Fairies & Their Origins

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A host of supernatural beings and spirits who exist between earth and heaven. Both good and evil, fairies have been associated with witches. During the witch hunts in Europe and the British Isles, accused witches often sought to save their lives by claiming they were taught their witch arts by fairies. For some, this all seemed less malevolent than if they had been taught by the Devil. For the most part, fairies have remained in a category of their own, though when convenient, the clergy allied them with the Devil. Belief in fairies is universal and ancient and is especially strong in Europe and the British Isles. Fairies come in all shapes and sizes and are known by scores of names. Among these names in Western lore are brownie, elf, dwarf, troll, gnome, pooka, kobold, leprechaun, and banshee. In the colonization of America, fairy beliefs were transported across the Atlantic. Here they survived in the Appalachians, the Ozarks, and other remote mountainous areas. The word fairy comes from the Latin term, fata, or “fate.” The Fates were supernatural women who liked to visit newborn children. The archaic English term for fairy is fay, which means enchanted or bewitched. The state of enchantment is faerie, which gradually became faerie and fairy.

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