Fairies, Are They Real?

There are many questions that we all ask ourselves from time to time. One of the most commonly asked questions is whether fairies exist or not. While the answer may be subjective, there are plenty of people who say they do and those who say they don’t. The question remains, are fairies real?

What is a Fairy?

A fairy is a mythological being or legendary creature, which is described in folklore and folk culture. The word “fairy” comes from the french word fee ‘fairy’, which had the form feé in Old French.

Folklore shows that fairies were originally described as spirits or ghosts who existed throughout nature. They were considered to be invisible spirits of the dead, or spirits of disease causing insects. They were mostly considered female and evil, though some could be good and male as well. Fairies were also believed to have strange appearances; short with long noses, wrinkled skin, pointed ears, hairy bodies and large eyes.

Fairies are known to reside in fairy rings, which are supposedly made by the fairies dancing. People who saw fairies were believed to be “fairy struck,” which could make them grow larger or shrink. Fairies could use magic; they could create illusions, teleport and turn people into animals.

Fairies were also thought to have wisdom from centuries of existence. They were believed to live underground in mounds and hills with their king and queen, until Christianity was introduced. After that it was said that they lived in a parallel universe as humans do on earth.

Fairies were also believed to be affected by the weather and wind. They are said to become weaker when the weather is bad, while they gain power in the wind.

Fairies are often seen in folklore and other literature. They have been around for centuries and most likely will continue to exist in folklore for many centuries more. They are often portrayed as tiny but powerful creatures with mysterious powers that can be both good and bad.

Legends

A popular legend in folklore is that fairies were seen dancing around a cauldron in a Scottish woods one night in the early 1800s by shepherd Thomas Russel and his daughter Margaret. A year later when the Russels returned to find their cottage ransacked, Margaret saw a small flower bud with three green leaves growing out of it which she took as proof that her father’s story was true.

There are many stories about fairies being caught in a pot of butter, but unfortunately, the butter is placed in the pot upside down. The fairies cannot escape and drown in the butter but once dead, they float to the top of the pot and can be seen by anyone who looks into it.

One of the most famous fairy sightings was by a man named Hugh Pickingill in 1982. After digging his garden one day, he found a beautiful tree and immediately thought it looked like an old woman leaning against it. As he approached the tree he realized that what he had thought was an old lady was actually a beautiful young girl dressed all in green with long flowing white hair.

The girl’s eyes were dark and it appeared she had been crying. Pickingill was taken aback by this and looked down to apologize for disturbing the girl. When he looked back up the girl was gone and in her place was a tree stump. He immediately went to show his wife but there was nothing where he had claimed to have seen a beautiful girl in a long dress.

While there is no solid proof that fairies exist, it is said that tiny people live in the hills of Scotland known as Picts, which are just slightly taller than dwarfs and are dark skinned with hair covering their bodies and round heads with large eyes similar to those of children.

Some people believe that they are guardians of the earth, much like the fairies of Wales. This is most likely because they are both dark skinned and live in hills called heatherbells. In the Welsh language there is a word for “fairy” and it is called pwyll a thal y môr, which means “the fairy who dwells on the sea.” The same word, pwyll a thal y môr, translates to fairy who dwells on high hills in Scots.