Fairies, Goblins and Pookahs

By Pearl Blackthorn

(From Darkside Magazine August 2014)

There are legends from all over the world that tell of the magic folk or fairies. They can take many forms such as goblins, pookahs, banshees and elves, and they each have their individual powers. Not all of them are friendly towards humans, though there are exceptions. There are also many tales of humans who have tried to outwit them, only to pay a high price.

Fairies

Fairies go by a number of names such as faery, fay, fair folk, wee folk and people of peace. These legendary, ethereal creatures are usually described as having human-like features (though they are often much smaller than humans), and powerful magical abilities. Modern day depictions of fairies show winged, human-like beings with the perpetual sheen of youth on their fair skin, but in earlier times they were portrayed differently as either statuesque, angelic beings radiating light or diminutive, wizened characters.

The Origin of the Fairy Folk

The origin of the fairy folk is somewhat hazy. In the past some have said that fairies are dead souls, the remainders of ancient races who wander between realms. One example of this kind is the Irish banshee, who is often described as the lonely wailing soul of a woman. Others believe that rather than being dead themselves, fairies are the angelic protectors of those who have passed from the earthly plane.

Another theory of fairy origin describes them as living race with ancient lineage. In this version the fairies were conquered in days gone by and now live in hiding from the human race. Others have suggested that the fair folk are a completely different species from humans, demons and angels; a form known as elementals. These creatures are depicted as an intelligent and complex race that prefers to avoid human interaction altogether.

These different explanations may not necessarily be incompatible but nevertheless, much of the folklore connected to fairies describes reliable methods for humans to hold them at bay. The commonly held belief is that a fairy’s intentions are at best mischievous and at worst downright malicious. A number of tricks have been attributed to them including tangling the hair of sleepers, leading travelers from the safe path and curdling freshly churned milk. Though these pranks seem harmless enough there they have also been blamed for much more dangerous trickery. Sudden death during the dark of night would often be explained as a fairy kidnapping, the corpse itself being only a lifeless form or changeling left to replace the living. It was also said that fairies enjoyed riding around on domestic animals such as pigs and fowl and this would cause the animals to become paralyzed and eventually die.

For those wanting to protect themselves against the fair folk, objects made of iron are a steadfast deterrent. Fairies will not go near the metal for fear that it will burn or poison them. Protective charms made from rowan, elder, St. John’s Wort or four-leaf clovers are also believed to be effective. 

One of the most popular legends about the fair folk is how they love to mislead travelers, often leading them way off the path and then leaving them to struggle to find their way home. The will o’ the wisp has a particular reputation for such pranks. Some travelers go missing for days, others are never seen again. Certain locations which are known to be regular fairy haunts should be avoided at all costs. These include fairy hills or mounds, forts and fairy rings. There are a number of stories that warn how digging in or around fairy hills has led to negative results. Home owners who have built their abode on fairy ground have found corners knocked from their houses. Although people who see fairies were advised not to look to closely for fear of invading their privacy, it is said that those who found out the name of a particular fairy could then summon it to do their bidding and force it to grant their wishes and even bestow special powers upon them.

Changelings

There is a significant amount of folklore surrounding changelings; fairy substitutes left behind in the place of stolen human children, particularly babies. Children who had not yet been baptized were considered to be at particular risk of abduction by the fair folk. It is said that many fairy children are often stunted or deformed at birth and that fairies, with their delicate sensibilities do not want to keep these children and will readily swap them for a healthy human child. Changelings are described as ugly, demanding children who cry continually and have a voracious appetite that can never be satisfied. Changelings are also said to have the ability to wreak havoc in their foster home and drain away the household’s good fortune.

Goblins

The goblin is a legendary creature that is a grotesquely ugly and malicious. In English and Welsh folklore they are attributed with a number of characteristics such as bad tempers, dishonesty and shortsightedness. Though goblins are said to be wiser than humans, most stories tell of them mimicking human actions in distorted and sardonic ways. They are also blamed for stealing human women and children and hiding them in underground lairs where they are kept as slaves. Despite the popular belief that goblins remain invisible to the human eye, they are also described as appearing as wizened old men with green skin and a deformed appearance. They are also known for mischievously hiding household objects, tipping over milk pails and scaring animals and children.

Pixies

Pixies, also known as pixi, piskies and pigsies are considered to make their home in southern England. In areas in and around Devon and Cornwall there are a number of locales named for the pixies that were once associated with them. They are usually described as small folk with beautiful features and pointed ears, dressed in green garb and a pointed hat.

Many legends describe how pixies would disguise themselves as a bundle of old rags and lure children to play with them. Pixies are fold of music and dancing and there are a number of stories telling how they have been helpful to humans, bringing good luck and helping with housework.

Pookas

Also known as puca, pwca and phouka, this creature is renowned for its deft shape shifting abilities which enable it to take on both pleasing and horrific forms and may appear as a gat, rabbit, dog, horse or goblin. Like many of the fair folk the pooka is both respected and feared by humans. Pookas appearing in the form of a horse have been known to entice humans onto their back and take them for a wild ride through the countryside, often leaving the unsuspecting rider far away from home. The pooka is said to have the ability of human speech and at times has been known to give humans advice that has helped them avoid danger.

Dwarfs

Dwarfs originate in Germanic folklore and are famed for their magical metalworking skills. These humanoid creatures are said to be diminutive in stature with strong muscular bodies, pale skin and dark hair. Dwarfs make their homes in underground caves from which can sometimes be heard the sound of hammers striking anvils. Dwarfs seem to mistrust other races yet are described as talented traders who often acquire great wealth.

For the Child in Us All

The fair folk, whether good or bad, mischievous or outright horrific, are a fascination to the young and old. A sure sign of this is their continued presence in stories dating from ancient times right up to the present day. So why do fairy stories still hold us uner their spell today? According to Danielle Ackley-McPhail, author of The Halfling's Court and editor of the Bad-Ass Faeries Anthology Series, it’s because fairies embody the attributes and wield the powers that humans can only aspire to.

“Think of fairies as human to the next power. Everything we wish we were: eternal, beautiful, powerful, (mostly) in an anthropomorphic form. They can do things we only wished we could, and when all is not goodness and light, they hold that element of danger and excitement many of us crave. At some point in our lives, all of us want to be touched by magic, to believe anything is possible, but more importantly that we could have the power to change things.”

Fairies in modern day literature and film have moved away from the gentle folk that most of us grew up with and have returned to the darker creatures that were represented in much older myths and legends, but even today, the fair folk are not confined to the realms of fiction.

Dr. Christian von Lähr and Christopher Valentine are professionally trained psychic mediums who both claim to have been able to establish direct communication with the fair folk or nature people. Dr. von Lähr describes how he had the natural ability to see these creatures from an early age.

“Like an astoundingly great number of people, I was seeing Nature People ─ those “individualized” nature spirits commonly known of as Gnomes ─ when I was the smallest child.  Also, elves and leprechauns were part of my earliest experiences.  Most of us have forgotten our experiences, and this memory lapse was not of our choosing.”

Valentine believes that as children we all have the natural ability to perceive the fair folk because at such an early age we are unencumbered by the perceptual conditioning we receive on the way to adulthood. As we get older we lose the ability to perceive these “higher levels of existence,” and they become invisible to us. Valentine and von Lähr agree that Nature People communicate with humans by means of a simple telepathic process.

“However, as we grow up under the heavy burden of our imposed “programming,” our thoughts become complicated.  Those excessive limits of mental thought now become counterproductive to the process of telepathic communication.  It becomes much like hearing a private conversation from across the room at a wild party as it nears the midnight hour.  Thus, we tend to lose our natural communicative ability.”

But all is not lost; it is possible for us to re-learn this natural process in order to perceive the Natural People. In his first book If You Could Only See…A Gnome’s Story, von Lähr describes how the Nature People shared a variety of techniques to help us combat our habit of over-focusing and widen our perceptual view.

“An interesting characteristic of their technique is to use “colors,” which are frequencies of energy to see specific classes of Nature People.  Humans relate to colors, specifically, just as do Nature People but we are immersed in our realm, and so don’t realize the fact.  Gnomes, for example when observed by our senses, have a resonance with the frequencies of the colors Red and Green ─ together.  So, using modern Christmas lights of those two colors creates a natural environment that attracts Gnomes.”

Valentine and von Lähr explain that aside from the sheer joy of being able to perceive Nature People there is also another major benefit; that we can learn from them.

“What we “experience” from the Nature People might be a better intent from perceiving and communicating, than what we actually learn.  They have a genuine intrinsic purpose in the Divine Plan, and that purpose can have a very specific focus on us, as individuals.  All consciousness is essential, as we are but a single gear in the immense clockwork of the Universe.  Every part of that cosmic-spiritual mechanism must work perfectly, and each is interdependent on the others.”  

Because we all have a number of Nature People around us all the time, the authors claim that they are able to understand us in ways that we can no longer remember. In this sense they are aware of and can communicate with our higher nature, innermost desires and deepest motivations. This gives them the potential to help us overcome the obstacles in our lives and empower us to live our lives to the fullest capacity through our relations with them. Communicating with Nature People may well be our key to unlocking the “inner child” within us all and finding a sense of belonging that we often lack in today’s hectic world.