Aos sí (pronounced [iːsˠ ˈʃiː]; older form: aes sídhe [eːsˠ ˈʃiːə]) is the Irish name for a supernatural race in Celtic mythology – spelled sìth by the Scots, but pronounced the same – comparable to fairies or elves. They are said to descend from either fallen angels or the Tuatha Dé Danann, meaning the "People of Danu", depending on the Abrahamic or pagan tradition.

The aos sí are said to live underground in fairy forts, across the Western sea, or in an invisible world that co-exists with the world of humans. This world is described in the Lebor Gabála Érenn as a parallel universe in which the aos sí walk among the living.

In modern Irish the people of the mounds are also called daoine sí; in Scottish they are called daoine sídhe (in both cases, it means "people of the fairy mound").They are variously said to be the ancest...

The Tuath(a) Dé Danann (Irish: (ˈt̪ˠuə(hə) dʲeː ˈd̪ˠan̪ˠən̪ˠ), meaning "the folk of the goddess Danu"), also known by the earlier name Tuath Dé ("tribe of the gods"), are a supernatural race in Irish mythology. Many of them are thought to represent deities of pre-Christian Gaelic Ireland.

The Tuath Dé are often depicted as kings, queens, druids, bards, warriors, heroes, healers and craftsmen who have supernatural powers. They dwell in the Otherworld but interact with humans and the human world. They are associated with the sídhe: prominent ancient burial mounds such as Brú na Bóinne, which are entrances to Otherworld realms. Their traditional rivals are the Fomorians (Fomoire), who might represent the destructive powers of nature, and whom the Tuath Dé defeat in the Battle of Mag Tuired. Prominent members of the Tuath Dé include The Dagda ("the g...

The work is an adaptation of old myths, from when fairies were genuinely feared.

The seelie are more inclined to be benevolent towards humans and are willing to help them. They can cause harm but need motivation for it.

The Unseelie don't see any special value in humans, except maybe as an appetizer or entertainment, and will harm them. The Unseelie can be kind, but need motivation for it.

Fairy, or elf, rings are places where natural circles form. They are usually made of mushrooms, but daisies, flowers and circles of unnaturally bright or deadened grass might also serve as a fairy ring.

There are many supernatural explanations behind the appearance of a fairy ring, with many European myths attributing them to the fair folk. The rings are said to be places that fairies dance, or even entryways to the fairy realm. Humans must be wary of stepping inside a fairy ring, either accidentally or on purpose, and of damaging the fairy ring in any way.

Those who step inside a fairy ring may find themselves trapped, cursed to dance until they die, or else be allowed to leave only to find that they can no longer interact with the mortal realm. In myth a person is usually unable to escape themselves, and it is generally a family member or lover who must use cunning to enter the...

Reason Number One: Unauthorised Human Testing

• Cybernetics, time travel, deep sleep, coma—it’s not clear exactly what sciences the fair folk are investigating, but the regular reports of “lost time” by their human subjects make it clear that something is happening. We have very little information but it is clear that the results of these tests varied. Many stories abound of a person waking from a prolonged sleep to take a single step and then crumble in the dust. And there are at least two reported incidents of the subject returning to consciousness (and to their long dead families) a hundred years later, to the general confusion of the populace. You may think this is the stuff of ancient myths and legends, but there’s plenty of evidence that it still happens today. There are many locations—including Fl...

In Celtic mythology, the Otherworld is the realm of the deities and possibly also the dead. In Gaelic and Brittonic myth it is usually a supernatural realm of everlasting youth, beauty, health, abundance and joy. It is described either as a parallel world that exists alongside our own, or as a heavenly land beyond the sea or under the earth. The Otherworld is usually elusive, but various mythical heroes visit it either through chance or after being invited by one of its residents. They often reach it by entering ancient burial mounds or caves, or by going under water or across the western sea. Sometimes, they suddenly find themselves in the Otherworld with the appearance of a magic mist, supernatural beings or unusual animals. An otherworldly woman may invite the hero into the Otherworld by offering an apple or a silver apple branch, or a ball of thread to follow as it unwinds.

The original terms for these (at least, in Scottish lore) were the Seelie (vaguely goodish) and the Unseelie (Always Chaotic Evil). In Ireland, they were called Aos Sí ("ace shee") or Aes Sídhe ("ays sheeth-uh"), meaning the "People of the Mounds," and would sour milk, kill animals, and swap people for changelings. Boys were dressed in girls' clothes until the age of 5, because otherwise the sidhe would steal them for their armies. Building anything near a fairy fort was very bad. Going alone into a marsh was an invitation to get entranced by a Will-o'-the-Wisp into their halls. Even if you were allowed to leave their kingdom, you could find that centuries have passed, and crumble into dust. Their dances would catch any human passerby and make him dance to exhaustion—at best.

It's worth noting that Tolkien's mostly good Elves owe more to general Norse Mytho...

In the Mythological Cycle of early Irish literature, the four treasures (or jewels) of the Tuatha Dé Danann are four magical items which the mythological Tuatha Dé Danann are supposed to have brought with them from the four island cities Murias, Falias, Gorias and Findias, when they arrived in Ireland.

The first recension of Lebor Gabála describes the Tuatha Dé Danann as having resided in "the northern islands of the world", where they were instructed in the magic arts, before finally moving in dark clouds to Connaught in Ireland. It mentions only the Lia Fáil as having been imported from across the sea.

One of the recensions of Lebor Gabála, Cath Maige Tuired and a separate text elaborate on these events. CMT and LG tell that there were four cities located on the northern islands of the world (i n-insib tūascertachaib in domain), called Falias...

• Everything has a cost. Do not assume that, simply because there is no price tag, that things will be freely given. Make yourself aware of what you will owe before agreeing to a bargain, as more often than not, the asking price will exceed your means: a diamond from the crown of Mab, a shingle from the roof of your childhood home now long demolished, your eyes, a kiss.
• If you purchase food; meats, cheeses, plums, bread, and the like, I would advise you to not eat it until you are safely back in your home. Of course, the food of the fae will never taste as rich or wonderful if it is eaten elsewhere, but neither will you be tethered by its thrall.
• Troupes often move through the Market, either stocking up on rations or preparing for a quest. Do not get in their way. Should you see someone you recognize among t...

They operate under Blue-and-Orange Morality, and neither understand nor care about human morals.

They are or have been persecuted by mortals and fear them as much as humans fear them. They think themselves fighting to survive against inscrutable, dangerous creatures armed with iron — and perhaps are to some degree.

The Fair Folk are obsessed with political disputes between the rulers of Otherworld. What seems to us erratic behavior is in fact the collateral effects of their elaborate schemes.

There are criminals in Otherworld just as in the human one. The Seelie are the respectable fey and the Unseelie are the criminals. Naturally they would behave badly in the mortal world; they behaved badly in Otherworld too. Which means, several of them have a bounty on them from the King of Otherworld. If you can catch one, yo...

PSA: “fae” is an umbrella term. The Fae taking your name could result in any number of things. They could replace you in the human world, lure you into the fae realm, compel you to do their bidding, curse you in some way, etc. They could do nothing! Or very much the opposite! It’s largely dependent on their individual abilities and proclivities! Giving the fae your name doesn’t 100% mean that they “own” you or can bend you to their will, but it’s never a great idea to risk it.

“In old tales people who had seen the Fair Folk dancing in the moonlight and been drawn into that dance, had returned from what seemed a night’s frolic to find all their friends and kin long dead.”

The faeries link hands as they fly o’er the pool, sometimes pausing to gaze at their image in the waters. The evening air is thick with magic.

Never accept a Faerie gift.

• I know it’s a present and I know it appears free but just DON’T. Because if you do, you owe them one and it’s not whole, 'Thanks, Oh I’ll buy the next round of drinks at the pub’ kind of owe them. You owe them anything they choose to ask for at any point.

Do not eat Faerie Food or drink Faerie wine.

• Even if it’s chocolatey-fudge sponge cake pudding oozing with caramel and it looks sooooooo delicious. It probably will be delicious, so delicious that no human food will ever quite sate your appetite again. Side affects may be madness then death. Also there’s a possibility that you’ll be trapped in the faerie realm.

Do not follow the music and step into a fairy ring.

Aimsir (AM-shir) – Weather, time, season.

• This is the Irish word for an ever-popular topic with which to make small talk in Ireland. Its earlier meaning, ‘time’, occurs in a proverb which translates as ‘time is a good storyteller’.

Aisling (ASH-ling) – Vision, dream, apparition.

• This word is used of a popular eighteenth-century poetic genre in which Ireland appears to the poet in a vision in the form of a woman who speaks to him of the current state of the nation. The word is now popular as a personal name.

Aoibhneas (EEV-nass) – Bliss, delight.

• This word generally refers to the joy we feel from external things such as music, song, scenery and good weather, and may b...

A Midsummer Night's Dream is a comedy written by William Shakespeare c. 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict among four Athenian lovers. Another follows a group of six amateur actors rehearsing the play which they are to perform before the wedding. Both groups find themselves in a forest inhabited by fairies who manipulate the humans and are engaged in their own domestic intrigue.

Act 1

• The play opens with Theseus and Hyppolyta who are four days away from their wedding. Theseus is not happy about how long he has to wait while Hyppolyta thinks it will pass by a dream. Theseus is confronted by Egeus and his daughter Hermia, who is in love with Lysander, resistant to her ...

There is a place in the parish of Errigal in Londonderry, called Slaghtaverty, but it ought to have been called Laghtaverty, the laght or sepulchral monument of the abhartach(avartagh_ or dwarf (see p. 61, supra). This dwarf was a magician, and a dreadful tyrant, and after having perpetrated great cruelties on the people he was at last vanquished and slain by a neighbouring chieftain; some say by Fionn Mac Cumhail. He was buried in a standing posture, but the very next day he appeared in his old haunts, more cruel and vigorous than ever.

And the chief slew him a second time and buried him as before, but again he escaped from the grave, and spread terror through the whole country. The chief then consulted a druid, and according to his directions, he slew the dwarf a third time, and buried him in the same place, with his head downwards; which subdued his magical...

In Irish mythology, Abarta (also Ábartach, possibly meaning "doer of deeds"), was in some accounts one of the Tuatha Dé Danann and in others a Fomorian, and is associated with Fionn mac Cumhaill.

One tale of Abarta's trickery is where he offered himself as a servant to Fionn mac Cumhaill, shortly after Mac Cumhaill had succeeded his father as leader of the Fianna, a band of mighty Milesian warriors. In a gesture of goodwill, Abarta then gave them a wild grey horse, which fourteen Fianna had to mount onto its back before it would even move. After Abarta had mounted behind the Fianna on the horse, it galloped off taking the warriors to the Otherworld where the Tuatha Dé Danann had been driven underground by the Milesians.

The Fianna, led by Fionn mac Cumhaill's assistant Foltor, had to acquire a magical ship to hunt down Abarta's steed. Foltor...

In Celtic mythology, a Joint-eater, Just-halver or Alp-luachra (Ireland) is a type of fairy who sits invisibly and consumes half of their victim's food. When a person falls asleep by the side of a spring or stream, the Alp-luachra appears in the form of a newt and crawls down the person's mouth, feeding off the food that they had eaten. In Robert Kirk's Secret Commonwealth of Fairies, this creature feeds not on the food itself, but on the "pith or quintessence" of the food.

A man haunted by a joint-eater will never grow fat, because the pith or quintessence of the food is consumed by the fairy. People who consume newts are thought to be plagued in this way.

In Douglas Hyde's collection of folk tales, Beside the Fire, a farmer, who was starving from an Alp-luachra, was eventually rid of the fairy. He was instructed to eat large amounts of salted meat and, when...

A banshee (/ˈbænʃiː/ BAN-shee; Modern Irish bean sí, from Old Irish: ben síde [bʲen ˈʃiːðʲe], "woman of the fairy mound" or "fairy woman") is a female spirit in Irish folklore who heralds the death of a family member, usually by wailing, shrieking, or keening. Her name is connected to the mythologically important tumuli or "mounds" that dot the Irish countryside, which are known as síde (singular síd) in Old Irish.

ometimes she has long streaming hair and wears a grey cloak over a green dress, and her eyes are red from continual weeping. She may be dressed in white with red hair and a ghastly complexion, according to a firsthand account by Ann, Lady Fanshawe in her Memoirs. Lady Wilde in Ancient Legends of Ireland provides another:

The size of the banshee is another physical feature that differs between regional accounts. Though some accounts of her sta...

The bean-nighe (Scottish Gaelic for "washerwoman" or "laundress"; Scottish Gaelic pronunciation: [pɛˈɲi.ə]) is a female spirit in Scottish folklore, regarded as an omen of death and a messenger from the Otherworld. She is a type of ban-sìth (in Irish, bean sídhe, anglicized as "banshee") that haunts desolate streams and washes the clothing of those about to die. Les Lavandières is the French word under which these "night washerwomen" are perhaps best known. She is also called nigheag, “the little washer,” nigheag na h-ath, “little washer of the ford,” or nigheag bheag a bhroin, “little washer of the sorrow.”

The bean-nighe, also known as the Washing Woman or Washer at the Ford, is seen in lonely places beside a stream or pool, washing the blood from the linen and grave-clothes of those who are about to die. Her characteristics vary depending on the l...

The cat-sìth (Scottish Gaelic: [kʰaʰt̪ ˈʃiː], plural cait-shìth), in Irish cat sí (Irish: [kat̪ˠ ˈʃiː]) is a fairy creature from Celtic mythology, said to resemble a large black cat with a white spot on its chest. Legend has it that the spectral cat haunts the Scottish Highlands. The legends surrounding this creature are more common in Scottish folklore, but a few occur in Irish. Some common folklore suggested that the cat-sìth was not a fairy, but a witch that could transform into a cat nine times.

The cat-sìth may have been inspired by the Scottish wildcat itself. It is possible that the legends of the cat-sìth were inspired by Kellas cats, which are a distinctive hybrid between Scottish wildcats and domestic cats found only in Scotland (the Scottish wildcat is a population of the European wildcat, which is absent from elsewhere in the British Isles).

The caoineag (Scottish Gaelic pronunciation: [ˈkʰɯːɲak]) is a female spirit in Scottish folklore and a type of Highland banshee, her name meaning "weeper". She is normally invisible and foretells death in her clan by lamenting in the night at a waterfall, stream or Loch, or in a glen or on a mountainside. Unlike the related death portent known as the bean nighe, the caoineag cannot be approached or questioned or be made to grant wishes.

The Scottish folklorist Alexander Carmichael in Carmina Gadelica states that she foretells the death of those slain in battle, and that her mourning and weeping cause much anxiety to parents whose sons are in the wars. Before the Massacre of Glencoe, the caoineag of the MacDonalds was heard to wail night after night. Those whose fears were roused by her keening left the glen and escaped the fate of those who remained behind. Fragments of the dirge...

The cù-sìth(e) (Scottish Gaelic pronunciation: [kʰuː ˈʃiː]), plural coin-shìth(e) (Scottish Gaelic pronunciation: [kʰɔɲ ˈhiː]) is a mythological hound found in Scottish folklore. A similar creature exists in Irish folklore (spelled cú sídhe), and it also bears some resemblance to the Welsh Cŵn Annwn.

The cù-sìth is thought to make its home in the clefts of rocks and to roam the moors of the Highlands. It is usually described as having a shaggy, dark green coat and being as large as a small cow.

According to legend, the creature was capable of hunting silently, but would occasionally let out three terrifying barks, and only three, that could be heard for miles by those listening for it, even far out at sea. Those who hear the barking of the Cù-Sìth must reach safety by the third bark or be overcome with terror to the point of death.

The clurichaun (/ˈkluːrɪkɔːn/) or clúrachán (from Irish: clobhair-ceann) is a mischievous fairy in Irish folklore known for his great love of drinking and a tendency to haunt breweries, pubs and wine cellars. He is related to the leprechaun and has sometimes been conflated with him as a shoemaker and a guardian of hidden treasure. This has led some folklorists to suppose that the clurichaun is merely a leprechaun on a drinking spree, while others regard them as regional variations of the same being. Like the leprechaun, the clurichaun is a solitary fairy, encountered alone rather than in groups, as distinct from the trooping fairies.

In the folktale "The Haunted Cellar", recorded by Thomas Crofton Croker in 1825, a clurichaun named Naggeneen haunts the wine cellar of an Irish lord, drinking everything in sight and playing frightening pranks on the servants. He is described as...

A changeling, also historically referred to as an auf or oaf, is a human-like creature found in folklore throughout Europe. A changeling was believed to be a fairy that had been left in place of a human stolen by the fae folk.

A changeling is typically identifiable via a number of traits; in Irish legend, a fairy child may appear sickly and will not grow in size like a normal child, and may have notable physical characteristics such as a beard or long teeth. They may also display intelligence far beyond their apparent years, as well as possess uncanny insight. A common way that a changeling could identify itself is through displaying unusual behaviour when it thinks it is alone, such as jumping about, dancing or playing an instrument – though this last example is found only within Irish and Scottish legend.

"A human child might be taken due to many...

In Irish mythology, Clíodhna (Clídna, Clionadh, Clíodna, Clíona, transliterated to Cleena in English) is a Queen of the Banshees of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Clíodna of Carrigcleena is the potent banshee that rules as queen over the sidheog (fairy women of the hills) of South Munster, or Desmond.

In some Irish myths, Clíodhna is a goddess of love and beauty, and the patron of County Cork. She is said to have three brightly coloured birds who eat apples from an otherworldly tree and whose sweet song heals the sick people. She leaves the otherworldly island of Tír Tairngire ("the land of promise") to be with her mortal lover, Ciabhán, but is taken by a wave as she sleeps due to the music played by a minstrel of Manannan mac Lir in Glandore harbour in County Cork: the tide there is known as Tonn Chlíodhna, "Clíodhna's Wave". Whether she drowns or not depends...

The Ellén Trechend is a three-headed monster referred to in Irish mythology. It is mentioned in the text Cath Maige Mucrama (The Battle of Mag Mucrima) as having emerged from the cave of Cruachan (Rathcroghan, County Roscommon) and laid Ireland waste until it was killed by the Ulaid poet and hero Amergin.

Its name is difficult to interpret: trechend means "three-headed", but ellén is an obscure word. One translator interprets it as a "swarm of three-headed creatures"; Whitley Stokes offered a "monstrous triple-headed bird" (Old Irish én, "bird"); while T. F. O'Rahilly identifies it with Aillén, the fire-breathing monster fought by Fionn mac Cumhaill.

In P.W. Joyce's A Smaller Social History of Ancient Ireland he tells how the Sidhe of Cruachan opened on Samhain and a crowd of horrible goblins rushed out, along with a flock of copper-red birds who were ...

The Dullahan, Durahan or Dullaghan (Irish: dúlachán, /ˈduːləˌhɑːn/), also called Gan Ceann (meaning "without a head" in Irish), is a type of mythological creature in Irish folklore. He is depicted as a headless rider, on a black horse, who carries his own head held high in his hand. It is said to be the embodiment of the Celtic god Crom Dubh.

The story of the Dullahan's house comes from Ireland. He is depicted as a Headless Horseman, on a black horse, who carries his own head held high in his hand.

The mouth is usually in a hideous grin that touches both sides of the head. Its eyes are constantly moving about and can see across the countryside even during the darkest nights. The flesh of the head is said to have the colour and consistency of mouldy cheese. The Dullahan is believed to use the spine of a human corpse for a whip, and its wagon is adorned with fune...

A fuath (Scottish Gaelic: fuath; Scottish Gaelic pronunciation: (fuə); lit. ‘hatred'; plural: fuathan; phonetic English: vough, vaugh) is a class of malevolent spirits in Scottish Highland folklore, especially water spirits.

In Sutherland was the so-called Moulin na Vaugha/Fouadh, ‘Mill of the Fuath', haunted by the fuath and her son, the amormphous brollachan. The mill was along a stream off Loch Migdale, and belonged to the Dempster family (Skibo Castle) estate.

A fuath once seen at this mill was a nose-less banshee with yellow hair wearing a green silk dress; in the story of its capture it was tormented into submission by use of steel (awl, and more effectively by a sewing needle), but it turned to a jellyfish-like mass when light was shone on it. A fuath on the estate farm, encountered on a different occasion, had webbed feet.

In Scottish folklore the fachan (or fachin, fachen, Direach Ghlinn Eitidh or Dithreach (dwarf of Glen Etive)) is a monster or giant described by John Francis Campbell in Popular Tales of the West Highlands as having a single eye in the middle of its face, a single hand protruding from its chest instead of arms, and a single leg emerging from its central axis. It has a single tuft of hair on the top of its head, regarding which Campbell says "it were easier to take a mountain from the root than to bend that tuft." Campbell draws attention to the possible influence of creatures from Arabic tradition such as the Nesnas or Shikk, described as "half of a human being" and hopping about on one leg with great agility.

Douglas Hyde quotes Campbell's description in his collection of Irish folklore Beside the Fire and refers to an Irish manuscript in which a similar monster is descr...

A fetch, based in Irish folklore, is a supernatural double or an apparition of a living person. The sighting of a fetch is regarded as an omen, usually for impending death.

The fetch is described as an exact, spectral double of a living human, whose appearance is regarded as ominous. A sighting of a fetch is generally taken as a portent of its exemplar's looming death, though John and Michael Banim report that if the double appears in the morning rather than the evening, it is instead a sign of a long life in store. As such, it is similar to the Germanic doppelgänger and to some conceptions of the British wraith. Francis Grose associated the term with Northern England in his 1787 Provincial Glossary, but otherwise it seems to have been in popular use only in Ireland.

The etymology of fetch is obscure and the origin of the term is unknown. It may de...

A far darrig or fear dearg is a faerie of Irish mythology. The name far darrig is an Anglophone pronunciation of the Irish words fear dearg, meaning Red Man, as the far darrig is said to wear a red coat and cap. They are also sometimes known as Rat Boys as they are said to be rather fat, have dark, hairy skin, long snouts and skinny tails.

According to Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry, the far darrig is classified as a solitary fairy along with the leprechaun and the clurichaun, all of whom are "most sluttish, slouching, jeering, mischievous phantoms". The far darrig in particular is described as one who "busies himself with practical joking, especially with gruesome joking". One example of this is replacing babies with changelings. They are also said to have some connection to nightmares.

In Irish mythology, the fear gorta (Irish: Man of hunger / Man of famine; also known as the fear gortach) is a phantom of hunger resembling an emaciated human.

According to Yeats' Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry the fear gorta walks the earth during times of famine, seeking alms from passers-by. In this version, the fear gorta can be a potential source of good luck for generous individuals. Harvey relates a myth that the fear gorta was a harbinger of famine during the Great Irish Famine of the 1840s, and that the spirit originally arises from a patch of hungry grass (féar gortach). In the region of Kiltubbrid, the term is also used to refer to a sudden hunger that can seize people traveling in the mountains, that will become fatal if not quickly satiated.

A gancanagh (/ɡænˈkænə/) (from Irish gean cánach 'love talker') is a male fairy from the mythology of Northern Ireland, known for seducing women.

In 1888, W. B. Yeats noted that the gancanagh was not found in dictionaries and the fairy was not well-known in Connacht.

In a story collected in The Dublin and London Magazine in 1825, ganconer is defined as "a name given to the fairies, alias the 'good people,' in the North of Ireland." They are described as little men who live in caves, led by Captain Dearg (The Red Captain). One ganconer kidnaps a human woman, and her sweetheart must win her back on Halloween night. He catches her at a crossroads, but she is caught between him and the ganconers and dies. In another story in the same magazine, a group of ganconers plays hurling, and carries off a widow’s cow to a fairyland beneath the lake of Loughleagh. The owner retrieve...

Glashtyn (Manx English: glashtin, glashtan [ˈɡlaʃθən] or glashan; Manx: glashtin or glashtyn [ˈɡlaʃtʲənʲ]) is a legendary creature from Manx folklore.

The glashtin is said to be a goblin that appears out of its aquatic habitat, to come in contact with the island folk; others claim it takes the shape of a colt, or equate it to the water horse known locally as cabyll-ushtey. Yet another source claims the glashtin was a water-bull (tarroo-ushtey in Manx), half-bovine and half-equine.

Some tales or lore recount that it has pursued after women, ending in the stock motif of escape by cutting loose the skirt-hem, although in one modern version her escape is achieved by a rooster's crowing; in that tale the glashtin pretends to be a handsome man but is betrayed by his horse-ears.

In one passage, Train claims the glashtin...

In Scottish folklore the Ghillie Dhu or Gille Dubh (Scottish Gaelic pronunciation: [ˈkʲiʎə ˈt̪u]) was a solitary male fairy. He was kindly and reticent, yet sometimes wild in character. He had a gentle devotion to children. Dark-haired and clothed in leaves and moss, he lived in a birch wood within the Gairloch and Loch a Druing area of the north-west Highlands of Scotland. Ghillie Dhu is the eponym for the ghillie suit.

Ghillie is an English equivalent of the Scottish Gaelic word gille; Edward Dwelly, a Scottish lexicographer, lists gille as a "lad", "youth" or "boy" with dubh translating as "dark" or "dark-haired".

According to folklorist and scholar Katharine Briggs the Ghillie Dhu was a gentle and kind-hearted mountain spirit, or a "rather unusual nature fairy." The Ghillie Dhu was an individual male modern day fairy described by Osgood Mackenzie, a Scott...

The glaistig /ˈɡlæʃtɪɡ/ is a ghost from Scottish mythology, a type of fuath. It is also known as maighdean uaine (Green Maiden), and may appear as a woman of beauty or monstrous mien, as a half-woman and half-goat similar to a faun or satyr, or in the shape of a goat. The lower goat half of her hybrid form is usually disguised by a long, flowing green robe or dress, and the woman often appears grey with long yellow hair. A sighting of the glaistig is rare, but the loud cries and wails would often be heard.

The glaistig is an ambivalent ghost that appears in legend as both a malign and benign creature. Some stories have her luring men to her lair via either song or dance, where she would then drink their blood. Other such tales have her casting stones in the path of travellers or throwing them off course.

In some benign incarnations, the glaistig...

The Oilliphéist (Irish: ollphéist, from Irish oll 'great', and péist 'worm, fabulous beast, monster, reptile') is a sea serpent-like monster in Irish mythology and folklore.

These monsters were believed to inhabit many lakes and rivers in Ireland and there are many legends of saints and heroes fighting them. In one story, the Oilliphéist cuts the route of the River Shannon when it hears that Saint Patrick has come to drive out it and its kind. In a comic addition to the story, the monster swallows a drunken piper named Ó Ruairc (O'Rourke). The piper is either unaware of his predicament or is completely unperturbed and continues to play inside the Oilliphéist's stomach. The monster becomes so annoyed with Ó Ruairc's music that it coughs him up and spits him out. It is believed by Chris Cairney that this story and one involving Caoránach helped influence a...

The púca (Irish for spirit/ghost; plural púcaí), pooka, phouka is primarily a creature of Celtic folklore. Considered to be bringers both of good and bad fortune, they could help or hinder rural and marine communities. Púcaí can have dark or white fur or hair. The creatures were said to be shape-changers, which could take the appearance of horses, goats, cats, dogs, and hares. They may also take a human form, which includes various animal features, such as ears or a tail.

The púca has counterparts throughout the Celtic cultures of Northwest Europe. For instance, in Welsh mythology it is named the pwca and in Cornish the Bucca (thus being related in etymology and milieu to the bugaboo). In the Channel Islands, the pouque were said to be fairies who lived near ancient stones; in Norman French of the Islands (e.g. Jèrriais), a cromlech, or prehistoric tomb, is referred to as ...

The leannán sídhe (lit. 'fairy lover'; Scottish Gaelic: leannan sìth, Manx: lhiannan shee; [lʲan̴̪-an ˈʃiː]) is a figure from Irish Folklore. She is depicted as a beautiful woman of the Aos Sí ("people of the barrows") who takes a human lover. Lovers of the leannán sídhe are said to live brief, though highly inspired, lives. The name comes from the Gaelic words for a sweetheart, lover, or concubine and the term for inhabitants of fairy mounds (fairy). While the leannán sídhe is most often depicted as a female fairy, there is at least one reference to a male leannán sídhe troubling a mortal woman.

A version of the myth was popularized during the Celtic Revival in the late 19th-century. The leannán sídhe is mentioned by Jane Wilde, writing as "Speranza", in her 1887 Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms and Superstitions of Ireland. W. B. Yeats ...

Merrow (from Irish murúch, Middle Irish murdúchann or murdúchu) is a mermaid or merman in Irish folklore. The term is of Hiberno-English origin.

The merrows supposedly require a magical cap (Irish: cochaillín draíochta; Hiberno-English: cohuleen druith) in order to travel between deep water and dry land.

The merrow-maiden is like the commonly stereotypical mermaid: half-human, a gorgeous woman from waist up, and fish-like waist down, her lower extremity "covered with greenish-tinted scales" (according to O'Hanlon). She has green hair which she fondly grooms with her comb. She exhibits slight webbing between her fingers, a white and delicate film resembling "the skin between egg and shell".

Said to be of "modest, affectionate, gentle, and benevolent disposition," the merrow is believed "capable of attachment to human beings," with reports of inter-marr...

The Sluagh (Irish: (ˈsˠl̪ˠuə), Scottish Gaelic: (ˈs̪l̪ˠuəɣ); Old Irish: slúag; English: 'host, army, crowd'), or Sluagh na marbh ('host of the dead'), were the hosts of the unforgiven dead in Irish and Scottish folklore. In the words of British folklorist Lewis Spence, "In the Western Isles of Scotland the Sluagh, or fairy host, was regarded as composed of the souls of the dead flying through the air, and the feast of the dead at Hallowe'en was likewise the festival of the fairies."

Usually taking a crescent form, similar to a flight of grey birds, they were said to be able to approach and pick up a person from any direction and then transport them far away through the air, from one island to another. Although they could sometimes rescue humans from dangerous rock clefts, they were generally portrayed as dangerous to mortals.