so where are the entrances to these alternate dimensions or underworlds? Fans of the recent Netflix series 'Stranger Things' will relate to the concept of 'the upside down', a mirror of our own world but dark and inhabited by demons.

This great article from Mysterious Worlds discusses such places. It has always made me wonder why these mystical realms appear easier to get to than to get back from. And even if you do return from your brief visit to find that 7 years have passed in a matter of minutes, what guarantee is there that you've returned to the right dimension?

Mysterious Worlds

Writing in his recent work, Sky Shamans of Mongolia, Kevin Turner tells us that the three worlds or realms of the Mongolian Darkhad shaman don’t consist of a traditional upper, middle and lower world but are instead overlapping dimensional realities, more in line with a holographic outlook. These places are populated by deities, spirits and ancestors. In Irish lore it is the land of Tir na Nog where a race of supernatural beings is said to reside, although this otherworld adapts itself to incorporate the afterlife, the Summerland of Wicca, as well as shamanic realms according to other interpretations.

Often these dimensions are seen to be accessed across an ocean, leading many to associate Tir na Nog with the mythical island of Hy-Brazil, an island that was said to rise from the sea every seven years and which was populated by a race of advanced antediluvian beings.

However, the realm of fairy or the crypto-terrestrial is more often encountered through places considered sacred or having an alignment of some kind in relation to auspicious days in the yearly cycle, such as solstices, equinoxes and new moons. In many legends passed down from oral traditions the liminal moments at dusk, between sunset and moonrise, are when the ethereal forms of these beings are best seen.

Trapped in Magical Realms

Perhaps one of the most famous anecdotes relating to this is that of the Rev Robert Kirk who was a Scottish scholar and clergyman. His book The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns and Fairies was published in 1691 and collected many instances of encounters with these elemental creatures and what a person could do to either avoid or come in contact with them.

At this time the Inquisition was still in full force across Europe so Kirk’s interest in what some saw as Demonic entities put him at odds with many of his religious colleagues. Some, in fact, speculated that Kirk himself might be a changeling sent by the devil in order to corrupt the faith of his parishioners and to lead them back to ancient pagan ways. Kirk was also a seventh son which lent him an aura of the otherworldly, as this was a particular sign of association with second sight and affiliation with the fairy folk.

One summer evening, Kirk, while out walking, collapsed and died upon a fairy hill. Or so it seemed.

In the days following his funeral, a cousin of Kirk’s had a strange dream in which the reverend pleaded with him to rescue him from fairyland. Kirk told his cousin in the dream that he was not dead at all but was in a magical swoon caused by his supernatural captors.

Kirk had promised his cousin that he would be able to appear for just one moment at the baptism of his child and when this occurred his cousin was to throw a ceremonial knife over his apparition. This would have the effect of releasing Kirk from the fairies’ spell.

At the baptism it is said that when Reverend Kirk appeared his cousin was so shocked that he forgot the instructions about the knife and Kirk then vanished, doomed to live in fairyland for eternity.

Altered Time and Space

This concept of eternity and that time can run faster or slower in these realms has been part of fairy myth for thousands of years. The Japanese legend of Urashima Taro is a good example. In this story a fisherman visits the supernatural undersea kingdom of Ryugu-jo and discovers that the three days he spent there had been three hundred years in his homeland.

Ryugu-jo has some specific architectural symbolism relating to the earth’s cycle in that each side of the kingdom was said to be a different season. Perhaps we are seeing an association with the solstices and equinoxes once again, which in themselves have a history of being doorways for the legendary beings like the fairies and various elementals to appear through.

The elves and fairies of Scotland and Ireland, for example, would use certain magical doorways or stone circles in which to appear depending upon the time of the year. Each magical doorway was associated with a particular season.

There is a potential connection to the Heb Sed shamanic rituals of ancient Egypt in this context as each ceremonial area would be used once then a new structure would be constructed for the following festival.

The communication with ‘star gods,’ along with offerings in return for wisdom also has parallels to folkloric interactions with the Sidhe (Irish and Scottish fairy folk) or energetic forms of various cultures. Sometimes, a ritual site would have to be left for a time in order to allow its energy to replenish and so the gods could be reached again in further ceremonies.

Another interesting connection is how the Pharaoh would be considered dead but still living during this ritual; the priests would consider him outside of time and having travelled to the Duat, the immaterial realm of spirit.

The Dreamtime

The term ‘time outside of time’ is also one of the popular translations of the Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime. Specifically, this description is better understood as ‘eternal, uncreated’ and refers to a dimension where all mythical heroes and ancestors exist and have always existed. Although there are many regional differences, all of the connotations relate to an immaterial, timeless place outside of the physical world.

Indeed, there are mythical fairy-like mediators in Aboriginal lore called the Mimi who are said to have taught the first Aboriginal tribes many skills. The Mimi were said to be so thin that a strong wind might break them and they could be contacted by approaching sacred stones or mountains in the correct manner. These places were doorways to an immaterial dimension that existed outside of the human world.

Often the Mimi would play tricks on humans if they or their magic places were not respected. There was a type of shamanistic process for contacting the Mimi properly and this was usually carried out by ‘Men of High Degree’ who were the shaman of the aboriginal tribes. In his ground-breaking work, Aboriginal Men of High Degree, A.P. Elkin describes these men as “supernormal, usually super-sensory, and are derived from two sources: first, the cult-heroes of the craft-sky and totemic heroes, spirits and ghosts, who may be all the one; second, the long line and hierarchy or order of medicine men, which leads back to the same heroes of the dreamtime.”

However, the role of women in mediating with the Mimi was also extremely important. There were certain tasks and requests that could only be asked by a woman and where the context of ‘high degree’ was outranked. Writing in Wise Women of the Dreamtime Johanna Lambert explains, “That which is subtle, ambiguous, interconnected, intangible and beyond reason or logic emerges from the realm of the Universal Feminine and is the basis of what has been called “magic or “the occult”.

The Magic Arrow

The Mimi, like fairies and elementals in all other cultures, were unpredictable and could punish a human as often as rewarding them. They were thought to steal food, trip up unsuspecting travellers, and even shoot magic darts—which is a tantalising connection to many shamanistic practices.

The magical arrow is also associated with Abaris the Hyperborean, a figure said to have emerged from a mythical land “beyond the north wind”. Abaris was said to be able to commune with spirits, heal the sick and travel through the air on a magic arrow. Other connections to Apollo and Pythagoras hint at the shamanistic journeying technique of incubation, best recently described by Peter Kingsley in his work, In the Dark Places of Wisdom.

When we look past the particular cultural interpretations, which change depending upon religious systems and societal developments, what we find beneath the many different fairy and shamanistic encounters are strong hints of a universal otherworldly experience. And although we find many accounts of strange lands with the help of fairies and spirits, it’s worth remembering that sometimes it is also at their insistence!

By David Halpin

References

Kevin Turner. ‘Sky Shamans of Mongolia’. Published by North Atlantic Books (April 12, 2016) P.71.

Hayao Kawaii. ‘Dreams, Myths and Fairy Tales in Japan’. Published by Daimon Verlag (Jan. 1 1995). p. 107.

A.P. Elkin. ‘Aboriginal Men of High Degree: Initiation and Sorcery in the World's Oldest Tradition’. Published by Inner Traditions; Original ed. edition (Nov. 1 1993). p 38.

K. Langloh Parker/ By Johanna Lambert, ed. ‘Wise Women of the Dreamtime: Aboriginal Tales of the Ancestral Powers’ Published by Park Street Press; Original ed. edition (July 1 1993). P. 89.

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Scottish Mansion for sale that screams del Toro!

This newspaper article from the Scotsman has all the key ingredients for a great Guillermo del Toro movie.  On the Isle of Bute you will find for sale a former residential school for children escaping a tuberculosis and rickets outbreak in Glasgow in the 40s which is said to be infested with fairies.  My mind instinctively thought of 'The Devils Backbone', 'The Orphanage' and 'Don't be afraid of the Dark', all GDT classics that draw from childhood, ghosts, infant illness and of course, fairies. 

The Southpark Estate is on the market for a mere £825000!  Anyone with a spare million please drop me an e-mail and in return I'll write a bleak Scottish horror about childhood discovery and the unseely wee folk who haunt the grounds of Southpark (and I'll try and catch one or two while I'm at it). 

A STUNNING Victorian estate believed to be full of fairies has been put on the market for £825,000. Southpark - in the quaint village of Ascog on the Isle of Bute - is proudly surrounded by 3.8 acres of greenery and offers breathtaking views of the Firth of Clyde.

In the 1940’s the B listed property became a residential school for children escaping a tuberculosis and rickets outbreak in Glasgow. To this day the original coat hooks, shoe cubby holes and cloakrooms are still in place. During their stay the children started a rumour which still persists today - that the house is infested with fairies. It is said that the rumour began when children began noting the way the house sparkled in moonlight reflected onto it from the sea. Current owner Margaret Morrison - who has lived at the estate for nine years - said she frequently gets visited by former school children of the school who share their magical memories of Southpark.

She said: “We are visited by many former pupils, who have such happy memories of coming to school here. “For them it was a chance to escape the overcrowding and difficult conditions in Glasgow. “It’s funny, but many of them tell the same story - about believing the house was full of fairies because of the way it ‘twinkled’ at night thanks to the way the light bounces off the water and hits the stones. “It’s always been a magical place and I feel glad to be part of it.”

Along with five bedrooms, five bathrooms and three reception rooms, the property even comes with its own butler pantry. And if that wasn’t enough, a cottage and two flats in the former Coach House are also included in the offers over £825,000 price tag. The one-of-a-kind residence, managed by estate agents Strutt and Parker, also boast pristine original features such as marble fireplaces, cornicing and multiple bay windows.

Margaret and her husband David have reluctantly put the estate, designed and built by esteemed Scots civil engineer Robert Thom, on the market for health reasons.

The added: “The island is very special, a beautiful place to live. I could sit for hours watching the cruise ships sailing up the Firth - and the garden is very peaceful. “Southpark is a special place - a very welcoming house, which has meant a lot to so any people. “It was certainly built with love and over the years since, it has been carefully looked after and beautifully preserved, even when it was a school. ”Bute is not just an island it is a way of life and to walk along and be smiled at or greeted by almost everyone is wonderful.” The main town of Rothesay is around three miles away from Southpark with a frequent ferry service which runs to Wemyss Bay - where rail links to Glasgow can be found. Ascog is mainly a residential area but has several historic buildings including Ascog House, Ascog Hall, and the Italianate style Balmory Hall.

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Events, Fairy Folklore, Studio, TV/Film Work Dan Baines Events, Fairy Folklore, Studio, TV/Film Work Dan Baines

The Mummified Fairy Workshop Review

The past weekend will remain memorable for two momentous reasons.  I will always remember that when the UK decided to leave the EU I was in Germany giving my first overseas workshop.

I can honestly say that it is quite difficult to convey my disappointment at leaving the EU.  Although my political stance has always dressed to the right I voted to remain as I was thinking about the impact of leaving for the future generations, namely my children.  It was a sad day but I have optimism in my heart and the room I was given at Hotel zum Zauberkabinett in Bad Heilbrunn echoed my positivity.

All of the rooms at the hotel were themed on tarot cards from the major arcana and I had been given The Sun.  This card symbolises finding sense behind chaos, attaining a new levels of insight, having an intellectual breakthrough and getting to the heart of the matter.  Ultimately all the things I hope to do in the coming months and years in the shadow of Brexit.  But most of all the card represents the most positive oracle in the tarot deck and I took this as a good omen of the times ahead.

After a delayed flight due the closure of Belgian airspace, Alex Roemer, long time friend and proprietor of Hotel zum Zauberkabinett took me for a much welcomed beer and Bavarian meal in the scorching sun.  Many ideas were hatched and secrets exchanged before we headed back to the hotel to prepare for the forthcoming weekend. This was to be my first Mummified Fairy Workshop for a foreign audience.

The motley crew of attendees started to arrive on Friday afternoon.  A teacher, a larper, two magicians and Switzerland's top Jack Jersey impersonator (yes, I wondered who he was also!) arrived for what sounded like the start of a bad joke.  After a wonderful meal on the terrace set in the wooded hills I started with an introduction and my lecture on the mummified fairy hoax.  

Saturday started bright and breezy with an early breakfast and straight to the studio.  Being creative can be surprisingly tiring if you're not used to it so I decided to crack on early to maximise my time with the group.  I was told that everyone had some form of artistic ability and we made a great start.

The schedule roughly followed the DVD workshop I had produced a few years earlier with the help of Kickstarter and a few hundred loyal backers.  The obvious benefit of this more personal workshop was the one-to-one tuition and the fact you didn't have to watch my hands for 3 hours, unlike the DVD. As all of the group had some form of interest in magic it's not surprising that by early afternoon the fairies had ended up with magnets implanted into their rib cages.  The table was alive with jumping and spinning reanimated fairy corpses.  After nearly seven hours of melting, painting and sticking we placed the fairies in the drying room and retired for a rest before the evening activities.  Felix thrashed me thrice at Carcassonne so I decided to head to my room and drown my sorrows in even more post referendum pessimism.   

Most Saturday nights Alex hosts a dinner and evening of magical entertainment.  This has been running for 19 years and many of his 50000 plus audience members keep returning for more.  The dinner takes place in his impressive magic room crammed with strange artefacts, antique illusions and a mirror where you may see the grim reaper materialise during the evening.  Although the whole performance was in German I understood what was happening and after a few beers it didn't really matter anyway!  

Sunday morning was spent adding the finishing touches to our desiccated monsters.  Hair, wings and eyes added 'life' to the dead fairies and just before lunch we arranged our creations for their first group photo.  The artistic talents of the group really shone through and Andreas created possibly the deadest looking dead fairy I had ever seen.  The group exhibited excellent effort all round and I'm hoping that everyone who attended had a rewarding and memorable experience.   

For an experimental first the workshop was a great success and everyone walked away with something horrific to perplex their family and friends.  Due to the success, on the way to the airport Alex and I started our plans for another possible workshop in 2017 so if you're interested in taking part please e-mail me for details.

Thanks once again to Alex for being such an accommodating host and of course a personal thank you goes to Felix, Roman, Manuela, Andreas and Stefan for attending the weekend course.


 

 


 


 

    


 

 

 

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Lurkers of the Midsummer Woods

This excellent article from Patheos.com covers the darker side of fairy folklore, the side that seems to have been swept aside and replaced by fairy doors, glitter and tutus.  For me the most interesting spirit covered is the Woodwose whose description bares a striking resemblance to the modern day Sasquatch and other associated hairy woodland cryptids.

Outside the Circle: The Bad Fairies Of Litha

Litha or Midsummer, a time of bonfires, mugwort, mythical beings, nights and days of mischief and love. The veil is thin. The Celts, the Norse and the Slavs believed that there were three ‘spirit nights’ in the year when magic ran amok and the Otherworld was near. The first was Halloween, the second was May Eve and the third was Midsummer Eve. All sorts of enchantments are in the air now and Spirits and Fairies abound. What follows here are some of them. These are not your good fairies but tricksters and darker spirits.

Will-o’-the-wisp

A will-o’-the-wisp,  Medieval Latin: “foolish fire”, is an atmospheric ghost light seen by travellers at night, especially over bogs, swamps or marshes. It resembles a flickering lamp and is said to recede if approached, drawing travellers from the safe paths. The phenomenon is known by a variety of names, including jack-o’-lantern, friar’s lantern, hinkypunk, and hobby lantern in English folk belief, well attested in English folklore and in much of European folklore.

The names will-o’-the-wisp and jack-o’-lantern are explained in etiological folk-tales, recorded in many variant forms in Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, Appalachia, and Newfoundland. In these tales, protagonists named either Will or Jack are doomed to haunt the marshes with a light for some misdeed.

In European folklore, these lights are believed to be spirits of the dead, fairies, or a variety of other supernatural beings which attempt to lead travelers to their demise.

Hinky-Punk

Its flame burning through the darkness guides unsuspecting travellers into swamps or over cliffs. Bands of them are often found at the site of Shipwrecks.

Another name for the Will-o’-Wisp, magical lights of European folklore.

Spunkies

Spunkie in the Scottish Highlands where it would take the form of a linkboy (a boy who carried a flaming torch to light the way for pedestrians in exchange for a fee), or else simply a light that always seemed to recede, in order to lead unwary travelers to their doom.The spunkie has also been blamed for shipwrecks at night after being spotted on land and mistaken for a harbor light. Other tales of Scottish folklore regard these mysterious lights as omens of death or the ghosts of once living human beings. They often appeared over lochs or on roads along which funeral processions were known to travel.

Pixies

Also related, the Pixy-light from Devon and Cornwall is most often associated with the Pixie who often has “pixie-led” travellers away from the safe and reliable route and into the bogs with glowing lights.

In Welsh folklore, it is said that the light is “fairy fire” held in the hand of a púca, or pwca, a small goblin-like fairy that mischievously leads lone travellers off the beaten path at night. As the traveller follows the púca through the marsh or bog, the fire is extinguished, leaving them lost.

Phooka

Phooka may refer to Púca, a creature of Celtic folklore or from the Old Irish poc, ‘a male goat’.

Puck was the goat-footed satyr made famous in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Often thought of as an animal spirit, some accounts believe it gets its name from Poc, meaning he-goat in Irish. In fact, Pooka is a changeling, and can take animal or human form.

The animal Pooka is usually jet black with fiery golden or red eyes.  Some associate it with devil!

The mountains and hills are this creature’s domains. Depending on the part of Ireland you lived in, Pooka was thought to be either helpful or menacing. It has been known to help farmers for example, but it can also wreak havoc. Generally however, perceived wisdom holds that an encounter with Pooka is not considered propitious, as this fairy creature is a portent of oncoming doom. Known for its cunning and wile as well as lies and deception, Pooka’s archetype is trickster. It is also a fertility spirit since it has power to create or destroy, as well as ability of human speech, it is a gifted prophesier.

Woodwose

 

Wild men support coats of arms in the side panels of a portrait by Albrecht Dürer / Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

The wild man (also wildman, or “wildman of the woods”, archaically woodwose or wodewose) is a mythical figure that appears in the artwork and literature of medieval Europe, comparable to the satyr or faun type in classical mythology and to Silvanus, the Roman god of the woodlands.

The defining characteristic of the figure is its “wildness”; from the 12th century they were consistently depicted as being covered with hair. Images of wild men appear in the carved and painted roof bosses where intersecting ogee vaults meet in the Canterbury Cathedral, in positions where one is also likely to encounter the Green Man.

Robin Goodfellow

In English folklore, Puck, sometimes known as Robin Goodfellow, is a domestic and nature sprite, demon, or fairy.

One of the most popular characters in English folklore of the last thousand years has been the faerie, goblin, devil or imp known by the name of Puck or Robin Goodfellow.

He’s been pictured like a brownie or a hobbit.  In a 1785 painting by William Blake, he looks like Pan from Greek mythology. Robin Goodfellow is one of the faeries known as hobgoblins or just hobs. Hob is a short form for the name Robin or Robert (“the goblin named Robin”.) Robin itself was a medieval nickname for the devil. Robin Goodfellow was not only famous for shape-shifting and misleading travellers. He was also a helpful domestic sprite much like the brownies. He would clean houses and such in exchange for some cream or milk. If offered new clothes, he’d stop cleaning. There are stories of the Phouka and Pwca doing similar deeds.

Peg o’ Nell

Peg o’ Nell, the water spirit of the River Ribble, was once a young servant girl at the local Waddow Hall. Legend ~ Peg o’ Nell was said to have slipped through the icey water and drowned in the Ribble while fetching water on a frigid night. To punish those who failed to rescue her, came back every seven years to steal a victim. On Peg’s night, when the Ribble rises to snare a new victim, and, because she could be tricked by drowning some sort of animal, it was considered appropriate to make proprietary sacrifices of small birds or animals to the river spirit.

The water-spirit of the river Ribble in Lancashire. She was said to be the ghost of a servant at Waddow Hall.

Jenny Greenteeth

Jenny Greenteeth is a figure in English folklore. A river hag, similar to Peg Powler or a grindylow, she would pull children or the elderly into the water and drown them. She was often described as green-skinned, with long hair, and sharp teeth. She is called Jinny Greenteeth in Lancashire, but in Cheshire and Shropshire she is called Ginny Greenteeth, Jeannie Greenteeth, Wicked Jenny, or Peg o’ Nell.

A similar figure in Jamaican folklore is called the River Mumma (River Mother). She is said to live at the fountainhead of large rivers in Jamaica sitting on top of a rock, combing her long black hair with a gold comb. She usually appears at midday and she disappears if she observes anyone approaching. However, if an intruder sees her first and their eyes meet, terrible things will happen to the intruder.

In Ireland and Germany she appears as a beautiful woman in a white gown, and is called respectively Bean-Fionn and die Weisse Frau. Although her visage is changed, she is still the same dreaded Jenny Greenteeth, haunting river banks and dragging her victims to their untimely deaths. The moral of all Jenny Greenteeth stories is to stay away from rivers and lakes, and it is thought that she was the imagined creation of mothers who wanted to warn their children away from the water’s edge with frightening tales. Her stories may have also derived from duckweed, an aqueous plant that wraps its tendrils around one’s leg and traps them under water.

Oakmen

At this time of year, when the oak is the most powerful tree, spirits called oakmen guard it. These are the most widespread tree fairies in England. Beware, because they are fierce guardians of their trees and do not really like humans. They appear as forest dwarfs and offer food to passing mortals, but this always turns out to be poisonous fungi disguised by glamour, the fairy magic. They also guard all the forest animals, especially foxes, and punish those who harm them. The rain that gathers in their oak hollows has powerful healing qualities.

This is the season for other spirits too, the drinking kind. Elderflower champagne, Strawberry wine, Black currant mead and Heather ale. It is said the Picts brewed a legendary ale from heather, the recipe for which was a secret. Invading Norsemen tortured the guardians of the secret in order to obtain the recipe, but to no avail.

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Fairies, demons, and ghosts: Shakespeare’s fascination with the supernatural

Although there was hostility towards witchcraft and sorcery well before the 16th century, it is in this time period where we see religious and legal punishment juxtaposed with the increasing use and enjoyment of special effects in plays to convey magic and the supernatural. Laws and statues against witchcraft were passed, the popularity of witch trials was beginning to rise, yet such an atmosphere did not discourage Shakespeare and other playwrights from incorporating otherworldly elements in their works. Early modern drama involved Fairy Kings and Queens, devils and demons, human magicians, minor fairies and sprites, and ghosts and apparitions, all with different levels of power. Depending on the play, a being might have a number of abilities and serve a number of different purposes — be it corrupting humans, serving masters, prophesying, or casting spells. Discover more about Shakespeare and the supernatural via the graphic below.

Source - Oxford University Press' Academic Insights for the Thinking World.

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Fairies, witches, spirits and Shakespeare - a guide to the folklore of the Clydach Gorge

As my annual pilgrimage to The Legendary Llangolloen Fairy Festival fast approaches I thought it seemed fitting to include this great article by Claire Barrand taken from yesterday's Abergavenny Chronicle.

As someone who loves all things supernatural I was intent to discover what beautiful magical Wales, steeped in mystery and superstition has to offer in the way of local ghosts and folklore.

Walking my dog through the enchanting woods near my home in Maes Y Gwartha and along the path to Clydach Gorge, I imagine the trees whispering their secrets to me. Inspired to find out more, last week I met with official Welsh tourist guide Eifion Lloyd-Davies at Gellifelen tunnels for a guided tour through Clydach Gorge and sure enough he did not disappoint with his bygone tales of the mythical legends associated with the area.

The Gorge is an enchanting place, cutting deep through the rocks of the South Wales coalfield between Brynmawr and Gilwern and despite the current works on the A465 it is easy to lose yourself in its fairy-tale splendour.

Locals herald the story that Shakespeare himself so inspired by the mystical properties of the Gorge, wrote A Midsummer Night’s Dream here. Shakespeare in this, reflects the essence and beliefs of his era, and the superstition that dominated the widespread opinions in those times that the Gorge was the haunt of fairies, goblins and witches.

Wild and with nature in abundance, Britain’s oldest beech wood, which has survived some 14,000 years, hugs the side of the gorge forming the Cwm Clydach nature reserve. With over 400 species of fungi and rare plants birds and butterflies to be spotted here it is no wonder the site is protected for its inhabitants. Immense tracks of wild garlic leave a powerful scent in the air. There are 17 waterfalls, the most spectacular being the dramatic 60ft falls at Devil’s Bridge.

Devils Bridge is so named as the water has worn away a sinister image said to be the devils face himself into the rocks below. Legend has it that here in Cwm Pwca, a particular sort of goblin named “Pwca” existed. Mythological creatures, they were believed to have a menacing shapeshifting ability, usually beginning in the form of rabbits, horse, cat goat or dog but always black. Said to have the power to bring terrible fortune, people would be filled with dread if one crossed their path for fear that the “Pwca” would curse them.

As we strolled past the old railway station viewing ahead the lime kilns and beyond where it is said Peregrine falcons nest and certain trees grow here as only they can where the air is at its purest, Eifion related the story about some farm hands who were walking with their horse pulling a cart of straw one summers eve when it suddenly stopped and refused to walk another step. The men recalling an old lady walking past, and assuming she must have been a witch that had placed a curse on their horse, chased back after her cutting briar switches as they went, once finding her they viciously beat her until she bled, thus the horse was said to walk once again. The reason behind their brutality was the belief that a witch’s power could be released by drawing her blood by scratching her as quoted in Shakespeare, ‘Blood will I draw on thee, thou art a witch’.

Witches, were thought to brew evil concoctions in their cauldrons and here in the Gorge there were no shortage of the gwiddonod (witches) depicted as wicked old women who could cast curses over people and animals, ride broomsticks, tell fortunes and use charms to both heal and cause diseases.

Another Clydach witch was said to be that of Old Magw. A teacher employed at the Ironworks school in Clydach by the manager Edward Frere, Old Magw was reputed to be a vicious wicked woman with merciless means of dealing out the most severe punishments to children who were late for school or defiant. Widely feared by local folk she was reputed to curse your plants in the garden if you maddened her.

Another teacher reputedly a harsh tyrant at the ironworks school was a man called John Dawson who was reputed to have three pets that he kept close by his side - a black jackdaw, a cat and a welsh terrier. Disliked by many Dawson would walk daily from home and back to work across the mountain from Twyn Wenallt and one day, he just vanished.

Assumed that he had drowned in a nearby pond, locals in search of his body recovered a sack from the water with the three pets drowned inside, however he was never seen again. The apparition of a figure wearing “old fashioned clothing” and a hat that “dated back to the Seventeenth Century”, has been reported high up on Gilwern Hill near the old quarry pits, known locally as the Tyla. Could this be the ghost of John Dawson?

There is another story of a witch located in Clydach and her name was Molly Davies. Little is known about Old Molly but it is reputed that she had the power to make pigs stand on their heads!

Eifion explained to me that there was widespread belief that at certain times of the year folk witches met at midnight to steal and ride horses belonging to local people and stories of the animals being discovered perspiring and distressed in the morning were proof that witches had been riding them.

General belief was that branches from Elder or Mountain Ash trees woven around stable doors it would deter the witches and Elder was grown commonly in Wales at the entrance of farms to stop witches entering can found growing there to this can.

Elder has many associations with the fairy world in Celtic lands and there is also much natural magic associated with powers of Ash. The witch’s broom was traditionally made of an Ash staff, together with Birch twigs and Willow bindings.

People would customarily only cut elder branches with the permission of the tree and would first doff their caps to the tree and say, ‘Old Woman, give me some of thy wood and I will give thee some of mine when I grow into a tree’.

If this procedure was not adopted, ill-luck could befall. In some Welsh traditions, witches were even said to live inside Ash trees. The Ash tree has always been given mystical import and character, frequently being associated with healing and enchantment. In Celtic literature, there are many references to the Ash tree, but in particular it is associated with the Welsh Magician-God Gwyddion, who bears an Ash staff/wand, a symbol.

Amongst other magical healing powers that the Gorge held precious was the belief that hernias could be cured by splitting an ash tree and passing the afflicted person through the gap three times to make their hernia disappear. Children suffered a lot with hernias due to the heavy work they were subjected to at the ironworks and this practise would have been a regular event!

Over on the opposite side of the valley towards it is said that a wise man called Solomon lived. (below another fort named Tom Thumb’s Rock or King Arthur’s Chair). He was said to be able to cure animals, and as one farmer crossed the valley in desperation one day to find Solomon to tend his animal he found him already en-route to his farm as he also had the ability to see the future.

As we approached one of the earliest chapels in the area, Nazareth chapel (known as Cuckoo chapel) now privately owned, Eifion pointed out behind it on the mountain top stands Dynas rock – an iron age fort.

A spectral black dog ghost has been witnessed by many people following them down the hill from here. In Welsh folklore, the black dog is usually a night-time apparition, often said to be associated with the Devil or a Hellhound (Cwn Annwn). Its appearance was regarded as a warning of death. It is described to be larger than a normal dog, and often has large, glowing eyes. Black dogs are almost universally regarded as malevolent. The hounds of hell were said to be a pack of ghostly hounds lead out at night by the King of the Otherworld to hunt the souls of the damned. According to Welsh folklore, their growling is loudest when they are at a distance, and as they draw nearer, it grows softer and softer. In legend the hounds are sometimes accompanied by a fearsome hag called Mallt-y-Nos, "Matilda of the Night". Mallt-y-Nos drives the hounds onward with shrieks and wails, which some say are evil and malicious in nature. Apparently once a beautiful but wicked Norman aristocrat who loved hunting so much that she said, "If there is no hunting in heaven, I would rather not go!" She is said to have regretted making this wish, and now cries out in despair as she hunts forever in the night sky. It is not known if she has been seen in this area but no wonder the sighting of the black dog on more than one occasion would fill the locals with fear.

In Llanelli Church yard the ghost of Colonel Sanderson’s white dog was often seen. After his death and burial here, the dog was often pining at his master’s graveside, and so they placed a statue of the dog on the grave after his death. Shadows of the dog have been seen by passers-by at night and poachers coming down from the mountain would report their dog’s hackles going up and refusing to pass the grave yard.

Ghosts not surprisingly are a common feature of Clydach, and another mischievous spirit said to regularly haunt the area, came to take gates off the hinges at certain nights of the year! Spookily the phantom of a headless horseman has also been sighted many times galloping across Smart bridge.

Of course my story would not be complete without mentioning The Lonely Shepherd. As a teenager I had the perfect view from my home on Station Road in Gilwern and I would gape at the rock on the opposite mountain in awe of this legend.

According to local myth, a farmer at Ty-lsaf farm was so cruel to his wife that she threw herself into the River Usk and drowned. For his sin, the husband was turned into a pillar of stone (Lonely Shepherd), but every year on Midsummer’s Eve, he is granted the ability to go down to the banks of the Usk to search for his wife, calling her name - in vain. By next morning he has always returned to his lonely place. It was a local custom to white-wash the stone so that it could easily be seen when it walked on Midsummer’s Eve.

I am certain the Ironworks in Clydach (pictured) must also boast numerous ghosts of employees disfigured or killed here in their duty as the Frere family hired 1350 workers, many of them only children who would have worked here and died at a young age in the 1800s. Now a place of heritage it remains an impressive relic of long-gone times, but I wonder if the spirits and souls that lived and died are still amid us and how many more accounts would they tell if they could?

Legends and folklores provide a greater and deeper insight to life and living, as even despite the various accounts we may hear and the parallels to other folk tales, they are quite simply the legacy left to us by our resident ancestors as a connection to the beliefs, common values and morals that they held as demonstrated in these compelling stories.

For tales such as these to have been passed down from bygone eras illustrates the importance and wisdom of folklore. I feel compelled to share these mystical stories with you and would equally be keen to hear more! Let’s keep them thriving as a gift to our future generations.

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The Lake of Fairies

I've always been wary of mirrors; since I was a child, I felt they may be portals to other dimensions, where things can come through if you're not careful.  This is an example on a greater scale, a whole lake becoming a mirrored portal where, on the 14th night of every lunar month the 'wee folk' emerge from their world into ours...

Lake Saif-ul-Malook – ranked by The Guardian as the fifth best tourist destination in Pakistan - seems like heaven on earth. The greenish-blue crystal clear and freezing water, surrounded by giant glaciers, including Malika Parbat, reflects the beauty of Saif-ul-Malook.

The history of this exquisite lake is much famous and attracts the tourists from all over the world. The story is about a prince, Saif-ul-Malook, who fell in love with a fairy princess, Badi-ul-Jamal.

The tale was transformed into a poem by Sufi saint and Punjabi Hindko poet, Mian Muhammad Bakhsh. The same poem was translated into Urdu language by a resident of Balakot, Ahmed Hussain Mujahid. According to the locals it is a place of fairies and demons, who through the extremity of weather display their anger.

A story teller narrated: “I have not seen the fairy, but I’ve seen the glory of God. Every month, on the 14th night of the lunar month, the lake is like a mirror - cradling the mountains, the sky, the innumerable twinkling stars, the glowing orb of the moon – so still, so clear, you can scarcely tell the between reality and reflection. It is a sight to behold! Many a night I have also seen lights, floating lights, a thousand floating lights, here on the slope, where and watched them disappear under the rocks. I have not seen the fairy, Badi-ul-Jamal, but I have witnessed the glory of God.”

Saif-ul-Malook was a prince of Egypt. He had a handsome amount of treasure which he inherited from his forefathers. Inscribed on the treasure were two seals; one bearing the image of Said and the other one being that of Badi-ul-Jamal.

When Saif saw the picture of the fairy he immediately fell in love with her. He then left his home to search for her, a journey that took six years to complete. One day a saint met Saif in a street of Egypt and gave him a Sulemani cap, telling him that it will take the prince to his desired place. The saint told the prince that he would find the fairy in a lake but he had to pass several daunting exams and also pray in order to achieve her, as she was a fairy queen and prince was human. A human eye can never see a demon or fairy as they are “fire borne”.

Saif reached the place and started a Chilla (pray for 40 consecutive days). Day by day his health get worst but he didn't give up and prayed. After praying for 40 consecutive days without food and rest he became exhausted and weak. It was the 14th night of that month and he thought, "Maybe tonight I'll see her." Then suddenly he saw the fairy queen coming along with her maids towards the lake for bath. She was extremely beautiful with dark black hairs and radiant eyes. She was truly a sight to behold.

After talking to Badi-ul-Jamal, Saif came to know that she was trapped in a castle at Koh Qaf by Safaid Deyo (white giant) for the past 10 years. The white giant was also in love with the fairy. After listening to the story of the fairy queen, Saif took her and tried to escape from this valley. When the white giant came to know of this he created turbulences out of anger in this lake, as a result of which flood came in Kaghan Valley. They (the fairy and the prince) hid in a cemetery few miles away from Naran, but due to the flood Saif and Badi-ul-Jamal took shelter in a cave near the lake.

Legend has it that the Ansoo Lake in Kaghan Valley, a few miles away from Saif-ul-Malook, was created out of the tears of the white giant when he found out that the fairy was gone. According to the classic fable, the prince and the fairy queen still live, to this day, in that cave and dance above the water surface on the 14th night of every lunar month.

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The Return of the Rossendale Fairies

Manchester artist John Hyatt took some photographs of the landscape around Rossendale in Lancashire. But when he later enlarged those he images he noticed they showed tiny winged creatures that looked like fairies.  

While I agree that whatever the creatures are in the image do have a human form I am still sceptical. The image below shows John's image (left) compared to one I took in my garden with no post editing and on a dull day. They are very similar and at least one Mayfly resembles a human in flight.

This does not mean to say that I am critical of John's work, in fact I applaud it and the following story published in the Lancashire Telegraph only highlights the positive aspect of keeping our ancient folklore alive. Everyone I know who actively 'promotes' the old beliefs and ways is an artist of some discipline and has received some form of positive experience or good luck, and in John's case he a living testament to that fact.

The following was published in The Lancashire Telegraph 13/04/2016 -

Magical fairy find helps man through recovery

 

TAKING photographs whilst out on a country walk ended up as a life-changing experience for John Hyatt.

While rambling in the Rossendale Valley he had snapped what he believed to be a cloud of insects.

But on closer inspection he wondered if they could be something more.

After the photographs went on display at The Whitaker Rossendale Museum & Art Gallery, they were picked up by the national papers and the so-called Rossendale Fairies went viral around the world.

Takings at the Whitaker increased by 600 per cent during their showing and the venue went on to win the Lancashire Cultural and Tourism Award the following year.

Since then John, 57, an international artist and professor of Art and Design at Manchester Metropolitan University, is regularly contacted by people all over the world wanting his advice on how to find and contact the ethereal beings.

People have traditionally been fascinated by fairies best illustrated by the Cottingley Fairies where young girls Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths produced a series of photographs in 1917 claiming to show fairies but later exposed as a hoax.

The professor, also former lead singer of the post-punk/indie rock band The Three Johns, went on to produce a series of fairy-inspired art work and has just finished working on a community film with children and young homeless people from East Lancashire.

He said: "It went viral around the world so people have been sending me photographs.

"Some lads in Israel asked me for my advice on how to go and find fairies.

"I gave them my advice and some tips on how to use a camera and they sent me some in Israel."

Since the intriguing images were taken in 2014 the professor has been careful not to reveal the exact location where they were taken.

He said: "They were just taken in the Rossendale Valley.

"I won't be more specific because I don't want people going and trashing it.

"You'd be surprised how many people have told me they want to go there.

"I was out with my camera deliberately trying to photograph fast moving things.

"I didn't actually see them with the naked eye because they were moving fast. I went back home and looked at them on the computer and then I realised what I'd photographed."

The professor himself who has lived in Rossendale for more than 30 years, is ambiguous about whether the creatures he snapped on his Nikon D40X were fairies.

"A lot of people think they are. I did a talk at Oxford Natural History Museum and they did an investigation of the photos. It's their livelihood so they came down on the side that they are insects but they still asked me to go down and give a talk.

"But I have always stayed on the fence deliberately. Because the interesting thing about them going worldwide was to see the world's reaction to them.

"I don't know what they were. I know they were interesting photographs. I went out for the next few days and took more photographs but every photograph that I took looked like insects."

After his strange experience in the Rossendale professor Hyatt began to research all he could about fairies.

Contrary to modern belief fairies were not always pictured as good and friendly beings.

He said: "I did quite a lot of research from reading folk tales, Irish, Japanese and South American. Everywhere has them. It is not like it is a locational phenomena."

Fairies were even mentioned in the works of the Irish poet WB Yeats in his attempts to define Irishness.

And hundreds of years ago parents sometimes believed their child had been replaced by a fairy changeling, he added.

"The original fairies in Britain were black fairies and they weren't tiny they were human-sized. It goes back to when the forest was predominant.

"Rossendale was all forest and it was the predominant feature of the landscape."

Professor Hyatt believes that the tradition of the Britannia Coconut Dancers of Bacup blacking their faces may also originate from fairy folklore.

"I don't think they realise they go back to this idea of the fairies coming out of the forest and their black faces come from folktales," he said.

He discovered that traditionally they were seen as harbingers of misfortune. Ironically whilst the media storm over the fairies was going on he was diagnosed with throat cancer but has since made a full recovery.

"I think that's why fairies symbolise death as they are creatures from the other side. Certainly in a lot of fairytales they are dangerous. I wasn't going through anything when I saw them. The day the photos went viral I was diagnosed with throat cancer so it was quite interesting in a sense that for the first month of the fairies going viral I didn't have any time to worry about having throat cancer because I was talking to people all around the world."

The professor who is a vegan, believes he may have seen the creatures because he has an open mind.

"If they want to show themselves to you then they will. I've got a completely open mind. I think a completely open mind is a prerequisite for meeting them.

"The interesting thing is that the people that didn't believe were very abusive and felt that their world was threatened - if they didn't have a very rigid attitude to reality everything would crumble."

The fairy photographs have also led to new inspiration in his art work, he adds.

"When I was ill I painted every day to keep myself positive. It's automatic painting as if the picture forms of its own accord. I'm quite open-minded. I think the world is a lot more interesting than we generally give it credit for and quite often normal everyday things are interesting if you pay attention."

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A Field Guide to Fairy Trolls

It's ironic that fairies should attract trolls.  They seems to be the perfect bait to lure the creatures from their caves and beneath their bridges.  André Øvredal, director of 'Troll Hunter' should take note if he ever plans on making a sequel – fairies can certainly bring out the worst trolls imaginable!

When the hoax first emerged back in 2007 I received thousands of e-mails from around the world, a quarter of which were from various species of 'Fairy Troll' (although the term 'Internet Troll' did not exist then as far as I know).  I should also point out that unlike other breeds of Internet Troll, Fairy Trolls are always female and borderline illiterate.  I've come to the conclusion that this might not always be due to low IQ (although Trolls are renown for being dumb, ask any D&D player) but partially due to fat fingers mashing other letters and cats wandering across the keyboard.  Ok, I admit that in my mind's eye I imagine the authors of these e-mails to be rosy and plump wearing clip-on butterfly wings, surrounded by a chorus of cats and knee deep in empty chocolate wrappers and Disney DVDs.  Of course, I'm probably wrong, right?   

The Common Telling-Off Troll

The mildest form of Fairy Troll,  this non-confrontational breed is the literary equivalent of someone shaking their fist at you from across a couple of garden fences.  They rarely use foul language and are the most articulate when it comes to dishing out a rollocking.  I imagine the 'Common Telling-Off Troll' to be better at male interaction with a lower appetite for cake and cats.  Here's an example (nothing has been edited from these original e-mails) -

-13-07-2010-

I must admit, I did not find it funny. lolz Though I'm sure alot of people around the globe must have been quite miscellaneous with your prank. Especially those that love their fantasy+probably hope/believe in fairies/fantasy creatures. awww hahaha+you're right. It will be one thing you won't forget in a heartbeat. Maybe something you will always remember. ? ;-)

Be careful with your creations. You might see a goblin or a leprachaun one day. Maybe evena mermaid or a unicorn in your garden. Hahaha ? :-0

The Catty Ranter Troll

This slightly larger Troll blurts out angry paragraphs laden with phrases designed to evoke a sense of guilt within the reader.  Catty Ranters believe in glittery flower fairies and are commonly found nailing fairy doors to trees in parks and leaving acorn cups full of raspberry lemonade outside.  They will also usually own a minimum of ten cats and have some mild form of diabetes.  Example -  

-02-10-2014-

You sir are an asshole. Purposely revieling fake remains and playing on the thoughts of other people just to observe what happens for your sick and twisted "experiment" is morally wrong and indecent! I happen to believe in magical things and to prey on innocent people who hope for something more in life is just sick and wrong. I truely don't know how you live with yourself. If someone found a real magical being now who would believe it even if it was real?! You have singlehandedly wrung the hopes and dreams out of people I know and love and because of your damn HOAX they decided not to believe or have hope anymore. How dare you! I hope somone really does find something amazing and you never hear or see of it! That way you are denied the fullfillment of your hopes and dreams like all of the vicitms of your fucking prank!!!

The Death Threat Troll

Finally, the 'Death Threat Troll'.  Dark, brooding and nasty, this troll will pull every trick in the book to break you.  They usually hold you responsible for the death of someone or something and then direct the same fate at you (but in a more brutal and sometimes bloody way).  These trolls can be found under bridges in the grounds of high security mental facilities.  Internet access is still allowed but limited hence the hastily typed splurge of vitriol devoid of punctuation.  They would own cats if pets were allowed and chocolate is only available on visiting days hence their physical health is generally better than other Troll species.  Glittery lace and wire butterfly wings are also replaced with crayon coloured paper thus removing sharp objects and the ability for them to be weaponised...

-24-02-2009-

You derserve to die you fucking shatterer of dreams my 6yo daughter is terminally ill and the photos of a real fairy gaveher the hope to fight the illness but now you have said it is a hoax she has lost all hoep and is slipping away because of YOU you have ruined our life you BASTARD I hope the same happens to you FAIRIES are real and you have destoyed the hoopes and dreams of millions you have upset them and they WILL KILL YOU I hope they cut the breaks on your car and you crash and DIE you FUCKER my daughter has hours left so I must go and be by her side DESTROYER OF DREAMS DIE!

I originally had hundreds of Fairy Troll e-mails which had been sent to my lebanoncircle@gawab.com address.  Gawab was a free e-mail service based in the middle east that I had used for a number of years however, 5 months after the hoax they deleted my account.  I lost every piece of correspondence regarding the fairy hoax and although I requested a log of my e-mails my requests went unanswered.    The messages used in the examples above were received via Facebook and they still keep coming through much to my amusement.  

I now consider myself an authority on 'Fairy Trolls' as well as 'Mummified Fairies'.  New species are being discovered daily and knowing that my art has touched so many nerves with such negative results makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  Keep them coming!

 

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The Occult Review

As society was still left reeling from the Cottingley Fairies incident the amount of articles on fairy folklore rose exponentially. This refreshed interest in our ancient lores and heritage started to uncover long forgotten traditions and records about fairies. One of the most popular magazines where you might find such information was The Occult Review published between 1905 and 1951. It contained articles and correspondence by many notable occultists and authors of the day, including Aleister Crowley, Meredith Starr and Walter Leslie Wilmshurst to name but a few.

Take this excellent feature from 1921, written only 4 years after The Cottingley Fairy photographs were taken. It covers the Cottingley incident in great detail but also incorporates other sightings and interactions with less attractive entities. It even points to a particular publication that is said to have preserved the elemental teachings of a very ancient faith. One that might still hold the key to unlocking the door to the world below...

You can read the May 1921 issue of the Occult Review here

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An Anciente Mappe of Fairy Land

This incredible image titled ‘An Anciente Mappe of Fairyland: newly discovered and set forth’, was created by Bernard Sleigh in 1917.  The map offers a wide birds-eye view style panorama of the island of 'Fairy Land' which it describes as 'newly discovered and set forth'.  Fairy Land, as documented by Sleigh, is a wonderful juxtaposition of European fairy tales, literature, and Greek mythology.  One can travel from King Arthur's Tomb to Peter Pan's House to the 'Bay of Moaning,' or the visit the roost of Dragons, watch Perseus save Andromeda, chat with Hercules, or visit the 'Harbour of Dreamland.'  A red line indicates the route of passage 'From the World' to 'a place that never was and always will be.'

As pointed out by map historian Tim Bryars, this map was printed in 1918, the final year of World War I.  Bryars astutely asks -

Could the map constitute a yearning for a return to pre-1914 Edwardian innocence? Compared with the devastated, bomb-blasted landscape of northern France, this vision of a make-believe land may have seemed a seductive escape for a European society bearing the psychological and physical scars of mass conflict.

Another approach to this map is to study it within the context of the Arts and Crafts Movement. Sleigh was a close associate of Robert Morris and this map clearly follows Arts and Crafts Movement ideology. The typeface and decoration are very much in the style of Morris's Kelmscott Press and its embrace of tradition pre-industrialproduction techniques.

You can view the full version here, zoom in and explore away!

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For fear of little men...

Not a week passes in the rural UK without an article or feature about the folklore surrounding parts of our landscape.  In an almost last ditch attempt to protect if from development we seem to be reaching back into the annals of history in hope that some good old fairy fueled fear will make us consider the consequences of our actions.  As I've mentioned on previous blog posts, nobody admits they believe in fairies until you introduce the threat of bad luck or even death.  Then and only then do you make their normally skeptical unpointed boring ears prick up and listen.

Thomas the Rhymer, the famous thirteenth century Scottish mystic and poet, once met the Faery Queen by a hawthorn bush from which a cuckoo was calling. She led him into the Faery Underworld for a brief sojourn, but upon reemerging into the world of mortals he found he had been absent for seven years. Themes of people being waylaid by the faery folk to places where time passes differently are common in Celtic mythology, and the hawthorn was one of, if not the, most likely tree to be inhabited or protected by the Wee Folk. In Ireland most of the isolated trees, or so-called 'lone bushes', found in the landscape and said to be inhabited by faeries, were hawthorn trees. Such trees could not be cut down or damaged in any way without incurring the often fatal wrath of their supernatural guardians. The Faery Queen by her hawthorn can also be seen as a representation of an earlier pre-Christian archetype, reminding us of a Goddess-centred worship, practised by priestesses in sacred groves of hawthorn, planted in the round. The site of Westminster Abbey was once called Thorney Island after the sacred stand of thorn trees there.

But no one believes in fairies anymore, do they? Of course not. Ask most people and they will say that it's all old superstition that has no place in the modern world of the 21st century.

Yet when you delve deeply in to our inherited mindset, you find beliefs that defy logic yet are very much part of who we are. A great example of this occurred a few weeks back when I was standing in a field with Declan Little, our local fencing contractor, discussing the location of a new fence to protect yet another small wood I hope to plant shortly.

Standing alone and right on the path of the proposed fence line was an old thorn tree. It has been there as long as I can remember and while blown over by a past storm, it is still very much alive and growing strongly.

As we gazed at it we both knew that it was in the way but I also knew that nothing would induce me to remove it. Now Declan is a much younger man than I am so I asked him to please not laugh at me when I said I wanted the tree to remain as it was, untouched.

Not only did he not laugh but he added that he was hoping I wasn't going to ask him to cut it as he would have had to refuse.

Relieved that we were of one mind, we then recalled the famous incident in 1999 when construction on a national route from Limerick to Galway was delayed and eventually rerouted to protect a fairy thorn tree that stood in its path.

Stories abound of misfortunes visited on those who risked disturbing lone thorns and there have been many incidences in the past where digger drivers have refused, despite threats of sacking, to touch them.

These trees have a remarkable power about them.

A gnarled thorn, often growing in harsh rocky ground, survivor of wind, weather and grazing, somehow possesses its own unique aura.

Rural electrification

Despite whatever feelings we might have regarding old beliefs and superstitions, such trees deserve our respect. I have heard it said that rural electrification killed off the fairies, especially in the West of Ireland.

The theory was that if you were outside at night and heard a noise you couldn't explain, then immediately your imagination summoned up images of spirits from another world and with it a fear of disturbing them.

When you could turn on a light and see that perhaps it was just a cat or whatever, then at least the sound could be rationally understood.

The screeching of an owl or a vixen late at night must have also had a chilling effect on anyone walking or cycling alone in the countryside.

When I was a child my family always took an annual holiday in the west and I will never forget the stories of fairies or "the little people" that the hotel staff regaled us with.

There is a hill at the back of the hotel that I still feel has magical properties thanks to all those lovely tales of the otherworld and what might happen to you if you got lost there at night.

While walking in Sligo in the early 1900s, WB Yeats asked an elderly man he met on the road if he believed in fairies. "I do not," replied the man, "What do you take me for? What kind of eejit would believe in the little people or in witches and goblins and leprechauns? Don't be ridiculous. I do not believe in them. Not at all..." There was a pause. "But they're there," the man concluded.

The thorn tree which prompted these musings is one of many that are respected throughout Ireland and regardless of how others might scoff, no-one damages what might well be a meeting place of the fairies. Hawthorn trees are believed to bring good luck and prosperity.

Hopefully mine will survive for many years to come.

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Foreign Fairies

For me one of the most compelling pieces of evidence supporting the existence of 'little people' is their documentation in almost every culture. Whether it's Native American Indian folklore or ancient Persian texts, they all refer to what we commonly categorize as fairies. They generally have similar traits regardless of location, emerging from forests or subterranean domains to help, hinder or horrify we surface dwelling destroyers of nature.

This very interesting article by Chauburji appeared in Pakistani newspaper The Nation.

On a long ago visit to Ireland, I found that the lives of the Irish were deeply linked to strange stories about things that could at best be called paranormal. The central characters in these stories, which my host in that beautiful country adamantly maintained were true, revolved around hereditary precognition, Leprechauns and ‘The Little People’. My interest in these accounts was aroused as I was born and raised in a house, where inexplicable things occurred on a daily basis. These occurrences were always benign and even protective, causing us to lose fear.

My mother sometimes spoke of mythical beings known as ‘baalishtias’ (derived from the word ‘Baalisht’ or ‘one hand width’). These miniature people, no more than a hand width in height, had perfect human features and hid themselves in forests by day, coming out nocturnally to forage for food. When we questioned our mother on the subject, we were told that she had heard these tales from her grandmother and the local hill people during her family’s annual summer sojourn to Dharamsala and Srinagar in the pre-independence era.

I too happened to hear similar accounts from Jumma Khan, our summer home caretaker cum cook in Murree. According to local narratives, these tiny beings inhabited forests, had magical powers and exhibited total empathy with insects and small animals. In everyday parlance we could perhaps refer to them as fairies, elves and pixies. I found that the Irish description of ‘little people’ was exactly similar to these ‘baalishtias’.

Stories about ‘miniature people’ with magical powers and the propensity to do mischief, are as old as antiquity and have featured in classics such as Gulliver Travels and the fairy tales of Hans Christian Anderson. Box office hits have been produced around them indicating that the subject holds a never ending attraction for human beings of all ages. It is interesting to note that tales about existence of such creatures is not restricted to Ireland or the Sub Continent, but can be found in ‘folk lore’ around the world – in Greece, the Philippines, Hawaiian Islands, Flores Island, Indonesia and even amongst Native Americans in the United States.

Legends speak of the little people playing pranks on humans such as singing and then hiding from those, who looked around for the source of music. It was often said that these creatures used music to lead travellers astray in the days before modern transport. Other stories say that if accidentally spotted by someone, they begged the person not to say anything about their existence for a reward, which usually consisted of help in times of trouble. There were also unconfirmed reports regarding remains of tiny people discovered in the United States around Montana and Wyoming many years ago.

I once wrote a column describing a personal encounter with what appeared to be a miniature dwarf-like face that peered at me from the bull rushes, during a duck shooting trip with my dad and uncle near Chuharkana somewhere in the nineteen fifties. I had been left behind in the car, while the adults had waded into the water. To this day I am not sure whether what I saw was a figment of my imagination or something real. The fact is that I put my hand on the horn and did not lift it till such time that my uncle returned and berated me for scaring the ducks away.

Almost every child anywhere in the world has been raised on stories that feature fairies, elves, gnomes and pixies. These characters have been both good and evil. No childhood would be complete without tales that titillate imagination and (as some psychologists would insist) even create illusions. Nonetheless, my advice to anyone travelling to Ireland is never to pass a ‘frivolous’ comment on hearing strange stories, for such a remark will not be taken lightly by the locals. I for one would like to reserve my comments, for every folk tale or legend has been known to have some basis or the other. In this case too – who knows?

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Fairy Folklore Dan Baines Fairy Folklore Dan Baines

Woe betide he or she who fells a fairy tree...

Since watching Jordskott I've been fascinated by the fact that most people scoff at the existence of fairies however, if you introduce a life threatening superstition people suddenly show some genuine fear and belief.  Take this article from The Irish News which discusses fairy trees and the dire consequences of cutting one down.  It once again highlights that a primal fear still exists in most of us that nature and its possible elusive guardians are a force not to be messed with. 

ONE of the first stories I reported on more than 20 years ago as a trainee journalist was about a fallen tree.

It had been partially uprooted in a storm and was lying across a footpath and on to the road. Pedestrians had to step out on to the road to get past and even cars had to swerve into the opposite lane to avoid it.

It lay there for more than three weeks so I phoned government departments and the local council offices who all insisted that it was someone else’s problem.

Finally, I put the question: "Was the reason that the tree had not been moved because the workmen were afraid of being cursed by the fairies?"

Needless to say the response was met with bluster, derision and even contempt. But no-one could explain why a fairly routine operation to move a fallen tree that was clearly causing a hazard to pedestrians and motorists had still not taken place.

I went to look at the tree on a number of occasions. It was a hawthorn (known in many parts of Ireland as a fairy thorn) and while it was badly damaged it was still alive, part of its split trunk still rooted in the ground.

Superstitions about fairy thorns are deeply rooted in Ireland. My grandmother used to regale us with stories about the horrors that befell farmers and builders who cut down fairy thorns, usually entailing them being decapitated after the axe they were using to hack the tree hit a rock, bounced back and seemed to hang in mid-air before making the fatal cut, being torn apart by wild animals or meeting some other unexplained but gory end.

Even today if you drive down a country road you will inevitably come across a ploughed field with a lone hawthorn standing in the middle of it.

On a purely practical level trees are essential to human survival on this planet, turning carbon monoxide that mammals exhale into oxygen which we then breath in.

No trees, we all suffocate – yet this has not stopped humanity as a species decimating our forests and jungles. It is estimated that the equivalent of 50 football pitches of woodland are destroyed every minute.

Ireland is one of the most deforested countries in the world, with just 10 per cent of woodland, the second lowest coverage in Europe. When humans first arrived here around 10,000 years ago the island was a huge woodland broken only by loughs and mountains.

Despite the mass destruction, trees and forests still retain an archetypal significance for us. The superstitions surrounding the fairy thorn are just one manifestation. A walk in a forest, sitting under a tree or just looking at the leaves of an oak swaying in a breeze can be hugely restorative to a world-weary mind.

In the past three years I have planted around 200 native Irish trees, mostly in a small neglected field, trying to create my own woodland. Mountain ash, birch, alder, willow, apple, oak, Scots pine and a yew tree. Sapplings, that cost around 40p each and barely came past my knee are now as tall as I am and in a few more years will begin to reach maturity – though I may not be around to see the oak in their full glory.

I worked with the charity One Miliion Trees in One Day to secure more than half the sapplings and they are planning another tree-planting day in two weeks' time (February 20).

In my little, still fragile woodland, there are six hawthorns, and a curse on anyone who even thinks about trying to destroy them.

Tony Bailie
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Fairy Folklore Dan Baines Fairy Folklore Dan Baines

The Irish Cottage Haunted by Violent Fairies

LIXNAW, Ireland — All is not well in the cottage at the edge of the Ballynageragh bog.

The simple home lies on the outskirts of this blink-and-you’ll-miss-it village in west Ireland’s County Kerry.

During the last two decades, no fewer than five inhabitants of the tiny white public-owned building died suddenly in tragic and unusual circumstances.

The unsettling events have tapped into a culture of legend and supernatural belief that continues to color life here.

One man dozed off with a lit cigarette and succumbed to smoke inhalation. Another hanged himself shortly after moving from the house. One inhabitant died in a car accident, and a fourth was stabbed to death while traveling in Wales.

Was this cottage built on a fairy funeral path?

Was this cottage built on a fairy funeral path?

Then in November 2013, neighbors found the body of Susan Dunne, 62, in one of the cottage’s bedrooms.

She had moved in 18 months earlier with her autistic teenage son, who stands accused of her murder. Patrick Dunne, 19, is being held in a Dublin mental hospital until his trial in April.

Dunne’s murder was the last straw. Villagers buttonholed Kerry County Councillor Robert Beasley during local election campaigns in May to say they wanted the county-owned house destroyed.

Although Beasley says he raised the motion at council meetings, several factors have delayed a decision about the cottage’s fate.

Among them, no action will be taken until the county has arranged with Susan Dunne’s family to remove her belongings, which remain in the house.

But for all those who want the house leveled, there are also many who argue that the deaths were just a coincidence that doesn’t justify the demolition of a perfectly good dwelling.

Ireland’s devastating financial collapse in 2008 and prolonged recession forced the local authorities to slash budgets. As a result, County Kerry has been slow to replenish its public housing stock. Waiting lists are long.

Some would be happy to live with the cottage’s bloody legacy as long as they have a roof over their heads, locals say.

“There’s a lot of people who would love to have it,” says Paddy Quilter, proprietor of Quilter’s pub in Lixnaw. “All this bullshit about knocking it down — ah.”

Quilter says he doesn’t believe in ghosts. A clutch of locals drinking at the bar nod in agreement. But all are familiar with the host of legends, superstitions and fairies that once populated late-night tales in rural Ireland — and that still have real-world implications for many people.

“In the old days, they called it piseog,” Quilter says, a Gaelic term (pronounced pi-shawg) meaning superstition, voodoo or anything suggesting a supernatural power at hand. “There were a lot of piseogs and ghosts before electricity came in.”

It’s a word someone might use to explain an unusual or unsettling phenomenon — the mysterious deaths of five residents of a single cottage, for example.

Industrialization weakened Ireland’s belief in the fairy world but didn’t stamp it out completely, says Criostoir Mac Carthaigh, an archivist at the National Folklore Collection in Dublin.

As a result, he says, many people adopt a better-safe-than-sorry stance. Some farmers continue their forebears’ habits of not plowing certain parts of a field said to be favored by fairies, while disavowing belief in the supernatural themselves.

“Even down to today, there’s kind of a residual belief and it’s not articulated, it’s not spoken about,” Mac Carthaigh says. “’Leave well enough alone,’ is a phrase you sometimes hear people say.”

Sometimes it goes farther than that.

In 1999, the National Roads Authority was notified that a proposed bypass in western Ireland would destroy a hawthorn bush that played an important role in fairy military history. (You read that correctly.)

Irish fairies are no Disneyfied pixies. They hold grudges. Destroying the bush could result in violent fairy retribution — faulty brakes, mangled cars, death.

The government rerouted the highway and built a protective fence around the bush as an offering to the spirits.

The fairies’ main lobbyist in the human world in that case was Eddie Lenihan, a grizzle-bearded folklorist in western Ireland’s County Clare.

He began his career as a "seanchaithe," or traditional storyteller, when he was completing field research for a masters degree in linguistics and found himself more interested in the stories old folks told than the accents they told them in.

Lenihan says he’s contacted almost weekly by people who want to placate fairies on their property or suss out their feelings about upcoming construction.

His questions about the Lixnaw cottage have nothing to do with council budgets or housing demand.

“Was the house built in a place where it shouldn’t be?” he wonders. “Is there a fairy fort [a remnant of an early Christian structure] nearby?”

“It might be built on a fairy path or a funeral path, which would be a problem,” he adds. “It’d be lunacy to be on one of those. According to the old people, if you’re on a fairy path, you’ll never have peace or luck in a house like that.”

No fairy paths are evident near the cottage today. The low-slung structure, abandoned for almost a year now, stands at the end of a dirt drive blocked by a rusting gate.

Overgrown hedges encircle the property. As storm clouds closed in on a recent windy afternoon, the branches rustled with an insistent sound, like the footsteps of someone or something approaching.

The house next door is for sale. 

Article taken from The Global Post

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