A fairy (sometimes seen as faery, faerie, or even fae; collectively wee folk) is a spirit or supernatural being that is found in the legends, folklore, and mythology of many different cultures. There are many definitions of what constitutes a fairy, sometimes describing any magical creature, like a goblin or gnome, and at other times to describe a specific type of creature, with short wings.

The fairy, as in the specific creature, was said to have originated in Italy, where they were known as 'Fatae', stemming from the Latin 'Fata' (roughly 'Fate'). They then traveled to France where their name was corrupted to 'fees' and then to Britain where they were known as 'fays', which the countryfolk eventually changed into 'faeries'. Other ways to reference the faerie include the Little People, the Green Men, the Good Folk and the Lordly Ones.

They are generally portrayed as humanoid in their appearance and have supernatural abilities such as the ability to fly, cast spells and to influence or foresee the future. Although in modern culture they are often depicted as young, sometimes winged, females of small stature, they originally were of a much different image: tall, angelic beings and short, wizened trolls being some of the commonly mentioned fay. The small, gauzy-winged fairies that are commonly depicted today did not appear until the 1800s.

Origins

Dead
A popular belief is that Fairies are the dead, or at least a subclass of the dead. The Irish Banshee (meaning fairy woman) is often described as being a ghost. One tale is that a man captured by the Fairies found that whenever he would look steadily at the he found each Fairy was a dead neighbour of his. In parts of the British Isles, fairies were incorporated into local Catholic theology as the souls of babies who died before baptism.

Elementals
Another view is that Fairies were an intelligent species, distinct from humans or angels. Paticularly in alchemy they were regarded as elementals such as gnomes and sylphs. This folklore is uncommon, however accounts describing the Fairies as "spirits of the air" have commonly been found.

Demoted Angels
A third belief is that Fairies are a class of demoted Angels. A popular story is that when the Angels revolted God shut the gates of heaven, those in Heaven remained Angels, those in Hell became Devils and those stuck in between became Fairies. Other believed that they had been thrown out of Heaven for misbehaving but they were not evil enough to go to Hell and that is how they became trapped. Though they were not Devils, they were not Angels either and so can be seen as subjects of the Devil.

Demons
The fourth belief became much more popular with the growth of Puritanism, this belief was that Fairies were Devils entirely. Once a friendly houshold spirit the hobgoblin became wicked. In some cases dealing with Fairies was cnsidered a fom of witchcraft.

Humans
One of the less-common beliefs is that Fairies were human, in one folktale it recounts that a woman had hidden her children from God, and searched for them in vain as they had become the hidden people, the Fairies.

Babies' Laughs
In J.M. Barrie's 1902 novel The Little White Bird a story of the origin of Fairies appears. Barrie wrote "...when the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of Fairies.

Pagan Deities
Many of the Irish tales of the Tuatha De Danann refer to these beings as fairies, though in more ancient times they were regarded as Gods and Goddesses. The Tuatha De were spoken of as having come from Islands in the north of the world, or, in other sources, from the sky. After being defeated in a series of battles with other Otherworldly beings, and then by the ancestors of the curent Irish people, they were said to have withdrawn to the sidhe, where they lived on in popular imagination as Fairies.

People in Elizabethan England feared Fairies and took precautions against them, such as wearing their clothes inside out and avoiding places where Fairies were believed to congregate, such as thorn trees and ancient circular earthworks called fairy forts.
These measures were deemed necessary because Fairies could be dangerous. New mothers feared that Fairies might steal their babies and substitute a Fairy child, called a changeling, or an enchanted piece of wood for the stolen baby. Adults could also be abducted and taken into the 'hollow hills' - often, ancient burial mounds - where the Fairies were said to live. Eating Fairy food would prevent the person from ever eturning to the human realm.
Among the most fascinating compilations of fairy lore is The Secret Commonwealth written by Scottish clergyman Robert Kirk in 1691, shortly before his mysterious death. According to legend, Kirk was walking on a Fairy hill near his church in Aberfoyle when he fell into a swoon and was taken for dead. He later appeared to a relative in a dream saying that he had been abducted to Fairyland, where he remains captive to this day.

Fairy Classification
Fairies have been classified in a number of ways, depending on the mythology and culture. Two of the most useful divisions divide Fairies into the Seelie Court and the Unseelie Court.

The Seelie Court
In Scottish folklore, the Seelie (meaning 'blessed' or 'holy') Court is the community of helpful and beneficent Fairies. Often seen at twilight in long, solemn processions, these Fairies are willing to seek help from humans and to return human kindness with gifts and favours. For instance, they often leave gifts of corn and bread for poor country folk who honour them. They enjoy feasting, hunting and dancing.

The Unseelie Court
This particular classification of Fairies is malicious towards humankind. At night, they may appear in a group or 'horde' to harass travellers by taking them up into the air, pinching them, tangling their hair into knots or leading them astray. These creatures are also believed to be responsible for sickness and death among domestic animals. They prefer to live in the wilderness and in places associated with bloodshed, such as burial gounds and ancient battlefields.

Trooping Fairies and Solitary Fairies
Celtic floklorists such as Iish poet William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) distinguish between Fairies who live in communities and Fairies who live alone. Trooping Fairies prefer to wear green and range from creatures tiny enough to wear caps made of flower bells to those large enough to communicate with humans. Some trooping Fairies are friendly towards humans while others are sinister. Mortals can eavesdrop on the society of trooping Fairies by entering a Fairy mound, though doing so can be deadly.
Solitary Fairies are often associated with a specific household, place or occupation. They prefer to wear red, brown or grey rather than green. They disdain the Fairy dances and gay amusements of the trooping Fairies, often preferring to interact with humans. For instance, solitary Fairies may offer gifts and wishes to humans they encounter, though the consequences of accepting a Fairy gift are unpedictable.

Fairies of the World

Abatwa
The tiniest creatues of human form in existance, they coexist peacefully with the ants in Southern Africa. Only ever revealing themselves to very young children, wizards and pregnant women.

Aeval
A Fairy queen from southwestern Munster.

Angiaks
Children of the living dead in Eskimo lore.

Ankou
The Fairy version of the Grim Reaper.

Anthropophagi
A headless cannibal Fairy.

Asparas
Usually female, these Fairies bless people at important stages in their lives. They sometimes appear to scholars and scientists, seducing them to the point of exhaustion to make sure they don't venture into areas that the spirit world deems unfit.

Asrai
Small and delicate female Fairies that melt away into a pool of water if ever captured or exposed to sunlight.

Aughisky/Each-Uisge
Similar to Kelpie, though far more dangerous, they inhabit lochs and seas where they eat their victims after tearing them to shreds, leaving only the liver.

Bean-Nighe
Similar to the Banshee, they haunt the lonely streams of Scotland and Ireland, washing the blood-stained clothes of those about to die.

Barguest
A kind of Bogie, usually taking the form of a shaggy black dog, with the death of a prominant figure, the Barguest will round up all the dogs in the community and leads them on a procession through the streets, howling.

Bauchan
A type of Hobgoblin, they are very fond of tricks like most Fairies and can sway from being dangerous to being helpful.

Bendith y Mamau
A particularly unpleasant clan of Welsh Fairies.

Black Annis
A type of Hag

Blue Men of the Minch
Dwelling between the straits of Long Island and Shiant Islands thay are responsible for shipwrecks and thunderstorms and are thought to be fallen angels.

Bodach
These Fairies slide down chimneys and kidnap naughty children.

Boggart
Brownies that have turned evil.

Bogie
This is the generic name for some different types of Goblins. Their temperments range the spectrum from benign to malevolent.

Bogles
Goblins that are generally evil-natured although they are more disposed to do har to liars and murderers.

Bokwus
A fearsome spirit in the great northwestern American spruce forests. They like to drown fishermen and take their souls to their home in the forest.

Brown Man of the Muirs
Protector of wild beasts.

Brownie
Taking the form of small humans, Brownies are helpful household spirits.

Bugul-Noz
He's a forest dweller, very unattractive and he knows it, but he yearns for human companionship.

Bwca
Welsh Brownies with slightly nastier tempers. They are prone to tantrums if their work is criticized, and they despise tattletales and people with long noses.

Cannered-Noz
Breton version of the Bean-Sidhe (Banshee).

Cluricaun
A Leprechaun that after a hard days work enjoys a night of debauchery, at which point they become a Cluricaun.

Coblynau
A Welsh Mine Goblin.

Corrigan
Often associated with phantoms of the dead, Corrigan are malignant nature spirits found in Brittany.

Cururipur
A powerful South American spirit who owned the jungle and tortures tortoise hunters since the tortoises are his friends.

Daoine Maithe
"The Good People", were said to be next to heaven at the Fall, but they did not fall.

Disir
Generally feminine ancestral spirits, they usually attach themselves to a particular place, like houses.

Duergar
Malicious Dwarfs from North England, they trick people into dying.

Dwarfs
Powerfully built and often aged in appearance, Dwarfs often reach maturity at the age of 3. They spend their days in mines looking for precious metals to weild into armour and can never come out during the day as a single ray of sun will turn them into stone.

Dybbuk
A Jewish demonic spirit capable of possessing humans.

Ekimmu
One of the uttuku, evil or vengeful spirits of the ancient Assyrians, like a Banshee, the ekimmu appears outside a home wailing and crying to signal and impending death.

Ellyllon
Welsh Elves, tiny and translucent Fairies who feed on toadstools and fairy butter.

Elves
In Scandinavian mythology the Fairy people were Elves. In Scotland the human sized Fairy people were often called Elves. In England the smaller trooping Fairies were known as elves, in particular, small Fairy boys.

ErlKonig
He's the "Elf King" of Germany. He's been known to warn people of their pending deaths.

Fauchan, The
From the West Highlands of Scotland.

Fays
The dialect name in Northumberland.

Fair Family or Fair Folk
The euphemistic name used by the Welsh for the Faries.

Farisees, or Pharisees
The Suffolk name for Fairies.

Fary
The dialect name in Northumberland.

Feeorin
A small Fairy that is indicated as being, green-coated, generally red-capped, and with the usualy Fairy traits of love of dancing and music.

Fees
The Fairies of Upper Brittany

Fenoderee
A Brownie from the Isle of Man, he is a willing worker with extraodinary strength and preforms many labours for the farmers of Man. He was once a member of the Ferrishyn, until he made the mistake of missing the Autumn festival to court a mortal girl. His good looks were taken from him and he became the solitary, ugly creature he is now.

Feriers, or Ferishers
Another Suffolk name for Fairies.

Ferriers
The usual name for the Shetland and Ocadian Fairies.

Ferrishyn
A Fairy tribe, they are the Trooping Fairies of Man, they were generally described as being 3 feet tall and it was said that when outside they could hear every word that was spoken, that every wind stirring carried the sound to their ears, which made people careful to speak of the favourably.

Fetes
The Fates of Upper Brittany.

Fir Darrig
He delights in practical joking of a particularly gruesome nature, so it is probably better to humour him.

Foawr
Manx equivalent of Highland Fomorians/giants, stone-throwing.

Frairies
The Norfolk and Suffolk, local version of the word "fairy"

Fyglia
They serve as personal guardians, known to the Native Americans as "fetches", they often take the form of an animal.

Gans
Apache Indian shamen offer prayers to them, asking them to drive evil away and to attract good fortune.

Gentry, The
The most noble tribe of Fairies in all of Ireland, a big race they come from the planets and usually appear in white. The Irish used to bless the Gentry for fear of harm otherwise.

Ghillie Dhu
A solitary Scottish Fairy that inhabits certain birch hickets, often dressed in leaves an moss.

Glaistig, The
A water Fairy that is part seductive woman and part goat, she hides her goat-like attributes under her flowing green dress. The Glaistig lures men to dance with her before she feeds on their blood. She can also be benign and gently tend children or old people. she will also herd cattle for farmers.

Goblins
A breed of small, swarthy, malicious beings. they sometimes appear in the shape of animals which appropriately reflects their beastial nature.

Golem
A Jewish zombie-like spirit who avenges wrongful deaths.

Good Neighbours
One of the most common Scottish and Irish names for the fairies.

Good People
The Irish often refer to their Sidhe in this manner.

Grant
A small horse which stands upright; each Grant is attached to a particular place and when he senses danger will tun through the town shouting warnings.

The Green Children
The fairy are recorded in the medival chronicles under such a name.

The Green Lady of Caerphilly
Takes on the apearance of Ivy when she is not walking through the ruined castles she haunts.

Greencoaties
The name for the fairies that dwell in Lincolnshire Fen country.

Greenies
The euphemistic name used for the fairies in Lancashire, associated with the Jacobean fairies.

The Grey Neighbours
One of the euphemistic names for the fairies given by the Shetlanders to the Trows, the small gray-clad goblins whom the Shetlanders used to propitiate and fear, using against them many of the means used all over the islands as protection against fairies.

Guillyn Veggey
The Little Boys is a Manx term for the fairies who dwell on the Isle of Man.

The Gwragedd Annwn
Welsh water faeries, beautiful Lake Maidens who occassionally take mortals to be their husbands.

Gwyllion (gwithleeon)
The evil mountain fairies of Wales. They are hideous female spirits who waylay and mislead travelers by night on the mountain roads. They were friends and patrons of the goats, and might indeed take goat form.

Hags
Inhabiting the British Isles, who seem to personify winter, are probably survivals of the oldest goddesses. Some turn, like winter into Spring, from hideously ugly old wommen into beautiful young maidens, and others like Black Annis are cannibalistic.

Henkies
One of the names given to the Trows of Orkney and Shetland.

Hobgoblin
Used by the Puritans and in later times for wicked goblin spirits, but its more correct use is for the friendly spirits of the Brownie type. Hobgoblin was considered an ill omened word. "Hob" and "Lob" are words meaning the same kind of creature as the Hobgoblin. They are on the whole good-humored and ready to be helpful, but fond of practical joking.

Teh Host
See Unseelie Court.

Huacas
Incan myth speaks of Huacas, stone forms of sprits or divine beings who watched over fields.

Huldafolk
The huldafolk are fairly reclusive Scandinavian faeriefolk.

Hyster-sprites
Lincolnshire and East Anglian fairies/small and sandy-colored, with green eyes.

Jack-In-Irons
A Yorkshire giant who haunts lonely roads.

Jenny Greenteeth
Yorkshire River Hag who drowns children.

Jimmy Squarefoot
Frightening appearance but reletively harmless.

Kachina
Ancestor spirits of the Pueblo Indians in North America. The Hopi also believed in kachinas, believing them to be the souls of virtuous dead people.

Kelpie
Scottish water fey. Although sometimes appearing in the guise of a hairy man, this is more often seen in the form of a young horse. The Kelpie haunts rivers and streams and, after letting unsuspecting humans mount him, will dash into the water and give them a dunking. Each-Uisge (ech-ooshkya) or Aughisky (agh-iski) as he is known in Ireland, inhabits seas and lochs and is far more dangerous.

The Killmoulis
A particularly ugly Brownie who haunts mills. He is characterized by an enormous nose and no mouth. To eat he presumably stuffs the food up his nose. Although a Killmoulis works hard for the miller, he delights in practical jokes and can therefore be a hindrance rather than a help.

Klaboutermannikin
They inhabit the figureheads of ships, giving them guidance and protection.

Klippe
The Forfarshire name for a fairy.

Kobolds
These are the German version of Knockers. They are known for causing problems for the miners and undoing their progress. To keep the miners guessing, they occasionally help them.

Korred
Bizarre-looking and capricious but generally good-natured guardians of Brittany's standing stones.

Kubera
King of the Yakshas, the god of wealth. Usually depicted as a dwarfish figure with a paunch, bearing a money bag or pomegranate and seated on a man.

Kul
A water spirit of the Eskimos in the Arctic, Kul may be malevolent but generally helps the Northern peoples with their fishing. As a show of gratitude, it is customary to offer him some of the fish caughts at the beginning of the season.

Leannan Sidhe
This has two definitions.

Leprechaun - Generally described as a fairy shoemaker, this creature is a red-capped fellow whostays around pure springs and is known to haunt cellars. He spends his time drinking and smoking. One branch of the Leprechaun is known as the Fir Darrig, who is a practical joker; both are of the Solitary Fairies. Leprechauns have also been associated with the Earth-elemental Gnome, and when so done, is described as being a merry little fellow dressed all in green, instead of wearing a red cap, a leather apron, drab clothes and buckled shoes, and the boy, who has fairy blood in him, succeeds in winning a wealth of treasure from an underground cave, keeps his gain secret, and is the founder of a prosperous familiy.

Li'l Fellas, the - Another Manx euphemistic name for The Good Neightbours.

Little Folk - See Sleight Beggey.

Little People of the Passamaquoddy Indians, the - There are two kinds of Little People among the Passamaquoddy Indians, the Nagumwa-suck and Mekumwasuck. Both kinds are two and a half to three feet in height, and both are grotesquely ugly. The Passamaquoddy Indians, wholived close to the Canadian border, used to migrate to the ocean in the summer and move inland in the winter. When they moved, their fairies moved with them. The little People can only be seen by the Indians. They live in the woods and are fantastically and individually dressed. Their faces are covered with hair, which strikes an alien note to the Indians. Oral tradition has it that they were made of stone.

Lunantishess - The tribes that guard the blackthorn trees or sloes in Ireland; they let you cut no stick on the eleventh of November (the original November Day), or on the eleventh of May (the original May Day).

Ly Erg - This faerie yearns to be a soldier. He dresses like one and cannot be distinguished from human soldiers except by his red-stained hands, red from the blood he has shed.

Mazikeen - also known as the shideem or shehireem, these Jewish faeries know much of magic and enchantment. They were born when Adam and Eve were excommunicated for 130 years for eating of the tree of knowledge. Female spirits lay with Adam, and male spirits with Eve, and of these unions were born the Mazikeen. They are a rank betweenmen and angels. They have wings and can fly, tell the future, and like to feast and drink, marry and have children. They can also shapeshift.

Mermaids - entice human lovers with their songs of enchantment. They cause ship-wrecking storms and are most frequently seen combing their long hair whilst admiring themselves in mirrors.

Merrows - The Irish Merpeople are called Merrows and they can be distinguished from other sea-dwelling faeries in that they wear red feather caps to propel themselves down to their homes in the depths. Should their caps be stolen, they can no longer return to their watery homes. The female Merrow are very beautiful and, like other mermaids, appear before storms as an omen, but they are gentle by nature and often fall in love with mortal fishermen. This can partly be explained by the extreme ugliness of the male Merrows. Despite their alaming aspect, the males too have their redeeming features as they are generally jovial in character.

Mooinjer Veggey (moo-in-jer vegar) - The Little People is a familiar Manxman term for the faeries who dwell on the Isle of Man; see Sleigh Beggey.

Mogan le Fay
A powerful Fairy queen and priestess of magic in the legends surrounding King Arthur.

Peri
Beautiful Fairies of Ancient Persia deemed to be demoted angels.

Sidhe
Trooping Fairies of Ireland Highland Scotland.

Vila
Fierce Fairies of eastern Europe.