The Paranormal Database

An old image of a witch being dunked in a water, circa 1613.

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Location: St Andrews (Fife) - Small knoll close to the Martyr's Monument, and nearby Witch Lake
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Fairies were once thought to live around the knoll, which local legend says was also used as a site to burn witches if they survived their dunking at nearby Witch Lake.

Fairy Cow

Location: St Buryan (Cornwall) - Field called Park-an-Ventan, Bosfrancan (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.

Fairy Feast

Location: St Catherine's Point (Isle of Wight) - Puckaster Cove
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The little people were once seen eating and having a party at this site.

The Fairy Led

Location: St Dogmaels (Dyfed) - General area
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Circa 1860s
Further Comments: The neighbourhood was the haunt of particularly pesky fairies who would lead men off the paths at night and let them wander aimlessly until dawn. One man claimed he had walked to the north pole, but of course, some people exaggerate.

Blinded

Location: St John (Jersey) - Lavoir des Dames
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The fairies which were believed to live bathe here would strike anyone blind who spotted them. The area is also said to be home to spooky noises, although the source is unknown.

Missing Wife

Location: St John's (Isle of Man) - Ballaleece Farm
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Pre-twentieth century
Further Comments: The farmer's first wife was kidnapped by fairies, so he later remarried. A short time later, the first wife briefly reappeared and told the farmer that if swept the barn free of straw, then he would be able to grab her fairy horse and rescue her when she next rode past. The farmer shared the plan with his second wife, but filled with jealousy, she ensured that a piece of straw was left on the barn floor. The rescue failed and the first wife never returned.

Troll

Location: St Johns (Isle of Man) - Trollaby Lane
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Trolls were said to once lurk around various places on the Isle, with place names indicating where they lived. Church bells were said to have driven them away.

Dancing People

Location: St Just (Cornwall) - Carn Gluze barrow
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Traditionally the homes of fairies, this barrow is one of many in the area and the little people have been seen dancing around it.

Gateway to Fairyland

Location: St Pierre du Bois (Guernsey) - Creux es Faies (megalithic tomb)
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Tomb still present
Further Comments: Legend names this site as an entrance to fairyland, with the little people being seen milling around the doorway. If one left a bowl of porridge by the doorway with unfinished knitting overnight, by the following day the bowl would be empty and the knitting complete.

Washing Folk

Location: Staining (Lancashire) - High Cross way
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: These fairies would arrive in the area at midnight to make use of the stream water to wash their clothing.

Cake Baking Fairies

Location: Stogursey (Somerset) - Wick Barrow
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The pixies here rewarded a man with a cake after he helped them repair a cooking implement.

Dances

Location: Stoney Stanton (Leicestershire) - General area
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This village was once said to be well known for its fairy rings and fairy dances.

Soft Ringing

Location: Stourpaine (Dorset) - Church
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: The little people ring the church bells after covering them with dew, ensuring the soft ringing is seldom heard by mortals.

Dozen Dancing Fairies

Location: Stowmarket (Suffolk) - Exact area unknown
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: 1842
Further Comments: Whilst walking one night, a gentleman watched a dozen doll-like figures dancing around in a ring. He reported them as being more like little ghosts than solid creatures, making no sound and wearing sparkling dresses, standing no more than three foot high. Fairies were once quite common (as common as fairy sightings are) in the meadows surrounding the town.

Tavern Street, Stowmarket.

Tiny Frolicsome People

Location: Stowmarket (Suffolk) - Tavern Street
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: Appearing only at night, tiny people were often seen dancing and singing along Tavern Street, disappearing only after becoming aware that they were being watched.

Urisk

Location: Strath Fillan (aka Strathfillan) (Perth and Kinross) - General area
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A newspaper article dated 1913 claimed that it had not many years had passed since a Urisk, a large hairy creature similar to a brownie, had appeared in the area.

Brownie

Location: Strathmiglo (Fife) - Strathmiglo Castle
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: This invisible entity lived in the castle and was only detectible when it stole food from the pantry.

A fairy kingdom build from human ruins.

Maiden

Location: Swansea (West Glamorgan) - Crumlyn Lake (aka Llyn Crymlyn), now Crymlyn Bog
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Unknown
Further Comments: A fairy maiden lived in the waters of this lake. A story also claimed a large town once stood here but it was swallowed by the lake (after the locals insulted Saint Patrick) and then used by the fairies to construct their kingdom. A slight variation says the fairies were once the townsfolk before they were submerged. Bells could occasionally be heard coming from the water.

Ball of Fire

Location: Swansea (West Glamorgan) - Mumbles, exact area not known
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Early nineteenth century
Further Comments: A man pursued a ball of fire that morphed into a shapeshifting 'horrid black thing'. Despite outrunning him, the shape settled near the exhausted man and started to shrink, so the man caught the entity in his hat. Intending to ask the entity where he could find buried treasure, the man began to daydream about what to do with his newfound wealth, which included leaving his wife for another woman; the creature disappeared.

Fairies battle over the land in Ireland.

Fairy Battle

Location: Taum (County Galway) - Cnoc Meadha, aka Knockmagha, Knockma, or Knock Ma (hill)
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Circa 1846
Further Comments: It was said that fairies fought openly above the skies of this hill during the potato famine. The hill is also said to be the burial place of Finnbheara, king of the Connacht fairies.

Queen of the fairies.

Built by Fairies

Location: Tavistock (Devon) - South Down Bridge
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Still present?
Further Comments: It is said that the Queen of the fairies helped build this bridge by turning some of the water below into boulders.

Dog Killer

Location: Tayinloan (Argyll and Bute) - Old Largie Castle (demolished 1958)
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Pre twentieth century
Further Comments: The Brownie that lurked around this area would split its time between the castle and the MacDonald house on Cara Island. The entity could be quite vicious, killing dogs that had been left in the house at night and slapping visitors who disrespected the castle, although it would also tidy the site and secure the cattle.

Fairy Fort

Location: Templemaley (County Clare) - Ballyhee (fort)
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Reported 1839, current status not known
Further Comments: This fort, like another in the area and so many in Ireland, was believed to be home to a troupe of fairies.

Fairy Home

Location: Templemaley (County Clare) - Lissardcarney (fort)
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Reported 1839, current status not known
Further Comments: This fort, like another in the area and so many in Ireland, was believed to be home to a troupe of fairies.

A water fairy.

Water Fairy

Location: The Black Mountain / Myddfai (Dyfed) - Llyn y Fan Fach mountain lake
Type: Fairy
Date / Time: Circa thirteenth century
Further Comments: A legend tells of a lake fairy that once emerged from Llyn y Fan Fach and married a local man. She eventually returned home to the lake after her husband hit her, but only after bearing him three sons; she later returned to teach them medical skills.