16 Years Later: 
Screams could be heard through out the dark, musky forest as the parents of the vampire’s victim called out for their little girl. They had heard a loud thump from their six year old daughter’s room earlier that night. When they went to check on her, they found the vampire bending over the child, ready to feed from her. Its fangs just inches from her small throat. Upon seeing the parents, the vampire scooped up the sleeping child and jumped out of the window, and dashed into the forest. 
The vampire was newly turned and was crazed with blood lust. Normally a fledgling vampire’s sire would not let a Newly Turned just simply run around unwatched; however, this Newly Turned seemed not to care about what it did, only thing on its mind was to get away from its pursuers and feed in peace. 
Once the vampire figured it was safely away from the child’s parents, it set the girl down and looked around. Something else seemed wrong and out of place about the surrounding area, but the vampire could not figure it out. Figuring that it best hurry, feed, and get out of the area as soon as possible, it bent down towards the sleeping girl with its fangs bared. Just as it was about to pierce the girl’s skin, it heard a whistling sound, like something flying through the air. The vampire did not have time to look up or make a sound before its head came off its shoulders and fell to the ground with a soft thud, the surrounding moss absorbing most of the sound. 
Its killer jumped down from a nearby tree just as the girl’s parents came into view. “Your daughter is safe,” the hunter said as the father picked up his daughter and held her close. 
“Thank you so much!” the mother said in relief, seeing that her daughter was indeed safe. 
“I am glad I was passing by.” The hunter’s figure was feminine. She wore a mask that covered most of her face. Her silver hair was back in a short pony tail. She cleaned off the weapon she used, a silver fan, and set to work cleaning up the area before the vampire managed to revive itself. Even as a young vampire, she knew that it would take just a few days before it was roaming the world again. Since it already broke the laws, she could not let it do that. 
“Do you have a place to stay?” the mother asked as she watched the female hunter dispose of the vampire’s body by burning it; the hunter had cleared an area that would not cause a forest fire. For a while, the hunter did not respond, being too busy on her job to focus on anything else. 
Once she was done, she turned to the young couple. “No, I never have time,” she responded. 
“Would you like to stay the night with us? All we can offer you is a cozy bed and food,” the father added. His wife handed him her jacket, noticing that their daughter was shivering. 
“That would be nice. Thank you.” She followed the couple back to their home. 

It was a nice little place, with a beautiful flower garden in the front and a stream flowing on the side of the place. She stood in awe at it, noting the craftsmanship and landscaping. “That is beautiful,” she responded. 

“Thank you. Come inside. I’ll get you something to eat.” The mother held the door open so that her husband can get their daughter in and waited for the hunter to come in before closing it and latching it shut. After securing the door, she went around and secured the rest of the house, not wanting another Underworld being to come in and attack any other member of her family.

While she was doing that, the father set his daughter down on a hand built forest green couch and turned to the hunter. “I’m Brad Williams,” he said, extending his hand to the hunter. He was about twenty-five year old, with long dark brown hair that he wore in a pony tail. His wife, the hunter noted, was a smaller woman compared to herself, with a petite figure and long red hair. The young child she just saved appeared to be no older than about five or six with a mop of light brown curls. She laid on the couch curled into a small little ball with her thumb in her mouth. “That is my wife, Tina, and our daughter Korrin.” 
“Natasha Silvers,” the hunter replied, removing her mask and accepting his hand in a shake. 
“It’s nice to meet you, Natasha,” Brad said as his wife walked up, said her thanks and greetings, and then went into the kitchen to get them all something to eat. Brad sat down on the couch next to his sleeping girl. Natasha took the seat next to a blazing fire. “So, are you a licensed hunter of the…” 
“No,” she replied, cutting him off. “I work alone. Though I do hunt those that break the laws, I do it more to prevent more families from being torn than for the job. But I am also doing it, in hopes of finding clues to the location of my older brother that was turned five years ago.” She looked into the fire, remembering the events of the dreadful day she found out about her brother’s turning. 

Natasha, when she was seventeen, was constantly training in the ways of magic and physical combat. After what happened to her years before, she had been taken in by a druid, whose mission was to hunt down and banish all evil from the world, but he was getting old she he took her under his wing in hopes to pass his knowledge onto her. 
Though he could only teach her magic combat, he called in masters of other forms of combat to help him train and prepare her. She was a quick study; always staying a step or two in front of her instructors as she mastered magic, stealth, weapons combat, herbalism, and many forms of martial arts. 
Once night, after finishing her days training, she stood out on a small island that sat in the middle of Lake Syne. The lake itself was not far from her home, so she came to it often at night simply to relax and look up at the stars, admiring the view. On the other side of the lake was a massive forest that was said to be overrun by beasts and monsters, but looking out upon it, it was hard to tell that such beauty could hold such ugliness. 
She kneels down close to the water and looked at her reflection as the moon danced across the surface. She was hoping to see some of the rare fish that only appeared when the moon was out and shining on the water’s surface. As she leaned closer she did not see one of the fish, but a shadow from over head. Startled, she looked up and back, nearly falling into the water. What she saw was a tall man with blood all over his shirt and neck. His long black hair was matted with it as well. 
She quickly stood up and pulled out twin daggers. She stood in a battle stance, waiting for this man to try to attack her. She knew that he had just been bitten, but where was the vampire that bit him? she wondered as she held the daggers close to her, but pointing outwards in case he should rush her. She kept her ears open, in case he was just a trap. He took a step forward, holding his left hand out. 
“Please, I don’t mean you any harm. I am just trying to find someone. My little sister. I need to talk to her,” he stated as he slowly moved towards her. 
“Why? Did your sire tell you to make this ‘little sister’ your first meal?” she challenged. At that, he stopped advancing and put his hand down. 
“No, after I found out what she did to me, I knew I could not stay there anymore, so I fled. Please, I am looking for my sister, Natasha Silvers, do you know her?” he asked. Natasha’s eyes grew very wide in surprise that she nearly dropped the knives as well as her guard. 
It did not take her long to recover and she threw one of the knives, just missing the man’s head. “How do you know that name? Who are you?” she demanded. 
“I’m her older brother, Kyle. Judging from your reaction, you must have…” At that moment, Natasha broke out into tears. All these years she thought he was dead and now she finds him alive, well undead. 
“Kyle, all these years…” she managed to get out before he knew that he stood before his sister. 
“Natasha? Wow, you have gotten big? But there is something I really need for you to do for me, Tash,” he said holding onto her shoulders. 
“What?” she asked, after getting herself together. 
“I need for you to kill me.” He saw the shock in her eyes, but continued before she could reply. “I have been a slave to The Dark Lady, for twelve years now. I don’t know what she is called other than that. Last night she came into my chambers and turned me. I don’t know how much longer I have until I am completely turned. I then escaped when I saw her leave and came looking for you. I don’t know why it was so easy to escape her this night. But I just ask this one thing of you. Please kill me before I become a monster upon this earth.” He continued to plead with her, but Natasha was too overwhelmed with the fact that her brother had been alive all this time, a slave to the very thing that killed their parents years before. 
“I’m sorry, Kyle. I can not do it,” she said, with her head down. She knew that she should, but she could not bring herself to do it, not when she was finally reunited with him after so long. 
Kyle sighed and turned away. ”I understand, but I want you to continue your training and when you are ready, hunt me down. In the mean time, I will travel the world looking for a way to avenge our parents.” He then disappeared into the shadows and Natasha was alone in the darkness… 

“Miss Silvers? Are you okay?” a voice called. Natasha blinked a few times and found herself back in the small cottage of the young couple whose daughter she rescued from a vampire. She looked over at her host, Brad, and noticed that he had a worried look on his face. 
“Yes I am fine. Just old memories resurfacing,” she reassured him. 
“Well, that’s good to know. Well I mean, not that the memories are good, but that you are okay,” he stuttered, trying to make it come out right. Just then Tina called them to dinner. 

After the meal, Tina led Natasha to the guest’s room and bid her good night. The room was not very big, with a single window that was boarded up, a single person bed with a wool blanket and feather pillow. The hardwood floors felt cold to her feet as she removed her shoes. There was a dresser and other items on the other side, it seemed this family used this room for extra storage when it was not being slept in. Once she was alone, Natasha placed her pack on the bed, opened it, and pulled out a small orb. Instantly a face of a rather old man appeared within the orb. “Natasha?” the man asked as he squinted his eyes to try to see her better. She said nothing and simply nodded. “Ah, well, I am glad to see you. There is some thing very disturbing going on.” 
“Other than the vampires?” she asked. 
“Indeed, the forces of nature seem to be out of alignment and I would like for you to see what’s going on. I would do it myself, but I am not as young as I used to be, but I will assist you in any way I can.” The man in the orb was a highly respected druid and like all other druids he revered nature, often becoming involved in efforts to sustain a balanced ecology, as well as an animist, believing that everything in nature possesses a soul or spirit.
“Kegan, in what way is nature out of alignment? What do you mean?” 
The druid was silent for a moment before continuing. “Some dark force is controlling the mythical creatures of the world and causing them to do things they normally would not do.” 
“So you want me to hunt down this dark force before it is too late? How is this connected to my brother?” she asked, she normally only excepted missions that would bring her closer to finding either her brother or her brother’s sire. 
“There may be a chance that your brother might want to use this to his advantage to over throw his sire,” Kegan stated. It was Natasha’s turn to stay silent for a bit. 
“And if that happens, he could end up being an even bigger threat then he already is…” 
“Exactly my point. Now, get some rest, you’ll need it.” Just then the orb went black and Natasha stuck it back into her pack, got prepared for bed and went to sleep. 

Early the next morning the ill child’s parents knelled next to her as her fever continued to rise. They looked at each other worriedly, unsure what to do. All the local doctor’s could not seem to be able to help her and her parents were giving up hope. Her sickness seemed to get worse by the day and already they had to change her sheets three times because they would get soaked with sweat. 
Just then the window to the room opened and the child’s parents were blinded by a bright light. When it dissipated, a white bird stood at the foot of the girl’s bed. The parents recognized it as being a Caladrius; a mythical bird that can predict if a sick person will live or die. There was hope yet. They held each others hand waiting for what the Caladrius was going to do. 
The bird looked at the young couple and around the room, but never once did it look upon the young girl. It hopped down from the foot of the bed and onto the bed itself, eyeing the parents of the ill child the whole time. As it reached the torso area, the bird turned around, facing the window again and sat down on the girl. 
The young couple gasped, for they knew that if a Caladrius turns away from an ill person, the person is doomed to die from the illness. They pleaded with the bird to turn and face their daughter, but the bird did not move, however it launched itself into the air and flew out the window, leaving the young couple to mourn for their daughter as she struggled to breathe. 

The bird landed on a slender arm and cooed as the figure pet it. “Good job, my pet. I will now have another soul to add to my collection.” It grinned as it heard the cries of the child’s parents. “Not much longer now,” it added. The figure stood at the edge of the forest that the small cottage was near. There were no other houses for miles and the surrounding farm held many types of farm animals. 
The figure looked up at the chimney for a moment, watching the smoke rise, knowing that soon there would be no detectable human life in that little cottage. It leaned against a nearby tree as it continued to watch the smoke rise, noting that it had the aroma of cooking chili. 
Moments later it heard something coming at it through the air, looking that way, it say a dagger heading right towards it. Ducking, it managed to avoid the blow, only to be ensnared by a bolas; ‘a throwing made of weights on the ends of interconnected cords, designed to capture animals by entangling their legs.3’ As it fell, it call out to the caladrius, commanding it to protect it from its attacker. 
The caladrius launched itself up into the trees where it knew its master’s attacker was hiding. It attacked with beak and claws, growing more monstrous with each strike until it was impossible to tell what it was, other than a monster bird. 
The attacker knew it had to move quickly before its target could escape. Spraying the caladrius with some sleeping gas, it watched as it shrunk back to its normal size before placing it inside a cage and hung it on a nearby branch. Jumping down, the attacker landed just inches from the figure it had ensnared. 

“Enslaving the creatures of Myth to do your dirty work, have you no shame?” Natasha asked the demon as its feminine exterior dissolved, leaving an ugly, skinless being with its head in its torso area and a large tongue type thing hanging where the head should have been. “And did you also know it was a crime to be that freak’n ugly!? Seems as though someone did not simply beat you with an ugly stick, you bathed in the Lake of Ugly to add to the effect.” 
The demon looked up at her and laughed. “It doesn’t matter what you say, soon the soul of that child will be mine and I shall grow in power!” it gloated. 
“Yah yah, uh huh! If you say so,” she taunted. She then jabbed the Saint’s Dagger into the demon’s right eye, which was just below its heart. Its screams tore through the forest. “Now, tell me, who else is trying to control those of the Myth? And give me a straight answer or it will be more than just your right eye that will feel the blades sting. Oh, and don’t think you are going to get that child’s soul, because…” she pulled out several throwing stars, turned just slightly and threw them at the cage that the caladrius was trapped in. The cage fell, releasing the bird, which flew into the window of the cottage and removed the illness from the child. “…the child is not going to be dieing any time soon and most defiantly not by your hands.” 
The demon watched as the caladrius flew out of the child’s room, carrying the illness in its claws. “But…How? It was under my control! How did you break my spell?” the demon demanded as the bird flew off and the sounds of overjoyed parents filled the forest. 
“Simple. I just simply woke it up. Now answer my question. Who is behind all of this? Who else is controlling the Myth creatures and beings? Tell me and I promise your death will be swift.” 
The demon knew that this girl was dangerous, it also knew that it had to try to warn the others, but how? “The Valley of Twilight is where you want to do,” it advised. 
“The Valley of Twilight is vampire territory. Are you saying that it’s the vampires that are behind this?” 
“The vampires know nothing of the true value of the valley. It’s a huge inter-dimensional gateway from this world to the realm of demons. You might as well kill me now. You are not going to win. One puny human could not hope to stop the opening of the portal.” Just then the demon grabbed a hold of the dagger in Natasha’s hands and before she could react, plunged it into its heart. The demon soon dissolved and sinked into the ground, poisoning the surrounding area. 
As fast as she could, Natasha healed the area before the poison found spread too far. Luckily it did not reach the small house. With this new information, Natasha set out again to try to gather more about this portal and of the ‘true’ nature of the Valley of Twilight.

Fairies are magical beings who create the circles by dancing within them. Myths tell of mortal people entering fairy rings and suffering for it.  Some believe that anyone who stepping into an empty fairy ring will die young., Those violating fairy perimeters become invisible to those outside and may be unable leave the circle. The fairies force intruders to dance to till exhausted, dead, or in the throes of madness.

The only safe way, according to some beliefs, to investigate a fairy ring is to run around it nine times only. A tenth lap would nullify the effect .Doing this allows the runner to hear the fairies dancing underground. It must be done under a full moon, and in the direction the sun travels during the day. It is also said that wearing a hat backwards confuses the fairies and stops them from doing the wearer any harm.

There are many sites in the UK where fairies are believed to be regular visitors, though always apparently at full moon.  . For example, The Pixies Church” was a rock formation in Dartmoor surrounded by a fairy ring, and a stone circle at Cader Iris in Wales is believed to be a popular spot for fairy dances. A Devon legend says that a black hen and chickens sometimes appear at dusk in a large fairy ring on the edge  of Dartmoor…

Victorian society believed that fairies, elves and witches were all closely associated with one another, and malevolent toward humans.  Scandinavian and Celtic traditions have it that fairy rings are caused by elves dancing, just as witches and fairies do.  One Scottish woman claimed that the mushrooms were used as seats and tables for dining by the magical beings, while a welsh girl claimed that the fungi were used as umbrellas.

Twentieth century beliefs in parts of the UK still held firm to stories of fairy activity, and many think of them as omens of good fortune. Despite those who associate them with ill luck, some legends see fairy circles as places of fertility and fortune. Welsh folk believe that mountain sheep eating fairy ring grass flourish, and crops sown around them do far better than those planted elsewhere..

Fairy rings also occupy a prominent place in European folklore as the location of gateways into elfin kingdoms, or places where elves gather and dance. They are called sorcerer’s rings in France, and witches rings in German, where folk believe they are most active on Walpurgis Nacht – Hallowe’en to us. According to the local folklore, a fairy ring appears when a fairy, pixie,  witch or elf appear.

The Dutch believe that  the empty centre of the fairy ring occurs because the devil puts his milk-churn there. Austrian folklore has it that fairy rings are created by flying dragons, and once created nothing but toadstools could grow there for seven years. French belief is that fairy rings are guarded by giant toads that curse any violating the circles. Elsewhere in Europe, entering a fairy ring could cost the intruder an eye.

The truth is much less romantic, but perhaps does need to be told.  Fact is that fungi such as toadstools use up a lot of Nitrogen when growing.  They will therefore tend to spread their spores outward from where they are located so that the new growth has soil to grow in which still contains what they need. As nutrients are depleted the growth continues in that circular fashion.  So the feet of mystical beings have no bearing on the barren nature of the ring middle. There’s just nothing left there for the fungi to feed on.

This can be alleviated where rabbits are abundant, because they crop the grass short but leave the toadstools alone. Their droppings are rich in Nitrogen, so over time they will replenish what earlier plant growth had taken out of the soil.  In time a secondary circle of mushrooms could appear in the centre of the original, creating an unusual double fairy ring, which folklore has it is especially magical.

It  is all a matter of personal taste and belief. For those who prefer the straight biology of it, the mushroom circle is still a fascinating thing to observe, but for those like me, foe whom the imagined has far more appeal, the Fairy Ring theory holds sway. There is undoubtedly far more on earth and in heaven than we can possibly know or understand.  Are you willing to chance violating that fairy ring boundary, or would you, like me, prefer to play it safe?

In Lanval the fairies come to court to testify for Lanval’s innocence (lines 619-628). The fairy rides off with Lanval behind her, which shows that as a fairy woman she has more power than him. She is in charge and has the power in the situation. In Morte D’Arthur King Arthur was mortally wounded and the fairies met him in a boat and they traveled by water. The fairies were in control of the boat in this story and were therefore symbolically and literally controlling the situation. The fairies took Arthur into the vale of Avilion to try to heal his wounds. Though they seem to have failed according to the end of the story it’s still seen as Arthur depending on women, though in fairy form, and shows the fairy as the rescuer.

Both Lanval and Morte D’Arthur show these instances of women in control of situations and as having the power to save the men. These are not lowly men either. Lanval was a knight and Arthur was a king. By men of this prestigious power and rank needing women it shows that even during medieval times women do indeed have some great powers within their sex.

Was the power of the fairy effective as a power of symbolizing women more effective because they had magic to protect them? Would you fear a fairy? If fairies were highly respected and feared in medieval times, how did it become such a diminutive term of today? It’s interesting that though these are both works are written by male authors that they would chose to show that a man, even if he has such a high rank, still needs a woman to save him or to be with him during his times of greatest weakness. It shows that the authors and people at the time believed that women had a great power. They disguised this power by making some of the women in their story be fairies. By making them into fairies and having actual “magic” that was the only way the male audience would like the stories. Men at the time did not want to acknowledge the fact that women were stronger than them and that they actually depended on women. This admission of weakness would give women power and they couldn’t allow their women to have that control, that power, over them.

Spoiler warnings apply.

You know right away that the maker’s rather hope the word ‘Don’t’ is rendered superfluous in this title. The problem is that the film is unlikely to make anyone afraid of turning the lights out at night. This is a cliché riddled by the numbers horror film, with a pretty preposterous premise, which has been used in films before. In fact, the film is a remake of a 1973 TV movie.

Here are the standard stock items you may already be expecting to see – an isolated Gothic house with a history of murders and disoppearances, naïve new owners, a series of ghostly whispers in the darkness, a single occupant believing that something nasty and supernatural is going on when everyone else fails to see anything weird until it is too late.

The mysterious event from the past is spelt out to us in the pre-credit sequence set in the Edwardian era, when a respected Darwinian botanist goes deranged and traps his house-keeper in the cellar, smashing her teeth out with a chisel. His blood soaked mouth reveals that he has already desperately ripped out his own teeth too. He is doing this to feed an unseen group of creatures trapped behind the fire grating. They have kidnapped his son, and seek children’s teeth, which he is supposed to steal for them in the vain hope of them releasing his son. That he offers only adult teeth upsets the entities that drag him into their subterranean lair.

The opening credit animation sequence spoils any sense of surprise we might still have harboured by showing tooth fairies taking teeth in return for coins. Yes, the things in the cellar trap are tooth fairies of a particularly mean nature.

With a time shift to the present day, new owners move in, having apparently not so much as visited the house before hand to look around. They are a struggling book illustrator, (Guy Pierce), his mistress (Katie Holmes) and his pill popping, manic-depressive daughter. The young girl, beautifully played by Bailee Madison, resents the fact hat her Mother cast her out as well as her adulterous husband, and she looks on the girlfriend as a wicked stepmother, though she will ultimately find her willing to make the supreme sacrifice in order to save her from the troubles to come. The adults hope to renovate the house for future sale, though it seems to be in perfect condition already.

The estate agent for the property was undoubtedly a genius, as he has avoided telling the family anything about the murders, disappearances, hauntings or the sinkholes in the woods that have consumed any neighbouring properties.

The daughter explores the grounds anyway, despite warnings from an old gruff gardener who seems to know something of the troubles affecting the house, but being crippled by the tooth fairies when they attack him with he contents of his toolbox soon silences him. The special effects on the fairies on the rampage are impressive, but under-used and the director seems unsure if they are mischievous gremlin like entities or just plain viscous monsters (settling ultimately on the latter)

As the young girl goes from being blamed for their acts of malice to convincing her step-mom of the truth about the past, step-mum does some library research. This proves to be ridiculously easy as the Librarian hasn’t just got a few dusty archived references to the house and its demonic fairies – he has a whole special room dedicated to the events and he has just waited his entire life for someone to ask to see it.  Step-mom learns what the audience saw from the outset and rushes back to save her family, as the creatures try to take the girl away to their underground domain. Among the fairies, one with the botanist’s face is now clearly visible.

There are fun moments, but they are a rare oasis in a desert of clichéd plot devises and unlikely activity, characters, exposition dumping, etc. Mostly, the fairies come across as rather weak. They attack the young girl while she takes a bath, but seem unable to get past the shower curtains, leaving her watching their shadows on the white material which starts shredding as the current house-staff arrive to see why she is screaming, when the monsters rush off to hide. Their strength in other scenes is much greater so the whole premise of the film disintegrates before your eyes as it unfolds.

With Pan’s Labyrinth director, Guillermo del Toro, heavily involved in the production, this ought to have been great. Instead it is all rather so so. 

Arthur Chappell

Often, on full moon nights we’ll go on what we call a fairy hunt. No, not with guns or sling shots, but just go see them dance in the moonlight. Often I’ll have some friends hide out in the woods with fun lights and things, and we’ll take a walk and enjoy the show.

Well, on this last hunt, we decided to get pretty creative. Here’s a story I wrote based on the account that my 8-year-old gave me upon her arrival home. You see, I was hiding in the woods putting on the show this time. The girls thought that I was in a meeting.

Enjoy!

____

Do you believe in fairies?

The evening was perfect… a late September evening. The air was cool and crisp.

We bundled up to go on our adventure. Daddy had a meeting to go to, so he wasn’t going to be able to come along on this one. But he was the one who started this tradition.

Let me explain, on nights where there is a full moon, you can get glimpses of fairies. It’s true! I’ve seen them. Sometimes they dance and play in the woods. Sometimes they ride on fireflies and dragonflies… but they’re there.

Daddy says that they’re always working. He says they’re God’s helpers; making things grow and bloom in the night. So when we wake up, new things are all around. But I’m telling you, I’ve seen them.

____

September 23rd… and as I was saying, that night was a perfect night for a fairy walk.

The sun had set, cleanup from dinner was done. We were all showered, and bouncing around, anxiously awaiting the moment when Mama would say, “Okay, it’s time to go!” It’s so hard to wait when you’re sooooo excited.

Daddy’s friend Josh came over. He said that he and Josh had an argument at work, and they had to work it out, so they were getting with friends to help them. But as daddy left, he told us that it was time to go get our friend, Luna. She was coming with us.

So off Daddy went, and off we went.

We got back to the house with Luna just in time. It was now very dark out. And I was sure it was time to go. I could hardly stand it.

Mama, me (Aletheia), my sisters, Adaryn and Chasah, and our friends, Luna and Lorien all headed off to the hill leading into the wood.

We skipped and giggled and now and then would get a little dose of fear. You never know what you’re going to see on a fairy walk. I know it’s safe… but still, they’re so unpredictable, and it’s night time. But what is amazing is the silver glow on everything.

The moon was shining so bright. It was just above the tree line, almost like it was looking down on us.

There’s a path up the hill leading to the woods. We call this wood the ‘Enchanted Forest,’ because it’s just an amazing place. When you enter, you always feel like you’ve entered somewhere special… and tonight, it was truly somewhere special.

The path goes straight into the wood, and as we approached, we saw something interesting. Usually, we start seeing the lights as we approach the outside of the woods… but this time, this time there was a flickering light dancing around, back in the center of the woods.

What was it?

I wanted so badly to run and see, but I couldn’t. I was too excited, and scared at the same time. What if it was the fairies themselves? We didn’t want to scare them away. So we crept, closer and closer… trying to see what this might be.

When we got within sight, we were so surprised at what we found.

There, on the floor beneath the canopy of trees was a ring of candles, 5 of them… the same as us. Outside the ring, next to each candle was a hand-made crown. They had made us a gift.

We all carefully chose one of the five, and put them on. And out, to our right and left, we saw their lights in the distance, happily dancing for us. It was amazing.

Luna and Lorien left their crowns as a return gift to the fairies, but I had to keep mine. I just couldn’t let it go. Fairies, real fairies had made me something…

I couldn’t wait to rush home and tell Daddy. He was so disappointed that he missed the best fairy walk ever. But I’m sure he’ll be at the next one. We’ll see what they do then.

It is believed the Banshee brings the warning in a form of either a repetitive knock on the window or a deadly screeching cry. But the frightening sounds are only audible to certain families, families bearing the surnames: O’Neill, O’Brien, O’Connor, O’Grady and Kavanaghs. 

The Banshee is seen to wear either a grey, hooded cloak or a long winding sheet, guises representing either, a young woman or an old hag.

But it isn’t always how she looks which distinguishes the Banshee from other fairies and witches. The Banshee is probably more feared for her deathly screech in the dead of night than her mystical visions.

If you speak to any older member of the Irish community (from which I have heard many a tale) they will be quick to tell you, The Banshee is not an experience one would ever like to encounter. And many a tale can be told of imminent death’s after the cry of the Banshee has been heard. You have been warned.  

Facts about Leprechauns

Do you believe in the wee people? Well here are some facts about leprechauns to ponder over as you decide to believe or not!

1.       Leprechauns are male fairies that come to our attention from ancient Gaelic oral and written tradition. They are seen by humans as old men who enjoy making mischief, but have an edgy personality… many accounts report leprechauns, as ill-natured and mischievous, with cunning mental acuity. They take great pride in outwitting humans.

2.       Some sources believe they were an ancient race of elves descended from the Tuatha De Danann race of mystical ‘god-like’ people who could heal and perform magical feats.

3.       They are guardians of a hidden treasure which they hide in underground locations. Their magical powers allow them to ‘pop in and out’ of sight through magical entrances to their vast underground network of safe places.  Many folks believe these creatures are very rich with not just pots of gold, but caverns full of the precious commodity.

4.      Leprechauns are creatures of Irish mythology associated with “faerie rings” and other sites of ancient Irish (Celtic or pre-Celtic) drumlins.

5.       They are seen by humans as old men who enjoy making mischief, but have an edgy personality… many accounts report leprechauns, as ill-natured and mischievous, with cunning mental acuity. They take great pride in outwitting humans.

6.       Their trade is that of a cobbler or shoemaker. They are said to be very rich.

7.       Most stories, where leprechauns are depicted, show them as harmless pint-sized beings that enjoy life in remote locations.

8.       Before the 20th century, it was generally agreed that the leprechaun wore red and not green.

The Poet Yates described leprechauns in his 1888 book “Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry” as follows:

“He is something of a dandy, and dresses in a red coat with seven rows of buttons, seven buttons on each row, and wears a cocked-hat, upon who’s pointed…”

9.      Numerous Western World multi-media venues (American mostly)
have popularized an image of leprechauns which bears very little resemblance to any references found in the annals of Irish mythology. Movies, television cartoons and advertising have popularized the little guys and made them into something other than their original oral and written traditions have divulged. [Lucky Charms cereal type image]

10.  If you catch a leprechaun [fat chance] he must grant you 3 wishes.

Last bit of trivia…The Fighting Irish Football Team of the famed University of Notre Dame has a leprechaun as their mascot!!!! Hmmmmm wonder if they believe in________?

However, the relationship between fairy lore and UFO narratives is quite evident, and many UFO encounters contain folkloric elements derived from various traditions. The dichotomy between UFOs and Fairies has very vague and diffuse frontiers, and certainly some extended common ground. Raymond Fowler wrote in 1979 the book “The Andreasson Affair”, where, under hypnosis, Betty Andreasson recalls how humanoid creatures abducted her, examined her aboard their craft, and then took her to an otherworldly place.

Already in her childhood, when playing in the woods, Betty remembered being approached by a little strange-suited being: “He’s coming out [of a hole in the ground] and just standing there. He looks strange, has a funny color, and has big eyes and a funny suit on.” Fowler then says: “By this point, my rather objective and logical way of reasoning was being sorely tried. Betty’s reliving of her experience with the being in the woods seemed like a space-age version of the brothers Grimm.”

Later, Betty visited a realm most similar with underground Fairyland. After traveling through a tunnel, she says: “It’s beautiful here…And we’re like on a narrow, narrow passage of land and we’re gliding across it. And off to the side, I see-I don’t know if they are fish or what. It looks like a combination of fish and bird. And it seems like it’s haze all over, and fog, and yet it’s light so I can see it… It’s getting brighter green and beautiful. Oh, it’s so beautiful… It’s just unusual and different. Plants are different. It’s like, uh-long stems that come out in loops and the different colors. But they are green!”

Asked if there was anything up in the sky, namely a sun, Betty said no, although the place, with no visible horizon, had plentiful light.

On another session, Betty described another underground trip, this time to a beautiful crystalline forest: “Oh, everything is just like it’s clear glass, like a forest of clear glass. There’s leaves and trees and grass and everything, everything. And the birds, they’re like thin, thin, thin glass.”

As we already know, Fairyland is often underground, entered through caverns, tunnels or portals. Although with no sunlight, the place has some kind of perpetual and intense light. Robert Kirk wrote in “The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns & Fairies” (1690) that “their houses (that is, the fairies’) are called large and fair, and, unless at some odd occasions, unperceivable by vulgar eyes, like Rachland and other Enchanted Islands; having for light continual lamps, and fires, often seen [burning] without fuel to sustain them.”

Also in witch trials, descriptions of Fairyland mentioned this unusual feature. During the trial of Donald McIlmichall in Scotland, he said he was “attracted by light emanating from a hill, approached to discover “a great number of men and women within the hill quhair he entered having many candles lighted.” He was doubtless impressed by the extravagant illumination since at this period humble domestic dwellings were ill-lit, if at all, after dark. At first the inhabitants seem to have been in two minds whether they should allow the intruder to stay or not: “sum of them desired to shutt him out and others to have him drawine in”. However, Donald was eventually admitted.”

Aliens, UFOs and Fairies seem to be associated to a temporal and spatial specific geography. This supernatural landscape exists at a boundary between this world and other “magic” realm. Crossing it can prove to be a deep challenging physical, spiritual, and mental event.

References:

- Fowler, Raymond, The Andreasson Affair, New York, Bantam Books, 1988.

- Fowler, Raymond, The Andreasson Affair, Phase Two, New Jersey, Prentice-Hall, 1982.

- Kirk, Robert, “The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns & Fairies”, in Stewart, R.J., Robert Kirk: Walker Between Worlds, Dorset, Element Books, 1990.

- Henderson, Lizanne & Cowan, Edward, Scottish Fairy Belief, East Linton, Tuckwell Press, 2001.

In the warm, summer nights, sitting in my apartment’s balcony, with the soothing sound of the crickets as a background music, I would stare at the starry sky and try to find the Pegasus, Andromeda, Cassiopeia or other constellations and play in my mind, as a movie, their adventures. Sometimes, when you have the least, you have the most. I guess, if I had had expensive toys or things to fill my time, I would have never come to know  all the magical worlds. Have you noticed how things that used to make you happy as a child, get a sweet corner, a place of honour in your heart and you save them there as you grow old. They provide a cozy shelter to go back to, when you need some warm, beautiful shelter from the busy and boring days.

If you are curious to know some of the beautiful creatures I have read about throughout the years, let me introduce them to you below.

1.      Pegasus

A winged horse in Greek mythology, Pegasus was supposedly the offspring of the sea god Poseidon and the Gorgon Medusa. According to legend, Pegasus was born from the blood that spurted from Medusa’s neck when the hero Perseus killed her. Pegasus served Perseus until his death and afterward went to the home of the Muses. The water that gave the Muses their inspiration had dried up, so Pegasus stamped his hoof and created a spring.

2.      Fairies

There are many descriptions of fairies. They vary from young, sometimes winged, humanoids of small stature to tall, radiant, angelic beings or short, wizened trolls being some of the commonly mentioned. They appear to be both good and bad, but my favorite ones were of course the first type. Among the numerous theories on where the fairies come from, my favorite is the one explained in  a chapter about Peter Pan in J. M. Barrie’s 1902 novel The Little White Bird, which was incorporated also into his later works. Barrie wrote, “When the first baby laughed for the first time, his laugh broke into a million pieces, and they all went skipping about. That was the beginning of fairies.”

3.      Nymphs

In Greek mythology, nymphs were female minor nature deities, typically associated with a particular location or land form. Different from gods, nymphs are generally regarded as divine spirits who animate nature, and are usually depicted as beautiful, young nubile maidens who love to dance and sing; their amorous freedom sets them apart from the restricted and chaste wives and daughters of the Greek polis. They dwell in mountains and groves, by springs and rivers, and also in trees and in valleys and cool grottoes. Though they would never die of old age nor illness, and could give birth to fully immortal children if mated to a god; they themselves were not necessarily immortal, and could be beholden to death in various forms.

4.      The Phoenix

The phoenix is a mythical fire bird from Ancient Egypt which is portrayed as a bird that dies in fire and is reborn of it. It is normally portrayed as having gold and red feathers. At the end of its life, a phoenix is said to build a nest of cinnamon twigs which it then ignites. The bird is destroyed in the fire but a new young phoenix is born from the same fire. It was believed to have a life span of 500 – 1461 years (depending on who you ask). Its tears were thought to heal wounds.

5.      The Unicorn

The unicorn is usually shown as a horse with a long single horn on its head, but it originally had a billy-goat beard, lion’s tail, and cloven hooves. The unicorn is virtually the only creature in legend which did not come from human fears and was, in fact, a rather gentle creature. It was considered impossible to capture a unicorn except by using unfair methods. The horn was said to be able to neutralize poison. The unicorn first came to be known during the Indus Valley Civilization (3300–1700 BC).

Sources:        Pegasus,  Myth Encyclopedia – Greek Mythology

                       Pegasus Image from Mythical Creatures Guide

                       Wikipedia

                       Nymphs’ image by John William Waterhouse

                       Phoenix image from ecademy.com

Although they are considerably variable, they can be classified as primary, secondary, and residues effects. According to Ted Phillips the following description applies:

“Primary Effects: 1. Rings – circular traces, burned, depressed, or dehydrated. The outer perimeter shows damage or change while the central area is unchanged. 2. Nests – oval traces, generally depressed, swirling effect noted. 3. Circular sites – circular traces with damage over the entire area – burned, depressed, or dehydrated. 4. Irregular sites – burned, depressed, or dehydrated areas with no particular pattern.”

The secondary effects include: imprints, damage to trees and other flora, craters, footprints and plants or soil removed, while the residues might be solids, powder, liquids and occasionally artifacts. Here is an example given by Phillips:

“June 25, 1974, St, Cyrille, Canada: Three witnesses saw occupants and a disc with a dome, red and white lights at the top of the dome. An orange rim with oval white lights around it. Yellow beams of light were seen beneath the object. Mr. and Mrs. Langlois saw the object and humanoids after their dog barked. At the site, three rings, each 19 feet in diameter with a ring width of 2 feet were found. The grass at the center of the rings was not disturbed.”

As we have discussed elsewhere, Fairyland is a place with very peculiar and extraordinary characteristics. One can access this realm through caves, rocks and underground passages, lakes and even mist. More interesting to our present discussion is the fact that it is also possible to enter the abode of fairies through fairy circles or rings. The following testimony was given in 1970 by Gretta Jones from Wales, UK to Folklorist Robin Gwyndaf:

“Where there any fairy circles [rings] in the district?-Yes, there were circles here and there in the district. Where exactly do you remember seeing these rings?-Well, I remember seeing a circle on Ty Du’s land… It was marshland, but round. It was very strange. A round circle. What was the size of the circle?–Well, I would say about ten yards… Was it of a particular color?–It was more green than the rest. No rushes or anything grew on it, only moss or fine grass…Would you go to this circle to play?–Goodness me! No! We would be too afraid in case the fairies would find us and take us away to their place…

“You never saw the fairies in the circle?–Well, no, I didn’t see them, but I heard about a boy who entered the circle … He had gone some distance from the house and he entered into this circle. And, indeed! The fairies came to dance and the boy stood in the center looking at them. He wasn’t realizing that time was passing, but one of the fairies came to him.

“Would you like to come with us to our country?”

“Dear me, yes,” the boy replied.

“Well, come down these steps here this way.”

“And he hadn’t noticed before that there were any steps there. But he goes down these steps, down and down. After walking for a while he came to a certain country, the most beautiful he had ever seen…He was taken to a large room and was given a feast. He had been like that for a while and the boy thought:”I haven’t been here long.” And one of them said: “you may sleep here tonight, if you like” “Oh no, it’s no use, my father and mother won’t know where I am.” “Oh, we’ll escort you,” they said, “we’ll take you to the top of the steps, you’ll be able to find your way then. And they took him. And after he returned to the circle he makes way for home.” But, as we already know, the boy had been in Fairyland for over one hundred years.

So, regarding an apparent similitude between fairy circles and certain types of UFO physical traces, Vallee says “that fairy “rings” and saucer nests… deserve more than passing attention and should be considered in the light of specific traditional beliefs about the meaning of the “magic circles” that for centuries farmers have found in their fields.”

References:

- Phillips, Ted, “UFOs: The Emerging Evidence”, MUFON Proceedings, 1975.

- Gwyndaf, Robin, “Fairylore: Memorates and Legends from Welsh Oral Tradition” in Narváez, Peter (Ed.), The Good People, Lexington, University Press of Kentucky, 1997.

- Vallee, Jacques, Passport to Magonia: on UFOs, Folklore and Parallel Worlds, Chicago, Contemporary Books, 1993

- Caligari2000, UFOs and Fairy Abductions, socyberty.com/paranormal/ufos-and-fairy-abductions/.