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Leanan Sidhe: "The Fairy Mistress". An Irish faerie who is the spirit of life. She
inspires poets and minstrels, but those inspired by her have brief earthly lives. The
Lhiannan Shee of the Isle of Man was less benevolent, she would appear as an irresistibly
beautiful woman but any man who yielded to her was ruined.
Leprecaun: A solitary Irish faerie who might be seen working on a shoe. Anyone who could
capture him would become prosperous, but as a general rule the human who tried this did
not succeed.
Mermaids:
Among the most well known of supernatural creatures, mermaids have the bodies of beautiful
women from the waist up, but the scales and tails of fish. They are often seen atop a rock
at the edge of the sea, singing and combing their hair. Mermaids might be caught and held
for the wishes they could grant, and on occasion they were courted by human men and
bequeathed great skills in medicine to their children. Mermen were generally regarded as
violent creatures who could raise storms and wreck ships.
Merrows:
Irish mermaids, their appearance often comes before a storm. Female merrows are beautiful
and might fall in love with mortal fishermen, while males were quite unattractive but
extremely jovial and friendly to mankind.
Pixies:
Generally small faeries dressed in green. They could assume mortal size but could be
recognized by their red hair, pointed ears, and upturned noses. Pixies would often mislead
mortals, who might wander about for hours without being able to find their way. Such folk
are said to be pixy-led and might only save themselves by turning their coats inside out.
Pixies also have the habit of stealing horses and riding them in circles at night. Like
brownies they will help out any mortals they grow fond of.
Redcap:
A nasty sort of goblin, fond of living in ruined towers and castles where evil deeds had
been done. Described as a short old man with long teeth and claws, the red cap he wore
gained its color from being dyed in blood.
Seelie Court: or Blessed Court, is the name given to the Scottish faeries. Benevolent to
those they favor, they might give gifts of bread and corn to the poor and help folk in
their tasks. Anyone who did them a kindness was well rewarded, but like all faeries if
they felt they had been insulted or injured they would punish the person responsible.
Selkies:
A faerie folk of the Orkney and Shetland Islands, who put on seal skins and appear to be
seals as they travel in the water. On land they shed their seal skins and have human form
far more attractive than mortal men and women. Selkie men would often come ashore to court
mortal women, and any children born would have webbed hands and feet. A selkie maiden was
sometimes won as a bride by a man who would steal her seal skin as it lay on the beach, so
the selkie could not return to her home.
Trows:
Shetland faeries. Some are similar to Scandinavian trolls, they live beneath the ground
and must take care to avoid sunlight. If a trow is caught above ground when the sun rises
he cannot return to his home until the sun sets again. King Trows were exclusively male
and would leave their homes to court and marry mortal women, though as soon as her baby
was born the mother would die. Other trows could be much like faeries in general, helpful
to those they found favorable and offended by any gifts set out for them.
Tuatha de Danann: The people of the goddess Dana were traditionally an early race of Ireland who
were forced to take refuge beneath the hills after the arrival of other people. They were
masters of magic, and over time faded in nature and became known as the Daoine Sidh,
though they could still be more majestic than mortals.
Tylwyth Teg: "The Fair Family" of Wales, they have fair hair and dress in white.
They are sometimes called Bendith y Mamau, "Mother's blessing". Like other
faerie folk they are fond of dancing and singing, and are partial to golden haired
mortals. They will give wealth to their favorites, but if this is mentioned to anyone else
it will vanish.
Unseelie Court: The Sluagh, or the Host, are the unsanctified dead who fly above the earth,
stealing mortals and take great pleasure in harming humans. Unlike other faeries they are
never kindly disposed towards mortals, and many solitary faeries of malicious nature, such
as the redcap, are also part of the Unseelie Court.
Faerie Isle / Faerie
Folk / Folk A-K
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