The Good Neighboors I

7/31/2019 The Good Neighboors I

1/31

The Good

Neighbors

by

Eryn


2/31

Aabatwa - Said to be the tiniest creatures of human form in existence, these

little people coexist peacefully with the ants in the anthills of Southern

Africa and live on their foragings from the roots of grasses and other plants.

They are very shy and so are elusive, however tend to reveal themselves to

very young children, wizards, and pregnant women.

Aeval - A Faery Queen of southwestern Munster. In her district a debate was

launched on whether the men were satisfying the woman's sexual needs. In a

midnight court, Aeval heard both sides and then decreed the men wrong and

sentenced them to overcome their prudishness and accede to the woman's

needs. (Kisma)

Aine - She is a faerie goddess, sister to Fennine, daughter to Egogabal who

was a king of the Tuatha de Danann. The Earl of Desmond fell in love with

her when he saw her sitting by Lough Gur. He captured and married her.

Their son was Earl Fitzgerald. The Earl of Desmond's taboo was that he

could never show that he was surprised by anything his sone did.

Unfortunately he couldn't hold to it when he saw his son jump in and out of

a bottle. His son fled in the form of a wild goose and AIne disappeared into

Knock Aine.

Angiaks - children of the living dead of Eskimo lore. In hard times,

unwanted babies were taken out into the snow by tribal elders to die of

exposure. Unless the tribe would move to a new hunting ground, they would

often find themselves haunted by this small, miserable ghost.


3/31

Ankou - the faerie version of the grim reaper. Sometimes he's portrayed as a

benevolent, comforting figure.

Anthropophagi - a cannibal faerie. He has no head, but his eyes sit atop his

shoulders and a mouth may be found in his torso. His lack of a nose allows

him to eat human flesh without gagging.

Arkan Sonney - Fairy pigs on the Isle of Man, they're also known as "Lucky

Piggy." Fairy pigs are supposed to bring good luck if one is to capture it.

Asparas - Usually female, also known as sky-dancers. They bless humans at

important stages in their lives, and are often seen at weddings. They live in

fig trees and sometimes appear to scholars or scientists, seduce and exhaust

them, making sure they don't venture into areas that the spirit world deems

unfit.

Asrai - are small and delicate female faeries who melt away into a pool of

water when captured or exposed to sunlight.

Aughisky- (Agh-iski) They are the Irish version of the Each-Uisge.

Awd Goggie - A type of Bogie (see this page ). He haunts forests and

orchards,

and kidnap children. Wise children will stay away from orchards when

unsupervised lest Awd Goggie get them.

Banshee - actually should be spelled Bean Si . The Scots call her Bean-

Nighe

(see below ). She's an Irish death spirit. Their keening fortells a death.


4/31

They have very long, flowing hair and wear green dresses with grey cloaks.

Their

eyes are bright red because of their continuous weeping.

Bean-Nighe - (ben-neeya) Similiar to that of the Banshee. The Washing

women is the type of Banshee who haunts the lonely streams of Scotland

and Ireland. Washing the blood-stained garments of those about to die. It is

said that these spirits are the ghosts of women who died in childbirth and

that they are fated to perform their task until the day when they would have

normally died.

Barguest - A kind of Bogie. It has horns, dangerous teeth and claws, and

fiery eyes. It can take many forms, but usually is a shaggy black dog. Upon

the death of a prominent figure, it rounds up all the dogs in the community

and leads them on a procession through the streets, howling.

Bauchan - also Bogan. A type of Hobgoblin. Like most faeries, they are fond

of tricks, sometimes are dangerous, and sometimes are helpful.

Bendith y Mamau (ben-dith uh momay) - Mother's Blessing, which was the

name of the fairies of the Carmarthenshire country in Wales; this saying

became a prayer spoken to ward-off harm.

Black Annis - She is a Hag; however she is unique in that she is a cannibal.

Blue Men of the Minch - They dwell in the strait between Long Island and

the Shiant Islands. They are responsible for sudden thunderstorms and

shipwrecks, but their ship-sinking attempts may be thwarted if you are an

adept rhymer. Some think they may be fallen angels.


5/31

Bodach - also Bugbear or Bug-A-Boo. They slide down chimneys to kidnap

naughty children.

Boggart - Brownies that have turned evil.

Bogie - This is the generic name for some different types of Goblins. Their

temperments range the spectrum from benign to malevolent.

Bogles - Generally evil-natured Goblins although they are more disposed to

do harm to liars and murderers.

Bokwus - A fearsome spirit in the great northwestern American spruce

forests. He is only seen in glimpses, but has been seen wearing totemic face

paints. Hunters are very aware of his presence. He likes to push fishermen

off the banks to drown, taking the victim's soul to his home in the forest

Brown Man of the Muirs - Protector of wild beasts.

Brownie - His territory extends over the Lowlands of Scotland and up into

the Highlands and Islands all over the north and east of England and into the

Midlands. With a natural linguistic variation, he becomes the BWCA of

Wales, the Highland Bodach and the Manx Fenodoree. In the West Country,

Pixies or Pisgies occassionally perform the offices of a brownie and show

some of the same characteristics, though they are essentially different.

Border brownies are most characteristic. They are small men, about three

feet in height, very raggedly dressed in brown clothes, with brown faces and

shaggy heads, who come out at night to do the work that has been left

undone by the servants. They make themselves responsible for the farm or

house in which they live: reap, mow, her the sheep, prevent the hens from

laying away, run errands, and give good counsel at need. A brownie can


6/31

become personally attached to one member of the family. They are typically

a tiny, shaggy-looking man with wrinkled brown skin. They are

approximately 25 inches tall. They are usually either naked or their brown

clothing is in extremely bad condition. Brownies like to adopt houses which

they look after. They come out at night to finish small chores, look over the

cattle. If there is a lazy servant in the home, he might choose to plague him

for it. All Brownies expect in return is a bowl of cream or good milk and a

honey cake. Never leave clothes and never leave too much food. They find

this offensive and will leave. Care should be taken not to criticize their

work. When one farmer criticized the mowing job, the Brownie responsiblethrew the entire crop over a cliff.

Bugul-Noz - He's a forest dweller, a shepherd. He's very unattractive and he

knows it, but he yearns for human companionship.

Bwca - The Welsh name for the Brownie. They have slightly nastier tempers

and are prone to tantrums if their work is criticized. They also despise

tattletales and people with long noses.

Cannered-Noz - Breton version of the Bean-Sidhe.

Cluricaun - After his day's labors the Leprechaun enjoys a night's revelry

and then becomes known as the Cluricaun (kloor-a-kawn). He raids wine

cellars and is known to take wild drunken rides through the moonlight on the

backs of sheep or shepherds dogs.

Coblynau - Welsh Mine Goblin. Cousins to the Cornish Knockers. These

creatures using mining tools, are seen working industriously at the seam


7/31

faces. The knocking of their picks and hammers is lucky, a sign of heavy ore

content.

Corrigan - Malignant nature spirits found in Brittany, often associated with

phantoms of the dead.

Cururipur - A powerful South American spirit who owned the jungle and

tortures tortoise hunters since the tortoises are his friends

Daoine Maithe - "The Good People"; Similar to the Gentry, they were said

to be next to heaven at the Fall, but did not fall; Some think they are a

people expecting salvation. This is the name assumed by the Tuatha de

Danann when the Milesians drove them underground. Their King is

Finvarra, who to this day hold court in his palace beneath the faerie hill of

Knockma. They are skilled chess players, and no human has ever beaten

Finvarra in a game. Finvarra is a womanizer, frequently kidnapping human

women. The Daoine Sidhe are also quite fond of hurling. (Hurling is an odd

cross between field hockey and lacrosse, as many of you have told me.Thanks!)

Disir - these are spirits who attach themselves to a particular place, usually

man made, like houses. Especially old houses. They are generally feminine

ancestral spirits.

Duergar - These are a malicious form of Dwarf from Northern England.They revel in tricking people into dying.

Dwarfs - Germany/Isle of Rugen/Swiss mountains. Short but powerfully

built, they are generally bearded and aged in appearance, this is because they


8/31

reach maturity when only three years old and are grey bearded by the age of

seven. Their homes aree the mountains of Scandinavia and Germany where

they mine for precious metals to work into arms and armour and other

artifacts which are often endowed with magic. They cannot appear above

ground tho one ray of sunlight and they will turn to stone. Other accounts

say they spend daylight hours as toads.

Dybbuk - a Jewish demonic spirit capable of possessing humans.

Each-Uisge - (Ech-ooshkya) They are similar to the Kelpie, but far more

dangerous. They inhabit lochs and seas and will eat their victims after

tearing them into pieces, except for the liver, which they leave. If they are

ridden inland, they are safe to ride, but if they catch the slightest whiff of the

sea air...

Ekimmu - One of the uttuku, evil or vengeful spirits of the ancient

Assyrians, the ekimmu appeared wailing and crying outside a home to signal

an impending death, much like a Banshee.

Ellyllon - The name given to the Welsh elves. They are tiny, diaphanous

fairies whose food is toadstools and fairy butter, a fungoid substance found

in the roots of old trees and in limstone crevices. Their queen is Mab.

Elves - In Scandinavian mythology the fairy people were elves and were

divided into two classes, the light elves and the dark elves, like the Seelie

and Unseelie Court. In Scotland the fairy people of human size were often

called elves and Faeryland was Elfame; in England it was the smaller

Trooping Fay who were called elves, and the name was particularly applied

to small fairy boys.


9/31

Elves of Light - A tiny people of Algonquin legend. They live in the forest

and

enjoy dancing. Their Queen is Summer, a tiny but beautiful creature who

was

once captured by the gof Glooskap who kept her in a moosehide as he

eneterd the

wigwam of the giant, Winer. Her very presence caused Winter to melt away

and

spring to come, and woke the elves who had been hibernating.

ErlKonig - he is the "Elf King" in Germany. He's been known to warn

people of their pending deaths. How he appears will relay to that person how

he or she is going to die.

Fachan, The - From the West Highlands of Scotland. I have not found any

other information, but the artist's rendition in the Froud and Lee book shows

a creature with only one eye, hand, and leg. (Two ears, though.)

Fae - European and Magickal dialect name for fairies.

Fays - The dialect name in Northumberland.

Fair Family or Fair Folk - The euphemistic name used by the Welsh for the

fairies. (See Tylwyth Teg.)

Farisees, or Pharisees - The Suffolk name for fairies. The Suffolk children

used to be confused between the farisees and the biblical mentions of the

Pharises.


10/31

Fary - The dialect name in Northumberland.

Feeorin - A small fairy that is indicated as being, green-coated, generally

red-capped, and with the usual fairy traits of love of dancing and music. This

word can be used as a collective word for faeries. It usually indicates small

green faeries, almost always with red caps. They love dancing and music.

They are thought to be more or less friendly to humans, and have given

warnings to them.

Fees - The fairiers of Upper Brittany.

Fenoderee - A type of Brownie from the Isle of Man. A willing worker of

prodigious strength, the Fenoderee performs many labours for the farmers of

Man. The Fenoderee was a member of the Ferrishyn - the faerie tribe of

Man, until he made the mistake of absenting himself from their Autumn

festival to court a mortal girl. His good looks were taken from him and he

became the solitary, ugly creature he is now.

Feriers, or Ferishers - Another Suffolk name for the fairies.

Ferries - The usual name for the Shetland and Ocadian fairies.

Ferrishyn (Ferrishin) - A Manx name for the fairie tribe; the singular is

"ferrish". They are the Trooping Fairies of Man, though there does not seem

to be any distinction between them and the Sleih Beggey. They are less

aristocratic than the fairies of Ireland and Wales, and they have no named

fairy king or queen. They were small, generally described as three feet in

height, though sometimes as one foot. They could hear whatever was said


11/31

out of doors. Every wind stirring carried the sound to their ears, and this

made people very careful to speak of them favorably.

Fetes - The Fates of Upper Brittany.

Fir Darrig - (Fear dearg) delights in practical joking of a rather gruesome

nature and therefore it is probably safer to humor him. Be nice to them or

you may be on the receiving end of one.

Foawr (fooar) - Manx equivalent of Highland Fomorians/giants, stone-

throwing. They often ravish cattle. Nasty beings, they are...

Frairies - The Norfolk and Suffolk, local version of the word "fairy".

Fyglia - a sort of personal spirit. They often take an animal form. The Native

Americans call them "fetches" and use them as totems. They serve mostly as

personal guardians.

Gans - Apache Indian shamen offer prayers to the Gans, asking them to

drive evil spirits away and to attract good fortune.

Gentry, the - The most noble tribe of all the fairies in Ireland. A big race

who came from the planets and usually appear in white. The Irish used to

bless the Gentry for fear of harm otherwise.

Ghillie Dhu - A Scottish solitary faerie who inhabits certain birch hickets.

His clothing is made of leaves and moss.

Glaistig, The - is a water faerie and is part seductive woman, part goat. The

goat-like attributes she tries to hide under a long flowing green dress. The

Glaistig lures men to dance with her before she feeds, vampire-like, on their


12/31

blood. Her nature is typically faerie-perverse for she can also be benign and

gently tend children or old people. She will also sometimes herd cattle for

farmers.

Goblins - A breed of small, swarthy, malicious beings-although 'goblin' as a

term is often used as a general name for thee uglier inhabitants of Faerie.

They sometimes appear in the shape of animals which appropriately reflects

their bestial nature. They are the thieves and villains of Faerie, companions

to the Dead, especially on Halloween.

Golem - a Jewish zombie-like spirit who is to avenge a wrongful death -or- a

man-made creature; of earth, fire, water or air, which has had a spirit

summoned into it to do one's biding.

Good Neighbors - One of the most common Scottish and Irish names for the

fairies.

Good People - The Irish often referred to their Sidhe in this manner. (See

Daoine Maithe)

Grant - a small horse which stands upright; each Grant is attached to a

particular place and when he senses danger will tun through the town

shouting warnings.

Green Children, The - The fairy are recorded in the medieval chronicles

under such a name.

Green Lady of Caerphilly, The - Takes on the appearance of Ivy when she is

not walking through the ruined castles she haunts.


13/31

Greencoaties - The name for the fairies that dwell in Lincolnshire Fen

country.

Greenies - The euphemistic name used for the fairies in Lancashire,

associated with the Jacobean Fairies.

Grey Neighbours, the - One of the euphemistic names for the fairies given

by the Shetlanders to the Trows, the small gray-clad goblins whom the

Shetlanders used to propitiate and fear, using against them many of the

means used all over the islands as protection against fairies.

Guillyn Veggey - The Little Boys is a Manx term for the fairies who dwell

on the Isle of Man.

Gwragedd Annwn, The - are Welsh water faeries, beautiful Lake Maidens

who occassionally take mortals to be their husbands. One well-known

legend tells of a young man who used to graze his cattle by a small lake near

the Black Mountains. One day he saw a most enchanting creature rowing

gently to and fro in a golden boat on the surface of the lake. He fell deeply in

love with her and offered her some of the bread he had brought from home

for his midday meal. She answered that the bread was too hard and

disappeared into the depths. The young man's mother gave him some

unbaked dough to take with him the next day and he offered this to the faerie

but she answered that it was too soft and again disappeared. On the third day

he took some lightly baked bread, which passed. Three figures rose from thelake, and old man with a beautiful daughter on either side of him. The girls

were identical and the father told the young farmer that he was willing to

offer him the daughter with whom he was in love if he could point her out.

The farmer would have given up in despair but one slightly moved her foot


14/31

and he, recognizing her slipper, won her hand. The young farmer was

warned that he would lose his wife if he ever should strike her three times

causelessly. The Gwragedd Annwn had somme curious faerie ways; would

weep at weddings and laugh at funerals, which led her husband to strike her,

and she was forced to leave him. Though her sons she had left behind with

all of their faery teachings they became great physicians.

Gwyllion (gwithleeon) - The evil mountain fairies of Wales. They are

hideous female spirits who waylay and mislead travelers by night on the

mountain roads. They were friends and patrons of the goats, and might

indeed take goat form.

Hags - inhabiting the British Isles, who seem to personify winter, are

probably survivals of the oldest goddesses. Some turn, like winter into

Spring, from hideously ugly old wommen into beautiful young maidens, and

others like Black Annis are cannibalistic.

Hathors - Nature spirits of Egyptian mythology. When a child is born, sevenHathors gather to plan the life of the child. The Hathors are often portrayed

as the sky-goddess Hathor, goddess of beauty, love, marriage, and childbirth.

She often takes the form of a gigantic cow.

Henkies - One of the names given to the Trows of Orkney and Shetland.

Hobgoblin - Used by the Puritans and in later times for wicked goblinspirits, but its more correct use is for the friendly spirits of the Brownie type.

Hobgoblin was considered an ill omened word. "Hob" and "Lob" are words

meaning the same kind of creature as the Hobgoblin. They are on the whole

good-humored and ready to be helpful, but fond of practical joking.


15/31

Host, The - See Unseelie Court.

Huacas - Incan myth speaks of Huacas, stone forms of sprits or divine

beings who watched over fields.

Huldafolk - the huldafolk are fairly reclusive Scandinavian faeriefolk.

Hyster-sprites - Lincolnshire and East Anglian fairies/small and sandy-

colored, with green eyes.

Jack-In-Irons - A Yorkshire giant who haunts lonely roads.

Jenny Greenteeth - Yorkshire River Hag who drowns children.

Jimmy Squarefoot - Frightening appearance but reletively harmless.

Kachina - Ancestor spirits of the Pueblo Indians in North America. The Hopi

also believed in kachinas, believing them to be the souls of virtuous dead

people.

Kelpie, The - is a Scottish water faerie. Although sometimes appearing inthe guise of a hairy man, this is more often seen in the form of a young

horse. The Kelpie haunts rivers and streams and, after letting unsuspecting

humans mount him, will dash into the water and give them a dunking. Each-

Uisge (ech-ooshkya) or Aughisky (agh-iski) as he is known in Ireland,

inhabits seas and lochs and is far more dangerous.

Killmoulis, The - particularly ugly Brownie who haunts mills. He is

characterized by an enormous nose and no mouth. To eat he presumably

stuffs the food up his nose. Although a Killmoulis works hard for the miller,

he delights in practical jokes and can therefore be a hindrance rather than a

help.


16/31

Klaboutermannikin - they inhabit the figureheads of ships, giving them

guidance and protection.

Klippe - The Forfarshire name for a fairy.

Kobolds - These are the German version of Knockers. They are known for

causing problems for the miners and undoing their progress. To keep the

miners guessing, they occasionally help them.

Korred - bizarre-looking and capricious but generally good-natured

guardians of Brittany's standing stones.

Kubera - King of the Yakshas, the god of wealth. Usually depicted as a

dwarfish figure with a paunch, bearng a money bag or pomegranate and

seated on a man.

Kul - A water spirit of the Eskimos in the Arctic, Kul may be malevolent but

generally helps the Northern peoples with their fishing. As a show of

gratitude, it is customary to offer him some of the fish caughts at the

beginning of the season.

Leanan Sidhe - The Lhiannan-Shee (lannan-shee), or Leanan Sidhe (lan-awn

shee), "The Faerie Lover", has received a great amount of attention by the

poet W. B. Yeats. Perhaps this is because of her main function as a Dark

Muse.While she is radiantly beautiful to the man she enchants, she is

invisable to all other mortals. As with all things Faerie, once the poet has

known the Leanan Sidhe's carress, all mortal women, however comely, seem

lifeless and dull to him.So the poet, living in an all encompassing yearning

for his immortal lover, is inspired to great writings. This happens because

the Leanan Sidhe has the power to make the creativity of an entire lifetime


17/31

burn though the poet in a short time. Having taken her fill of his quickened

lifeforce, he then must go to an early death.

As a vampire, she uses this lifeforce to keep herself beautiful and to weave

her spells upon yet another mortal. Though seduction is deadly, it is nothing

but Otherworld ecstacy for the human soul she feeds from.

The Leanan Sidhe is said to reside under the Irish Sea off the eastern coast of

Ireland, and roams the Isle of Man at night, seeking a lonely young man to

bring her Dark Inspiration.

***

I am a creature of the Fey

Prepare to give your soul away

My spell is passion and it is art

My song can bind a human heart

And if you chance to know my face

My hold shall be your last embrace.

I shall be thy lover...

I am unlike a mortal lass

From dreams of longing I have passed

I came upon your lonely cries

Revealed beauty to your eyes

So shun the world that you have known

And spend your nights within my own.


18/31


You shall be known by other men

For your great works of voice and pen

Yet inspiration has a cost

For with me know your soul is lost

I'll take your passion and your skill

I'll take your young life quicker still.


Through the kisses that I give

I draw from you that I will live

And though you think this weakness grand

The touch of death, your lover's hand

Your will to live has come too late

Come to my arms, and love this fate!


I am a creature of the Fey

Prepare to give your soul away

My spell is passion and it is art

My song can bind a human heart

And if you chance to know my face

My hold shall be your last embrace.


19/31

***

--BrennaGwyn of the Children of Twilight, Based on Heather Alexander's

"Creature of the Wood"

Leprechaun - Generally described as a fairy shoemaker, this creature is a

red-capped fellow whostays around pure springs and is known to haunt

cellars. He spends his time drinking and smoking. One branch of the

Leprechaun is known as the Fir Darrig, who is a practical joker; both are of

the Solitary Fairies. Leprechauns have also been associated with the Earth-

elemental Gnome, and when so done, is described as being a merry little

fellow dressed all in green, instead of wearing a red cap, a leather apron,

drab clothes and buckled shoes, and the boy, who has fairy blood in him,

succeeds in winning a wealth of treasure from an underground cave, keeps

his gain secret, and is the founder of a prosperous familiy.

Li'l Fellas, the - Another Manx euphemistic name for The Good

Neightbours.

Little Folk - See Sleight Beggey.

Little People of the Passamaquoddy Indians, the - There are two kinds of

Little People among the Passamaquoddy Indians, the Nagumwa-suck and

Mekumwasuck. Both kinds are two and a half to three feet in height, and

both are grotesquely ugly. The Passamaquoddy Indians, wholived close to

the Canadian border, used to migrate to the ocean in the summer and move

inland in the winter. When they moved, their fairies moved with them. The

little People can only be seen by the Indians. They live in the woods and are

fantastically and individually dressed. Their faces are covered with hair,


20/31

which strikes an alien note to the Indians. Oral tradition has it that they were

made of stone.

Lunantishess - The tribes that guard the blackthorn trees or sloes in Ireland;

they let you cut no stick on the eleventh of November (the original

November Day), or on the eleventh of May (the original May Day).

Ly Erg - This faerie yearns to be a soldier. He dresses like one and cannot be

distinguished from human soldiers except by his red-stained hands, red from

the blood he has shed.

Mab - She is the traditional queen of the faeries. I have a poem about her.

Mazikeen - also known as the shideem or shehireem, these Jewish faeries

know much of magic and enchantment. They were born when Adam and

Eve were excommunicated for 130 years for eating of the tree of knowledge.

Female spirits lay with Adam, and male spirits with Eve, and of these unions

were born the Mazikeen. They are a rank betweenmen and angels. Theyhave wings and can fly, tell the future, and like to feast and drink, marry and

have children. They can also shapeshift.

Mermaids - entice human lovers with their songs of enchantment. They

cause ship-wrecking storms and are most frequently seen combing their long

hair whilst admiring themselves in mirrors.

Merrows - The Irish Merpeople are called Merrows and they can be

distinguished from other sea-dwelling faeries in that they wear red feather

caps to propel themselves down to their homes in the depths. Should their

caps be stolen, they can no longer return to their watery homes. The female


21/31

Merrow are very beautiful and, like other mermaids, appear before storms as

an omen, but they are gentle by nature and often fall in love with mortal

fishermen. This can partly be explained by the extreme ugliness of the male

Merrows. Despite their alaming aspect, the males too have their redeeming

features as they are generally jovial in character.

Mooinjer Veggey (moo-in-jer vegar) - The Little People is a familiar

Manxman term for the faeries who dwell on the Isle of Man; see Sleigh

Beggey.

Mother Holle - A crone who lives at the bottom of old wells. She dispenses

justice and might aid you with guidance and divination if she likes you.

Mumiai - best known for persecuting peasants, especially those of the lowest

castes, who had stolen from their neighbors or demonstrated their dirty

habits. The Mumiai toss their belongings in the air, break their pottery and

trample on their gardens, finally forcing them to moveout of their villages.

Muryans - Muryan is the Cornish word for ant. The Cornish belief about the

fairies was that they were the souls of ancient heathen people, too good for

Hell and too bad for Heaven, who had gradually declined from their natural

size, and were dwindling down until they became the size of ants, after

which they vanished from this state and no one knew what became of them.

Nagas - Nagas are human from the waist up and snake from the waist down

and are often seen wearing hooded canopies or with seven or more heads.

Both sexes are extraordinarily beautiful and several royal Indian families

claim to be descended from them. They bite humans who are evil or destined


22/31

to die prematurely. Buddhists regard them as minor deities and door

guardians. They are viewed by some as Fae and by some as Dragon-kind.

Nuckelavee - is surely the most awful of the Scottish sea fairies. A

monstrous horse with legs that are part flipper, a huge mouth and one fiery

eye and, rising from its back joined to it at the waist, a hideous torso with

arms that nearly reach the ground, topped by a massive head that rolls from

side to side as though its neck was too weak to hold it upright. Worse than

this tho is the horrible appearance of the creatures flesh, for it has no skin.

Black blood coursing through yellow veins, white sinews and powerful red

muscles are exposed. The Nuckelavee has an aversion to fresh running water

and the pursued have only to cross it to escape.

Nunnehi - Cherokee version of elves. They live in towns beneath the ground.

Nunnehi are saddened by the suffering incurred by the Cherokee and

occasionally offer assistance. Nunnehi led the Cherokee to Pilot Knob,

North Carolina, where they passed t00hrough the realm of the Nunnhei and

were safe.

Oannes - Fish-headed beings from another world, these were considered to

be sea-gods by the ancient Chaldeans. Oannes lived among men by day,

building the great Sumerian civilization and teaching art, science, and

religion, while at night they returned to the Persian Gulf to swim in the

ocean.

Ohdows - a race of small, well-formed people with the features of the Native

Americans who live underground in North America. They use their magic to

subdue the earth spirits who cause earthquakes.


23/31

Old People, the - Another Cornish name for the fairies.

Pechs, or Pehts - The Scottish Lowland names for fairies and are confused in

tradition with the Picts, the mysterious people of Scotland who built the

Pictish brughs and possibly also the round stone towers. The Pechs were

considered tremendous castle builders and were credited with the

construction of many of the ancient castles. They could not bear the light of

day and so only worked at night, when they took refuge in their brughs or

"sitheans" at sunrise. It seems likely that some historic memory of an

aboriginal race contributed one strand to the twisted cord of fairy tradition.

Peg Powler - One of the many Green Hags with sharp teeth who drag their

victims down to watery graves. She inhabits the River Tees. She is a green

water Hag with long hair and sharp teeth. She is fond of grabbing the ankles

of those who stand too close to or wade into the water and pulling them

underwater to drown. Fear of her was written into a popular Mother Goose

rhyme:"Mother, may I go out to swim?""Yes, my darling daughter.Hang

your clothes on an alder limbAnd don't go near the water." (Alder treesare

considered a sort of charm against evil faeries.) See also Jenny Greenteeth.

People of Peace - The Irish often refered to the Sidhe in this manner. The

word sidhe means peace. See Daoine Sidhe in Faery Lineage.

People in the Hills, the - Fairies who live under the green mounds, or tumuli,

all over England.

Phooka - an Irish Goblin with a variety of rough beast-like forms. He

appears sometimes as a dog or a horse, or even a bull, but is generally jet-

black with blazing eyes. As seemingly friendly, shaggy, sway-backed pony


24/31

Phooka offers the unwary traveller a welcome lift; but once astride he is

taken for a wild and terrifying gallop across the wettest and most thorny

country, eventually to be dumped headlong into the mire or deposited in a

ditch. The chuckle is that of the Phooka as he gallops away.

Picts - The original peoples who dwelled in the northeastern coast of Ireland.

They were called the "Cruithne" and migrated down from Gaul or Galia

(France). As the conquering waves of invaders arrived in Ireland, eventually

the Picts retreated to the woods and lived in caves and underground forts.

They were a small, dark people and became known as the classic Faery-

people. See Pechs.

Pigsies - See Pixies.

Pixies, or Pigsies, or Piskies - These are the West Country fairies belonging

to Somerset, Devon and Cornwall. There are varing traditions about the size,

appearance and origin of the Pixies, but all accounts agree about their being

dressed in green and about their habit of misleading travelers. Green faerieswho often take the form of hedgehogs. They are also known as urchins,

pisgies, piskies, and pigseys. They originated in Cornwall. They like to

dance in the shadows of stones. Their bells are often heard on the moor.

They like to steal horses and torture them to get them to run faster. They

delight in throwingpots and pans at kitchen girls. They usually mean no

harm, however. Beware of doing pixies favors, for they have a tendency to

backfire.

Plant Rhys Dwfen (plant hree thoovn) - The family name of a tribe of fairy

people who inhabited a small land which was invisible because of certain


25/31

herb that grew on it. They were handsome people, rather below the average

in height, and it was their custom to attend the market in Cardigan and pay

such high prices for the goods there that the ordinary buyer could not

compete with them. They were honest and resolute in their dealings, and

grateful to people who treated them kindly.

Polevik - a Polish faerie, he appears as a two-footed goat and helps to bring

in the harvest.

Portunes - Small agricultural fairies. It was their habit to labor on farms, and

at night when the doors were shut they would blow up the fire, and, taking

frogs from their bosoms, they would roast them 0on the coals and eat them.

They were like very old men with wrinkled faces and wore patched coats.

Puck - Thanks to Shakespeare, the most famous of the mischievous shape-

shifting hobgoblins. He is closely related to the Welsh Pwca and the Irish

Phooka.

Rakshasas - shapeshifting demon-goblins. They can appear as mosters,

animals, or beautiful women to seduce holy men and then eat them. They

have side tusks, ugly eyes, curling awkward brows, bull's heads, bloated

bellies, tangled hair, and nackward pointing hands. They can cause leprosy,

raise the dead, and regenerate severed limbs.

Redcap - is one of the most evil of the old Border Goblins. He lives in old

ruined towers and castles, particularly those with a history of wickedness.

He re-dyes his cap in human blood.

Roane - Irish name for the Selkie.


26/31

Seelie Court - Blessed Court; Name of the kindly fairy host, or benovolent

Faery of the positive polarity, and is generally used to describe the Scottish

fairies. The malignant fairies were sometimes called the Unseelie Court.

Selkies - The seas around Orkney and Shetland harbor the Selkies or Seal-

Faeries (known as Roane in Ireland). A female Selkie is able to discard her

seal-skin and come ashore as a beautiful maiden. If a human can capture this

skin, the Selkie can be forced to become a fine, if wistful, wife. However,

should she ever find her skin she immediately returns to the sea, leaving the

husband to pine and die. The males raise storms and upturn boats to avenge

the indiscriminate slaughter of seals.

Shellycoat - A Scottish bogie who haunts fresh water streams and is

festooned with shells which clatter when he moves. He takes pleasure in

tricking and bewildering travelers and leading them astray.

Sidhe, Sith, or Si (shee) - The Gaelic name for fairie, both in Ireland and the

Highlands of Scotland. Very tall beings that seem to either shine or appearopalescent. The shining beings belong to the earthly realm; while the

opalescent beings belong to the heavenly world. As with any shamanic

practice there are three great worlds which we can see while we are still in

the body: the heavenly, the earthly, and underworldly realms.

Silent Moving Folk - The Scottish fairies who live in green knolls and in the

mountain fastnesses of the Highlands. See Still-folk.

Sleigh Beggey (sleigh beargar) - The Little Folk. A name given to fairies in

the Manx tongue.


27/31

Sluagh (slooa) - The most formidable of the Highland fairy people; The host

of the Unforgiven Dead. By some scholars, they are regarded as the fallen

angels, not the dead, but on the whole their accounts correspond closely to

that given by Alexander Carmichael in 'Carmina Gadelica'

Small People of Cornwall, the - Fairies were sometimes spoken of this way

in Cornwall.

Solitary Fairies - The fairies who are chiefly malignant or ominous

creatures, comprise this group, although there may be a few nature spirits or

dwindled gods among them. An exception is the Brownie and its variants -

though there are few family groups among the Brownies - some think that

they were unacceptable in Faeryland because of their ragged, unkept

appearance, and that they went off to the Seelie Court when they were

properly dressed. However, this is only one school of thought on the subject.

Other creatures, such as the Lepracaun, Pooka, and Bean Si, also comprise

this group.

Spriggans - Grotesque and ugly in shape. Although quite small, they have

the ability to inflate themselves into monstrous forms which has led humans

to believe them to 0be the ghosts of old giants. Apart from their useful

function as guardians of hill treasure, Spriggans are an infamous band of

villains, skilled thieves, thoroughly destructive and often dangerous. They

are capable of robbing human houses, kidnapping children (and leaving a

repulsive baby Spriggan in exhange) causing whirlwinds to destroy fields of

corn, blighting crops and all manner of other unpleasant mischief.

Sprites - A general name for fairies and other spirits such as Sylphs and

nerieds.


28/31

Still-Folk - The Scottish name for the Highland fairies. See Silent Moving

Folk.

Themselves, They, or Them that's in it - The most common Manx names

used in place of the word "fairy", which was generally considered an

unlucky word to use. It is sometimes said that "themselves" are the souls of

those drowned in Noah's flood.

Tiddy Ones, Tiddy Men, or Tiddy People - The Lincolnshire fenman's

nature spirits, which are also referred to as the Yarthkins or Strangers. Most

of them were undifferentiated, a drifting mass of influenced and powers

rather than individuals. The one among them personally known and almost

beloved was the Tiddy Mun, who was invoked in times of flood to withdraw

the waters.

Tokolosh - A South African faerie; Tokolosh is a sullen spirit who lives

beside streams, throwing stones into the water on still nights. He is famous

for frightening lone travelers, usually by jumping on a small animal or birdand strangling it so that the poor animal's panicked cry alarms the traveler.

He is described as being something like a baboon, but smaller and without a

tail, and covered with black hair.

Trolls - Huge Cave Dwellers, Scandinavian faeries who hate sunlight.

Trooping Fae or Faery - The Faery have been divided into two main classes:

trooping and Solitary. It is a distinction that hold good throughout the British

Isles, and is indeed valid wherever fairy beliefs are held. The trooping fay

can be large or small, friendly or sinister. They tend to wear green jackets,

while the Solitary Faery wear red jackets. They can range from the Heroic


29/31

Faery to the dangerrous and malevolent Sluagh, or tose Diminutive Fairies

who include the tiny nature spirits that make the fairy rings with their

dancing and speed the growth of flowers.

Trows - Live on the Shetland Islands, similiar to the Scandinavian Trolls and

like them, have an aversion to daylight. They are frequently observed

performing a curious lop-sided dance called 'Henking'

Tylwyth Teg (terlooeth teig) - The Fair Family. The most unusual name for

Welsh fairies, though they are sometimes called Bendith Y Mammau, in an

attempt to avert their kidnapping activities by invoking a euphemistic name.

They are fair-haired, and love golden hair. They dance and make fairy rings.

They are like the Daoine Sidhe, and dwell underground or underwater. The

fairy maidens are easily won as wives and will live with human husbands for

a time. The danger of visiting them in their own country lies in the

miraculous passage of time in Faeryland. They give riches totheir favourites,

but these gifts vanish if they are spoken of.

Unseelie Court - Unblessed Court; They are never under any circumstances

favorable to mankind. They comprise the Slaugh, or The Host, that is, the

band of the unsanctified dead. The Unseelie Court are the malignant Faery

of the negative polarity, made up of Solitary Faery.

Urisk - is a scttish solitary faerie who haunts lonely pools. He will often seek

out human company but his peculiar appearance terrifies those heapproaches.

Verry Volk - The name of the fairies in Gower of Wales; little people

dressed in scarlet and green.


30/31

Virikas - Never more than eighteen inches tall, these unpleasant spectral

entities can be recognized by their flaming red color and their horribly

pointed, bloodstained teeth. They gather outside the homes of men soon to

die and jabber excitedly. To prevent this, people can erect a small shrine in

their honor and burn daily gifts of flowers and spices for them.

Water Leaper - Preys on Welsh Fishermen.

Wee Folk - One of the Scottish and Irish names for the fairies.

White Ladies, the - The use of White Ladies for both ghosts and fairies is an

indication of the close connection between fairies and the dead. The White

Ladies were direct descendants of the Tuatha De Danann.

Wichtlein - from Southern Germany behave in much the same way as

goblins. They announce the death of a miner by tapping three times. When a

disaster is about to happen they are heard digging, pounding and imitating

miners work.

Will O' the Wisp - No one is quite sure what these distant floating balls of

flame are, but they are generally associated with and are sometimes thought

of as faeries in the British Isles. They are sometimes thought to be the souls

of children who have died and like to cause mischief.

Yakshas - Benevolent nature spirits; they are the guardians of tresures

hidden in the earth and the roots of trees. Their ruler is Kubera, who lives on

a mountain in the Himalayas. They are deities of cities, districts, lakes, and

wells, and are thought to have originated from a cult of the ancient

Dravidians.


31/31

Yann-an-Od - Kindly old shepherd who tends sheep. He might have once

been a faerie king. He's rather shy of humans.

Yumboes - Located on Goree Island, south of the Cape Verde Peninsula in

Senegal, West Africa. They are two feet tall with pearly skin and silver hair.

They are also called the "Bakhna Rakhna" which translates to "The Good

People." They enjoy dancing and feasting by moonlight and live in

magnificent subterranean dwellings in the Paps, groups of hills about three

miles from the coast. Guests to their homes report lavishly decorated tables

and servants invisible except for their hands and feet. They like to eat fish.

Documents

The Good Neighboors I