When your House is Haunted ... by Fairies
This month's video features seven stories from people who believe their houses are haunted, not by ghosts, but by fairies. I can certainly relate to this. There's a fairy in Brian Froud's book Good Faeries, Bad Faeries that he calls the pen stealer (or sock stealer) who lurks in human homes snatching away small objects the second we put them down. I'm pretty sure I have a whole troop of these following me around. Here’s the pen stealer from my copy of the book:
He looks cute, but I want my pens back!
But yes, fairies can haunt houses just as ghosts can. And they bring with them their own particular brand of chaos. Fairy hauntings are unpredictable, and have a kind of personality that typical ghost hauntings lack. Unlike ghosts, fairies become active participants in the lives of the people they haunt, sometimes helpful, sometimes spiteful, sometimes even funny.
“The invisible Wights which haunt houses seem rather to be some of our subterranean inhabitants, (which appear often to Men of the Second Sight,) than evil Spirits or Devils; because, though they throw great stones, pieces of earth and wood, at the inhabitants, they hurt them not at all, as if they acted not maliciously, like devils at all, but in sport, like buffoons and drolls.”
~ The Secret Commonwealth by Robert Kirk
I think for some people the idea of fairies haunting houses can seem incongruous. After all, fairies are said to avoid the noise, bright lights and technology of the modern world in favour of the world’s wild and shadowy places. But there are certain types of fairies, like brownies, hobs or boggarts, that actually prefer to be close to humans.
There are a few things we know about these more housebound sorts. One thing they seem to care a lot about is how well we keep our houses. Folklore is packed with warnings about this. A clean hearth, swept floors, a warm fire, and fresh water with towels for washing are all mandatory if you want to keep your fairy houseguests happy. People who follow these unspoken rules can expect to find little rewards in return, like small coins or mysterious gifts. In 19th-century Wales, a woman remembered how her mother always left out chairs, soap, and water for the tylwyth teg. In return, the fairies left gold sovereigns1. Not a bad trade, but if you slack off in any way? Expect mischief.
But sometimes your house can come under fairy attack, not because you have fairy housemates, but because your house is in the wrong place. Scottish and Irish folklore tell of fairies who take offence when humans inadvertently build homes in a place that’s important to them—over a fairy road or too close to a fairy fort. These fairies will make their displeasure known, breaking windows, knocking over furniture, or even making the house unliveable until the offending structure is moved. You may need a full exorcism to remove this sort, and even then they are likely to return since the spot matters to them for reasons we may never understand.
So, if your house ever starts acting up, and you hear strange noises or things start moving on their own, consider this: maybe it’s not a ghost at all. Maybe you just have a fairy with an attitude problem.
Have any of you heard stories about fairy-haunted houses? Or maybe you’ve experienced something strange yourself? Let me know in the comments—I’d love to hear your thoughts!
🍄 Featured Artist
This month's featured artist is Christopher D. Schmitz and his fairy fantasy book Mages, Claw, & Shadow, which is the second book in a series that he describes as John Wick vs fey (very cool!). He’s running a kickstarter for the special edition of this book, which you can check out here.
I’ve partner with Christopher as well as a bunch of other fairy fantasy authors to run a sale for the entire month of February. Every book in this promotion is about fairies in one way or another and all the books are on sale, and I believe some are even free!
So, if you’ve been thinking about picking up The Ghosts of Nothing, now is a great time since the e-book is only $2.99. Check out the other books featured in the sale, too, which we’re calling, A Court of Fey-Touched Fantasy.
Click here: https://buy.bookfunnel.com/6bqbt8c524?tid=xm1qfqyelx or click the image above.
Until next time,
Your Scary Fairy Godmother
British Fairies Blog by John Kruse