Fairy Reports from the Paranormal Database

Fairies are mythical creatures that are believed to have inhabited the UK and Ireland long before humans arrived. The name fairy can be confusing, as it can refer to the collective of all metaphysical or preternatural creatures (including pixies and goblins), or a specific type of entity within that group (popularly believed to be human-like, small and capable of flight). What follows is a list where fairy encounters have (or are likely to) occur.

Image (left) courtesy of: www.royalmail.com/creatures

Kidnapping

Location: Aberfoyle (Stirling) - Fairy Hill
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: 1692
Further Comments: The Rev Robert Kirk is said to have been kidnapped by fairies here. He appeared in ethereal form a couple of times after the event, begging for help in escaping from the fairy world.

Fairy Funeral

Location: Aberystruth (Wales) - Church Lane
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A small procession of fairies were reported travelling along the lane towards the church to bury one of their own.

Dwarf with Pointed Hat

Location: Alderwasley (Derbyshire) - Hill just past Alderwasley
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The witness to this encounter stated that they once bumped into a four foot high figure wearing a green pointed hat feeding the plants.

Little Folk

Location: Alfriston (Sussex) - Burlough (or Burlow) Castle
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Pre twentieth century
Further Comments: Fairies once made their home here, and rewarded a local man with food after he helped one of their kind repair a kitchen utensil.

Fairy Hill

Location: Alva (Clackmannanshire) - Alva Glen
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Famed for its fairies, these pesky fellows kidnapped a local baker's wife - she was only returned after her husband broke the fairy spell by accidentally standing on one leg.

Secret Fairies

Location: Andreas (Isle of Man) - Shan Cashtal barrow
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The fairies here once travelled to and from the barrow using underground passageways leading to a nearby churchyard (at Maughold).

Evil Fairies

Location: Annandale (Dumfries and Galloway) - Burnwark Hill
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A palace concealed within this hill was run by an army of evil fairies - they would kidnap anyone foolish enough to venture close to their land.

Trolls

Location: Appletreewick (Yorkshire) - Trollers Gill (or Ghyll)
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Living beneath the ravine, the trolls are said to emerge at night and track down their prey - humans. At least one farmer was lured to his death by their ability to trick people into straying from the road.

Pooka

Location: Ashby de la Zouch (Leicestershire) - Private residence
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: 1990
Further Comments: A witness who awoke in the middle of the night encountered what she believed to be a fairy entity known as a Pooka, sleeping over the pelmet of a landing window. The creature was similar to a little piglet, but with a longer, pointy nose and no visible tail. The part of the house where the sighting happened is on the path of a ley line.

Sprites & Pixies

Location: Ballona (Isle of Man) - Ballona Bridge
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: 20 June (reoccurring)
Further Comments: On this day the fairy population comes out in force. If they are not acknowledged by any one crossing the bridge, the fairy folk have no hesitation in making their presence felt.

Black Goat

Location: Ballvaughan (Munster) - Poulaphuca, area around dolmen
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This goat, though by some to be a fairy being, resides over the tombs in the area. The creature causes anyone who threatens the land to develop a hunchback.

Idris

Location: Barmouth (Wales) - Cader Idris
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Idris was said to be a wise giant, who may have had links with King Arthur. People would avoid the area at night, convinced that fairies would drive them mad.

Tiny Green People

Location: Bassenthwaite (Cumbria) - Piel Wyke
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Nineteenth century
Further Comments: Two children digging on the mound said they unearthed a small cottage with a slate roof, though when they returned a short time later, the construction had vanished. A few days later their father saw two small people in green standing on the hill - they vanished into it.

Colt Pixie

Location: Beaulieu Heath (Hampshire) - Cold Pixie's Cave
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A horse-like pixie, this fairy entity would play mild pranks and call out to horses so they became lost.

Water Fairies

Location: Beddgelert (Wales) - Aberglaslyn Pass
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Nineteenth century
Further Comments: A witness watched the little people playing merrily in the water at the pass. Nearby is the grave of Gelert (the dog that was mistakenly killed by its master after saving a child from a wolf) where the hound's ghost has been reported. Finally, the ghostly woman in white who haunts the area is an ill omen, with death said to follow a sighting.

Knockers

Location: Bedruthan (Cornwall) - Beach, cliff top, & Bedruthan Steps
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Late twentieth century
Further Comments: Some believe these creatures to resemble mutant dwarfs (two foot high, large eyes with deformed and twisted heads), while others call them the ghosts of those killed while being forced to work for the Romans... Either way, they can be heard mining and picking away at the rocks underground in these areas.

Helpful Fairies

Location: Beedon (Berkshire) - Burrow Hill
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The little people here are traditionally helpful in nature, and once fixed a plough for a farmer. When archaeologists tried to dig up the barrow in 1850, a storm blew up and drove them away. A golden coffin is said to be buried in the area.

Small Staircase

Location: Beetham (Cumbria) - The Fairy Steps
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Still present
Further Comments: Too small for normal human use, the stairs are believed to have been designed for fairy use.

Urisk Headquarters

Location: Ben Venue (Stirling) - General area
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This mountain is thought to be a major gathering point for the Urisk.

Fairy Song

Location: Bincombe Down (Dorset) - Singing Barrows
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Midday (reoccurring)
Further Comments: Local superstition states that if you place your ear to the ground here at midday, you can hear the soft singing of fairy folk.

Fairy Rings

Location: Birstall (Leicestershire) - Mill Hill
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This area was widely believed to be the haunt of fairy folk, where they would come and dance in the pale moonlight.

Fairy Guardians

Location: Bishopton (Durham) - Castle Hill
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Though the castle is long gone, the area is still a place where fairies hide - anyone trying to steal earth or soil from the land is warned off by whispering voices.

Fairy Fair

Location: Black Down Hills (Somerset) - General area
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Seventeenth century?
Further Comments: Fairies were once believed to hold annual fairs on the hills, singing and dancing throughout the night.

Fairy Cow

Location: Bosfrancan (Cornwall) - Field called Park-an-Ventan (no longer there?)
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A local farmer once kept a cow that was used by fairies after dark - the little folk were driven away, and the farmer's luck changed from good to bad.

Figures in Brown

Location: Bournemouth (Dorset) - Branksome Park estate
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Early twentieth century
Further Comments: Seen in a garden on this estate, several little people dressed in brown played in and around the bushes before being scared off.