Fairies and Fairy Lore

This delightful location where we can find creatures of all kinds, including those of myth and legend, is known as "Fairy Falls."


Fairy Falls
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Fairies are portrayed with a variety of emotions, temperaments, and intentions. But they are always enchanting, and often fly and leap with joy!


Happy Fairies
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Since fairies are generally thought to be small, they are often pictured with flowers which are similar in size to these enchanting creatures.


Fairies and Flowers
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Fairies are not only female, or even eternally young. However, to indicate their light and delicate form, young female fairies are portrayed the most often.

Here a boy and girl fairy enjoy time together by a lily pond.


Fairies by Lily Pond
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A fairy ring, usually a ring in the grass with mushrooms, is a place that is said to be the site of fairy activity. Fairy rings are considered a gateway into the fairy realm, and a place where fairies gather to sing and dance.

In artistic portrayals of fairies together with human beings the fairies are often shown with a shining light, signifying their magical or supernatural qualities.


Fairy Land
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Midsummer Eve is a time well known for fairy activity. Fairies may be found dancing in the moonlight in a fairy ring.

There is danger for humans though. It is said that if a human being enters a fairy ring at night they will fall under a spell and fall asleep until dawn. In what seems like the next morning when they wake it turns out that twenty years or more have passed. This is because the fairies took them into fairyland where time is different from our world.


Midsummer Eve
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Perhaps the most famous fairies ever to be photographed are the Cottingley Fairies. Two young girls, Elsie Wright and her cousin Frances Griffiths, took several photographs back in 1917. There was great excitement and many people, including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, believed the photographs to be the real thing. However, the girls later confessed that they faked them. Although they claimed that the fifth photograph taken in 1920, which showed the fairies alone in the sunbath, was genuine.

One of the most famous fairies, Tinkerbell, features in the significant scene in the story "Peter Pan" when she faces death. Unable to warn Peter that his medicine has been poisoned she drinks it herself. Peter is horrified and in despair, but Tinkerbell says that she thinks she could get well again if children believed in fairies. So, in the memorable moment in the play, Peter turns to the children in the audience and shouts "If you believe, clap your hands; don't let Tink die." Fortunately the audience always has believers, and Tinkerbell revives.

Tinkerbell (or Tink for short), is probably the most famous fairy of all. She was created by J.M. Barrie as a character in his early twentieth century play "Peter Pan" and the novel based on it, "Peter and Wendy." Tinkerbell is Peter's loyal companion, although her tendency to jealousy causes her problems.

Tinkerbell reached iconic status in the Walt Disney animated version of "Peter Pan." Flying and sprinkling her magical "pixie dust" from her wand she became the symbol of "the magic of Disney."


Tinker Bell
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Titania appears in William Shakespeare's famous play "A Midsummer Night's Dream." She is the queen of the fairies, very proud and constantly quarreling with her husband, Oberon, the fairy king.

This picture of Titania and her fairies is by Arthur Rackham, illustrator of children's books and a famous portrayer of fairies.


Titania with her Fairies
by Arthur Rackham
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Shakespeare's play, a comedy, revolves around the relationship between Titania and Oberon and how it impacts a group of human beings, also having relationship difficulties. After a major disagreement, Oberon has Puck, a mischievous creature, often called an elf rather than a fairy, prepare a potion which Oberon uses to cast a spell on Titania causing her to fall in love with the first person she sees. Of course there are many complications in the plot, hilarious even, until all is happily resolved.


Oberon Places a Spell on Titania
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Fairy godmothers make their appearance in numerous tales, usually bringing guidance and hope to a struggling young heroine. The most famous example is Cinderella. When her stepmother takes her ugly stepsisters to the ball leaving Cinderella behind, her fairy godmother appears and transforms a pumpkin into a coach, mice into horses, and creates a gorgeous gown for Cinderella, all with the wave of her magic wand!

Fairy godmothers, perhaps because they are older (and wiser!) than the young rather impudent little fairies of other tales, usually do not do so much flying around. But they do solve problems with their magical fairy dust and wise advice.


Cinderella and her Fairy Godmother
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The Tooth Fairy is another famous mythical fairy character. When children start to lose their baby teeth parents often tell them that if they place them under their pillow at night the tooth fairy will come, take away the tooth, and leave money or a gift in exchange. A nice custom, it certainly encourages young children to face the loss of their teeth with hopeful anticipation rather than anxiety.

This is not your traditional image of the tooth fairy, but I love it!


Tooth Fairy
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