Hello and Welcome to the second part of our five part series of Scary Stories. Last week we started off with banshees and their history in Irish Mythology. This week we will be looking at faeries and the many different kinds and beliefs there are about them in history.
It is believed that the very first faeries, or sídhe as they were first called, originated from the Tuatha De Danann. It is said that after their defeat, they chose to go ‘underground’ to live in the barrows and cairns. It was there that they became known as the sídhe. The word sídhe means ‘a mound’, and since the Tuatha De Danann were associated with mounds and barrows, they became known as the people of the sídhe.
The more widely known name ‘Fairies’ was derived from the unwillingness of the people to call the sídhe and the Danann folk by their given name, as it was considered bad luck. Euphemisms such as ‘hill folk,’ ‘wee folk,’ ‘good folk,’ or ‘fair folk’ abounded, and ‘fair folk’ was shortened to ‘fairies.’
Other widely known names in Fairy lore are known as the banshee, the leprechaun, the dullahan etc. There are many different forms of fairies in Irish Mythology and many of them have a scary story that follows them.
For example, the leprechaun is widely celebrated and loved in America, but not so much in Ireland. Leprechauns are referred to as slimy old drunks, who use the sleight of hand to get one up on you. They will avoid contact with humans at all costs, as their gold is highly important to them and they consider us to be quite greedy and foolish. If a leprechaun is captured, they will offer great wealth in exchange for their freedom. However, before you go leprechaun hunting, you should know that it is not worth the trouble. They carry two pouches with them at all times: one contains a gold coin that turns to leaves or ashes when it is parted from the leprechaun, and the other holds a silver coin which will return to its pouch soon after it is traded to a human.
There are different forms of faeries and not many are the happy ever after fairies we see in films. The Sídhe were associated with many supernatural abilities. They were believed to live side by side with the human world, which caused both harmful and beneficial interactions. Fairies were feared for their interest in stealing people, especially babies of new mothers, and if someone took ill, they could be accused of being a "changeling," left by the Sidhe in place of the original healthy individual. The dreaded "Slua Sidhe" of fairies was an evening cavalcade, out to do some mischief or harm. Fairies, however, were also welcomed when they helped the poor, did chores, left money for people or endowed them with great talent, so they weren't always considered devilish.
It is believed that even until this day the faeries still exist around Ireland. In many parks you may even find little faerie houses on trees. If you asked anyone, they’re likely to say that faeries have always been real and to never taunt them. They are the most known mythical being in Irish Mythology, and still the most talked about till this very day.
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