# Who believes in fairies?



## Brenda Carroll (May 21, 2009)

You know, of course, that there are different sorts of fairies from benign to just plain rotten.  Anyway, I think I might have an infestion of brownies in my house.  Take this weekend for instance.  I had a friend over and we were supposed to do some heavy duty editing on my next work.  Well, every time we decided that we would get started something happened.  I don't really remember what order these occurrences were because they were coming too fast.

1.  Knock on door/repo men looking for a car.
2.  The dog needed to go out.
3.  The child needed attention.
4.  The sound went out on the television in the den.
5.  My proofreader lost a contact.
6.  My proofreader lost an earring.
7.  I needed a drink.
8.  She needed a drink.
9.  The cat needed to be fed.
10.  The bar-be-que wouldn't light.
11.  The buns fell on the ground.
12.  The bacon burned.
13.  The kid needed attention again.
14.  The phone rang.
15.  The phone rang again.
16.  The phone rang some more.
17.  The kid needed lunch.
18.  The recliner quit reclining.
19.  The dishes needed washing.
20.  The clothes needed washing.
21.  The kid needed attention again.
22.  The dog needed to go out again.
23.  We were swamped by a swarm of hummingbirds and all the feeders were empty.
24.  We ran into a huge spider.
26.  Bushes needed watering.
27.  It started raining.
28.  The car wouldn't start.
29.  I tripped over a wire and nearly crashed the laptop.
30.  I got a headache.
31.  She got a head ache.

And when we finally sat down to edit, the copy we had been working on was missing.  Could not be found anywhere in any file.  We had to use an older copy and lost two chapters of previous edits.  So instead of getting ahead, we barely broke even.


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

He said it about elves, but since there's not much of a difference between elves and fairies... I've always loved this Terry Pratchett quote:

      
“Elves are wonderful. They provoke wonder.
Elves are marvellous. They cause marvels.
Elves are fantastic. They create fantasies.
Elves are glamorous. They project glamour.
Elves are enchanting. They weave enchantment.
Elves are terrific. They beget terror.

The thing about words is that meanings can twist just like a snake, and if you want to find snakes look for them behind words that have changed their meaning.  No one ever said elves are nice.  Elves are bad.”


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

sounds like you need to appease the brownies. maybe with brownies?

and according to a few people, I'm a fairie, I'll put in a good word for you.


Spoiler



see cartoon thread


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## ◄ Jess ► (Apr 21, 2010)

I think you're supposed to leave out an offering of milk or honey (maybe both?) to appease fairies. Maybe brownies would be the same way. Or you could just go with scarlet's idea of giving them brownies, but that seems a bit cannibalistic.


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

Jessica Billings said:


> I think you're supposed to leave out an offering of milk or honey (maybe both?) to appease fairies.


You mean like beer for slugs, to get rid of them?


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## mom133d (aka Liz) (Nov 25, 2008)

Brownies like sweets. Leave them some cookies and explain what you're doing. They may think they're helping, especially if you've been putting this off. They are guarding you and your house and don't like change. Ah, ha! That's it!! They don't like change. Explain why you need to make changes to your work! Ask them to read over the missing copy to see why the changes are needed and they'll understand.


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## Barbiedull (Jul 13, 2010)

Brendan Carroll said:


> 1. Knock on door/repo men looking for a car.


Uh oh...sounds like you really need to finish the book!


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## geoffthomas (Feb 27, 2009)

Be careful how you speak of the fae.
You could ask some of our resident authors for their expert advice.
People have been known to disappear forever.

Just sayin......


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## Brenda Carroll (May 21, 2009)

I've tried the milk and honey at other residences and it must have been working... hmmmm.  I might try brownies this time since the Queen has spoken.
Also, yes, one must be very careful of how one speaks of the fae, you never know when they might be listening.  Directly after I wrote the thread and posted it last night, I was digging around in the bottom shelf of the fridge and ended up on the floor.  Busted it!!!  The first thing I thought of was that post.    I may just have to drag out the old spellbook.  Anyone in need of a good bit of magick?  Giving thanks for the Harvest at Mabon?  Making a few libations of wine?  Anyone up for a good bonfire?


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## prairiesky (Aug 11, 2009)

I do. I saw this one in my garden several weeks ago!


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

Be nice to them, or they are going to get worse...


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## mom133d (aka Liz) (Nov 25, 2008)

Me me! We've been invited to a Mabon celebration tomorrow night, I've got pomagrantes and some veggies from our meager first garden to bring.


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## Brenda Carroll (May 21, 2009)

Firstfruits are firstfruits.  That's wonderful, Mom... er, Miss Mom.  
Love the garden fairy.  I know someone who would love to have one of those.  She's actually into Tinkerbell, but I bet this one would make her smile. Did you make her, Prairiesky?


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## Brenda Carroll (May 21, 2009)

scarlet said:


> Be nice to them, or they are going to get worse...


I saw you in the Unseelie Cloud that swept over my house yesterday, Miss Scarlet! Are you the one who threw those hornet nests on my deck?


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

Brendan Carroll said:


> I saw you in the Unseelie Cloud that swept over my house yesterday, Miss Scarlet! Are you the one who threw those hornet nests on my deck?


No, Brendan, I would never throw hornets' nests. Beehives on the other hand, might happen.

Not really! I'm a good fairy!


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## jbh13md (Aug 1, 2010)

I wish I could find that quote from W.B. Yeats's book on Irish folklore. He asks this peasant woman if she believes in fairies and she says no, because she's a Catholic, she does not, but she watches out for them all the same. Something like that. Does anybody else know the one I mean? It's a pretty humorous summation of how Catholicism and folk belief have existed side by side in Ireland for so many centuries, but I can't find my actual copy of the book at the moment. Maybe the fairies got it too. Alas.


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## prairiesky (Aug 11, 2009)

Brendan, Lyric is a BJD.  That means that I chose the wig, eyes and clothing for her.  Ball Jointed Dolls are fun because the looks can be changed at will.  Of course, her pointy little ears look the same no matter how I change her.  Oh, and they are very pricey, especially when you buy new wigs, eyes and clothing.


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## Brenda Carroll (May 21, 2009)

prairiesky said:


> Brendan, Lyric is a BJD. That means that I chose the wig, eyes and clothing for her. Ball Jointed Dolls are fun because the looks can be changed at will. Of course, her pointy little ears look the same no matter how I change her. Oh, and they are very pricey, especially when you buy new wigs, eyes and clothing.


Fantastic! I looked them up. They are extremely beautiful. However, you are right about the pricey and I'd never be able to pick out all the different things and get them right. If she wants one, she'll have to pick it all out. Wouldn't want to get that one wrong. I'll start saving tomorrow and should be able to give her one when she graduates...........


Spoiler



from college


........


Spoiler



with her Ph.D.!!


......


Spoiler



in about 15 years


.


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## vikingwarrior22 (May 25, 2009)

AT OUR HOUSE FAERYS RULE! AS DO 2's AND CRAB FAMILIES!...LONG STORY...


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## terryr (Apr 24, 2010)

Yes. Where ever I have lived, I've always made a fairy house in my borders or garden before planting anything. Although my fairy houses were built of whatever I found in the immediate area, since by my logic, that's what the local fairies would prefer.

I have a friend that makes the most amazing fairy houses of true architectural merit.

Also like the "Fairy Sand Project" for healing the Gulf. (If you're on Facebook, you can look that up.)

And a blessed Mabon to those others who also celebrate.


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## vikingwarrior22 (May 25, 2009)

This thread has "prespired" me to build some fairy houses I will post pictures soon...No they are not burned piles of boards Meredith/ma !


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

scarlet said:


> Not really! I'm a good fairy!


For the past 12 years or so at work I've been the Ice Cream Fairy. I magically appear on random - usually hot and stressful - days bearing ice cream treats.

Definitely a good fairy.


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## AnelaBelladonna (Apr 8, 2009)

I love Faeries!  I collect them in my office and I have a whole room at home dedicated to them.  I don't care for the cartoon Faeries at all, I prefer the ones that look "real".  This is a fun thread.


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

I think the more important question to ask would be, "Who *doesn't* believe in fairies?"  Then you just post that on your wall.  Any bad fairies will likely take it as a challenge and leave you to go "improve" the lives of those who don't believe...


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## Indy (Jun 7, 2010)

I don't think it really matters if we believe in them or not; they certainly believe in us.


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## Brenda Carroll (May 21, 2009)

AnelaBelladonna said:


> I love Faeries! I collect them in my office and I have a whole room at home dedicated to them. I don't care for the cartoon Faeries at all, I prefer the ones that look "real". This is a fun thread.


That is very cool. I could never have guessed from looking at your avatar and such. I love fairies and faeries and magick... the real stuff, you know. Anyhow, I have bought many 'fairies' as gifts for other people. Such things would not be very becoming on my tee shirts! LOL. However, there are some fairly wicked fairies from the Unseelie Court that would do a guy justice mayhap. Glad you enjoy the thread. Love your name, Miss AnelaBelladonna.


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## telracs (Jul 12, 2009)

Brendan Carroll said:


> <snip> However, there are some fairly wicked fairies from the Unseelie Court that would do a guy justice mayhap. <snip>


But might be bribable with chocolate...


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## vikingwarrior22 (May 25, 2009)

AnelaBelladonna said:


> I love Faeries! I collect them in my office and I have a whole room at home dedicated to them. I don't care for the cartoon Faeries at all, I prefer the ones that look "real". This is a fun thread.


Could you please post some photos of your collection...I am ok with the "cartoon" faeries (like your avatar) and also prefer the "real" look...thanks


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## Vianka Van Bokkem (Aug 26, 2010)

_*I believe in fairies!*_










_*Vianka Van Bokkem*_


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## LCEvans (Mar 29, 2009)

Apparently some of the people in my house believe in them. If certain family members mess up the kitchen after I've already gone to bed for the night, they seem to expect the dish fairy to arrive and clean up after them. So far the dish fairy has declined.


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## Vianka Van Bokkem (Aug 26, 2010)

LCEvans said:


> Apparently some of the people in my house believe in them. If certain family members mess up the kitchen after I've already gone to bed for the night, they seem to expect the dish fairy to arrive and clean up after them. So far the dish fairy has declined.


Oh my gosh! That is exactly what I tell my son and husband all the time!      

Vianka


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## Brenda Carroll (May 21, 2009)

scarlet said:


> But might be bribable with chocolate...


Mmmm chocolate. I'll bet there is a chocolate fairy named Bittersweet, has a pet fairy dog called Fondue and has a Brownie for a boyfriend whose name is Gooey. I'd like to be a member of her tribe. 


LCEvans said:


> Apparently some of the people in my house believe in them. If certain family members mess up the kitchen after I've already gone to bed for the night, they seem to expect the dish fairy to arrive and clean up after them. So far the dish fairy has declined.


Yep, infestations are common. Just this morning I found the spoon drawer full of bread crumbs from the toaster. Since no one who lives here could have possibly done this, it had to be fairies up to mischief... again!


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## bobavey (Sep 14, 2010)

I've never met one myself. And, on the bright side, at least the rain watered the bushes.


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## AnelaBelladonna (Apr 8, 2009)

Brendan Carroll said:


> That is very cool. I could never have guessed from looking at your avatar and such. I love fairies and faeries and magick... the real stuff, you know. Anyhow, I have bought many 'fairies' as gifts for other people. Such things would not be very becoming on my tee shirts! LOL. However, there are some fairly wicked fairies from the Unseelie Court that would do a guy justice mayhap. Glad you enjoy the thread. Love your name, Miss AnelaBelladonna.


Thank you! I am glad you like it. It is the name of a character from one of the first computer games I ever played. I liked it so much I keep using it.



vikingwarrior22 said:


> Could you please post some photos of your collection...I am ok with the "cartoon" faeries (like your avatar) and also prefer the "real" look...thanks


I will take some pictures and post them.


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## Oneiropolos (Oct 27, 2010)

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, I do not believe the Sidhe actually exist. I did however do extensive study on them, particularly the ones involving the Highlands and Lowlands of Scotland for my History of Scotland class. It was the topic I chose for the thirty page paper at the end of the semester. If they did exist, some words of warning, however... don't call them fairies if you do believe in them. Fae and Fey both derive from a term that basically means a 'bad omen'. This is why they were in habit of being referred as the 'good neighbors', the 'people of peace', the 'green folk'... so forth. Because the belief was that you never knew when a Sidhe was listening and you really didn't want to call them something that SAYS they're going to do bad things to you! They tend to live up to expectations on that point. The concept of leaving milk or food offerings out came from the idea of the Sidhe connection with the dead, and that it could appease them. The Sluagh are an example of this. They are an extremely warlike subsection of the Sidhe and they were the ones most known for the idea of the wild hunts, and kidnapping humans only to drop them to their deaths. It's said that they were the 'unforgiven dead' or the 'restless dead', and they were more than happy to kill humans just for fun.

Christianity has the wrap in many modern groups as killing fairy belief off- but this was NOT the case. Christianity and the Sidhe existed side by side in very old stories. The people of Scotland, at least, had no problem believing in both the Bible and in the Sidhe. Reverend Kirke, a clergyman in Scotland, wrote quite a bit on fairies and the different types there are. When he died many argued that he never died but he was taken by the Sidhe. Actually, another book written in the early 1900s speaks of how he is reporting the stories told in the higlands as part of the cultural background of Scotland, but he is quite grateful for the fact that _Science_ is now finally killing off belief in his time. I believe he spoke about how it shined a light on archaic superstitions. Not a fan of the Sidhe, obviously, but it does speak that the belief was still quite strong even in the 1900s in the more rural areas but that it was slowly fading away. In terms of Christianity, many stories were adapted that the Sidhe did not really care for holy water, or holy things, but that they were damned souls themselves and could not have redemption. There is an account of a beautiful female sidhe approaching a human reading the Bible and asking how she could receive salvation, and her grief that she could not. This could be explained by the concept at the time that some held that Sidhe were actually angels fallen from Heaven at the devil's revolt. They were the angels that were NOT quite so bad as the really loyal followers, so they were not demons, but they could not once again receive their previous status or salvation. This explains the "teind", or tithe, to Hell that many early stories (example is the Ballad of Tam Lin which was spread around Scotland as early as 1729) reference, where the Sidhe had to give Hell blood or souls every seven years. This is one of the reason they became infamous for kidnapping. Not quite a really romantic notion, is it? Whisked away by a fairy lover so....you can be nominated to go to hell so none of the Sidhe have to. Lovely. But the Sidhe are not pleasant in general. A rare few are, Brownies among them. Brownies are good as long as you are not mean to them. They are helpful, if a little mischievous, but loyal to the owners of a home and often merely want chores they can do to try to help. They prefer dishes of cream, however, so if you wish to stay on their good side and really do believe in them, that's what should be left out. Milk would be being a bit stingy on them. If you REALLY want to get on their good side, leaving cloth or doll clothes out so they can improve their clothing will thrill them. 

How the Seelie and Unseelie courts are decided differs by author to author.. even in the old stories. Some try to say summer and winter courts but this is not really upheld by historical accounts. They are not quite the cut and dry explanation that many try to give, and unfortunately a lot of modern ideas of the court systems comes from Shakespeare. He's not reliably historically for much of anything, I'm not sure why people like relying on him when it comes to mythological either. He wrote to entertain, not to teach.

Most Sidhe were not even small nor did they really possess wings as common modern belief has it. This is a Victorian sentiment and does not stand with history. They were USUALLY invisible to humans unless they decided otherwise, though some were said to be born with a gift to see them, and the Sidhe themselves could -grant- this gift to mortals. Being kidnapped by a Sidhe was not always a permanent thing, but usually ended quite badly. One example of this is two instrument players that were kidnapped just for a night to play their music in Fairyland/Elfland, but when they returned a hundred years had passed and if I recall the account currently, they soon afterwards aged and turned to dust themselves. There's a lot more I could say, as I have around 20 books on my shelf, some quite old, and many texts of ballads and other things concerning the Fae, but I'm going to stop now because I've rambled too much as it is! For those curious on the sheer amounts of different Fae in all cultures, I really recommend The Ilustrated Encylcopedia of Fairies by Anna Franklin. While it sounds silly, the scholarly work done into it is quite impressive and accurate to what I researched independently. There are simplified entries of each type, but really, if you don't simplify a bit in explaining the Sidhe, you will never actually explain anything. From one paper done on whim, the Sidhe have become a bit of a passion for me and I'm currently working on slowly writing a book myself with their world and the intricacies of it all. It's slow work because I want to stay true to the characters AND to the stories passed down for generations.


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## terryr (Apr 24, 2010)

Wow, cool, Oneiropolos. Keep us posted on the progress of your book!


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## vikingwarrior22 (May 25, 2009)

I have seen real and imagined faeries they are as real as one needs them to be...


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