Over the River and Through the Fairy Woods

Recently, I just came back to Oxford after a short weekend trip to Dublin, Ireland. It was a wonderful city full of interesting characters and events, but I will talk more on that later. Right now I want to discuss something that I am interested in and have heard a bit about around England and Scotland, but a lot while in Dublin. And that would be, of course, fairies (as well as other mythical creatures).

As a child, I always found fairies and goblins, etc. very exciting and interesting. I still read fantasy books today and am enthralled with talk of magic and mystery. So, naturally, while in Dublin my flatmates and I went to the Leprechaun Museum where they discussed leprechauns and other magical folk. This exciting adventure, then inspired me to write this very post where I will tell you about all kinds of magical creatures that hail from the British Isles (while keeping it to an alphabetical list).

Aos Si - Also known as the Sidhe (pronounced: 'she'), they are a mythical race in Ireland and Scotland who live in an alternate world to the one humans live in. They are easily appeased with offerings, but special care is taken not to upset their dwellings for fear that will get angry and take revenge.
Banshee - A fairy woman who wails and screams when death is approaching. They do not bring death, but morn it. In some stories it is said if you hear their cry you will die within a fortnight.
Changeling - A fairy child that is left in place of a human child who has been taken to the fairy world. The stolen child usually become a fairy itself, unless the changeling is brought back to the fairies in exchange for their real child.
Dragon - The European dragon is spiteful and malevolent. They breath fire and look like giant lizards with wings. They generally live in caves and protect huge hoards of treasure.
Elves - Depending on where you hear about elves they can range in looks and temperament. They are generally immortal in all stories though. Some believe them to be small and mischievous, while other say they can be as tall as people and either be malevolent or benevolent, depending on the specific elf.
Fairies - (There are several different spellings, but this is the main one I have seen while in England.) Fairies tend to look like tiny people with butterfly wings. They can be benevolent, but are usually more malevolent in stories, having taken children and replaced them with a Changeling or caused bad luck for people who have disturbed them and their homes.
Giants - They look like large humans, but are usually unintelligent and uncivilized. Because of this they usually just do whatever they feel like doing.
Hobgoblin - Unlike a goblin, they are usually friendly and tend to look after children and do chores when no one is looking. They tend to live in forests and therefore are more ragged looking.
Imps - Very mischievous, they tend to look like either small people with wings and horns (occasionally even with a tail) or a strange brown furry creature with red eyes. They tend to do more harm than good.
J (Selkie) - (I could not find a J, so I decided to talk about Selkies instead.) A creature that lives as a seal in the water, but sheds its skin to be human on land. It is said that if you hide their skin they will be trapped on land and there are many stories of men hiding a female Selkie's skin and marrying them.
Kelpie - A creature than looks like a horse drenched in water. They are said to transform into beautiful women so as to lure men into traps. If someone tries to ride a Kelpie, they will not be able to get off and the horse-creature will drown and/or devour them.
Leprechauns - Small human like creatures that have gold hidden at the end of a rainbow. If you catch one they have to lead you to their gold, but if you look away for one second, they will disappear and will use any means of tricks to get you lost.
Mandrake - A root that  once pulled out of the ground will emit a high pitched scream which can drive people insane. They appear as atomically correct humans varying from white to black and red.
Neck - Also known as Nix, they are water spirits with beautiful voices who lure men and women to their death by drowning them. Some also can play the violin very well and if brought the proper gift, they will teach people how to play the violin equally well. One famous neck in English folklore is called Peg Powler.
Ogre - Similar to giant, but always hungry and apparently uglier. They love to hunt people and eat them.
Puca - A horse-like animal that is similar to a Kelpie but more mischievous than dangerous. They can talk and occasionally give advice to keep people from danger, although they are also known to try and scare people for fun.
Q (Brownie) - (Again, no Qs, so I will talk about Brownies.) They are small humanoid beings who do friendly things for people, like the hobgoblin. They tend to wear brown clothes and live in peoples houses, but keep hidden.
Red Cap - A malevolent creature who is said to live in ruins of castles. They supposedly kill any travellers who stray near their homes and stain their hats with their victims' blood. If the hat dries out they will die.
Sea Monster - A large reptilian animal that lives in the water, usually the ocean or sea. They typically are creatures of desire, and do whatever they feel like. If in contact with a ship that bothers them, they will attack it, but generally stay hidden underwater. The most famous one in British folklore is the Loche Ness Monster, which is said to live in Loche Ness (or Lake Ness) in Northern Scotland and hide beneath the dark water.
Trolls - Ranging in size from very small to very large, they tend to live in the untamed wilderness and gain physical characteristics similar to that of where they live. If the sun shines on them they will turn to stone.
Unicorn - An animal that looks like a horse, except for the large horn on its head. They tend to be completely white and are incredibly fast. They are rather skittish but are very benevolent if around people. Their horns are said to detect poison and dispel it.
V (Sluagh) - A restless ghost like creature that was not accepted into heaven or hell and is forced to stay on earth. They are said to fly in packs on the West wind and will try to enter the house of a dying person to take their soul with them.
Will-o-the-Wisp - Is a ghostly light that will appear to travellers at night and recede when approached; drawing people away from the safe path and towards a bog or marsh. It is debated whether they are the souls of unbaptised children or are completely separate from people and are creatures of their own right.
X (Griffins) - Part bird, part feline, they have the head, claws, and wings of an eagle, but the body of a lion. They make nests in the tallest mountains and line them with gold and treasure. Occasionally they mate with horses and make hyppogriffs.
Yeth Hound - Supposedly a headless dog who is the soul of an unbaptised child that lives in the forest and makes wailing noises at night. Possibly the inspiration for the story "The Hound of Baskervilles".
Z (Wulver) - A kind of werewolf with the head of a wolf and the body of a human. Although, they do not transform and are in no way human. They tend to be shy and non-aggressive if left alone.

Until next time...

Embrace the Odd,
Caitlin

"To be great is to be misunderstood." -Ralph Waldo Emerson